Page 32 of Blood in the Water

Once we got away from the main bar, it was surprisingly quiet. Things looked a lot less grungy and much more clean and well-maintained.

Colin gestured to a closed door. “Here we are. Ya ready, Cas?”

Cas gritted his teeth and straightened his jacket.

“Let’s get this over with.”

Colin chuckled and pushed the door open.

The room opened into a dark yet comfortable office. Bookshelves lined the walls, with a giant desk on one wall and a massive couch against the other. In front of the desk sat two leather chairs.

A beautiful woman in a white shirt and a leather jacket with luscious brown hair cascading over her shoulder sat at the desk with a laptop and papers strewn all around her.

On the couch sat two huge men with arms crossed over their chests, one blond and one redhead. Another man stood behind her, leaning against the bookshelf with two guns holstered to his hips on full display. He stared at all of us behind dark hair andeyes, like we were ruining his day by just existing. Between the three of them, the woman looked exceptionally well protected.

“This is my sister, Fallon Byrne,” Colin said with a sweep of his arm, gesturing at the beautiful woman.

She leaned back in her chair, steepling her fingers together while her elbows propped on the armrests. She gestured for us both to sit, which I did. Her dark and cunning eyes immediately latched onto Cas like I didn’t even exist.

“Caspian Di Salvo. I never thought I’d see your face again.” Her smile made it seem like she was joking, but her tone had an underlying edge. My eyebrow raised. That’s not exactly how I expected this to start.

Cas stood slightly behind me, his hands clasped in front of his waist. “Fallon. It’s good to see you. Thanks for your recent help.”

Her eyes narrowed for a moment before they turned to me. With a tilt of her head, she sized me up from head to toe. I couldn’t decide whether I should feel fucking annoyed at her attitude or whether I should cringe beneath her gaze, but regardless I found myself straightening under her scrutiny.

“You must be Leona Vero.” Her voice was solid and commanding. Nothing about her displayed even the tiniest weakness. I’d bet she’d give some of thecaposunder my father’s command a run for their money.

In the Italian mafia, women wereneverallowed in leadership positions. I had never heard of a woman Don.Donna. It just wasn’t something that was done, and I had assumed other criminal organizations were the same.

Fallon, the head of the Irish Mob, surprised and intrigued me. How did she pull it off? Was she as badass as she looked, or did it have more to do with the three men watching us like hawks?

I cleared my throat, trying to put a little strength into my spine. There was nothing for me to be intimidated by. I was the daughter of one of the heads of the Five Families. I deserved to be here.

“Thank you for meeting us, Ms. Byrne.”

She inclined her head. “Ye can call me Fallon. I’ve heard lots about ya over the last few days. I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you. We wouldn’t have made it this far without Colin and your help. Please accept our thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Heard ya got shot, Caspian.” She leaned forward in her chair and raised her chin slightly at Cas. “Willow patch you up nice and well, aye?”

He nodded but still refused to meet her eye directly. “She did.”

This was weird. Definitely not like Cas had saved her and her brother’s life, and they’d been friends since childhood. My eyes flicked between them. The confusion must have been written across my face because Fallon’s clear laughter suddenly rang through the room, and she pointed at me.

“He didn’t tell ya about ourhistory, did he?”

I shook my head. “Guess he didn’t.”

“Oh, Caspian, don’t be an eejit.” She smiled as she leaned back in her chair, her eyes crinkling at their edges. “He was my very first boyfriend. Broke me heart.”

Behind me, the leather couch creaked as the guards shifted.

“Boyfriend?” I gaped like a fish out of water. But my shoulders tensed, and defensiveness curled in my belly, like I wanted to pull the knife hidden from my boot and defend his honor.

Cas refused to meet my or Fallon’s gaze. Oh, we were going to talk about this later.

“No, he did not tell me that,” I replied as I stared at him. Why the hell didn’t he? Wouldn’t that have been important to know?