“How is she?” Romero asks as I walk into the sitting room. He’s sitting on the sofa with a glass of whiskey in his hand.
“As well as can be expected.”
He narrows his eyes at me. “What happened? You look…”
“Lighter,” Alessio comments from the armchair, he too has a glass of whiskey in his hand.
I ignore them both. “You finally admitted you love her, huh?” Romero comments.
“Jealous that no one loves you?” Makenna says as she waltzes into the room.
Alessio glares at her. “I need to put a damn bell on you.”
I smirk, I like that she and my brothers get along. “Romero, my Granda’s in town, he wants to talk to you about your marriage to Holly.”
Romero sits up straighter. “What does he want?”
Makenna shrugs. “I have no idea. He doesn’t know what my plans are for you, all he knows is that you’re agreeable to the union with Holly.”
Romero nods and takes a sip of his drink.
“Have you looked her up yet?” I ask and see Makenna smirk, she’s not told me anything about the woman she’s setting my brother up with. All I know is that she’s her niece.
“Not yet. Why?”
Alessio laughs. “In case she’s fucking ugly. Knowing your luck, you’d get stuck with the runt of the family.”
“You mean like you are?” Makenna fires back and Romero throws his head back and laughs, it’s one thing I’ve learned about her she’s fiercely protective of her family. She scrolls through her cell phone and hands it to Romero. “All you had to do was ask. The redhead is Holly.”
I watch Romero’s reaction carefully, he’s good at hiding it but I see the shock along with the sharp intake of breath. He hands Makenna back her phone and she in turn shows me the image. There are three young girls in the picture, along with Makenna and Holly, the other girl looks similar to Holly and must be her sister. She’s cute if you like the red hair and freckles, she’s also innocent, you can see it written all over her. That’s something that Romero would like, he likes his women docile and compliant.
“Romero, did you find out anything?” I ask him as Makenna reaches for her purse.
He shakes his head. “Not yet, it’s fucking driving me insane. I’m fucking pissed off that someone has managed to get one over on us.”
“We get this funeral over and done with, then we’re going to find out who the fuck tried to take us out. Once we do, we’re going to make them see what happens when you fuck with a Gallagher or a Bianchi.”
I smirk, my wife is bloodthirsty. “It’s time to go,” I tell her and she nods, I underestimate her constantly. When I think she’s going to crumble she doesn’t; instead, she grows stronger.
Three hours later, we’re sitting in Seamus’ sitting room drinking whiskey. Seamus, Killian, Finn, Patrick, Cian, Danny, Romero, Alessio, Makenna, and I are discussing what’s going to happen next. Seamus is hell bent on going after my father even though we have a plan in place to ensure that the bastard dies.
“Fucker actually had the balls to shake my hand,” Seamus spits out and shakes his head in disgust.
My father was at the funeral and the smirk the fucker had on his face made every single one of us want to kill the motherfucking bastard.
Makenna’s on her laptop, she’s changed out of her dress and is wearing yoga pants, a tank top, and barefoot. Her hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun, her feet underneath her as she focuses on whatever the fuck she’s looking for. She’s been doing this every single night, her eyes glued to the laptop. She’s not told me what she’s searching for but I’m pretty sure she’s trying to find out who the fucking traitor is.
I’m sitting beside her, my arm outstretched behind her back. Every now and then, she’ll lean back against it, just for a couple of seconds before lifting off. Romero and Alessio think I’m whipped but I don’t give a fuck; with Makenna everything is different.
“Fucking, bastard,” she snaps as she types away on the keyboard.
“What, babe?” I ask as I look down on her screen and see Kurt having a meeting with my father.
“I’ve looked through both Kurt’s and your father’s finances. Kurt received a twenty-five thousand dollar deposit from an offshore account on the day of our wedding. I’ve traced that account back to your father.”
The silence around the room is deafening as Makenna’s words sink in. Blood rushes to my brain and I try to fight back the rage that’s burning deep inside. My father paid to have my wife killed, he almost had his son killed.
“Sit the fuck down now. All of you,” Makenna snaps. It’s then that I realize that I was moving. Not only me, but her father, Finn, and Danny were too. “Today isn’t the day we kill him. He’s going to be waiting for us and we’re going to ensure that he won’t be expecting it when it comes. That fucking bastard has taken enough from all of us and now it stops. We’re going to make sure that when the time comes, and it’s coming, that when that motherfucker dies, Dante’s in the position to take over.”
Danny sighs, “Why the hell are you so level-headed?”
“Sit down,” she tells us again. “We need to come up with a plan. That arsehole is going down and we need to make sure that the plan is meticulous.”
“That’s why you’re the fucking best,” a deep voice calls out from the behind us. I turn to see Makenna’s grandfather standing in the doorway with a scowl on his face. He’s just an older version of Seamus, he has a full head of gray hair and his bright-blue eyes are full of life and darkness.
“Dad, what are you doing here?” Seamus asks as he takes his seat again, the only ones that are still standing are Finn and I.
“I’m here to end that fucking arsehole’s reign. He hurt my favorite granddaughter and for that he’s going to pay.”
“Granda,” Makenna chastises him. “Where’s Holly?”
“She’s at the hotel with her father and Malcolm. I didn’t think it would be right to bring them all here.” He gives Seamus a pointed look.
“Wait, who’s here?” Cian asks with a frown.
“Danny’s brother and sister are here,” Makenna informs him. “As is his father.” She can’t keep the smile off of her face, I know how much her family means to her. She’d do anything to protect them and she’s missed them. She’s not seen them in six months, although she does speak to them a lot.
“Denis and Malcolm will want in on this conversation. I’m here as a courtesy call. Seamus, if you want them here, they can be here in thirty minutes. If not, we’re moving this meeting to the hotel.” The old man turns to me. “We’ve not been introduced, I’m Henry,” he tells me as he holds out his hand. I don’t hesitate, I reach out and we shake.
“It’s good to see you,” I tell him, and it’s the truth. He may give me some insight into the way Makenna is.
He nods, “And you too, son, you too.” He then turns his attention to Romero, “You must be Romero.” The two of them shake hands, “You’ll do nicely for my Holly. I’m sure you’re anxious to meet her.”