24. Layla

Chapter twenty-four

Layla

I saw Colt’s car waiting for us as Drew landed the helicopter. That’s good. I was going to get to the bottom of this secrecy this morning. As soon as I got out, I stomped toward the car. Colt got out and met me halfway.

“Morning, Baby. Did you have a good flight?”

“Don’t you “baby” me,” I growled. “What the fuck is going on? What was so important that you had to drive up here alone?”

Colt touched my lower back and guided me toward the wolf statue. “Do you trust me?”

I threw up my hands in frustration. “Why is that the go-to question this morning? Of course I fucking trust you. But keeping secrets from me isn’t making that easy!”

“We love you, Layla,” Colt replied, “And everything we do is for your good. I promise everything will make sense shortly. For now, just keep trusting us.” When I didn’t immediately reply, he twirled my ponytail around his fingers and tugged gently. “Ok?”

“Yes, fine,” I growled. “Why do I feel that I will be mad when I find out what’s going on?”

“Probably because you will be,” Colton admitted. “But the alternative was unthinkable.”

That didn’t make me feel better. What the hell had they done? I looked back to see Tyler walking toward Colt’s car. “Where the hell are you going?” I demanded.

“I just need a minute,” Tyler called back over his shoulder.

I looked up at Colt, and he winked at me. “You know I don’t like being in the dark,” I said.

“I do.”

“And knowing that, you still think whatever is going on requires me to remain in the dark.”

“I do.”

I sighed. “Ok. I’ll stop pushing.”

“Thank you, Hellcat,” Colt replied, kissing my cheek.

Tyler eventually joined us again, looking rather pleased with himself. Just as I thought that maybe I should march down to the car and see what the fuck is going on for myself, I heard the sound of approaching cars.

“Ok, everyone, look sharp. This could go either way at this point,” I said. “Zach, do you have the bagels?”

“Yep!” he replied, holding up a brown paper bag.

Three cars pulled into the parking lot and stopped. Men poured out of two of them, and without a word to any of us, they began to set up a little bistro table and chairs. When one of them brandished a white tablecloth, I almost snorted. I couldn’t be the only one who thought this was all a little ridiculous. A glance at my men showed that I wasn’t.

“Do you have the bagels?” one of the men finally asked.

Zach handed him the bag, and they emptied the bagels into a basket beside the coffee and placed the container of cream between the two plates they had set out. I was surprised they didn’t have a bowl to dump the cream cheese in to keep with the table’s aesthetic. When they were finished, they all backed off, and the door to the third car opened.

Seamus stepped out of the car and smiled at me. He had aged since the last time I saw him, but he was still intimidating. “Layla, wonderful to see you again,” Seamus greeted me. We shook hands, and he tugged me forward to kiss the air around my cheeks. “Shall we?” he asked, gesturing to the table.

As we sat, I saw evidence of the anger simmering beneath his cordial mask. That wasn’t good. “Since we all know why we’re here, I thought I would bring my guest.”

I straightened in my chair as he snapped his finger. A car door opened, and out stepped Anton, looking like one cocky motherfucker.

“If it isn’t the little weasel,” Zach sneered. Anton shot him a dark look, but it didn’t remove the smirk from his face. He thought he had us right where he wanted us. Unfortunately, he might be right.

“I want to make it clear that Anton is here under my protection, and I will not stand for any violence toward him,” Seamus said sternly. “Keep your men in line.”

My men weren’t the ones he should be worried about. “They won’t make a move unless I command it,” I assured him.

“Wonderful. Now that we’re on the same page, let’s eat.” Seamus picked out a bagel and made a delighted sound in his throat. “I’ll tell you, nobody makes bagels like New Jersey and New York do.”

“I certainly missed them when I was in hiding,” I agreed conversationally.

“That must have been quite the adventure,” Seamus replied. “Sean’s absence made sense when you resurfaced with him by your side.”

“He was my only lifeline,” I admitted. “If it weren’t for him, I would have been dead.”

“And now he is,” Seamus commented. His tone was light, but there were daggers in his eyes. “It almost doesn’t make sense.”

“Nothing involving Anton makes sense,” I replied.

We continued to eat in awkward silence. I wasn’t even interested in the bagel I’d chosen for myself, but I forced myself to continue to eat out of respect. I just wanted to get down to business. When Seamus finally took his last bite, he sat back and stared at me thoughtfully. I placed my bagel on the plate and waited for him to speak.

“We can both agree that the issue between you and Anton is none of my business,” he began.

I nodded. I had already said that when we spoke yesterday.

“What concerns me is your ambition. While I don’t want to make this a bigger war that involves others, I am worried that Atlantic City won’t be enough for you once you kill off the Kandicci family. How do I know you won’t set your sights on Boston next?”

“Seamus, I have no interest in Boston. My ambition ends with getting that fucker out of my city. It didn’t have to be this bloody, but Anton chose war.”

“You’ve certainly done a good job answering that call,” Seamus replied. “Sadly, I’m now involved and have to decide how to handle this.”

“But you don’t have to be,” I argued. “Anton is the coward who couldn’t handle his problems, so he had to go running to Daddy,” I sneered, shooting him a dirty look. “Oops. I guess the next best thing since Daddy’s dead. You could leave him here, walk away, and end your involvement.”

“You fucking cunt bitch!” Anton screamed, lunging for me.

Seamus’ men grabbed him before he could take two steps, but he struggled against their hold until Seamus turned and snapped at him.

“Enough!”

Anton immediately calmed down but continued to glower at me. I winked at him and enjoyed the way he clenched his jaw.

“Clever to bait him,” Seamus chuckled. “You’re right. It was cowardly of him to come to me, and perhaps I allowed myself to be manipulated into responding.”

I relaxed a little. This may fall in our favor after all.

“However, hearing the news about Sean and then about his meeting with Conor ensured my involvement,” Seamus continued coldly. All of the men tensed around us. “I’ll be honest, I don’t give a fuck about Anton, Atlantic City, or your little war. The outcome means no difference to me. However, I do care about you killing one of my men.”

“Sean was no longer your man,” I replied. “He betrayed me.”

“Which wouldn’t make him your man either, would it?” Seamus replied.

I was ready to snap at him when Colton stepped beside me and squeezed my shoulder gently.

“So, if I understand correctly, your biggest issue is Sean’s death,” he said.

“Correct,” Seamus nodded. “I can’t ignore an attack on my own. Even if it was warranted in your eyes.”

Colton nodded. “Then I think we can fix this little problem between our organizations.” I looked up at him in confusion. As he gestured toward his car, he met my eyes, and I saw so much guilt and sadness in them that it squeezed my chest.

I heard gasps and murmuring from Seamus’ men as they looked toward the car. I peeked around Colton and almost couldn’t contain my shock when I saw Sean walking toward us. What the actual fuck? He met my eyes briefly and then moved his gaze elsewhere. I looked up at Colton and then at my other guys. They had fucking lied to me. I told them to kill Sean, and they didn’t. What’s worse, they let me mourn him. They let me torture myself over his death, knowing the entire time that he was alive. Sean was alive! There was a tornado of emotions swirling inside of me, but I kept them bottled up. Now wasn’t the time to address this. Right now, I had to pretend I was in on the secret the entire time, or we might look weak, and I couldn’t have that.

“Conor!” Sean yelled. A man responded nervously seconds before Sean laid him on his ass. Had he bulked up since his “death”? When Sean turned to go after Anton next, Seamus snapped out of his shock and stopped him.

“Sean!” Seamus snapped. “He’s under my protection and I personally assured his safety, even from you.”

Sean stopped before striking Anton and came to stand beside me. He and Colt flanked me on either side. The move both surprised me and didn’t. I had never questioned Sean’s loyalty until finding out about his betrayal. Standing by my side left no question where his loyalty was.

“Seamus,” he greeted.

“Sean,” Seamus tutted. “After all this time, that’s how you address me?”

I heard a small sigh escape Sean before he said the one word that shocked me to my core.

“Dad.”

My gaze snapped to Sean’s face, but he didn’t look down at me.

“Dad?!” Zach exclaimed. “Holy fucking plot twist.” Zach began to cackle behind me.

“He’s supposed to be fucking dead!” Anton yelled.

“And yet, as you can see, he is very much alive,” I replied.

“But you killed him!”

“Obviously not,” I replied. “When I kill people, they stay dead. So don’t expect your father to have his own Jesus moment.”

“Speaking of fathers,” Drew said, “Care to explain what the fuck is happening?”

“Seamus is my stepdad. He married my mom when I was eight and raised me as his own. I asked that our relationship be kept secret so I could make a name for myself without anyone assuming everything I had was due to him,” Sean explained.

“Your mother is going to be relieved to hear you’re alive,” Seamus said. “You couldn’t have at least called her?”

“Loose lips sink ships,” Sean replied. “Isn’t that what you always told me growing up? If you have a secret you don’t want anyone to know, the only way to make sure they don’t is not to tell anyone. For reasons that aren’t your business, everyone thinking that Layla killed me was beneficial to our plans.”

Seamus nodded. “All the same, I think it’s time you come home, son. You’ve spent enough time with Layla. She has others to keep her satisfied. Your mother misses you, and you have your inheritance to prepare for. It’s time you stepped up and took your place by my side.”

“No.”

“Don’t be ungrateful,” Seamus replied gruffly. “Staying here is hardly achieving your dreams of making something of yourself—a lap dog for a woman. You were meant for more. You deserve to be running your own empire, not hers. I built it for you.”

“I don’t want it,” Sean growled, leaning down and slamming his fist on the table. “I never wanted it. And Layla isn’t just some woman. I fucking love her, and I’d follow her into the pits of hell if it meant I could stay by her side.”

“Poetic, but it wasn’t a request. You’re coming home.” Silence fell around us as if everyone was holding their breath to see what happened next.

Well fuck. I already knew what had to happen next. I may have thought I had the man killed until three minutes ago, and I might not know what the fuck I was going to do about that when this was over, but I sure as fuck wasn’t about to let anyone make him go somewhere he didn’t want to.

I stood and rested my hands on the table as I leaned forward. “This meeting is over. Sean is alive and well and coming home with me because that’s where he wants to be. I told you, he’s my man. His loyalty lies with me. If that’s an issue for you, Thanksgiving will be rather awkward.”

“You listen here, girl,” Seamus exploded as I turned to walk away.

“No! You listen here!” I yelled as I spun around and pointed my finger in his face. Guns raised on both sides at the escalation, and Anton started chuckling at the turn of events. “I have sat here quietly as you’ve talked down to me. I didn’t say anything when you all but told Sean I was some common whore and not worth his time. I’m done entertaining your nonsense. If this is your idea of a respectful meeting, next time, send me an email.”

I turned my back on him and looked at Anton. “And as for you, I suggest you run. Run as far and fast as you can. If you step foot in my city again, you will wish every night that you had run when you had the chance.”

“Fuck you,” Anton replied.

“Satisfied?” Sean asked dryly as I walked toward the chopper.

“Yes, actually,” Seamus replied with a chuckle.

My eyes narrowed as I turned back around to see the two men relatively relaxed and amused as they watched me. “What?” I asked through clenched teeth.

“Oh, man,” Zach said. “This time, she is going to kill you.”

My glare slid to Zach, and he immediately held his hands up in surrender. “He did it, not me,” Zach said quickly, pointing at Colt.

“I owe you an apology, Layla. Please, come sit back down,” Seamus beckoned. I looked at Sean with a questioning look, and he nodded. My feet were moving before my brain asked what the fuck I was doing, trusting him. I returned to my seat and looked at Seamus expectantly.

“My son obviously loves you. If he didn’t, he certainly wouldn’t agree to fake his death without letting his mother know he was ok. He wouldn’t stand by your side now against me. But whether you loved him just as much was still a question I couldn’t answer with certainty, but one I knew his mother would ask when I returned home without him. I had to test you. Push you to see if you would come to his defense, and you did, exquisitely.”

I’m sure I was supposed to feel proud that I passed his little test, but it just pissed me off more. I looked at Sean. “You knew it was all bullshit?”

“Not until he said it wasn’t a request,” Sean assured me. “Seamus has always let me walk my own path, even if he knew it would burn me. He’s always been big on making mistakes, so you learn what not to do later.”

“That explains the whore part,” I said, meeting Seamus’ eyes. “It doesn’t explain your disrespect earlier.”

“I thought you killed my son,” Seamus replied. “Can you blame me?”

I held his stare. I couldn’t, but I wasn’t about to let him know.

“Ok. You’re right. I apologize for not speaking to you as an equal. Sometimes it’s hard to remember that you kids are all grown up now and should be treated as such,” Seamus conceded.

I nodded. “Apology accepted. I assume this means we have no problems between us?”

“None. I have no business in yours, and I won’t be.”

“Then you won’t mind handing Anton over to us,” Tyler said.

“Unfortunately, that I can’t do. I promised him he would return to Boston unharmed. But once we return, Anton will be escorted to the city limits. He will not find refuge or protection in my city,” Seamus assured us.

“What the fuck? You aren’t going to help me? What good are you?! We had a deal!” Anton yelled.

Seamus walked over to him and backhanded him. “Your protection is guaranteed regarding others, not myself. I will kill you myself if I need to, so I suggest you shut your mouth.”

Anton’s face turned bright red, and not from the slap. Internally, he was raging but knew better than to act on it.

“Put him in the car,” Seamus ordered. He turned back to us and smiled warmly. “It’s been a pleasure seeing you again, Layla. I hope we will be under better circumstances the next time we meet. Perhaps that Thanksgiving you mentioned.” He moved around the table and hugged Sean. “I am very pleased you are alive and well. Hold onto her. She’s one hell of a woman.”

“Oh, I know,” Sean replied, smiling at me.

My returning smile was tight, and his slowly fell. Yeah, buddy, our problems aren’t over yet. We watched them pack up the table and chairs and drive away before anyone spoke.

“Hellcat,” Colton started.

I held up my hand to silence him as I turned to face my men. I loved them, but I had never been more angry in my life. “You have all lied to me. All of this time, you’ve been lying to me. I was suffering with my decision; you could have ended that suffering any time you pleased and didn’t!”

“You weren’t ready to hear it, Layla,” Colt replied. “I knew killing Sean would kill you. I wasn’t willing to lose you. Not again, and sure as fuck, not permanently. So we let you think he was dead and hid him away until you were ready.”

“Ready for what?” I yelled, pushing him backward as my anger bubbled over.

“Ready to accept that while killing him wasn’t a mistake, you wished you hadn’t!” Colton yelled back.

“Which you did at the safe house,” Zach added helpfully.

“Oh, well, thank the fuck for that!” I said sarcastically. “If I hadn’t, this meeting would have gone completely differently! We’d all be dead just because I wasn’t done grieving yet.”

“Layla,” Sean said, stepping toward me cautiously.

“No!” I yelled, backing away from him. “I am nowhere near ready to deal with you yet. I don’t even know how to deal with you. I’m happy you aren’t dead, Sean, but it doesn’t change the fact that you betrayed me and still need to be punished. All of you do.”

Sean hung his head and nodded. “I understand.”

“If it helps, I’ve been mentally torturing him the entire time,” Tyler said hopefully.

I glared at him. “How the fuck is that supposed to help any of this?”

“All of us?” Zach asked. “This was all Colt’s idea!”

“I wanted to tell you sooner,” Drew said.

“And yet you didn’t. What’s worse, you all thought blindsiding me with it in front of Seamus and Anton was the way to do it. You could have told me last night or this morning. When you knew we needed him to get out of this mess with Boston, you should have told me he was alive, and you didn’t.” I shook my head and walked away from them toward Colt’s car.

“Where are you going, Layla,” Tyler asked.

“Home! The long way around! Before I do something I fucking regret and hurt you.”

“Do you think that’s safe?” Drew asked as they followed me. “Let one of us come with you. We’ll stay quiet.”

“Not a fucking chance. I need to be alone,” I replied, swinging the car door open.

“Hellcat,” Colt said cautiously.

“No, Colt! You can’t fake everyone’s death!”

“You’re going to need these,” he replied quietly.

I turned around to see the car keys dangling from his finger. I snatched them from him. “Thanks,” I said reluctantly.

“Be safe,” he replied.

I nodded as I got in the car. They smartly moved out of the way as I revved the engine. Stupid fucking men! I peeled out of the clearing, fishtailing slightly. I tried not to, but my eyes still found them watching me leave in the rearview mirror. Assholes. I was still mad when I hit the highway, but some of my rage had cooled off.

Once my head was clearer, I did what any woman in my position would do. I called my best friends.

“You’ll never guess what those bastards did!” I said when I had Brandi, Monika, and Kadence on the phone. “They faked Sean’s death!”

I expected outrage and shock. I didn’t expect the silence that followed.

“Noo,” I groaned. “Please tell me my best friends didn’t know. That you didn’t choose to go along with their hair-brained plan.”

“Colt brought us to their old apartment to show us he was still alive after we saw you the last time,” Monika admitted.

“If it helps, we beat the shit out of Sean when we saw him,” Kadence said.

“Why does everyone think hearing about the shit they did to Sean will make it better?” I asked. “I thought I murdered someone that I loved. How could you not tell me? Can I trust anyone anymore?”

“Hey, now!” Brandi snapped. “You knock that shit off right now. Just because we made decisions you disagree with for your own good doesn’t mean you can’t trust us! You didn’t see yourself. How bad off you were. If it were one of us in your shoes, you would have done the same fucking thing that we did. While we didn’t agree with their decision to fake Sean’s death, we did agree that you weren’t ready for him to be alive yet.”

“We love you, Pumpkin,” Monika said. “Your men love you. Everyone was trying to make a shitty situation better the best we could. You needed to get your head back on right and realize that you were mourning the man, not your decision before you could entertain a living, breathing Sean.”

“Now that the secret is out, how will you make them pay for what they did?” Kadence asked.

“I don’t know yet,” I growled.

“Where are you?” Brandi asked.

“Driving home from Connecticut. I left them to take the helicopter. I needed some space.”

“Why the fuck were you in Connecticut?” Monika asked.

“Ha! Just wait until you hear this shit.” I filled them in on the latest events as I drove.

“Jesus, you’ve been busy,” Monika said when I finished telling them the story.

“And you never knew Sean’s stepdad was Seamus?” Kadence asked.

“Nope. Never had a fucking clue,” I replied.

“I guess it makes sense in hindsight that he had Sean escort you around Boston,” Brandi said. “Who else but his son would he trust with Joseph Romano’s young daughter?”

“That’s true,” I replied. A billboard caught my eye, advertising the “biggest XXX emporium in the northeast.” I was pretty sure they and a whole bunch of other stores like them boasted the same thing, but it gave me an idea. “Hey, I gotta go. I’ll talk to you guys later.” I hung up as I took the exit and followed the signs to the adult store. I grinned as I clicked the lock on the car and strolled inside the store.

To their credit, I’d never been in a larger adult store, not that I frequented them. It was like the big box store of sex. I was standing just inside the door, taking it all in and trying to decide where to start, when a perky blue-haired woman with a face full of piercings and some pretty sick ink bounced over to me. “Can I help you?”

“Yes. I need five cock cages,” I grinned.

She returned my grin quickly. “Follow me,” she replied, wagging her eyebrows.

“Also, do you offer gift wrapping?”