Ruthless Arrangement (Underworld Kings)

“You…” E-Z doesn’t finish. I think he’s afraid to say it in case he’s wrong and pisses the old man off. Hell, that may be why I remain quiet.

“It’s a dirty business. This business is not something I like, but it needed to be handled. Orla brought it down on herself and it needed dealt with. It’s a delicate situation. The less people that know the better. Plus, this wasn’t something I was going to assign to anyone else. Blowback can’t be risked, especially not by them, but I won’t have my daughter-in-law’s life in danger. Besides, Orla’s death seals the plan with a nice, black bow,” he shrugs.

“Do either of you know what the plan is?” E-Z asks, shaking his head as he tries to process everything Ryan just said. Before all this happened, I would’ve thought that Orla was the most important thing to Ryan besides the business. I jumped to conclusions. Now that I have Belle in my life, I can even understand some of the choices that Ryan was forced to make. I’ve come to respect the old man almost overnight. I look at him now, and he nods giving me the go-ahead to fill E-Z in on our plan.

“Ryan and I have decided the easiest way to make sure the mob doesn’t suspect us is to give them proof that the nephews and now Orla’s death came from another person,” I respond quietly, waiting to see if the scope of our plan sinks in.

“Well, shit, that sounds awesome, but there’s just one problem. How in the fuck are we going to do that? Not to mention we need to find a poor sap to sacrifice and set up as a murderer. Any idea who you’re going to pick? Jesus,” he gripes, clearly not happy and not fully connecting the dots.

“I have the perfect scapegoat,” I grin.

“If you think about it, I’m sure you can come up with someone I need to handle to keep Belle and the family safe. He’ll make the perfect target for the Bratva.”

“Who?” he asks, looking between us again as confusion changes rapidly to understanding. “Holy shit! I must be getting slow. That’s a damn smart move. I mean, we’ve had those men monitoring Bones. The idiot thinks he’s gotten away unscathed. He’s even returned back to his club in Phoenix.”

“It’s a genius move. My son is as sharp as they come. He will lead the family and make us bigger and stronger than ever.” Ryan says, clapping me on the back.

“Does that mean you’re retiring?” E-Z asks, clearly stunned. I’m surprised myself, but I see the truth when Ryan looks at me.

“Yeah. It's time I sit back and enjoy my family. Hopefully, that will include grandkids too—if my son can just get to work on that.”

I feel this tightness in my chest at the mention of children. I once thought of kids as a way to make the parole board think I was happy in marriage and a family man. They were a means to an out—a new beginning. Now, kids with Belle is something I want, and it has nothing to do with anything other than I want that added connection to Belle. I need her tied to me. I want to look in the face of my child and see Belle’s features blended with mine. I want our family.

Christ, how did this happen?

“I’ll see what I can do,” I mutter, trying to keep my emotions hidden. From the grin on Ryan’s face, I’m pretty sure I failed.

CHAPTER 37

BELLE

I’m not above admitting that when Killian didn’t return from what was supposed to be a very short time away to the whole day, I began pouting. I think I got my own hopes up about what the whole day would be like with Killian. The fact it didn’t happen hurts my feelings. I know it took extraordinary circumstances to get Killian out to be with me, and I also know it may not happen again. I selfishly wanted to spend all of the time we had together. It would have been nice if he felt the same. It’s silly I know, but it’s still true.

Business.

I know what business could mean to Killian. I’m worried it might mean something dangerous even though he promised me it wasn’t. I have to take him at his word, but despite my feelings for him, the fact is we don’t know each other that well yet. He promised, though, and I’ve tried not to worry and hold onto that. Still, he’s been gone all day. Once dinner passed with him still not home, I let myself wallow in my hurt.

I need to get some sleep. I’m hurting and restless. I decided to take a bath, hoping if I pampered my body, it might reward me. I put on soft music after adding lavender bubble bath to the steamy water. There are candles lit around the room making it feel indulgent and spa-like. At the hole in the wall apartment, the bathtub had been beyond repair with a drain that would leak even if you stopped it up. Even after trying to fix that the tub, it still wouldn’t work properly. There was also no amount of cleaning or elbow grease that helped it, so I stuck to showers. This giant bathtub is one of the house's best things—one of my favorites anyway. I strip down, lowering myself under the bubbles, letting out a long sigh as the hot water starts to ease tension from my muscles. I lean back, closing my eyes and trying to ignore my lingering disappointment.