“Hmm, I’d like to think I were more than beautiful.” Dean chuckles and kisses the top of my head.
I lift my head and look up at him to find his eyes alight with pure happiness.
“That you are but I’m not going to boost your ego more than it already is,” I giggle.
“Minx.” His fingers at my waist start tickling me and I wiggle trying to get away.
“Oh my God, stop,” I say, unable to stop my laughter as Dean continues to tickle me.
“Not a chance, sweetness, love hearing your laugh,” he snorts and pulls me into his arms. “I intend to hear that sound every day, mo chuisle.”
My heart skips a beat at his words and I give him a smile. I love that he says this. I just hope and pray that he’ll be able to keep his word. With Kean still out there somewhere a large part of me fears he’ll come for me. He didn’t see the hatred burning in the man’s gaze as I did when I shot him.
I’ll fear for not only my life but Dean’s and the rest of my family’s until Kean’s taken out. I’ve had time to come to terms with this part of our world. I might not have wanted to be a part of it, yet here I am. I’m the daughter of the Boss and now the wife of a man who’s in charge of all of the East Coast.
Taking my place in this life is going to take some time getting used to but seeing the adoration in Dean’s eyes gives me a reason to do so. How I could have wanted to run from him is baffling. I’m grateful he stopped me from leaving. Who knows what could have happened to me. If Kean gets his hands on me all bets are off and I’m dead, I know it.
But I trust Dean to keep me safe. I’m willing to trust him because I can feel it now. What we share is meant to be and not us lusting for each other.
Chapter 17
Dean
“You have anything?” I ask, holding the phone to my ear. My eyes shift to the door to see my wife coming into my office. Bridget gives me a smile and steps over to her desk off to the side of mine and takes her seat. A blush tinting her cheeks.
I frown at her for not coming over to me first. For the past two months every time she’s stepped through the door Bridget’s come in and kissed me. Didn’t matter if I had someone in here or if I were on the phone. What the hell is up with that shit?
“No, I’m sorry but it’s as if the man has completely vanished into thin air,” Marc mutters on the other end of the line. Marc is one of my best men for tracking down men and information. He’s also my cousin on my mother’s side.
“Shit,” I mutter, annoyed we haven’t been able to find Kean. I’d sent Marc out to find the motherfucker after a week of being home. I hadn’t told Bridget of my suspicions, but I suspect Kean is here in the States and behind some things that have shown up at the house for her. For instance, a couple of days after being home and we’d gotten shit straight between the two of us, a box filled with wilted roses showed up on the doorstep at our home. If I didn’t have one of my men watching the house, my wife would have seen them and freaked. Especially since it had a note with them stating she was being watched and to watch her back. It was typed, so we couldn’t prove it was Kean but there couldn’t be anyone else.
More dead flowers showed up and then a week ago it changed to dead animals. The fuckin’ sick piece of shit is twisted and needs a bullet between the eyes or his throat slashed.
“I’m gonna keep looking, boss man, but I would suggest we look in other directions as well. I’ve spent the last two months looking in every direction for this fucker and he’s not turning up,” Marc advises.
I take in what Marc is saying and lean back in my seat, contemplating what my next move should be. I refuse to send my wife back to Ireland to be under her father’s protection. I’m a selfish bastard and want my woman with me. Besides, if she’s there and not with me, Tomás will see it as a weakness. I have no problem admitting she means the world to me but I won’t have her seen as my weakness. She’s far from it.
Since she’s taken over at Sinner’s Cove, things have changed and I gotta admit I like it. For the most part all the women like it as well. Yeah, I took care of my employees but fuck they’re loving the changes Bridget has put into place for them.
For instance, they now have a man on the door of each cubical for when they’re giving lap dances. The charges for these dances have gone up thirty dollars and the women get the majority of it while the rest of it goes to the business to put it into the budget for their costumes and whatnot. Bridget didn’t think it was fair they had to purchase their own costumes to wear on stage. I personally didn’t care, but it seems the numbers have spiked in the last month since she’s had this initiated. So, I can’t complain.
“Yeah, go ahead and see what you can do. I want answers,” I say, my gaze roaming over my wife who’s sitting at her desk looking at something as she ignores me.
I don’t fuckin’ like this.
“You got it, boss man. I’ll get Beau and Chance in on it and have them help out, if that’s alright,” Marc says though he waits
