Chapter 8
Viv
As soon as we're back in Dublin, there's no time to waste. Cal is gone almost all day every day with Michael Quinlan and/or Colm Canavan. I can hardly keep up with his schedule. Meanwhile, Sean and Parker are working with Colm and Mason to come up with some sort of plan against their father.
Iris, I notice, has drawn more into herself than usual.
She seems stressed, and I know this is all getting to her.
When I try to talk to her about it, she just smiles and says she's fine. But I've known her long enough now to know she's putting on a brave face.
Cal and I are at his father's office late one night when Cal gets a call from Sean back at the house.
I don't hear the conversation, but I see the way Cal frowns with concern, the way he leans forward at his desk, stress lining all his features.
When the call ends, he looks at me, almost with a desperate sort of look on his face.
"Iris isn't well," he says.
We both move to leave as soon as the words leave his lips.
When we get back to the mansion and go towards Sean and Iris's room, Cal knocks on the door carefully. His muscles are bunched and tense, his face is drawn tight. I can tell it's tearing him up – the fact that Iris is upset.
Sean opens the door a crack a moment later, sliding out into the hallway carefully. Sean Donnelly looks tired and worried for his girlfriend.
My heart aches.
There must be something I can do.
"She just..." Sean clears his throat. "I think it's all hitting her – being back here, her cousins. She's not doing so great."
"Can I see her?" I ask, my throat clogging with emotion.
Sean nods and lets me in.
I push into the room as Cal and Sean talk quietly in the hallway.
Iris sits in the chair close to the window, staring out into the summer night.
She smiles weakly at me. Her eyes are puffy from crying. Without a word, I bend down and hug her. Iris lets me hold her as a fresh wave of tears come from her. She cries quietly into my shoulder.
"I'm so sorry, Viv. I thought I could be stronger here."
"Stop that," I shake her a bit. "You are the strongest person I know. Seriously. I don't blame you. This is all a lot."
Iris sniffles. "It just brings back...things. Memories. My ma's death...then all this talk about Uncle Cormac. It's a lot. It makes the shadows creep back in, you know?"
"I completely understand," I squeeze her shoulders. "Please, just know you are not alone right now. I'm here for you."
"I know you are," Iris squeezes my hand with a small, sad smile on her face. She pulls me into her and we just hug in the big chair for a long, quiet moment.
There's a knock on the door. Cal and Sean step in a few seconds later.
"You okay, Ris?" Cal asks, a look of deep concern on his face.
She inhales sharply beside me, smiles a bit, and nods, "I'll be okay."
"You and Sean are taking a flight back to Chicago first thing tomorrow."
Iris straightens, looking like she might protest. Sean just walks over to her silently, places a hand on her shoulder. She looks up at him. They exchange a look I can't decipher. A warm smile comes over his face, a comforting smile.
"I'll do whatever you want, Bloom. But I think we should head back home now."
"You've done more than enough here," Cal says seriously. "You helped me out. You've done your duty. And then some. Time to rest now. I can take it from here."
Iris gets up and goes to her cousin. She hugs him. "I don't want to leave you," she mutters into his shoulder.
"Ah, come on now," Cal says lightly, "I'll be back before you know it."
His blue eyes dart to me. Both of us know that isn't true.
He kisses the top of Iris's head and releases her.
"Thank you for everything, Ris. I won't ask you to stay a moment longer."
Iris nods. "I love you, you know?"
"I love you too, cuz."
He ruffles Iris's hair, then I get up and follow Cal out.
As soon as we close the door behind us, he turns to me.
"You should go with them," he tells me.
"What?" I snap. Anger rises to the surface of my skin. Is he serious? I would never leave him here to fend for himself. "No."
"Vivi. You should go back with them. I meant what I said. I can handle things from here. We can do hard things, right?" he smirks at me.
But I see it.
I see it all.
Behind the bravado, behind the cocky attitude, there's a vulnerability in those blue eyes. I saw it in his eyes the other night too, lying in bed together. He would never, ever admit it to me, but he doesn't want to be alone here. And I wouldn't leave him until it was absolutely necessary.
"I'm not going anywhere, Alistair."
I cross my arms and frown up at him.
Cal clasps his hand between my neck and shoulder, sending shivers down my spine.
"You've done more than enough. I know you miss home. I know you miss your brother, if you go back – you can visit him. And the girls, Bels and Caiti and Nes..."
"Stop it," I step closer to him. "Don't push me away. I'm staying. I'm staying as long as you need me."
Something bobs in his throat.
"What if I always need you?" he asks quietly. He means it like a joke, but there's a lace of vulnerability in his question.
I shrug, "Then I'll always stay."
He smiles weakly.
"It's decided. I'm not going back. We have a busy day tomorrow. I'm going to get some food..." I tell him, moving out of his grasp before either of us do something stupid. I start for the stairs towards the kitchen.
When I look back over my shoulder, Cal is still standing there, staring at me.
"Are you coming?" I ask.
"Always bossing me around..." he smirks.
*********************************************
It's been a week since Iris and Sean left. Cal and I have formed a sort of routine together. Parker is in and out. He'll be flying back to Chicago soon with Joe and Mickey and will return when we're ready to execute the mission against Cormac Tomlin.
Then it will just be me and Cal here.
I stare down at the files I'm sifting through, thinking about it far too hard. Kate Callahan is holding off selling the business till Cal comes to a decision on what he wants. My eyes grow bleary with tiredness.
I sigh and lean back, getting out my phone to distract myself for a moment.
I have several missed texts from Nessa, a picture of the twins from Caitlin, and a text from Chris updating me on his first exam score.
As soon as I respond to the text messages from Nessa, she video calls me.
I smile as I answer the phone.
"Hey Nes."
Her familiar face floods the screen. "Thank god! I thought you were dead!"
"Don't be dramatic. I was working," I roll my eyes.
Nessa grins. "Working, huh? You and Cal working super, super hard?"
"Not you too. I swear between you and Mira..."
"I really thought you two would've boned by now. Le sigh."
"Nessa."
"What?" she snaps.
"For the millionth time..."
"We're just friends. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever. The sexual tension is thick with you two..."
"Where are you?" I ask curiously since I don't recognize the background.
Nessa grins and moves the camera away, giving me a better view of her surroundings. "My new digs, you like?"
I smile. "So, you made the plunge?"
"Yes. I have officially moved into the haunted mansion with the sexy Russian," Nessa laughs lightly.
I squeal with excitement and clap my hands together. "I'm so happy for you!"
"Thanks, Vivian. I'm happy too."
Nessa smiles, and she looks it – she truly looks happy. My heart swells with joy for my friend. Nessa's had a rough few years. She'd never show it. But I know her. I know she's finally in a good place. With Damien Yenin, of all things. Who knew the man was capable of loving someone as much as he loves Nessa?
"I feel...I don't know," Nessa laughs nervously, her cheeks twinging with color, "I feel good. More myself. Lighter."
I smile, tears pricking my own eyes at happiness for her. "I'm so glad."
"I do miss you though..." she says quietly.
"I miss you too," I admit.
Nessa's eyes scan me. "You think you'll come back anytime soon?"
I shrug, remembering my words to Cal. That I would stay as long as he needs me. Then he made the comment about needing me forever and sent my heart into an absolute tailspin.
"Do you think Cal will come back?" Nessa asks then, her voice more serious.
"I don't know. I really don't."
Nessa rubs her lips together. "I think we all do a lot of crazy shit for our families..."
"We do," I laugh a bit. This whole job. The only reason I took it was to give Chris the life I knew I could never give him otherwise. I'd done questionable things, worked for bad men. And I'd do it all again to make sure Chris was happy.
Nessa laughs a bit. "Well, regardless. I hope I see you in real life soon. I need some Viv hugs."
I blow her a kiss. "Soon, my friend. Tell everyone I said hi."
Nessa winks. "Will do. Tell Cal to get his head out of his ass and make an honest woman out of you."
"Bye," I snap, hanging up the phone as Nessa cackles.
I get back to working through the paperwork. I make sure everything is digitized and recorded in the company's system. That way, if Cal's mom wants to sell, it'll all be there. If she doesn't, and Cal takes over, it'll also make his life easier.
I realize how late it is when I hear the alarm system beep, letting me know someone is back at the house. It's after nine. Crap. I didn't even eat dinner.
I look up as Cal walks into the kitchen where I've set up my makeshift office.
I gasp when I see the blood in a slash mark against his shirt on his torso.
"Alistair!" I cry, running to him.
"I'm fine, Vivi."
I waste no time tearing his shirt off. He is not fine. He's got a huge cut mark across his abs and is still bleeding. I lead him quickly to the sink and make quick work of cleaning the blood around the wound.
"This needs stitches! What the hell happened today?!" I snap.
Cal smirks at me. How can he be so light-hearted at a time like this?
"Quinlan," he mutters, as if that explains everything.
"You were supposed to be doing rounds with him today, not getting in knife fights!" I shake my head. "Hold this," I demand as I place the cloth over his wound. "I'm going to get the first aid kit..."
I head to the bathroom and grab the kit. That's the thing about these mafia guys – they always have first aid readily available for any occasion. In this occasion, a random Tuesday.
When I get back to the kitchen, Cal is throwing popcorn into his mouth while he uses his other hand to hold the cloth over his wound.
"You're ridiculous," I shake my head, unable to hide my laughter.
Cal smiles at me. "I'm fine, Vivi."
"Doesn't matter. You need stitches."
I sanitize my hands and peel the bloody cloth off of him. This isn't my first rodeo stitching a guy up. It's just like sewing, really. I certainly don't love doing it, but it's easier to just do it here than take Cal to an emergency room right now.
"What happened?" I ask as I start carefully moving the thread through his wound.
"Got into it with some lower-level thugs. The guy managed to slice me before I put a bullet in his head," Cal shrugs, like this is nothing.
Again.
Another average Tuesday.
I shake my head. "Where was Michael?"
"Quinlan was fighting them off too," Cal chuckles. "Besides, I don't need him to protect me. I can protect myself. That's always been my job, you know?"
"Yeah, well. Things are different now," I chime as I meticulously thread the stitch into his flesh. Cal winces. I give him a look. He only smirks at me and throws more popcorn in his mouth. "Don't be cute."
"You love when I'm cute," he winks.
The charmer.
"Asshole," I mutter under my breath as I finish his stitch.
"That mouth..."
I ignore the low tone of his voice and what it's doing to my body. I make sure the rest of his skin is clean and sigh when I see the trail of blood on the kitchen floor. I reach under the sink and get a bucket to fill and clean it.
"Viv, let the housekeepers get it. You do enough already."
"I am not letting the housekeeper see this! How horrifying!" I shake my head.
Cal laughs. "I'm sure it's not an unfamiliar sight to them."
I give him a look. "Go change. You're pissing me off."
He snickers and invades my space, bracing his hands on either side of me. My ass is pinned to the kitchen counter now, my front only inches from Cal's body – Cal's now shirtless body.
I lick my lips, fighting every urge in my body to stare at his impressive chest and torso. I keep my eyes on his and hope I look stronger than I feel.
"You're my hero, Miss. Chang," he croons.
"If you weren't injured, I would shove you right now," I hiss.
"I'd like to see you try."
"Stop that."
"What?" he grins knowingly.
I roll my eyes. "Let me out so I can clean this mess. And for the love of god, put a freaking shirt on, will you? Preferably a clean one?"
My voice squeaks a bit at the end, making me want to kick myself.
Cal laughs, the sound low and sexy, and deep from his throat. He inches closer and I bite my bottom lip to avoid parting my lips.
Even covered in blood, he looks and smells divine. Does he have any idea the effect he has on my entire system? I feel like mush.
"Aw, come on, Vivi. Can we go back to a few minutes ago when you were worried about me? You were so much nicer then."
I give him a look. "You don't like when I'm nice."
"That's true. I don't like it when you're mad at me though. Although, I certainly prefer you when you're telling me what to do," his grin widens. To my utter horror and delight, he reaches his hand down and tugs on a strand of my hair.
But he doesn't release me after.
His fingers twine through my hair and he pulls again.
This time harder, with more grip on my hair.
My neck cranes back. Cal's face is close to mine now.
Too close. Far too close.
I can't control the way my chest heaves, the way my breaths come out too quickly, almost like I'm panting. I swallow, unable to control the sensations flooding my body.
Cal bends down a bit, his lips only a few inches from mine now.
"Don't be mad at me, Vivi, come on. I'll be good," he drawls quietly.
His words make my knees physically wobble. I've never had this sort of reaction to anyone before in my life.
"Are y-you drunk?" I ask.
Cal laughs a bit and releases me.
He steps back and I almost fall forward as the abruptness of being apart from him.
"No," he sighs.
"You're acting weird," I flush and turn away, filling the bucket with soapy water.
"I'll go change..."
If I didn't know better, I'd say Cal sounded...disappointed.
I wait till his footsteps retreat out of the room till I dare breathe again.
I slump against the sink and shake my head.
We almost kissed.
I almost kissed Alistair Callahan.
****************************************
I straighten my skirt as I wait for Kate Callahan to answer her front door. I don't know why I'm so nervous to be meeting Cal's mom. I inhale slowly through my nose and out through my mouth. The door opens and a tall, regal looking, blonde woman stands before me.
This is Cal's MOTHER?! She looks like she's barely 40!
"Hello!" I smile.
"Vivian, hello," Kate smiles kindly at me. "Come in, please."
I try not to gape at the gorgeous downtown condo – or 'flat' as they call it here. It's modern, sleek, and more expensive than anything I could even imagine.
"Your home is beautiful."
"Thank you. It's nice to meet you, Vivian."
We shake hands. Her blue eyes crinkle in a way that reminds me of Cal when she smiles. "It's so nice to meet you too."
"My son is fond of you..." Kate says. It's a friendly enough statement, laced with gentle curiosity.
"Alistair and I have been friends for several years now," I smile.
"How lovely. He is very lucky to have you. Can I get you something to drink – tea, lemonade, water?"
"Oh, um, tea would be great. Thank you."
Kate, to my surprise, heads to the kitchen. I follow behind her. She grabs two mugs and starts making some tea. I'm surprised she doesn't have a housekeeper take care of things like this for her. She's certainly rich enough. Derek Callahan was the richest man in the city before his tragic passing. Although it doesn't really surprise me. Cal's always been very humble about how much money he actually has, too.
"You and Alistair have had a busy month here," Kate tells me.
I nod. "There has been a lot to work through."
"Selfishly, it's been nice having him back. I almost forgot what that was like."
Kate's eyes crinkle again, but there's a distinctive sadness there, too – of a woman who misses her son. I swallow the pain in my throat. I can't help but think of my own mother. And god, do I miss her. I miss what we could have had now – what would she have thought of all this?
We settle at the kitchen table, which overlooks the street below. It's a beautiful view of a beautiful part of the city.
"I never thought I'd like living in the city. But after Derek's passing, I couldn't stay in that house without crying everyday," Kate shrugs.
"I'm so sorry for your loss."
Kate smiles kindly at me. "It's been many years."
"The grief never really leaves, though," I say quietly. Kate nods in understanding.
"Alistair mentioned you have your own experiences with grief. I am sorry, too, Vivian."
Kate reaches her hand out and squeezes mine.
It's a strangely comforting gesture from someone I just met, but I absorb the affection all the same. She reminds me of Cal in that way.
"And that you all but raised your younger brother," Kate says, releasing my hand to sip her drink. "That must have been a lot to do so young."
"Chris is a good kid. I'm very proud of him," I say, unable to hide my smile.
"You must be! Alistair has told me he's going to Stanford – that he plays for the soccer team."
"Yes," I smile. "I've been able to watch one game on a shaky livestream."
Kate laughs lightly. "That's wonderful. I can empathize. I'm also an empty nester now." Kate looks around the empty condo and sighs a bit. "My Gwen is off at school now. She was always the baby. When Al went to Chicago, I had a toddler at home. Always something to keep my mind on. And now...well..."
Kate clucks her tongue a bit and shrugs.
"That's sort of why I'm here," I smile a bit.
"Oh? I thought you were here to update me on the latest business dealings in preparation to possibly sell?" Kate's eyebrow shoots up curiously. Damn, she is a classy lady. I am overwhelmed by how cool she is. I aspire to have an ounce of her coolness.
"That...and you know, in case...you thought about dipping your toes in."
I reach into my saddle bag and grab my laptop.
"I've digitized a lot of your husband's and then later, Cillian's, business dealings. I've put a spreadsheet together with everything listed out."
I open the document to show her.
Kate puts on a pair of stylish reading glasses and scans the spreadsheet I've prepared as I talk her through it.
I worry my bottom lip as I watch her analyze the information.
"Your business is extremely lucrative, Mrs. Callahan. Legitimately lucrative, too. You would make a lot of money selling...yes. But you could also take it to a whole other level if you didn't."
Kate hums a bit, taking this in.
"I understand," she finally says, turning to me. "But I won't do it alone."
"For sure! We could find a good CEO to stand in for you. Someone with experience and passion and-"
"If it is not Alistair, I will sell it."
I clamp my mouth shut.
I'm not sure why, but I had a feeling she was going to say that.
Kate pats my forearm kindly.
"I won't pretend I don't want my son to stay in Dublin, Vivian. I also don't want to manipulate him into doing it. I want him to make the decision that is best for him. I don't want him to feel sucked back into this world. But if he doesn't want it, then neither do I."
I nod. I have to be okay with that. It's not my life.
Kate takes a deep breath. "I'd appreciate you do not tell him that though."
"Oh...I don't like keeping things from Alistair," I mutter, my cheeks heating. I'm a people-pleaser by nature, and I respect Kate. I hate to be a pain, but I really don't like keeping things from Cal.
Kate smiles a bit, her eyes twinkle again with that familiar curiosity.
"You are very loyal to him," she says matter-of-factly.
"I work for Ronan. But yes, Alistair is my friend. I don't want to hide anything from him."
"I understand," Kate sighs. "I just don't want him to feel any more pressure to stay. I have no idea what he really wants."
There's a long silence.
Then she asks, "Do you know what he wants?"
I shake my head.
Kate grins. "You do not want to give away any of his secrets though, do you?"
"Alistair is an open book. He truly doesn't know what he wants," I tell her. I feel the need to defend him for some reason.
"Well. He is very lucky to have you, Vivian. Let's talk about something else, shall we? No more business!" Kate says as she politely shuts my laptop.
Well. So much for that.