Page 27 of Sins of Innocence

Dread skates along my nerve endings, sending a shiver through me. I don't need the warning. I'm fully aware that betraying them to Kenneth would end in my death. Having the underboss say it in that dispassionate, but implacable tone only underlines how inevitable that reality would be.

Because Kenneth Shaughnessy didn't lie about one thing. Mick Fitzgerald tortured and killed my husband. And he won't hesitate to kill me too.

"If I were to marry Kieran…" Did I really just say that? "Then won't Kenneth know I already told Kieran everything? That you've figured out his plan?"

"Not if you convince everyone that you and Kieran have been in a secret relationship for a while," Mick replies. "If you've been dating and I haven't come for him already, Kenneth will assume you haven't told Wraith anything that might give his plan away."

Wheels within wheels. "Wow, Machiavelli had nothing on you."

And how am I supposed to convince everyone that Wraith and I have been seeing each other? My mom isn't going to believe that!

But if she doesn't, if she makes a stink, she could be the next person in the underboss's crosshairs.

"There are none wilier than the Irish." It should be a joke, but it's obvious Mick is dead serious about that.

"It will make it easier for your mother and daughters to accept too," Kara says, confirming my assumption that I can't tell my family the truth. "Even though Fitz told Sadie that arranged marriages are common in the mob, there's no reason for her to believe this one didn't come about because of the secret relationship you and Wraith are in."

And I won't have to ask my daughter to lie to her sisters and grandmother. I'll be doing enough of that for all of us.

"Have you considered that if I marry Kieran, I'd hardly be the easy patsy you've asserted he wants me to be?" I ask. "It could precipitate action on Kenneth's part."

"I'm counting on it." There's a trace of emotion in Mick's voice now: anticipation.

Kara adds, "Kenneth has assigned you a part in his little drama and he's going to make sure you play it."

But what she's not saying is that I now have a role to play in her husband's plan too. I could maybe get away from Kenneth Shaughnessy, but there's no way I'm escaping Mick Fitzgerald.

Mick asks Kieran, "Was anything said today at the Shaughnessy house that would negate the fake relationship scenario?"

Kieran takes a few seconds to think before shaking his head. I could have said no right off. Mainly because Kieran barely said anything.

"What's it going to be?" Mick asks.

I turn my head to meet my mobster protector's eyes because he's the one who deserves my answer, even if he hasn't asked me the important question. "I'll marry you Kieran Lleshi, but God help you because the naively trusting and accommodating wife I once was died the day I learned the truth about Troy."

I might not have any choice about marrying this man if I want to keep my family, not to mention him (And how did that become my problem?) safe, but that doesn't mean I'm going to be a doormat for him or his mob buddies.

That version of Áine is dead too, killed by the realization that acceding to Kenneth Shaughnessy's demands put me and my girls at risk again, when I thought I was doing the opposite.

Chapter six

The Kiss that Seals the Deal

WRAITH

Iorder the stretch limo Brogan prefers to use brought around for the girls so Áine and I can have privacy to discuss details of our fake relationship cover story in my SUV on the way to her place.

The limo is armor plated and my man is driving. Noah, another of my men, stands by the open door to the passenger area. He's riding shotgun as security.

Noah nods to me and I incline my head. "Stay frosty."

The blond nineteen-year-old is the only man on my crew that I recruited to the Shaughnessy Mob. I caught him trying to shoplift food from my local bodega and when I had words with him about that, he admitted he was living on the street.

I took him to a shelter and made sure they had a bed for him, but I checked back in with him. It was a month before he admitted that he was only seventeen. He didn't want to go back into the system, and that resonated.

He's smart and tough, but he had zero interest in going into the military when I suggested it. He's got his reasons and if I had his background, I might feel the same.

I took a more subtle approach to recruiting him than Mick did with me, starting Noah out with small jobs to test his trustworthiness and he passed each one. He's young and still learning, but he trains hard and pays attention.