My woman.
“Looks like Jonesy over there has a little crush,” Ferdi remarked, saddling up next to me. “Your woman must be a real nut buster if she can handle that wild boar with a delicate style.”
My woman.
I watched the big man, Jones, as he towered over Otelia, stating his case while she tsked him with her hands on her slim hips. He never stood a chance.
“You have no idea,” I replied with a smirk.
“Excuse me.” He jerked back, grinning stupidly. “No objections to my calling her your woman? No ‘She’s just a business transaction’, or ‘Stay out of my bedroom’, or ‘Shut the fuck up, Ferdi?’ Dare I say the mighty Darragh MacCabe is sprung?”
“Don’t you have something better to do besides bust my balls?”
“Not this minute, I don’t.” He clapped me on the back. “Besides, I like your balls. It makes me happy seeing Odie carrying them around in her bra all night. Oh, wait, she’s not wearing one.”
“Keep looking, and you’re going to need an ocular prosthesis when I snatch one of your eyeballs out and squeeze it between my fingers.”
“Ouch. Duly noted, Cochise.”
As predicted, my dick sported a semi inside my pants as I watched Otelia sashay her sexy ass over towards the bar. Only I knew what was hidden beneath her skirt waiting for my hard cock at the end of the night. I inwardly moaned when I thought about the dirty shit I planned to do to her at the conclusion of the fights. Ferdi was right about one thing: she was my woman in every sense of the word, and I vowed to never let her go. I turned to tell him so when we were interrupted by the vibration of his cell phone. Ferdi took his call while my attention drifted back to the happenings below.
“Motherfucker!” he growled into the headset.
My shoulders bunched at his outburst. I immediately knew something was wrong.
“Find out what you can and hit me back the minute you do!” he yelled. “I don’t give a fuck what you have to do. Get me that intel ASAP!”
“What is it?” I approached on high alert.
“Somebody took out Kallum O’Brien. Two shots to the chest, one to the head, small caliber bullet.” Ferdi pinched the bridge of his nose. “Fuck! You know what this means, Darragh.”
I knew.
“We have less than an hour,” he affirmed.
“I’ll be ready.”
I took one last pensive look at Otelia, shouldered my way past Ferdi, and headed towards the office. The roar of the crowd did little to falter my steps. Any other time, it would have been a relief, but not tonight. Everyone had enemies in this game. If you didn’t, you were doing something wrong. It wasn’t a secret that O’Brien and I had a beef. I’d threatened to kill him publicly on more than one occasion, and not only because of the fights. The day he’d announced his engagement to Bella, I had to be physically restrained from snapping his neck. I was a kid then, but the memory still held. My father would need to hear from me personally that I wasn’t the one responsible for the hit. As boss, he had a duty to uphold as a leader in the organization that trumped being a doting parent.
I stepped inside the office, preoccupied by the news, until a shadow looming in the corner had me reaching for my gun. Long dark hair, fruity-smelling perfume, and an hourglass shape gave her away right before I pulled the trigger. She had no business being here, not at a time like this, and definitely not with me, a potential suspect.
“Bad fucking idea, Bella,” I snarled, storming across the room.
“I had to see you, Darragh. It’s important,” she pleaded.
“More important than your husband getting wacked?” She inhaled sharply, surprised that I already knew the fucker was dead.
I didn’t have time for this shit.
“Leave. Now,” I ordered. “Take your ass out the same way you came in.”
A myriad of emotions flashed across her pretty face as she took in my words. Anger, from being dismissed so easily knowing I would’ve given my left nut back in the day to make her happy. Pride, when she realized I meant what the fuck I said and she had to regroup. Finally, disgust, as she prepared to show her true colors and state the real reason for her being here.
This woman.
I shook my head, moving as far away from her as possible.
Looking back on the past, I realized what a complete fool I’d been to think what we had was special. Bella took me for a long ride with my dick on a leash, and I was dumb enough to follow. All this time, and it had never dawned on me that she was the mastermind behind her marriage to O’Brien. What we’d had wasn’t love; it was usury, fuck boy by proxy.
I never saw it.
She was no prize, and I’d clearly dodged a bullet when she left me for someone else. Showing up here proved her only allegiance was to herself and certainly not to her now deceased husband. She watched me like a predator with her designer clothes, fancy red-bottomed shoes, and a sinister look in her eyes.
This bitch was hunting.
“Say what you came to say and get the fuck out, Bella. This is the last time I’m going to tell you to stop trying to contact me, for anything. The only reason I agreed to meet with you a few days ago was because you threatened suicide if I didn’t. I told you never again. We have no ties, and I want you out of here.”
“I-I…” she stuttered. “So, you know about Kallum?”
“Said I did.” I folded my arms over my chest hoping she’d get to the fucking point.
“I know this seems like bad timing, Darragh, but I had to see you right away.”
She took several steps towards me, like a viper ready to strike, fangs extended. She seductively licked her pouty lips stained in red as she smoothed down the front of her shirt, pushing her tits out, her intent clear. The thought of touching her repulsed me so much I snarled the closer she got to my body. Too close, and I’d shoot this bitch.
“Don’t you see, Darragh.” She stalked. “We don’t have to hide anymore. Kallum is dead. No one would question our match, especially now that you hold so much power within the organization. We can get married and combine our assets. I’m Kellan’s only heir, which means I get everything, including his circuit. We can stay together forever.”
“Are you insane, Bella? I’m not a part of the syndicate, nor am I ever going to be a boss. I’m sure as shit not looking for an anchor point by fucking the widow of my rival. The shit you’re talking is crazy as fuck, woman.”
“Don’t say that, Darragh. You loved me once. You could love me again if you just gave us a chance. I could be a good wife. You said you wanted to marry me.”
“Past fucking tense, Bella. Ancient goddamn history. Get your head outta your ass. It’s over.”
“Please…”
“Enough! Go home, Bella. Make arrangements to bury your husband and live your life. This is the last time I see you. Do not ever come back. Understand?”
If I thought it would be that easy to get rid of this trick, I was sorely mistaken. She took my words and figuratively flushed them down the toilet. She reacted as if I’d asked her to go pick out a white dress and meet me at The Little Vegas Chapel. With a confident smirk, she lifted her shirt over her head and tossed it across the floor like a veteran stripper. Her pants came next, along with her shoes. Before long, she stood before me wearing nothing but a lace thong with a matching bra. My muscled bunched beneath my suit jacket as I pondered the ramifications of shooting her between the eyes. I could make it look like an accident, swear the bitch fell on my gun and it happened to go off. It might work.