Binding Rose: A Dark Mafia Romance(43)
“What about Murphy?”
Tiernan shakes his head.
“Too young.”
“O’Brien?”
Another shake.
“Too old.”
“Hmm. What about Ryan? He’s a good lad. Competent. Trustworthy.” And gay.
But I decide to leave that part out, even if my gut tells me that Ryan’s sexual preferences might make him the perfect fit in Tiernan’s eyes.
“Too soft,” he rebukes evenly.
“How so?” I question, confused, since the lad is over six-foot-four in height and weighs well above two hundred and forty pounds of pure hard steel. There is nothing soft about him.
“Rosa’s strong and bullheaded. She needs someone who won’t be a pushover. Someone who isn’t afraid to tell her no. Ryan is used to dealing with foul-mouthed brutes, not delicate flowers. He wouldn’t know how to handle Rosa, and she would use that to her advantage. I wouldn’t even give him a week before she had him wrapped around her finger.”
“You think she could redirect his loyalty hat easily?”
“My wife can be very convincing. She’s used to getting her own way. Ryan wouldn’t stand a chance. Let’s leave it at that.” He smirks, almost sounding proud of his new bride.
“Is that why you think I’m the only one suitable for the job?”
“Yes. I can’t think of anyone else up for the task. Can you?”
When I don’t answer him, he pulls his chair forward, extends his arms on his desk, and clasps his hands together.
“The men you chose to guard the penthouse can stay. But Shay is right. Rosa will soon tire of spending every waking moment in that hotel room, no matter how luxurious it is. I need you to accompany her at all times whenever she goes out. When she retreats back to the hotel, you can let your men take it from there.”
I don’t have to think too hard on my answer since Tiernan’s request falls in line with the one Alejandro had forced on me. When I told Tiernan about the conversation I had with his brother-in-law before his wedding day, he didn’t seem one bit surprised, nor did he share Alejandro’s worries about his bride’s safety.
But something must have happened between then and now for the boss to change his tune. Tiernan might not have slept with her, but it took less than a week living with Rosa to change his mind and make him care about her welfare. It will be a cold day in hell before my loyalty could shift towards the cartel prince, but I gave him my word where his sister’s safety is concerned, and now I will do the same for Tiernan. Although it took the boss this long to see the writing on the wall, I’ve known since the beginning that Rosa would need to be protected.
It’s because of Rosa and the other sacrificial families’ daughters that there was a ceasefire in the Mafia Wars, after all.
But peace is a tenuous brittle thing.
It only takes one person’s malicious actions to light the fuse on this dynamite keg of a treaty and blow up ten years of arduous, peaceful negotiations. And what better way to do it than to eradicate the very thing that was sacrificed in the name of peace.
With that thought in mind, I get up from my seat and start to head out the door.
“Should I take that as a yes?” Tiernan utters behind me, a tinge of mirth to his voice.
“I’ll keep her safe. You have my word,” I concede and leave him to his business.
I pass the busy open office space and head towards the elevator as fast as my feet can take me. Tiernan might feel at home here in this large skyscraper—making sure that the Kelly’s clean, reputable construction business casts a large enough shadow to hide his criminal empire—but I, for one, hate it here. I have never liked being cooped up between four walls, especially this high up, where the exits only lead to stairwells that would take a good fifteen minutes to get down to the ground floor. But that’s not the only reason why I don’t like coming here. I prefer the grime and dirt of the streets over the sweet smell of fancy lattes and pastries in a boardroom. Give me busted-up knuckles, some cracked ribs, and sweat pouring down my brow after a heist any day of the week. Hustling on the streets compared to claustrophobic cubicles, boring computer screens with open Word documents filled with endless jargon, or the backstabbing that happens between colleagues just to get a leg up in the business world, just feels like it’s a more honest way to make a buck.
I leave that ugly monotonous part of the business to the boss.
Tiernan is a chameleon in that regard.
He can hold meetings in a boardroom just as easily as he can conjure fear in a dark back alley.
I’m not as versatile.
When I finally step out of the Kelly’s main headquarters, I rush to get into my car and drive over to The Liberty Hotel, intent on getting down to business. When I arrive at the floor of Tiernan and Rosa’s hotel suite, I turn to Darren, one of the higher-ranked soldiers standing guard, and ask him to fill me in on all of Rosa’s coming and goings.
“Not much to tell. Since she’s arrived, she hasn’t left the suite. Not once. Unless you count the time she left to get married. Other than that, she’s stayed put,” Darren explains with a shrug.
She’s been in Boston for five days now, and all she’s seen is the inside of a fancy prison cell. Maybe Shay is right. Maybe Tiernan is taking this a bit too far.
“Fair enough. I’ll ask Mrs. Kelly what her plans are for today and the rest of the week. That way we can arrange a schedule between myself and your guards.”