Page 23 of Malicious Marriage (Mafia Lords of Sin #9)
DEAN
H ailey Byrne.
The eldest daughter of the Byrne family and the only person Clover seems to have left in the world—other than a debt-inducing uncle, but given how little she speaks about him, I don’t hold him in particularly high regard.
Her disappearance is enough to cause concern by most every day standards, but the more I look into Hailey, the more my concern deepens.
Typically, in our line of work, someone vanishing for any period of time means they’re dead.
There are no second chances in this life.
Clover claimed Hailey liked to travel a lot, but my people have only been able to drag up minimal information on Hailey and her travels.
It sits before me, spread across my desk like confetti while I nurse a scotch and mull over the way forward.
Marrying Clover in just over a week’s time tightens my timeline on finding out exactly what happened to her, especially if I want to find her and reunite her with Clover before we tie the knot.
Three months is a small window in any other walk of life except ours.
Empires rise and fall within the space of three months.
Sipping my drink, the burn down my throat fades as I lightly shuffle through the papers before me. Hailey and Clover appeared to be as close as two sisters can be, judging by their social media interactions, but it all tapered off about four years ago.
Presumably, this is when Hailey started traveling as a result of the death of their father.
The Byrne family aren’t exactly prevalent in our world.
If it wasn’t for meeting Clover, I doubt they would ever naturally cross my radar.
They’re one of a thousand smaller families that make up the foundation of my family’s empire, but no one family holds much importance.
They often shift like sand as minor squabbles and bad blood remove families from the equation as often as new ones form.
I read through their history until it’s imprinted in my mind, and my heart aches for Clover. Her mother passed away when she was only six years old, her father four years ago, and now her sister has vanished. She’s alone in the world with only Bobby for company.
Maybe that’s why some of her behavior has been so odd and why her home looked like no one really spent much time there.
She’s one person rattling around a mansion while her uncle seemingly gambles away what’s left of the family wealth.
As soon as Clover and I tie the knot, I’m removing that man from any family accounts he shouldn’t have access to.
Just a glance at the family public accounts is enough to tell me how often he squanders wealth that doesn’t belong to him.
“Dean?” Don knocks softly on the door and enters when I look up. “Busy?”
“Not really.” Setting my drink down, I rise from my chair. “Can I get you a drink?”
Don shakes his head. “I’m good, thanks.”
I sit back down with a small smile and eye the papers in his hand. “Those for me?”
“Yeah. The list of Russian bachelors you wanted.” He hands them to me with a small frown. “Although some explanation would be useful.”
“Thanks.” The list is small which theoretically should make my job easier.
“When last we spoke, Clover mentioned that her sister was dating a Russian man. Given what we know of the Russians and their lack of desire to date outside of their own allegiance, I want to know who could have been her partner.”
“Clover doesn’t know?” Don perches on the edge of my desk with his attention down on the papers scattered across my desk.
“No. Her sister was keeping it a secret.”
“Typical of the Russians,” Don replies. “So you think someone on that list is the reason for her disappearance?”
“I was actually hoping that there would be some Russian disappearances that I could connect to Hailey, but…” Skimming down the list, my heart sinks. “All these men are accounted for?”
“Yup. Alive and thriving. But you’re assuming she was dating a single man. For all we know, she was a piece on the side.”
I scoff softly. “I can’t comment.” Far be it for me to judge Hailey when we don’t even know where she is.
“Dean.”
“Mmhmm?” I glance up, and Don’s stern face immediately distracts me from Hailey. “What?”
“Is this really a good use of our time and resources? You’re Dean Savoy. You shouldn’t be spending time looking for some missing woman.”
“She’s not some missing woman . She’s Clover’s sister.”
“And?” He throws his hand over my work. “We have people for this sort of thing.”
“If I want it done quickly, then I have to do it myself. Besides, if she really is involved with the Russians, then I want to do this carefully. You know how fragile our deal with them is and the last thing I need is for one of our men to stumble into something he shouldn’t.”
“That’s another reason you should let this be.
Is risking fucking up our Russian deal worth digging into who is dating who?
Listen, Dean. You know I care for you and I’ve entertained your little dance with this Clover, but it’s time for us to be serious.
There are thousands of eyes on you right now since the gala.
Everyone is waiting for this wedding while questioning why it’s so fast. A wedding means a baby will follow soon, and you know how many people are watching to see the birth of the Savoy heir. ”
“Kind of creepy,” I mutter, glancing away back to my desk. “The obsession with my balls is getting out of control.”
“Don’t,” scolds Don. “You know why it’s important.
You know our people value bloodlines and trust that strength and good leadership flows in your views and into the veins of your child.
You know the rumblings that move through our people.
You’ve waited so long to settle down, left us so long without an heir that there are those among us, even the ones that aren’t so traditional, who have doubts. ”
“Are you one of those people?” My head snaps up and I look him in the eye. “Whose side are you on, Don?”
“Yours, Dean. Always. You know this. I have your best interests in mind at all times. Which is why I want to make sure you’re not making a mistake.”
“Do you really think this empire will fall if I don’t have a baby?”
“Not immediately, but with no heir then people don’t see a future and every vulture around you sees an opportunity. A chance to rip your throat out and take your place.”
“A baby won’t stop people like that.”
“No, but a baby will strengthen the belief in you and what you do. It will strengthen those around you, and strong ranks deter those vultures.”
Suddenly, I know where this is going. “What do you really want to say, Don?”
He sighs deeply and rubs at his jaw, then shakes his head.
“Your marriage to Clover and the chances of her falling pregnant are unknown. Each day chips away at our strength. But Trisha… She's already pregnant. Your baby is due relatively soon and she’s from a good, strong family that will further strengthen?—”
“Don’t.” I silence him by holding up one hand.
“But Dean, you must consider?—”
“Consider what?” I cut in. “Consider binding myself to a twisted psychopath of a woman who only fell pregnant because we were both so incredibly drunk that I welcomed her into my bed when I shouldn’t have?
Can you really stand there and tell me marrying a woman who I found trying to climb into another man’s bed, who stands up at an elite dinner and declares my brother a murderer and threatens to take my child out of state just to punish me—can you really tell me that’s a better choice than Clover? ”
Don’s brow furrows. “Clover is a nobody, Dean. It makes you look distracted. Like your values and attention have shifted away.”
My teeth clack together and I groan softly, shaking my head. I know deep down he comes from a place of concern. If only he weren’t so cold in his delivery.
Picking up my glass, I drain the rest of my drink in one gulp.
“Clover makes me feel like I’m a real person.
Do you know what that’s like? To have the world look at you for your power, your money and your threat?
To exist as a Savoy and lose everything about me under the cloak of my family name?
Clover sees me and I can’t put a price on that.
Is it so wrong of me to want to be seen? ”
“No,” Don relents. “It’s not. But how much are you willing to sacrifice for that feeling?”
“Enough.” I don’t need to hear more. Don’s made his opinion clear and I know he’s trying to prepare me for what the rest of the organization thinks. Choosing Clover sets me up for a long drag of continuing to prove myself. “I want to focus on things that are in front of me, not a bunch of maybes.”
“Understood.”
“That man who appeared at the gala, Clover’s ex. Have you tracked him down? I want him taken care of before the wedding.” He put his hands on Clover and that’s all I need to make sure he never touches anyone ever again.
“We have him located. It’s never hard to track down a loan shark.”
“Wait… he’s a loan shark?” Clover never mentioned that.
Don nods. “Yes. But don’t worry. He won’t be an issue for much longer.”