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The Tessarae Inn |
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The
Son Also Rises
CHAPTER
3 The only light on in the office was on his desk. It was late and Todd knew no one was in earshot but he still had a sense of foreboding as if what he was about to do amounted to pointing a loaded gun at his own head. Nothing had been the way he expected it to be when he came back. Nothing. Still he made his decision and stuck to it. Not once had he questioned it even when in hindsight he realized that it would have tempered his rage. He rubbed his forehead then checked the slip of paper and dialed the phone. “It’s me.” “I’ve been expecting you to ring me.” “What happened?” “She had enemies. There was an accident except we don’t believe there was anything accidental about it. It was her way. She died the way she lived it.” “Patrick Mahoney is not lying to me then, is he?” “The boy is yours. Now, what you want to do about that is your decision but there is no longer a place for him here.” “Frank?” “Is ailing or he never would have let Patrick bring him. I suspect you know that. It’s his flesh and blood despite what happened. He never saw it otherwise but I think he fears leaving him to me or Patrick.” “Things are that bad?” “It’s life’s cycle. It’s the way of things.” “What are you asking of me?” “Do right by the boy, however you see that to be. My sister is gone. My father is leaving. I dare not think of what is to become of me. That child is the only piece of family I got left but I can’t be responsible for him.” “This was never part of the deal.” “Neither fools nor wise men believe in forever. Why do the rest of us?” “This was not supposed to happen.” “Look, stop trying to change it by thinking of it as something it wasn’t. It was always about her. She’s gone.” “I’m not sure if I can take care of him.” “I may be able to send you a wee bit of money in a while but the fact is he’s not used to much. I’m sure whatever you got to offer him is more than enough. Besides, aren’t the streets of that place paved in gold?” “Does anyone know where he is?” “No, and they won’t unless Mahoney talks. He’s a decent chap until he gets in his cups. But the sad fact is probably nobody but me and Frank care where he is.” “You were supposed to take care of him, Ethan.” “You’re the one who worked that deal with Mahoney. You got what you wanted most—you got to pretend he didn’t exist. We gave you almost ten years. Hope you made the most of it.” ================ Sean-Ryan stared down at Portia. She was sleeping with her ratty hair covering her face and her mouth open so that she could snore freely. He was going to have to start hanging out in a better class of pub. Even if he was flat out blotted he shouldn’t have ending up spending the night with the likes of Portia Dupree. She was a desperate old sow and a man who settled for her was more desperate still. He dressed quickly and then studied himself in the mirror for a second. He wasn’t looking very good these days and he obviously was not the only one who noticed. Used to have to fight off the birds with a Billy club but the last few weeks they gave him a wide berth. He needed a haircut and a shave, not to mention a shower after what he dipped into last night, but he’d looked worse in his life…a lot worse and the girls had always come around. He slipped on his jacket then glanced back at Portia. This was his wake up call. He tried to drown in booze and women but even now when he was scraping the bottom of the barrel nothing had put a dent in the pain. She was dead and he needed to just get over it. “The boys is being a bit tolerant of you given all that has gone down but I believe you need to not to test their good will.” Sean-Ryan narrowed his eyes and stared at Flynn until he looked away. No damn body gave him consideration. He earned it and if any of them lads wanted to come test him again then they could just bring it on. They knew the price. Flynn cleared his throat. “I have heard from him and he is not satisfied with the job. Says he is still on it until he can deliver concrete proof.” “What does it matter? Tell him to let it go.” “You did understand the deal? I don’t call and tell him nothing. He calls and he decides when the job is done.” “He did call. Told us it was done.” “He does not believe in leaving anything to chance. That’s who you wanted, remember? The best.” Sean-Ryan looked away. None of it had been what he wanted. “They were proud of you, Sean-Ryan. Some thought you might not have it in you but you showed all of them. Now I believe it is best to move on. We have work to do and now that the threat has been dealt with we can move fast and furious again.” Sean-Ryan nodded. “There is work to be done and the threat is gone.” Flynn tilted his head slightly then smiled. Patrick Mahoney had never been able to hold his liquor worth shit. That was one of the reasons why he never let him anywhere near anything important…except for her. “Another whiskey, Pat?” Mahoney eyed him suspiciously but he knew Mahoney couldn’t bring himself to turn down a drink. “I could go for another round.” Sean-Ryan signaled to Thomas to set them up again and Mahoney actually smiled. “Has it been tough without her?” “Sean-Ryan, you know as well as I do that in the beginning I thought she walked on water. She was so delicate and fair she could float on the vapors of the marsh. There was not much I would not have done for her, even knowing the truth.” Sean-Ryan looked down at his drink then took another sip. “In the end, though, there was not much I would have done for her. She was not worth the slightest effort. But then you know all of this so why are you here plying me with drinks?” “What about the boy?” “What about him?” “Did he take it hard?” “Since when do you care a wit about that child? She was his mother. What do you think?” Sean-Ryan stared at Mahoney for a moment then drained his glass and stood up. If Flynn had any idea he was here he would be screeching like a drunken bridge troll. There was nothing to be gained now by thinking about that child. Still… “Maybe I’ll come see him one day soon.” “No, you will not. You keep your distance now like you so willingly done before.” “He was her son. If I so choose, I will see him.” Mahoney slammed his shot glass down on the bar. “No, you will not. I might not be some crooked shod with powerful connections and money to burn like your kind but I still get to say who comes near my family.” What the bloody hell? He had had just about enough of this nonsense. What in the world had he been thinking? Katherine was dead and her son was no worse off because of that fact. Seeing her son would not erase the guilt but he couldn’t let a sorry excuse for a man like Mahoney get away with challenging him this way—in public. Flynn was right. Once the sharks smelled blood they circled around ready to strike because it were their nature and part of life’s game. But when a minnow like Mahoney tried to take a bite, it was the kiss of doom. He leaned close. “Don’t mess with me, Mahoney. I’ll wipe out your whole damn family and not one person will give a damn much less try to do a thing about it.” “Dangerous man, huh? You forget I was there in the beginning. I know who and what you are. You may not respect me a bit but I ain’t shaking in my breeches over your threats. You can come visit that boy if you can find him but that’s not going to happen.” “Where is he?” “With a snake as big as you, that’s where.” ======== Todd looked over at Blair standing in the doorway to the patio. She looked tousled and sexy messy and she was glowing. He studied her for a minute then looked away. "It's late, Blair. What are you doing up?" “Do you want to tell me what’s wrong?” “What makes you think anything is wrong?” She walked toward him. “Because I know you felt it too. Because when you make love to me like that and I wake up and your body is not wrapped around me, I know something is not right." "Just your imagination, Blair." She looked at him directly. "When you make the earth move then I find you sitting out on the patio fully dressed as if you are going somewhere or coming back from somewhere I know something is wrong.” Maybe he should just tell her the truth like he had planned. Despite the hollow, dry sensation in the pit of his stomach he knew she was not going to leave him. They had been through too much and fought too hard to get back together for her to leave him over this. She sat across from him and watched him for a few seconds. He stared back. He rarely let himself look at her so directly when she could see what he was doing--afraid that she would see too deeply into his longing for her. But he needed to know that what he believed was true. And he was sure of it now. She wouldn’t leave but the light would go out of her eyes. And maybe he had no right to want it and he damn well knew he didn’t deserve it but now that he knew what it felt like to have it all he wasn’t willing to let it go and settle for less. He cleared his throat. “Nothing’s wrong. I just needed to do some thinking.” “About what?” “It’s good, Blair. I don’t want it to end. Sometimes when things are too good…” She moved next to him and leaned close. “You start looking for that trapdoor under your feet.” “Something like that.” “What happened tonight, Todd? Where were you?” “I went over to check on things at The Sun.” “Is that where you were earlier, too?” “Some things came up. I just had to take care of some unexpected business.” Blair drew in a breath then exhaled and he could see her body tense up. “Is it something that concerns us? Is it something that’s going to affect Starr and Jack? Tell me, Todd. I can’t handle being blindsided again." He looked off into the distance and shook his head then slowly turned his head and looked at her. “Everything’s all right, Blair, and if it wasn’t I will always protect my family. I will never let anything hurt you again.” She frowned and studied his face for a moment. “What about you? If something hurts you, it hurts us. We love you.” “I know but I’ve been told that neither wise men nor fools believe in forever.” “What is that supposed to mean?” “Nothing.” He dropped his head and picked at his finger. “Everything’s all right, Blair.” She stared at him for a second then moved even closer to him so that their shoulders touched and he could smell the scent of honey and jasmine that always seemed to float around her like an aura. Finally, he felt the buzz that had been assaulting him for the last few hours fade away. He had loved her for so long that as far as he was concerned it constituted his forever. They had been up and down and in and out but the synchrony they had found lately was as close to rebirth as he expected to experience. She loved him and he could no longer find the words that would allow him to question that. He loved her and he would never again allow himself the luxury of denying that fact. They were together and he couldn’t risk losing that. He had no other option. He had to keep the truth from her. He made the choice nine years ago and even knowing all that came afterwards he would make the same choice again. He would choose her. Comments?
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