The Enforcer or The Mafia Prince

Chapter 17

"I'm sorry to have talked your ear off. I haven't been able to talk about this with anyone. I've been trying to be as strong as I can, but it's been lonely, you know?" Jessica took a bite of her food. She was glad she waited because the falafel had absorbed some of the lemon-dill vinaigrette, making it extra flavorful.

"Oh, that's okay. You have only been here a week. To tell you the truth, I'm impressed you haven't lost your mind already. Go ahead and eat while I tell you a little about me," Emma reassured Jess while adjusting her blonde ponytail. Now that Emma had eaten, she could talk while Jess ate. Emma explained that her parents met while working for Ciaran, then got married and had her. She was also an only child and very close with her mom. The few people on the outside who knew how she'd grown up were always so surprised to find out about it. To them, Emma seemed so normal. To Emma, her life was normal. Growing up while her father worked for Ciaran was the only thing she'd known. In fact, it was thanks to Ciaran that Emma was able to go to a fairly exclusive high school. She was about seventeen when she met Jimmy, a boy on the outside who had no idea what her family was involved in.

Their story was romantic and surprisingly wholesome. Emma met Jimmy at an animal shelter. He was working at the clinic in high school because he thought he wanted to be a veterinarian but wasn't sure if it was the right major for him or not. Emma was also in high school but volunteering to pack her college applications. They ended up going to the same college and were friends for years before Jimmy had the guts to ask her out. When he did, and things started to get serious, she realized she had to tell him about her family's ties to the O'Sullivans. There was only so much she could tell him, but he loved her so much that he dropped out of college and begged Ciaran for a job, any job. He got one driving for Ciaran. Ciaran was like an uncle to Emma and figured if this boy wanted to date her so badly, he'd have to keep an eye on him. Jimmy did all that just so Emma could be more open with him. The rest was history. How many men would jump into a job with the mob for you, after all? Emma decided that Jimmy had proven he'd go above and beyond for her, so she was content he was "the one." An interesting detail about Emma, she graduated from university with honors, but her job was fairly mundane. She said she worked at a bank that was unassociated with the O'Sullivans but didn't elaborate on what she did. She simply said she was in lending.

"Wow, so you just have a somewhat normal life after growing up around this," Jessica asked.

"Yeah, it's a bit different in your case because you're spending so much time with Tristan. That'll be difficult to manage, but, for the most part, this isn't a difficult life. It's nothing like movies make it out to be. The only difference is that we're like a large community supporting one another for the survival of the community as a whole. I don't mean in the Stepford sense with community bake sales, and then everyone goes back to their cookie-cutter homes. It's more like those at the top are the royal family, and everyone working under them supports the family. In return, the family takes care of us. We all have great security, and the job benefits are wonderful for those who have roles within the organization. Every family has top-notch medical care, and our kids can choose almost any school they want for college." Emma's eyes sparkled as she talked about the benefits of working for or with the O'Sullivans. Jessica didn't realize how much Ciaran did to support those that worked for him.

"What do you mean that it'll be difficult to manage to be around Tristan?"

"Well, Tristan is the heir to the entire organization, and those at the top make the biggest targets. Those around them sometimes get caught in the middle of disputes between organizations. It's not exactly fair, but almost everyone knows that when they come into this life. Jimmy explained, though, that you didn't really have a choice. So it's bound to be more difficult for you since you weren't prepared for it. What's your biggest worry right now?"

"Yeah, the video that may be circulating. I'm stressed out that it'll get me expelled from school or invite unwanted attention. All that stuff, you know?" Emma could sympathize with Jessica's plight. Few women would enjoy personal moments like that getting out into the world.

"Well, here's what I can tell you about that, meaning everything I know, not what I'm allowed to tell you. The O'Sullivans have some of the best tech people in the world working for them and have arrangements with some of the biggest companies out there. If the video exists, you have quite literally hundreds of people working to protect you. I say if because the building is pretty secure, as you saw last night. Even if someone managed to get a camera in, there's very little chance they got the video out. We just have too many protections in place. Tristan should have told you that, but I'm sure he was overwhelmed with everything. Now, if it does exist and somehow gets passed an army of people prepared to take it down, then the O'Sullivans will find ways to protect you however they have to. I'm certain that Ciaran has a way of preventing you from being expelled or harassed. I'm also certain he'll sue everyone and every platform necessary for hosting that video. You have every right to be worried, but you should try to trust the organization a little more. No one here wants to see you or anyone get hurt. You might not want to be, but you're one of us, and we'll protect you."

Jimmy called to say his time was up, and he had to get back to work, so Emma went back home to take care of their baby. As Jessica shut and locked the door behind her, she had to admit that her talk with Emma made her feel much lighter. She leaned against the door. With a laugh to herself, she realized that of all the men she's met, that are part of the O'Sullivans, Jimmy might be the smartest. Jessica heard the door beep and felt it bump into her back; Declan had returned.

"Hey, Jess, why are you standing in front of the door," Declan asked as he removed his shoes and hung up his suit jacket.

"I was talking with Emma, Jimmy's wife, and she just left."

"That explains why I passed her getting out of the elevator," Declan had wondered why she was on this floor. "What did you two talk about?"

"She was helping me calm down and understand the O'Sullivans a little better. After yesterday I was so overwhelmed, you know?" The two walked into the living room. Declan sat on what Jessica was coming to realize was his favorite sofa while she cleared away the mess from lunch.

"That's good. Emma's a good woman. Her dad was one of the people that took care of me growing up when Ciaran wasn't around."

"I forgot that the O'Sullivans took you in. I saw the adoption papers online the other night," Jessica mentioned offhandedly. Declan realized she must have finally gotten around to looking up everyone. Well, it wasn't a secret that he was an orphan.

"Yeah. So, how was class today," Declan was the second person to ask her. Jessica told him the truth. She had spent the entire morning terrified and feeling paranoid. Declan nodded along the entire time.

"How would you feel about learning some self-defense," Declan asked after Jessica told him about her morning. "Tristan and I decided on a schedule for you to train and work out with one of our top female bodyguards. We're also thinking about teaching you how to use a gun." Jessica made an odd face at the statement about learning how to use a firearm. "Don't make that face, Jess. We're not going to have you strapped and ready to go at any second. However, if something happens and you find yourself alone with access to a gun, it's better that you know how to use it responsibly rather than just picking it up and aiming. I bet you wouldn't even think to check the safety." She begrudgingly admitted that Declan had a point.

Around 2 pm, the wind started picking up, and the sun disappeared behind dark clouds. Jessica remembered what Jimmy said about the storm supplies and asked Declan about it. He carried the box inside for her and gave her a few pillar candles for her room, the bathroom, and the kitchen. He also made sure she had a working flashlight.

"You know, we probably won't need this stuff. Because of security concerns, we have backup generators that are diligently maintained and cared for so we don't lose power," Declan told her. Jessica merely nodded but didn't explain how much she hated storms.

At first, the evening was peaceful. Declan and Jessica ate dinner and then cleaned up. Tristan texted her to check in and make sure Jess was doing okay. Then she lay in bed reading a book while listening to the rain. She was almost asleep when a rattling boom of thunder cracked, and her eyes flew open. With every passing moment, the storm got worse and worse until she could hear the wind whistling and rattling her balcony door. She knew it was locked and wouldn't fly open, but she got up to check it anyway. Just as she pulled aside the curtain to make sure the door was secure, a massive bolt of lightning lit up the sky and reflected across the lake. Thirty seconds later, a deafening clamor of thunder shook Jess down to her bones until she was crying.

Without thinking, Jess let out a scream and ran out of her room towards Declan's. Despite the building still having electricity, Jess didn't think to turn on a light and ran smack into Declan, who'd jumped up when he heard her yell. Jess being rather willowy and Declan being a golem of a man, she bounced off him and landed on the floor, hitting her head. It wasn't hard enough to do any real damage, but it left a pretty sizable lump. The pain from her head, the fear from the storm, and the anxiety of the past two days overwhelmed Jess. She didn't let falling stop her. She scrambled back to her feet and jumped into Declan's arms. She was locked on so tight around his neck that Declan didn't even need to hold her. In fact, her arms had locked up, and he couldn't pull her off of him.

"Jess," he coughed, "Jess, I need you to loosen up a bit." Jessica had a death grip around Declan's neck. He kept tapping her arm, trying to signal that he couldn't breathe. Nothing was getting through to her. Feeling bad but knowing it was the only way, Declan shuffled into the nearest place he thought he could get her off him without hurting her. That ended up being the guestroom with the Murphy bed. Declan pulled the bed down and flipped Jess over his head so that she landed on it as gently as possible. Her heavy bounce on the mattress made the frame shake a little as the bottom of the bed rebounded off the floor. Declan sank to the floor, coughing, and flipped on the bedside lamp. Jess, still stuck in her head, clambered off the bed and crawled into Declan's lap.

"Jessica, what's wrong," Declan wheezed out. This particular room was an inner room with no windows, which was why it was only used when needed. The lack of windows, though, served to calm Jess down. The sights and sound of the storm were dampened here. When her breathing started to stabilize, Declan again asked her what was wrong. Embarrassed by her behavior, Jess squeaked out that she was afraid of thunderstorms. A loud boom made her duck her head in his chest. She felt so small against him.

Jessica either could not or would not move her body, but the floor was becoming increasingly uncomfortable for Declan. Cradling her gently, Declan lifted them both up and moved to the bed. Once they were lying down, Jessica curled up into a ball, plastered to Declan's side. The two didn't speak. Jessica was trying to shut out the storm, and Declan was focused on controlling his breathing. Eventually, though, the storm passed, and the atmosphere outside the condo quieted.