Exhaling: A Mafia Romance (The O'Keefe Family Collection Book 3) (6 page)

F
allyn stared
out the window of the hospital room she’d been admitted to. Her cheek had been cleaned and her bumps inspected, but she was being kept for observation. There were trees beyond the parking lot she stared down at without blinking. They were tall and majestic, stretching with a steadiness of life that Fallyn wished she could feel.

“Are you sure you don’t want more water?” Vince asked her.

Fallyn shook her head. “I’m alright. You should eat something. You barely touched your sandwich.”

“Not hungry. Just relieved. Still scared.” He waved his hand up and down over his torso and neck. “I’m a mess.”

Killian’s feet were kicked up on the hospital bed as he tried to make himself comfortable on the plastic chair the nurse had brought in for him. Vince had the comfortable recliner, and looked like he needed every ounce of ease he could grasp. Killian examined the bags under Vince’s eyes and the way he anticipated Fallyn’s every need. Vince even had Angelo bring a bag with her pajamas, her pillow and a few comforts from their home for her.

Killian watched a great many things from his plastic chair that night. Angelo had hugged Fallyn, causing her to weep afresh on his shoulder. The oversized thug had kissed her unmarked cheek and vowed to have the locks changed first thing in the morning. Killian had never seen Angelo hug another human being before, much less soften as he did around her.

Killian watched Vince fluff and reposition her pillow every time Fallyn shifted like she might be getting uncomfortable. He’d rubbed her feet, held her hand and pressed his palm to her belly to reassure himself that their baby was still safe, and Fallyn was still his. Killian was quiet while Vince pledged over and over that he would do a better job of keeping her safe.

It was hard to watch through his filter of wanting to beat on Vince and put a protective bubble around Fallyn, but Killian saw the shift he never thought he would in Vince. She had softened him behind closed doors, and try as he might, Killian could not ignore that Vince was good to Fallyn.

Killian watched his sister’s eyes flutter shut, and listened as her breathing leveled off before speaking in low tones to Vince. “How’re you holding up? Do you want me to pick up some food?”

Vince shook his head. “I’m not hungry.” He was leaning forward on his recliner, elbows on his knees and chin resting on his fingers. When he spoke, he kept his eyes on Fallyn, his voice far off. “I’m afraid to leave her. When she goes to the bakery, I’m on edge all day long until she comes home. I don’t know how to keep her safe without smothering her. I mean, this mess happened under my roof while I was asleep!”

Killian mulled this over. “I can stop by more often, or the guys and I can start taking shifts like we used to. She doesn’t look at neighborhoods and see the danger, she only sees the possibility. Sweet, but not the safest. The thing is, you have to be okay with us doing that.”

Vince closed his eyes. “I’ll take what help I can get.” His eyes opened and flicked toward Killian. “You shouldn’t have kept her from me like you did when you all thought Declan was right. Like it or not, she’s my wife now.”

“Fair enough. I’ll see to it that doesn’t happen again.” Killian shifted his feet that were propped up on Fallyn’s bedside. “While we’re setting things straight, you shouldn’t have run off and eloped with our only sister. You had to know that would go over badly.”

“You would’ve given your blessing? You would’ve stood aside and let us be together?” Vince scoffed. “I’ve seen you all in action. I wasn’t going to stand by and let your family rip us apart. Fallyn deserves to be happy. I might not, but I’m trying to deserve it. Trying to deserve her.”

Killian nodded once, his hands resting across his stomach. “Fair enough. I can make my peace with all of it, but it’ll take some time for the others. I’ll do my best to keep an eye on everyone.”

“Not good enough,” Vince ruled, pointing to his wife. “See her? She’s in a hospital, Kill. She misses her brothers, but every time you O’Keefes get near her lately, it ends in tears or kidnapping. This baby has to make it. Fallyn has to be able to rest. Do you think she can do that with Seamus and his temper? Carrigan and his stupid vendetta? Handle it better than this. Think about what she needs, and then bend over backwards to make sure she gets it.”

Killian studied Vince as he watch Fallyn breathe. “You really love her? You’re not just using her to stir something up?”

Vince guffawed and buried his head in his hands. “Why would I go to such great lengths to try and make our sides work together if I was going to use her? There are at least a hundred easier ways to piss you all off that don’t involve a month-long trip to Italy and moving an O’Keefe into my house.” He turned to look Killian in the eye, making sure the man could see there was no falsity in him. “Kill, not for nothing, I love Fallyn. Never been so in over my head, buried in borderline obsession as I am with this one. I’m so in love, I’m closing down businesses I don’t think she’ll approve of at the risk she might get upset. I’m finally learning to delegate to Tony, Angelo and Joey so I can spend more time with her.” He sat back in his recliner. “When she told me she was pregnant? It was like everything shifted. I was committed before, but now? Like I said, borderline obsession. I didn’t know it would feel like this. Be glad you never had a kid. People like you and me don’t do this sort of thing gracefully.”

Rubbing his hand down his face, Killian sighed. “Okay, then. I believe you’re not using her. I still think she could’ve done better, but I guess
I
can do better by taking a firmer hand with the guys. Give me a few days, and we’ll set up a rotation of one of us checking in on her at the bakery every day. Give you a bit of a break.”

Vince leaned back in his chair, watching Fallyn breathe as if he thought turning away for a second might cause oxygen to cease its flow through her. “Thanks for coming. I know you didn’t want to.”

“Thanks for calling. I know you don’t want me here.”

Vince motioned to the sleeping woman. “She did it again. Got the families to get along just by existing.”

Killian waited until he was certain Fallyn was in a deep sleep before leaving Vince to his watchful night. He clapped his old enemy on the shoulder before exiting the hospital, knowing it would be a long night for the man. Despite everything, Killian finally believed that Fallyn was in good hands.

O
nce week later
, Fallyn and Vince stood on the O’Keefe family home’s front porch, desserts in hand and resolute expressions turning their faces stony. “Don’t knock yet. I’m still psyching myself up.”

Vince rubbed her back. “We don’t have to do this, you know. You can call them on the phone and tell them just fine.”

“That’s the coward’s way out. We don’t have anything to be ashamed of.”

“Then why do you look like you’re about to walk down death row? It’ll be fine, Fal. The worst that’ll happen is they’ll throw a few punches.”

She turned to stare up at her husband with a wry smile. “Oh, is that all? Just you getting hurt? Well, then that’s fine. I don’t care about you or your body or your wellbeing, so they can go to town. So long as they don’t knock over my desserts.”

Vince pressed his finger to the doorbell, squeezing Fallyn’s hand as she opened her mouth to protest. “Might as well jump into the deep end now. You’re never going to be ready for this.”

“You know me,” she mused.

“You own me,” he admitted, leading her inside when Killian opened the door for them. “Hey, Kill.”

Killian shook Vince’s hand, leaning in to kiss both his cheeks, setting a precedent for the others that Vince was not to be harmed. “Good to see you both. Come on in. We’re just getting the food on the table.” Killian led them into the dining room, taking his usual seat at the foot of the table and motioning for Vince to sit to his right with Fallyn. There was more protection next to Killian, and as blasé as Vince was about an attack from the O’Keefe boys, they significantly outnumbered him.

Declan handed his sister a beer and peeled back the foil on the serving trays Killian had brought from his restaurant for the family dinner, but no one started serving themselves. They each glared at Vince with varying degrees of hatred.

Killian cleared his throat to garner everyone’s attention. “Vince is here as my guest, and you’ll all make peace with it. He’s our brother-in-law now, so like it or not, he stays. In fact, he just became the most well-guarded D’Amato ever, because Fallyn picked him to marry. He’s an O’Keefe now, so deal with it.”

Seamus scoffed. “He’s not an O’Keefe. He
stole
an O’Keefe. Not the same thing, Kill.”

Killian turned to stare at Seamus, who shrank visibly, despite his bravado. “Fallyn has every right to get married. We don’t have to like it, but she’s an equal part of our family, isn’t she? Do you want us picking out your girlfriends, Seamus?” He raised an eyebrow at Seamus’ blanch. “That would actually bring the quality of the girls you see up a few notches, I think.” Killian took a drink of his beer, wishing his father was doing more to back him up than sitting at the table and staring vacantly at his fingernails. “Fallyn comes with Vince now. Any of you touches a hair on his head, you’ll have me to answer to.”

Finn’s scowl grew more pronounced the more Killian spoke. “You’re switching sides, too? You’re a D’Amato now? Where’s your family loyalty?”

“Where’s yours?” Killian countered. “Fallyn’s our family, and we didn’t stand by her when she got married.”

“We weren’t invited!” Danny jabbed, glowering at Vince.

Fallyn stood, having had enough of the bickering she had hoped Killian would have taken care of before they arrived. “That’s right. None of you wanted us together or even congratulated me when I told you I got engaged, so I got married without you. Is that how you wanted things to go? You can’t control me. You can help and be nice, but you can’t treat me like your kid anymore. I’ve got equal rights in this family, so get on board. I’m married. If I come over, I’m bringing Vince. If he wants to bring any of the other D’Amatos with him, you’ll all be cool.” She slapped her hand on the table. “We were one family before our parents split us all up. This is a step toward putting things right, back to how they should’ve been in the first place.” She postured when Carrigan tried to interrupt her. “My husband worked his fingers bloody trying to get the drug trade out of his territory. My husband is good to me. He loves me and makes sure he’s there for me before I can think to need a thing. My husband is trying every day to be a good man and clean up Papa D’s mistakes.”

“Stop calling him your husband!” Finn bellowed.

Fallyn ignored Finn. “Like it or not, legally he’s your new brother. Deal with him or bail on me, but do it now. I won’t have you biding your time and waiting till my back’s turned to beat on him or try to break us up. I’m telling you right now, if anything happens to Vince by means of an O’Keefe doing what he shouldn’t be doing, I’m out. I’ll move so quick, you won’t know what hit you. I can run the bakery remotely, and I won’t hesitate to leave with no forwarding address. In or out, guys.”

Vince stood next to his wife, his face its usual unaffected cool. “I’m not leaving Fallyn, no matter what you do or say. I don’t care if you like me, but I care if you put stress on my wife and tear her in two. It ends tonight. Love her or don’t, but if you decide you don’t, then leave us alone.”

There was mumbling, then grumbling, then anger, and then silence as they all took a few minutes to ponder their choices.

“You know I’m in,” Killian offered. “I don’t like it, but I’ll make my peace with it.”

Carrigan stood, fists pressed to the table, head down. His arms were tensed as he tried to force out the words he didn’t feel. “If this is what you want, I won’t get in the way. I tried already, and it didn’t work.” He raised his head to glare at Vince. “I hate you more than anyone in my life right now, but I won’t try to mess you up anymore. If you make my sister happy, I’ll back off.” He pointed his finger in a threat at Vince. “But if she so much as frowns when she talks about you, I’m coming with my gun loaded.”

Vince leaned forward, his arms crossed. A mildly amused look of pleasure crossed his face at the challenge. “Same goes for you, sweetheart.”

Fallyn banged her fist on the table. “No! Not good enough, either of you. All the way in, or all the way out. Try harder!”

Declan stood next to Carrigan. “I’m in. What Killian said. I don’t like it, but I can be cool. And I am sorry I messed you up so bad with the whole…” He glanced guiltily at his father. “With the whole Papa D thing.”

Danny stood, offering his reluctant blessing. Seamus threw in his hat with a glib, “I can deal. Congratulations, Fallyn. Way to marry up, Vince.”

Finn raised his beer to salute the couple, knowing it was the best he could do under the present circumstances. “Here’s hoping in a month we don’t hate Vince this much.”

“I’m not toasting to that,” Fallyn protested, indignant. “You can all do better. I watched Carrigan fail his police academy test and helped him study for the retake for weeks. I stood by Seamus when he got that DUI and went with him to the court-appointed therapy. I held Danny’s hand when he broke up with that whore Elizabeth. She was disgusting! I got rid of her without anyone else having to get involved. I waited on Declan hand and foot when he broke his leg that one time he mouthed off to Angelo. I bailed Finn out when he got in deep with his poker habit. I helped Killian run the numbers when he was lost, in over his head, and couldn’t figure out why our territory was suffering. I’ve stood by all of you and never called you out on any of that stuff until right now. If I can love you and hold your hands and stand with you when you were in the crap, then you can be happy for me on the best decision of my life.”

Carrigan pressed his lips together, chagrinned to have his shortcomings announced. “Fine. Congratulations to the both of you on your wedding.” He watched his sister’s face split into a hopeful grin, and realized that for all the anger he had toward Vince, none of it was as satisfying as seeing his sister with a smile. He raised his beer with his brothers in salute, clanging his bottle to Declan’s. Then he reached across the table and dinged the lip of his bottle to Fallyn’s beer in cheers.

When Fallyn brought the beverage to her lips, Vince and Killian protested and reached for the bottle as if in slow motion. “No!”

The brothers cranked their necks to stare at Killian in confusion, wondering why he was protesting the best toast Fallyn was going to get. Fallyn rolled her eyes and set her beer down. “I wasn’t actually going to drink any,” she assured Killian and Vince with a sigh. “Might as well tell you all now before Killian and Vince both have strokes. Vince and I are pregnant.” She held up her hands to stave off the accusations. “We got pregnant on our honeymoon. Doctor confirmed.”

The outrage was quickly replaced with flabbergast, which was then swept away by shouts of joy and celebration after the death threats on Vince reached a crescendo. “You’re pregnant?! I call godfather!”

“I call favorite uncle!”

Fallyn was squeezed in tight hugs and Vince was actually clapped on the back in congratulations by the brothers. Everything was the happiest kind of chaos. Vince was able to relax when they finally sat down to eat dinner, chuckling at the ridiculous demands the brothers had on Fallyn’s safety.

Fallyn sat back in her seat, tucked into her husband’s side. A contented smile brushed color onto her face. The hugs had been so exuberant and the excitement so high that no one had noticed when Fallyn plucked a few strands of hair from her father’s head when she got up to hug him, tucking them in a napkin in her pocket for later.