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

  Exhaling

  O’Keefe Family Collection Book 3

  Tuesday Embers

  Contents

  Copyright

  Dedication

  1. The Silence of Sadness

  2. Crazed

  3. Throwing it all Away

  4. One Last Time

  5. Keep

  6. Merging and Marriage

  7. A Kept Woman

  8. Two Bulls

  9. Ours

  10. Maria

  11. Uncle Killian

  12. In Good Hands

  13. The Lion’s Den

  14. Sausage, Sickness and Salvatore

  15. Wounded Warriors

  16. Angelo’s Angel

  17. Animal Planet

  18. Keenan’s Black Eye

  19. Carrigan’s Guest

  20. Kara and Carrigan

  21. The Second Office

  22. Keenan to Lean On

  23. Always Your Sister

  24. Promises and Secrets

  25. The Truth in the Lies

  26. On His Knees

  27. The Miracle and the Horror

  28. Granddaughter

  Epilogue

  Unraveling Molly

  Other Books by Tuesday Embers

  Also by Tuesday Embers

  Copyright © 2015 Mary E. Twomey

  Cover Art by Cormar Covers

  All rights reserved.

  First Edition: August 2016

  This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of characters to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The author holds exclusive rights to this work. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited.

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  For information:

  http://www.tuesdayembers.com

  Created with Vellum

  To the great people in my life who have always

  fought for my sanity,

  believed in me and loved me

  – especially when I was insane and unlovable –

  I’ll make you proud.

  1

  The Silence of Sadness

  Fallyn stared up at the ceiling, not sure how she’d found herself in Declan’s house. She didn’t recall who’d driven her there or if she’d answered their many questions that had been shouted at her. She couldn’t feel anything, couldn’t speak, couldn’t move. She simply stared at the white ceiling and pictured the angels she’d made love underneath in Italy.

  Made love to her half-brother.

  Fallyn went back to the land of no words and no thoughts. She ignored Declan, who held her hand and whispered his apology over and over again. She ignored Killian, who could barely lift his head to look at her as he sat at the foot of the bed. She ignored Danny, Finn and Seamus, who asked her key questions she knew she should be answering. The only thing she did that showed any life at all was when Carrigan brought her a shot of whiskey, and she launched it across the room, not blinking as the glass shattered all over Declan’s wall and hardwood floor.

  She loved Vince beyond words, beyond reason. She’d chosen him, and still it hadn’t been enough. Patrick O’Keefe wasn’t her father, which was the thing he’d been trying to tell her all along. She’d thought he was being forgetful, but he was trying to warn her in his own broken way. Papa D had been her father, which explained why Papa D had never hesitated to treat her like a daughter.

  The sun went down, and Fallyn only moved from the bed to throw up and use the restroom. She only allowed Killian to touch her, trusting him to be silent and not look on her face as he led her back to the bed. She drank only when he brought her water, but ignored the others. It wasn’t out of spite. It was that when they spoke, she couldn’t understand a word of what they said to her. It was all white noise. Even Killian couldn’t be understood, but she was so lost, she knew she needed at least one beacon to hold to as her world crashed down around her.

  Learning that her mother had an affair before she was born was traumatic enough. The story had been that her parents had split up for half a year for untold reasons, with Mama leaving with Killian when she found out she was pregnant. She came back with a baby, and the boys being boys didn’t stop to count the months, or that Fallyn was the only blue-eyed one among them. Patrick O’Keefe had known his wife stepped out on him with his best friend, but when he’d seen Fallyn, the girl he’d always wanted in a sea of boys, all was forgotten. Fallyn had been raised as his daughter, though the patriarch of the D’Amatos – their family’s rival – had been the last one to sleep with Mrs. O’Keefe before she left the home.

  Fallyn hadn’t known when it was exactly that she’d fallen hard for the cold and distant Vince D’Amato. No one had an inkling about the affair except for Declan, who had wanted to warn his sister privately, but hadn’t known she would elope so quickly.

  Now Fallyn was awash in pain and depression, secretly suspecting she might be pregnant, and unwilling to talk or eat. She simply stared at the ceiling, ignoring the world as it bustled around her, prodding her to wakefulness she simply could not accept.

  Days passed, but Fallyn didn’t care. She drank water only when her eldest brother Killian propped her up in his arms and fed her little sips, but he was unable to look at her, so deep was the shame she’d dove headfirst into.

  So Killian held his little sister, the fifteen years between their births feeling like a minute between twins. He felt her pain but wouldn’t ease it, keeping his lips shut out of respect for her breakdown. He delegated the upkeep of her business to Danny, who took Fallyn’s phone and ignored all of Vince’s desperate calls.

  Though Fallyn and Carrigan had no closure to their months-long fight, Carrigan pushed all the animosity and disappointment aside by day two. After his shift serving his community with his police badge, he drove straight to Declan’s house to give Killian and Declan a break. His sister had been his best friend, and no matter what broken state that friendship had devolved to, Carrigan couldn’t bear her suffering alone. “I’m here, Fally.”

  She didn’t acknowledge he’d spoken, or that Killian had left the room for the first time in hours. She blinked up at the ceiling, unshowered and unaware. Even as her body shifted when Carrigan slid into Declan’s bed beside her, she paid him no mind. She was lost in her agony.

  Carrigan wrapped his arms around her, his eyes shut tight as he held his sister in her utter defeat. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I shouldn’t have beaten Vince so bad that day I found out. There are a million other ways I could’ve handled that. I don’t want to hurt you; I only wanted to hurt him. But I saw only after the fact that when I beat on him, it only broke you away from me. I don’t want that. I don’t want you going through all this crap without me.” He kissed her forehead. “So I’m here. I’m here until you feel like talking about it.”

  Carrigan recalled their many long silent walks together after their mother had died. They kept close to each other – the only two who didn’t want to discuss the horrors they felt. In that silence, they helped each other heal. None of the others understood it. They all wanted to talk and reminisce, which only made Fallyn and Carrigan withdraw further into their shells of depression. They’d saved each other through their quiet companionship, and Carrigan was determined not to abandon his sister to her silence this time.

  “When you were a little girl, you used to get so afraid of thunderstorms. Mom and Dad would send yo
u back to your bed, but you used to sneak in with Killian or me instead.” He brushed her auburn tangles away from her face. “I remember holding you while you freaked out, and singing you songs until you fell asleep.” He rolled on his side to cradle her in his arms. “Would that help now?”

  Fallyn shook her head slowly, which was the first communicating she’d managed since she’d shut down.

  “Okay. I’ll just stay with you, then – storm or not.” So Carrigan held his sister, kissing her cheek and clutching her like a teddy bear until they both fell asleep.

  A hush fell over the O’Keefes as the days stretched on. Declan’s house became the place they flowed in and out of, having family meetings without Fallyn being cognizant of anything around her, save for Carrigan when he came home from work every evening to hold her. Carrigan rubbed feeling into her arms and tried to press life into her heart, but she remained in her silent depression. Eventually her arms allowed themselves to cling to Carrigan when he was there, but she drifted back to oblivion when he was not.

  It was a week later before Killian moved her. “I’ve got you. Don’t you worry. We’re just going on a little drive.” He lifted his sister who felt too thin and frail. He worried that he’d not been strict enough and forced her somehow to eat something. Killian slowly carried her through the dark of night to his car and buckled her in. “You have to see Vince and set him straight,” Killian explained, taking each turn from Declan’s house to his father’s with care. “He’s lost it, Fal. I think we all thought he was using you to bait us, but he’s a man possessed.” He wiped his nose on his sleeve. “It’s out of hand now. When Danny went to help Jen with the inventory at your bakery, Vince and Tony jumped him. He’s demanding we give you up to get Danny back.” When this garnered no reaction, Killian continued without looking at Fallyn. “Don’t worry. We won’t give you up, but if he just sees you and lets us explain things to him, then we can get Danny back and Vince will probably leave you with us.” He glanced over to see the same glazed eyes that had not registered emotion in over a week. “Nothing? You’re still gone? Come on, Fal. Vince kidnapped your brother! Say something!”

  Fallyn couldn’t find words. She hadn’t bathed or changed her clothes or eaten in too many days. All she wanted to do was sleep, but the restlessness kept her from even that kindness. She simply stared ahead of her, lost to the world.

  2

  Crazed

  When they pulled up to the O’Keefe family home just after dark, Killian stepped out of the sedan and locked her inside. His brothers were already there, standing on either side of the secluded dead end street. Both families were ready for a fight under cover of moonlight. Killian held up his hands to the fuming D’Amatos. “Alright, Vince. You’ve made your point. I’ve got her here. Show us Danny.”

  Vince unlocked his trunk and lifted the edge of the blanket Danny was wrapped in. Danny’s face was bloody, but he was alive.

  Seamus lunged at Vince, his fist cocked. “I’ll kill you!”

  Declan caught Seamus before the first punch could be thrown. A single blow could set off a chain reaction that might devolve the kidnapping into a bloodbath. “Give us Danny, and we’ll show you Fallyn,” Declan shouted, wrestling his brother and dragging him back.

  Vince had forsaken his cool demeanor a week ago, a crazed look creeping into his icy blue eyes. His hair was disheveled and his usually perfectly pressed white shirt was untucked and filthy. “Give me my wife, or I send your brother back in pieces!” He stood with Angelo, Tony and Joey, who were armed and ready to follow the head of their family to the death.

  Declan held up his hands to show Vince he would not attack. “You have to calm down first. Fallyn’s right over there in the car, but you can’t have her until you listen to me. Something happened, Vince. Something big you need to hear before you take her to your house.”

  Vince pounded his fist to his chest, his eyes crazed with fury. “Not my house, our house! She’s my wife now! You had no right to take her from me! She’s not an O’Keefe anymore. She’s a D’Amato!” He motioned to his cousin, who served as his right hand. “Get Fallyn, Angelo. This ends tonight.”

  Declan kept his voice calm. “Fine, you can take her if you want, but you have to hear me out first.” He took a deep breath and gave the most condensed version of the horror he could. “Our mom had an affair with Papa D. She took Killian and left us for a year. Then she came back with a baby girl. Fallyn isn’t Patrick’s. She’s Papa D’s.” When Declan was unsure his point had hit home, he said, “Fallyn’s your half-sister, Vince. I was going to tell her when we found out about your relationship, but you two eloped. So you can see her, but you can’t keep her. She’s your sister, not your wife, and she’s barely been able to string two words together since she found out.”

  Vince was speechless as Angelo carried Fallyn’s limp body toward him. Her head lolled to the side, her blue eyes were lifeless – seeing but not seeing. “No,” Vince mumbled, taking a step back. He dropped his gun, not caring that Seamus and Finn ran toward the trunk of his car to free Danny. He dropped to his knees, chest heaving as he tried to find truth. “No! It’s not true! You’d all say anything to keep us apart! My dad didn’t cheat on my mom!”

  “I swear to you, Vince. I saw Mom kissing Papa D with my own eyes,” Declan admitted, his head bowed to show he wasn’t gunning for a fight. “No one else saw it, but I did. Kept it to myself all this time because I didn’t want to hurt both our families. But this thing you and Fallyn have done? It’s too much. You have to know the truth. I’m sorry I couldn’t find a way to tell you sooner.”

  Vince retrieved his weapon and climbed to his feet, his gun pointed to the others. “Angelo, get Fallyn in the car. We’re taking her to her home. She’s coming with me, because I’m her home now! I’m her husband! Not her brother, her husband!”

  Declan threw out his hands when Vince ducked into the car, unsure how to get his sister back without pushing the gun-toting crazed maniac closer to the edge. Killian and the others were at a loss, watching futilely as they tended to the unconscious Danny.

  “Let her go,” Declan ruled. “Vince needs to come to reason, and he won’t do that unless he can talk to her. Let’s give them until morning. Stake out the border to make sure he doesn’t try to leave the country with her or something.”

  The brothers hopped into their cars and drove off, watching and waiting for their sister to come home.

  3

  Throwing it all Away

  Fallyn was a limp doll in Vince’s arms as he wept openly in the backseat. The men didn’t speak, nor did they dare look at Vince while he broke down. When they reached Vince’s home, Vince permitted Angelo to open the door as he carried his wife over the threshold, but that was all. He set every alarm, and locked and bolted every door, not willing to lose her a second time. He took her to their bed, laid her down and sobbed, taking in her lifelessness as a sign that she had not been taken care of.

  He lay down next to her, holding his treasure covetously, as if it might be stolen from him again, wiping his wet eyes on her dirty shirt. “Fal, it’s not true. Your brothers would say anything to keep us apart. Baby, you’re not my sister. You’re just not.” He held her tight, noticing how thin her arms felt. “When was the last time you ate anything?” He shook his head when she couldn’t answer him. “I’ll be right back.”

  Vince stumbled down the stairs, barely seeing the contents of his refrigerator through his haze. He slapped together a peanut butter sandwich and brought it to her with a glass of water. His hand shook so badly that he sloshed a few drops of water onto her shirt as he propped her up in his arms. “Please, Fally. Don’t give up like that. It’s not true. Declan’s a dick for lying to you, filling your head with something so awful.” He tore off a bite of the sandwich and touched it to her lips, but her mouth remained firmly shut. “You have to eat, dolcezza. I need you to eat!” When she was still lifeless, he gripped her arm as he held her. “Fight for us, Fallyn! Fight harder tha
n this! I’ve seen you go to the mat for far less.”

  It was the first time feeling started to trickle into Fallyn. The pain had been so great that she’d shut the faucet off completely. But as Vince held her, the shame washed over her at the attraction and deep love that was still there. She hadn’t spoken in over a week, so when she wailed her pain, it came out a rasped cry that choked her. “No, Vince! No! I love you so much! How? How do I get everything I want, and then it all gets ripped away in one conversation? No!”

  Vince kissed her cheek and pulled out his phone. “No use throwing it all away until we get confirmation.” He called the doctor he had on standby for their under the radar scraps and summoned him over for a house call. “Don’t go there in your mind. It’s not true, Fal. Papa didn’t have an affair. I would’ve known. Declan’s lying. And I remember Mama O’Keefe taking Killian and leaving that year. Killian would’ve known too if she’d been pregnant, because he was with her. He would’ve said something that first day we announced we were together. Killian wanted to break us up more than anyone. That would’ve been the first bullet he’d shot, if it was true. It’s not true,” Vince repeated, running through any logic he could grasp at.

  Fallyn was malnourished and had precious little moisture in her, so when she cried, no tears came to the surface to announce her broken heart.

  “It’s alright, tesoro. It’s all fine. I’m here.”

  When the doctor knocked on the front door, Vince let him in with his gun tucked into his belt, head darting out into the night like a crazy person to make sure the O’Keefes didn’t descend on the house and take Fallyn away.