“I won’t put you in danger like that again,” I say, which isn’t an answer, because the real answer isn’t what she wants to hear.
Yes, Cillian will be back, and I need to figure out what the hell he was doing today before that happens.
Starting with her father.
Chapter 16
Mirella
Back at Villa Bruno, Fynn limps off after saying, “Stay inside and don’t do a damn thing until I come find you.”
Which doesn’t exactly make me feel better. I slam my door shut and curl up on the couch, knees to my chest, trying to make sense of what happened back there.
I don’t know that Cillian guy at all. I didn’t recognize his face, and I’d never heard his name before. I’m positive I don’t know anyone with the last name O’Shea or anything similar. He looked like he’s a few years older than me, so I doubt we have some kind of passing relationship from high school or college or anything like that.
And yet he insisted that we know each other, or at least my father knows him.
That’s the connection. My dad’s involved in this somehow, and yet I don’t really understand how that’s possible. Cillian said something about punishing men that leave their family, but I got the sense everything he said was a load of shit masquerading as truth. Fynn insisted Cillian’s whole game is meant to knock the Bruno Famiglia off balance, and that he wasn’t above using outright lies to achieve his goals.
But there was something about him, something in the way he spoke and looked at me, that made me think he was sincere. It’s this nagging fear in the back of my mind, and that terrifies me even more than the alternative, that he was doing all that just to get under Fynn’s skin.
If he was telling the truth, what does that mean for my future here? What does that mean for me? Why am I here at all, in this place? It can’t be a coincidence that Cillian claims to know me. If it’s true—what does it mean?
A knock at my door scares the crap out of me. I leap to my feet, shaking. “Mirella? Are you in there? It’s Olivia.”
I let out a groan of relief and hurry over to let her in. She’s frowning at me as she comes inside, and I look both ways in the hall to make sure she wasn’t followed before I shut the door.
“What the heck is with you?” she asks, grinning suspiciously at me. She must not have heard yet.
“Something happened.” I pace across the room, too jittery to sit back down, adrenaline pumping. “I went to a park with Fynn to do our workout but when we finished a guy named Cillian showed up and started saying weird things about me and my dad. I don’t know what to believe anymore, it’s like my brain is moving a million miles an hour and I’m totally out of control.”
“Okay, slow down,” Olivia says, her smile fading. “Start from the beginning.” She folds herself on the couch and listens as I explain it all, starting with when we arrived at the park and ending with Cillian leaving.
“I don’t know what to think,” I say, throwing my hands in the air with frustration. “He seemed so sincere, but Fynn insisted that it was all bullshit.”
“I know a little something about the men in these families,” Olivia says, suppressing a smile. “My father runs a cartel in Mexico and I’m married to an Italian Don. Let me assure you, yes, Cillian will most certainly lie if it helps his cause, but sometimes the truth is much more powerful.”
“That’s. Not. Helpful!”
She laughs and shrugs. “Sorry, I know.”
“This isn’t funny. I’m really freaking out.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be glib or whatever, it’s just that I know what you’re feeling.”
“I’m in danger.” I stop pacing as the realization truly hits me. “I’m a target as long as I’m working with Fynn.”
Olivia’s humor fades away and she nods gravely. “I won’t sit here and pretend like you’re perfectly safe. I know Fynn and the others will fight to make sure no harm comes to you, but we don’t live in a world where safety is guaranteed.”
“What the hell am I doing in this house?” I start pacing again, my hands trembling. “When I agreed to treat Fynn, I thought it would be a simple job. I’d come stay here for a while, work with him, then leave again after he improves. But now everything feels too connected and it’s like I was pushed into being here.”
“What do you mean by that?”
I shake my head. “My dad’s the one that suggested I take this job. He approached my mom and told her about it, and she convinced me to go for it. And now I’m learning that my dad has some connection to Cillian? It’s too much of a coincidence. What if they maneuvered to get me here?”