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

  Tony shot her a wary glance. “I don’t know, Fallyn. Vince wouldn’t like you to go out tonight.”

  “Someone has to ride in the back with Angelo to make sure he doesn’t fall asleep. You can’t exactly do that in your condition. You’re barely upright yourself. That needs stitches bad.” She frowned. “Do you want to go to the hospital too?”

  Tony scoffed. “It’s a few scratches. I’m fine. Doctor Henderson can fix me up, no problem. I’ll help you get Angelo to Carrigan’s car. Yeah, you’re right. He’s not looking so hot.”

  Fallyn ran up the stairs, grateful Vince was in the shower and wouldn’t argue with her and waste precious time. She tore off her bloody pajamas and threw on the purple t-shirt and black yoga capris she’d worn earlier that day, grabbing her purse on her way back down the steps.

  Fallyn and Tony acted as crutches for Angelo, beckoning Carrigan to get to the car. Fallyn climbed in with Angelo, propping him against the door to make sure he stayed upright. “I need to sleep,” Angelo complained, pushing Fallyn away when she pulled him up after he tried laying down across the backseat.

  “I know, baby. You can sleep in just ten minutes. Can you stay awake for ten more minutes? For me?”

  “No,” Angelo frowned, his lips pouting like a child.

  Carrigan peeled out of the driveway, not bothering to pause for stop signs or lights as he sped through town. “You got your gun, Fal?” he called back to her.

  “Of course.”

  “Keep it out and ready, just in case.” His eyes combed the area as he sought out the most direct route to the hospital that wouldn’t cross with Salvatore’s known hangouts. “So this is your life now?”

  “It’s about the same amount of normal I had with you lot, so don’t start with me. Not now. Not when Angelo’s barely hanging on.” She gave his cheek a light slap. “Angelo! Sweetie, you have to stay awake.”

  “Fair enough, sis.”

  The two O’Keefes let out an audible sigh when they drove past four signature Salvatore red motorcyclists who paid them no mind. She reached into her purse and pulled out her phone, glad that Vince was still in the shower and she could just leave him a message. Fallyn held Angelo upright while Carrigan blasted the hard rock station to keep Angelo from fading away. The ten minutes to the hospital seemed to stretch on forever. When they finally made it, Carrigan ran in and retrieved a nurse, who helped them move the swaying Angelo into a wheelchair.

  There was no wait for Angelo. There was no time for paperwork. Angelo was wheeled straight to the back where only family was permitted to follow. “He’s my brother!” Fallyn protested when the orderly tried to keep her from entering. She pushed her way through the double doors, staying by Angelo’s side no matter what.

  16

  Angelo’s Angel

  It was minute nine of Vince roaring into the phone his anger that Fallyn had left the house when there was a rival in the area gunning for D’Amatos. Fallyn handed the phone to Carrigan, who held the device away from his ear and continued to flip through the magazine he’d picked from the rack. He turned the page and saw a blonde woman modeling her fancy new hair dye. “Her hair’s this color,” Carrigan whispered. “My new girl. Sort of blonde, but with a little bit of light brown in there. Nice, right?” Fallyn nodded appreciatively as Vince continued to yell. “Your boyfriend’s got a temper.”

  “He’s a love muffin. And he’s my husband, not my boyfriend.”

  “Right.” Carrigan motioned to the double doors. “Shouldn’t Angelo be done by now? I mean, he was just finishing getting dressed, right? The doctor released him. The CT scan was clear.”

  “Yeah. He stitched everything up and said Angelo needs to rest now. He’s out of the woods as far as brain damage goes, so that’s good. He’s just moving a little slower right now.” When the double doors opened and Angelo was wheeled out with his tail between his legs, Fallyn took the phone from her brother. “I’m bringing Angelo home, babe. Are Salvatore’s people still roaming about? Or should I take Angelo to Carrigan’s house?”

  “Have you not been listening to me this entire time?” Vince bellowed.

  “Not really. I go spontaneously deaf when people raise their voices. Weird.”

  Fallyn could hear Vince seething on the other end. “I told you I cleared out the others who were driving around waiting to cause trouble so you could come home. Tell your idiot brother to bring you both here right now!”

  “You’re such a cupcake. See you soon.” Fallyn hung up, smiling at the response that no doubt made her husband fume. She texted him a few “xoxo”s just to poke at his fury she found funny when it was directed at being overbearing toward her.

  They helped Angelo into the car, ignoring his grumping that he was fine. His balance was still off, but his eyes were starting to react to the light again. Fallyn noticed his pupils contracting when they took in the early morning sun, and she breathed easier.

  Carrigan drove them toward Vince’s house. Fallyn had her gun out of her purse and pointed down at her side, just in case.

  When the car reached the west end, Angelo extended his hand to Fallyn. “Give me your gun.”

  “Obviously not. You just had a concussion. The only thing you’ve been cleared for is rest after your two-hour mark is up, which is in about ten minutes.” Fallyn tapped her imaginary watch. “I’ve got this.”

  When Carrigan pulled into the long circular driveway, he frowned at Vince, who was bloody and seething on the front porch in the early dawn. He saved his tirade for when the three entered his fortress of a house, exploding as soon as the door shut and bolted behind them. “Are you insane? Are you trying to give me a heart attack? Where do you get off leaving the house when there’s a gang of grudge-holding, gun-toting idiots out there just waiting to pounce?”

  Carrigan was about to spit back an equally acerbic retort, but Fallyn held up her hand. “Angelo needs to rest right now. The doctor said after he stayed awake for two hours, he was clear to sleep. Also, he needs to lie down and have no stimulation for the next day. That means no yelling, no guns, no TV, no nothing.” She held onto Angelo’s arm, noting that he still leaned on her to keep his wobbly balance. “Could you help me get him to the guest bed?”

  Vince’s bloody fists were clenched at his sides, so Carrigan volunteered. “I can do it.” He wrapped Angelo’s arm around his shoulder and helped Fallyn get him up the steps while Vince did his best to calm down. The two sat Angelo on the bed, and then Carrigan held his hand up to Fallyn before she could speak. “I’m going downstairs to set your boyfriend straight. I don’t like him talking to you like that.”

  “He’s my husband,” Fallyn corrected him again.

  “All the more reason to mind his manners. You got Angelo?”

  “Yeah. Be down in a minute. No fighting, you hear?”

  “Yes, Ma’am.”

  When Carrigan left, Fallyn went to Vince’s room and retrieved a pair of baggier pajama pants she hoped would fit his larger cousin. She set them on the bed next to Angelo, who looked lost and a little confused as to how he’d gotten up the stairs. “What’s this?”

  “These are Vince’s pajamas. Your pants don’t look very comfortable. I’ll turn around while you change, okay?” She turned her back to give Angelo the illusion of privacy. “I just don’t want you to fall or something and have no one here to help you.”

  “I’m decent.” Angelo sat back down on the mattress gingerly, as if he suspected the bed might move from under him. “You took me to the hospital,” he remarked as Fallyn pulled the covers down for him. “You went out when Salvatore’s men were still prowling, and took me to the doctor.”

  Fallyn sighed. “Look, Vince is going to lecture me enough for the both of you, and I really don’t want to hear it.” She pressed on his chest to slowly lay him down on the mattress.

  The room had no decoration. It had calming blue walls, a queen-sized bed with no frills and a narrow wooden nightstand with a lamp. She could tell Angelo had spent his
fair share of nights in that bed by the way he scooted to the middle and settled into his favorite spot. She tucked the covers up over his bare chest, making sure he didn’t get cold while he slept. She pulled the maroon curtains over the lowered blinds to block out the sun that was starting to filter through.

  Angelo blinked up at her, dazed. “You stayed with me.”

  Fallyn raised an eyebrow at him. “Of course I did. You’re my cousin. You’re my family.” She leaned over and kissed his cheek, softening when he pulled her to sit down on the side of the bed. “Can I get you anything? Water?”

  “You told them I was your brother.”

  “They wouldn’t let me go in with you otherwise. I hope that’s okay. I didn’t want you to be alone in there.”

  Angelo squinted at Fallyn as the last piece of the puzzle she was to him finally fell into place. “You care about us.”

  She took his hand in her lap and rubbed his wrist all the way up to his forearm to relax him. “Of course I do.”

  “You took me to the hospital,” he repeated, amazed.

  “Of course I did. Now I want you to sleep. The doctor said to rest, which means stay off your phone, put your feet up and let me baby you.”

  Angelo chuckled. “Whatever you say, sis.” He held onto her hand when she tried to stand to let him sleep. “Fallyn?”

  “Yeah, Angelo?”

  He squeezed her hand. “Thanks for not letting me die.”

  She pressed a kiss to the center of his palm. “Goodnight, sweetie. Get some sleep.”

  17

  Animal Planet

  It took a long time of letting Vince get all his anxiety out before he finally began to deflate. “I yelled at you,” he lamented, exhaustion finally forcing his adrenaline to ebb. “Oh, I shouted like a lunatic.”

  “You did,” Carrigan answered for his sister, his arms crossed. “Is that how you treat my sister?”

  “I got this, Officer,” Fallyn said, rolling her eyes at her brother. “Could you call Kill for me? Ask him to send one of the guys to watch the house? Vince won’t be able to sleep if there’s anyone left prowling out there.”

  “I can do that.” Carrigan stretched a crick in his back. “Want to make me some coffee?”

  “No, Carri. You’re going to sleep. You’ve been going most of the night, too. You’re no good to anyone exhausted. I’ll make you a bed on the couch.”

  “Joey’s on the couch. He couldn’t make it up the stairs with his knee. Tony’s in the other guest room.” Vince ran his hand over his face. “I’ll take the first watch. Carri, you take the bed upstairs with Fal.”

  Carrigan blanched. “Not a chance. I’m fine. I was sitting watching the house most of the night, not fighting, like you all were. I’ll watch the house until one of my brothers gets here, then I’ll take off. Thanks, though.” Carrigan saluted Vince and went to double check all the entrances while he put in a call to his oldest brother.

  Vince could barely look at his wife through his shame. Fallyn knew she should be indignant that he yelled, but she couldn’t help but chuckle at his tail wagging between his legs. “Let’s get you cleaned up again. You’re bleeding through your shirt. You look like it’s been a rough night.”

  The fact that Vince didn’t downplay the drama of the evening spoke volumes of just how bad it had really gotten. “I don’t like to get in the shower and come out to find you’re gone. Don’t do that to me.”

  “Alright. Next time I’ll tell you.”

  “Next time you’ll let me take Angelo in.”

  Fallyn took her husband’s hand and led him up the stairs to their room. “No offense, but you were with Angelo. You saw how bad off he was. You could’ve taken everyone straight to the hospital, but you came here instead. Angelo could barely sit up on his own.” She pulled Vince’s shirt over his head and pressed a kiss to his chest. “You should’ve taken better care of Angelo.”

  Vince took her scolding with grace, mulling over her correction with a nod. “You’re right. I was just so relieved we all survived. I wasn’t thinking about injuries.”

  She removed his gun from his belt, undid his pants and let them fall to the ground. “Let’s get you cleaned up.” She led him to the bathroom and turned on the hot water. She took her time soaping up her husband, kissing his many injuries until he was shaking with exhaustion and need. They made love to the sounds of the shower beating down around them, kissing with relief that the other had returned home safely.

  Vince barely made it to the bed before he collapsed, naked and wet atop the covers. Fallyn coaxed him to lie next to her under the comforter, smiling as his body sought out her warm curves even in his barely conscious state. He found his favorite position to sleep in – spooning his wife with one hand on her breast and the other pressing to the baby growing inside her. He slept without moving or worrying for seven hours, content to hold his treasure.

  When they awoke late in the afternoon, the two found their way downstairs after Fallyn woke Vince up “the fun way,” as he liked to call it. They followed the smell of garlic and tomatoes to the kitchen, where the others were congregated.

  Fallyn pranced about the kitchen in her bare feet, humming to herself as she fished out her vitamins from the cupboard. She felt graceful in her black yoga capris and peach scoop neck tank top, casting a smile at Vince, who slumped on the stool at the counter in between Carrigan and Declan.

  “How’d you sleep?” Declan asked politely.

  Vince groaned in response, his shoulders slumped and eyes trying to stay open. “Slept like a dream, but could’ve used about ten more hours.”

  Tony stirred the sauce in the pan, banging the wooden spoon on the side and turning off the burner. “Time for a carb-load, brother,” he said to Vince, who gave an obligatory nod.

  Carrigan was reading the paper, speaking to his sister without looking up from his page. “For the record, you sound like you’re murdering Vince when you two go at it. I could’ve gone my whole life without hearing that version of Animal Planet. Might want to think about sound-proofing.”

  Tony laughed as he served up the pasta. “Glad you said something. Not my first time sleeping with my pillow over my head while crashing here.”

  Fallyn froze, her eyes wide at Vince’s snorted laugh. “You heard us? Gross! Well, don’t listen!”

  “Don’t listen? How do you not listen to someone shouting through the house?”

  Declan slid Vince’s glass of water out of his reach, just to be annoying. “And Vince, if you could stop shouting my sister’s name when you’re in the throes, I’d sleep a whole lot better.”

  “Been trying to get that out of my head all day.” Carrigan turned the page. “Not many disturbances other than the mating animals upstairs. The place’s been quiet since Declan knocked off three bikers who were trying to break in.”

  Declan scoffed. “They weren’t even really trying. I mean, they brought a crowbar. A brute’s weapon to a gentleman’s game. Easy fodder. Not sure how many are left, but you should be good for a while until they regroup.”

  Vince shook his head. “Not enough of them left to regroup. Thanks, man. I really needed to sleep. Tell Kill thanks for the assist.”

  Declan tipped his head toward Vince. “I take my payment in pasta. I gotta warn you, I could eat my weight in your family’s spaghetti.”

  Fallyn steered clear of the garlic that made her stomach pull away in protest. She opted for bland oatmeal so as not to rock the boat, saving her portion of spaghetti for Angelo when he woke. She watched two of her brothers joke around with her husband and her new brother, and thought to herself that she’d never seen anything look more right.

  18

  Keenan’s Black Eye

  Fallyn’s belly was impossible to ignore in her third trimester. The time had done wonders to distract the brothers from their vendetta against the D’Amatos. The territory lines had been lowered, and they’d all had a hand in helping Vince set up the nursery. Monthly dual family vacations wer
e reinstated at the O’Keefe cabin. It hadn’t been an easy road, but Fallyn had blazed the trail to unity regardless, pushing them when they wanted to be content in their distance and reminding them just by showing up with a baby in her belly that a child would be coming, and none of them wanted the next generation to know the drama that had shredded their lives.

  Fallyn grinned as she decorated the cupcakes she was going to take to the cabin. Vince was due to pick her up from the prison she was heading to shortly, so she put the finishing touches on the last cupcake. The Italian flag looked nice next to the Irish flag, poles crossed in a show of unity. Joey had complained that Vince always got the best desserts because Fallyn made him delicious Italian food every night accompanied by her decadent desserts. Fallyn set to rectifying the situation, drawing each man’s name on the little cakes. It made her heart swell to see the names all grouped together, like players who were finally on the same team.

  Fallyn drove with her seat pulled an inch back to accompany her baby bump. In her purse was an envelope she’d tucked away for months, not ready to read it, lest her universe upend itself beyond recognition. She didn’t know what shifted in her that morning, but she knew that after her date with Keenan, she was going to sit in the car by herself, open the letter and read the paternity results, for better or worse.

  She tried not to waddle as she walked into the prison, but her belly was becoming problematic when stairs were involved. Fallyn sat down at the table after the usual check, waiting for her brother to come out. She expected the smattering of freckles on Keenan that their mother had dubbed “angel’s kisses”. She expected his wide gait and the orange jumpsuit. What she didn’t expect was for her brother to come into the room with a blacked eye and a fat lip. Fallyn wanted to run across the room and scoop him in a hug, but knew the no touching rule still applied even when the prisoner was her injured brother. Her fingers glued themselves to the tabletop, lest they leap up and hold her brother. “Hi, Keenan,” she eked out.