Chapter 40

Savina~

Though Aurelio kept trying to reassure me, I still felt uneasy about how Stewart had accepted our deal so easily. Politicians were nothing if not methodical, so his easy acquiescence last night could have been due to being blindsided by what we'd told him. However, given a few days to think about it, it was possible that he could still approach the Irish or Russians for help. It was also possible that he could recruit the entire police force to set me up or take Aurelio down just to make me suffer.

Honestly, I wasn't sure if I'd ever feel any real sense of security as long as Stewart was alive. As dramatic as it sounded, grief could turn whatever dormant evil that Stewart had in him into a full-blown monster. After all, Stewart had helped Ashton set this all up, so there was no denying that Stewart Oliver had some evil in him. It really was just a matter of how much and how strong it was.

Nonetheless, his public statement had helped me immensely. With everyone willing to do his bidding, so far, no one was refuting his claims that Ashton's death had been an unfortunate accident, not even Brandon. While the details of the fireplace poker were public, the murder had been spun to make it seem like some vague moments gone wrong. While a few people were speculating and throwing out their own conspiracies about what had happened, most people were treating me with sympathy, crooning on about losing my fiancé so tragically.

Luckily for me, Aurelio had agreed that I needed to play my part to sell the image of innocence, so he had allowed me to quit my job and clean out my office without his presence. However, his compromise had been to send a Sartori guard with me, posing as my ‘driver'. After all, with the press covering Ashton's death like they were, it wasn't unreasonable that I'd have someone with me to protect me from the vultures that were the media. My compromise had been that he'd act like a driver only and stay by the car while I got my stuff. Though I had worked at Coleman's for years, I hadn't accumulated enough clutter for my resignation to be such a chore, so the referrals for my current clients had really been the biggest obstacle to tackle.

As I carried the last of my boxes out of my office, I waved one final time to my co-workers, telling them goodbye and wishing them well. When I exited the building, Stefano was quick to make his way over, taking another box from me, putting it in the trunk along with the other two loads. Aurelio still had to assign me a guard, and I wondered if Stefano was going to be it. He seemed capable enough, and he didn't feel like a daunting presence that could potentially weigh me down.

"That's the last of it," I told him.

He gave me a terse nod, then immediately straightened, his eyes sharpening at something behind me. When I turned to get a look at what had put him on edge, I saw Declan freakin' O'Brien walking our way, a smile on that ridiculously gorgeous face of his. Though tall, dark, and handsome was what did it for me, there was no denying that Declan O'Brien's fair looks deserved a second glance, if not seventeen of them. He kind of reminded me of Dima Gornovskyi, and his confidence upped his sexiness a few notches above the rest.

"Ms. Valentine-"

"It's okay, Stefano," I quickly said. "We're on his territory, so…let's just…let's see what he's doing here and what he has to say."

"Mr. Provenza isn't going to like this," Stefano muttered.

"Aurelio doesn't like a lot of things," I retorted.

When Declan was close enough, he said, "Good day to you both."

"Mr. O'Brien," I said evenly, greeting him reluctantly.

His blue eyes slid Stefano's way. "I need a moment with Ms. Valentine," he said. "So, we're going to step over here while you call Provenza to let him know that I'm speaking with his lass.."

I turned back towards Stefano again. "It's okay," I assured him. "We're in public, and anyone in the building can look outside and see us."

"Aye, you wound me, lassie," Declan drawled out dramatically. "I'd never hurt ye."

My eye slid his way, and while I wasn't sure if the accent was real or not, it came with a whole lot of charm that would definitely work on a lesser woman. Apart from the obvious, I knew nothing about Declan O'Brien, so I had no idea if he was a native Irishman or not, but I imagined that if he wasn't a bred and born American, then the cops would have been able to get rid of him ages ago.

Stepping away from Stefano, Declan joined me until we were a few feet away. With my heart pounding in my chest, I asked, "What can I help you with, Mr. O'Brien?"

He smirked at my straightforwardness. "Ms. Valentine, I've always known who you were and that you were in my territory," he said, surprising me. "However, once it was clear that none of the Sartoris were going to come after you, I let you be. You didn't seem like a threat, and once you started dating Ashton Oliver, it seemed as if you'd really left your old life behind."

"Aurelio's under the impression that you never knew who I was," I replied, Aurelio having told me about his conversations with Declan when this had all started.

He grinned again. "I'd been testing Sartori and Provenza with that misdirection," he admitted. "I'd wanted to see if they were lying before I let them roam freely in my territory."

"I'm still not sure what you're doing here, Mr. O'Brien," I said.

"Ashton Oliver was a piece of shit," he said, surprising me again. "He and Cooper Donaldson are rather sadistic, and they like to rough up the working girls."

My head reared back in shock. "Wha…what?"

"Money corrupts, Ms. Valentine," he stated. "And when you combine that money with power, then you get men like Ashton Oliver and Cooper Donaldson."

I cleared my throat a bit, choosing my words carefully. "If…if you're aware of this, then why do you allow them to live here…uhm, operate here?"

"While my hands are dirty enough, I prefer to have proof before I kill someone just for existing," he answered. "I detest Cooper Donaldson, but no one is willing to talk, and he's too high-profile for me to just off without drawing any attention."

"I…I still don't understand what that has to do with me," I stammered a bit.

"You killed Donaldson's partner in crime, Ms. Valentine," he said evenly. "I'd like to thank you for that small consolation."

That had me rearing my head back again. "I killed Ashton in self-defense," I lied, sticking with my story, not knowing Declan O'Brien well enough to trust him with any slice of the truth.

"Yeah, so it seems," he murmured, his keen blue eyes regarding me carefully, letting me know that he wasn't buying any of my bullshit.

Nevertheless, if it wasn't for this man, I couldn't be sure if I'd be standing here today. Everyone knew the rules, and for all intents and purposes, those rules were followed to prevent a war that neither three organizations wanted to deal with. At the end of the day, it was all about money, and a war would cost them a lot of that money before the dust settled.

"Actually, since we're on the subject," I said. "It's actually me who should be thanking you."

He arched a brow. "For what?"

"For allowing Aurelio and Nero to do what they had to in order to help me," I answered. "We both know that this could have ended differently if you hadn't granted them that small measure."

"Lass, your thanks is unnecessary," he said. "If there's one thing that I despise, it's violence against innocent women."

"Mr. O'Brien?"

"Yes?"

"Is your accent real?" I asked, not being able to help myself.

The gorgeous man smiled wide. "Only when I'm angry."

"So, you're angry now?"

"Nah," he answered as he shook his head. "I'm just trying to charm you."

My lips twitched, and the rules dictated that I shouldn't like Declan O'Brien, but I was finding out that he really was a lot more charming than I had originally given him credit for. It was easy to hate the enemy when you were raised to hate them, even without actually knowing them, but my opinion of Declan was quickly becoming complicated as he talked to me not like the enemy.

"Well, I'm not easily charmed, Mr. O'Brien," I semi-lied.

After giving me a quick wink, he straightened to his full height, then got serious. "Tell Provenza that I'll be taking care of Congressman Oliver."

"Wait…what?"

"You're safe, Ms. Valentine," he said, making my heart skip a beat. "Tell the Sartoris that I'll be cleaning up the remaining mess since this is my territory."

"But…but I thought they were giving you-"

"They've given me more than enough on the family, so it's my turn now," he said, and with that, he walked away, making me wonder just who in the hell Declan O'Brien was.