Worcester Nights - The Boxed Set (28 page)

“Absolutely!” He waved a hand, and in a moment a waiter was at his side, replacing her half-full glass with a fresh one.

There was a murmur from the side of the room, and I turned toward the door in curiosity. My eyes drew to the figure there – and then I stopped in surprise.

Eileen stood there, a black pea coat draped down her body, her mouth open in shock.

Jimmy gave a gargled exclamation. Sean glanced at me in concern, and I knew I had to do something. I rose and half-raced to her, arranging my face to hold a bright look of welcome. “Eileen! It’s wonderful to see you! I thought you were going to stay in Ireland through the holidays!”

She continued to sweep her eyes down the cascading, twinkling lights, to the elegant tables with their Riedel glassware, as if she couldn’t believe the room was real. “Kate, what is going on?”

I pulled her into a warm hug. “Just a little party for Sean. Nothing important.”

Sean had come up to us and I could see the tension glinting behind the friendly smile.

Eileen’s eyes brightened with interest, and she drew a long gaze down Sean’s well-defined muscles encased in the crisp tuxedo. “And just who is this?”

I chuckled, tucking an arm in on his. “This is Sean, my boyfriend. Sean, meet Eileen.”

He put out a hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Eileen. Kay has told me so much about you.”

Her eyes drank him in. “Well, she hasn’t told me anything at
all
about you, so maybe I’ll just have to sit with you and hear every last detail.” She looked up again, and her gaze grew eager. “But is Jimmy here?”

Her eyes drew to the table where he sat. Her brow furrowed as she took in first Bridgit on one side, then Jessica on the other.

I quickly twined my fingers into hers. “Eileen, maybe I should take you home. Now’s not really the best time to have a serious conversation.”

She looked over the rest of the table. “The Bostonians are here, and that lecher from Hartford too. Who are they planning on exterminating this time? Last time it was those bastard Lithuanians running drugs out of New Britain. I think there were thirty bodies by the time they finished up. Good riddance.”

I blinked in surprise, my mouth hanging open in shock. “What?”

She gave herself a shake. “C’mon, I want to hear what kind of an action they’re planning. I think I deserve it, after all I’ve been through.” She waved a hand at a passing waiter. “You, there, set up another seat and place setting between me and these two.” She smiled up at Sean. “I want to get to know you a bit better.” She shot a heated glance toward Jimmy. “And, Kate, I think you and I have some catching up.”

I gave it one last try. “Eileen, wouldn’t it be much more fun if you and I went out and –”

She was already sliding into the chair and taking off her coat, draping it back over her seat. Beneath she wore a shimmering gold top over worn jeans. “See, I fit right in,” she stated calmly. She looked up as the waiter laid down the plateware before her. “And some of that Champagne, too,” she stated. Then her shoulders sagged. “Damn. Never mind, water will be fine for me.”

Sean looked across her at me, and I gave a soft shrug. To try to drag her out would be even worse, and it seemed she had no qualms about the discussion that was about to come. Our best bet might be to ride this out with her.

I pulled my chair forward so I blocked her view of Jimmy and Jessica. I leant forward to talk with Eileen in a low voice. “Eileen, I know you’ve come home into a chaotic situation here. But remember your focus.” I glanced down at her abdomen. “Remember what really matters.”

She rubbed a hand along her belly, and a crafty smile came to her lips. “You’re right, of course. I do hold all the cards, don’t I. I’ll just enjoy my meal, and then tomorrow when we have our little talk, we’ll see what happens.” She turned to gaze over to Sean. “In the meantime, why don’t you tell me …”

Her flirtatious conversation went on while the salad course was brought. The flavors were delicious, with pine nuts and a fresh raspberry vinaigrette. By the time the filet mignon was presented with its béarnaise sauce, I had half-forgotten the serious undertones of this evening, along with the dangerous combination of Jimmy’s flirtations on my right and Eileen’s honed readiness on my left. None of it mattered. The cabernet was stunning. The steak was perfectly cooked.

I turned to look past Eileen at Sean. “Maybe we could get in just a little dancing later on?”

His mouth quirked up in a smile, and his gaze drew down my dress. “We’ll see,” he murmured. “There might be one or two songs before the caterers arrive.”

Eileen’s gaze brightened, and she leaned against Sean’s arm. “You’ll have to dance with me, too! I’m Kate’s best friend, you know.”

On my other side, Jessica was leaning against Jimmy, batting her eyes up to him, and her voice had a slight slur to it. “Ya know, Jimsy, maybe we could do one of those movies, after all. It sounds like fun. All my friends are taking selfies and posting them on the web. I’d show them! Mine would blow theirs out of the water.”

Jimmy’s eyes gleamed, and he pulled her in against him. “Absolutely, you would beat them by a mile,” he vowed. They’d never compare with you. You’d be queen of the school!”

Her gaze went vacant. “Queen of the schhooool …”

The waiters were behind us, taking away our empty plates, and Jimmy scowled as he had to temporarily separate from her. Then the desserts were laid down – a coconut
crème brûlée
with chocolate shavings on top. A dollop of whipped cream sat in the center.

Jessica’s eyes lit up, and she traced her finger through the whipped cream, gathering up a burst of it. She giggled, then wiggled it in the air. She turned her eyes to Jimmy. “What do you think, should I do my selfie naked, only covered in whipped cream?”

Jimmy looked as if he’d fall out of his seat. He nodded eagerly. “That’s exactly right,” he murmured. “Just you and the whipped cream. Just like that album cover for Herb Albert’s band.”

Her nose wrinkled. “What’s an album?”

Jimmy sighed, shaking his head. “Never mind, sweetie. You’ll find out later on, when this party is all over with. I have the back room all set up for you.”

I turned to Sean and gave him a nod. While he couldn’t hear their conversation, the look in his eyes indicated he had a sense that the tone was exactly what we needed. One of the light garlands streamed immediately over our table, and I had no doubt it was picking up every word. Jimmy’s fate was being sealed, one whipped cream dollop at a time.

There was a movement, and I glanced over. Seamus stood up from the table, moving with steady intention over to the stage. He stood before the microphone, and the room quieted down of its own accord. He looked out over the guests.

“I want to thank everyone for coming together. Let’s start with a round of applause for our chefs and servers.” The room filled with enthusiastic clapping and cheers, and the black-suited men and women bowed from the back of the room.

One of the soldiers escorted all of the waitstaff out of the room, and there was a pause for a moment. At last he came back and gave a thumbs-up signal to Seamus.

Seamus took the microphone up in one hand, and his voice became serious. “Every person in this room is hand-picked. Trusted. You are our core. I wanted to do this face to face, with all of us here, so there’d be no confusion. No issues. We start this as a team, we end it as a team.”

There were murmurs of agreement.

He drew his gaze from table to table, his eyes hard. “You’ve heard what the Cubans did to us. How they disrespected our organization.” He waved a hand to me. “Katie, stand up.”

I blushed, but I did as I was asked. Eileen looked up at me in confusion, but held quiet.

Seamus’s voice added an edge. “This is the woman they kidnapped and abused. She was completely innocent.” His eyes darkened. “If we hadn’t gotten to her in time, they would have violated her.”

The grumbles and growls rolled around the room, echoing off the brick walls. Eileen’s mouth opened in shock, and then she banged a clenched fist on the table. “Those bastards! They’re going to pay for that!”

Seamus chuckled. “Indeed they shall, Eileen. Glad to have your feisty spirit back with us.”

I regained my seat, and Seamus went on. “Those Cubes had spies within this very building. They are trying to negotiate to take half of our earnings. They’re looking to castrate us, and then take over completely.” His voice dropped. “I say we end this now.”

The silver-clad woman across from me nodded in agreement. “They’re like cockroaches down in Providence. Think they deserve a piece of all the shipping trade. We’ve wanted to squash them for years.”

The black man by Sean had a tense line in his brow. “They’re pretty well entrenched in Boston.”

Seamus held his gaze. “So entrenched that, if we pooled our resources, we couldn’t carve them out?”

The black man shook his head. “It’ll just be messy. We’ll probably have to put down fifty, maybe sixty of them to get them fully out.”

Seamus nodded. “We have the guns. We have the men.” He looked around the room. “Do we have the will to use them?”

A wave of nods moved around the room, and Seamus looked back to the head table. “You four share the final say. Are we in agreement, then?”

The four firmly nodded.

Seamus looked out at the room. “Let me make this clear. Nothing in email or texts. Nothing over the phone. All face to face, like we’re doing tonight. We want this done as cleanly as possible.”

I glanced at Sean, and my eyes flicked toward the lights.

The corner of his mouth quirked up in a smile.

Seamus waved a hand toward Sean. “Now, for the ceremony.”

Sean nodded his head to me. “I’ll be right back,” he murmured. Then he stood. Jimmy went with him up onto the stage, and escorted Sean around to stand before Seamus.

Bridgit slid over a chair to sit next to Jessica, and she leaned past the girl to speak to me. “You’ll remember this night forever,” she assured me. “A promotion like this doesn’t come around often.”

Eileen looked up in interest. “A promotion? He’s being made a captain?” She nudged me in the ribs. “You lucky girl! He’s quite a catch.”

I grinned, a warmth washing through me.

She had no idea.

I looked up at Sean, and he was gazing at me, a smile on his lips. He brought one hand to the edge of his tie, tracing his finger along its edge.

I remembered viscerally how he had held me before the array of mirrors in the dressing room, how I had worn this very dress, how my breasts had pressed out against the fabric. How his fingers had slid down my slick opening …

I held in the moan, crossing my legs, and his eyes gleamed.

Seamus held out his hand. “Sean, kneel.”

Sean knelt before him, and Jimmy stood to one side. All eyes in the room were focused on the trio.

Seamus continued to hold his hand before Sean, the gold rings glistening in the light. “Sean Miller, do you solemnly swear to cast aside all other loyalties, and to put –”

There was a commotion from the loading dock area, and I blinked in surprise. This was too soon. They shouldn’t be coming in for another half hour, at least. When everyone was relaxed, dancing, and off guard. Not when every man in the room was reaching his hand for his hip, the back of his waist, beneath his jacket …

A stream of men came in from the back doors, their faces set, their eyes aglow. They wore jeans and muscle shirts, and carried a mix of handguns and larger weapons.

The Most Interesting Man in the World came through an opening in the center of his group, smiling in satisfaction, his eyes taking in the scene. Behind him, the weapons were raised and aimed. His voice rang out across the silent hall.

“And now, my friends, I think it’s time to say good-bye.”

Book 4: Stop One Heart from Breaking

Chapter 1

If I can stop one Heart from breaking

I shall not live in vain

If I can ease one Life the Aching

Or cool one Pain

Or help one fainting Robin

Unto his Nest again

I shall not live in Vain.

-- Emily Dickinson

T
he Cubans held the room at gunpoint.

My mind detached from the scene, rising above it, and the actors beneath me held still in a quiet tableau. I had been to the reenactments of the Battle of Lexington several times, to the face-off between colonial militia and British soldiers. The line of men, face to face; the tense situation which had – with one shot – launched the American Revolution.

It had always seemed quaint to me. A group of boys playing; a situation from which any sane person could simply have turned and walked away.

I realized now how wildly wrong my thoughts had been.

The men – and a few women – in this room were not just attentive. They were not just engaged. They were viscerally connected to each other in a manner I had never imagined possible. I was somehow aware of every movement, every sound, in a way which seemed supernatural and almost prescient. I knew Sean was torn between an overwhelming urge to leap before me and a desperate realization that staying still might keep the onslaught from beginning. Eileen’s hand was curling around the stem of my wine glass, apparently ready to turn it into a weapon edged with shards of glass.