The Enforcer or The Mafia Prince

Chapter 5

Tristan's arm was still wrapped around Jessica when they departed for the apartment. "Declan, get my father on the phone," he instructed. "Jess, we're going to call my father and reschedule our plans for the day. He wants to meet you, but considering what happened and that you haven't slept, the meeting can wait. You don't have to speak up, okay?" Jessica felt blindsided by the care Tristan was exhibiting. He appeared like a worthless playboy born with a platinum spoon in his mouth, but she wondered if there was more to him than that.

Declan used the car's Bluetooth system to dial Mr. O'Sullivan's number. "What is it?" The ruthlessness in the voice answering the phone sent goosebumps up Jessica's arms. Thinking the voice belonged to Tristan's father, she fearfully scooted closer to him. The movement was noticed by Tristan, even if it appeared Jessica hadn't known she'd done it.

"At least her body's starting to trust me," Tristan thought, enjoying her press against him.

"Tristan needs a word with Ciaran; it's about Jessica Hernandez." Jessica's muscles untensed when she realized that Declan was talking to another bodyguard, not Mr. O'Sullivan himself.

"Tristan, what's wrong?" Another voice, gruff and demanding, answered their call.

"Dad, Jess was accosted by some kid as we picked her up from class. We need to reschedule our meeting for this afternoon. She's overwhelmed and tired." Tristan's voice was firm but denoted the obligatory respect for his father. Jess hated listening to people speak about her in the third person while she was right there but felt it was a fair exchange since she didn't want to engage the cold speaker. A long pause permeated the vehicle. Jessica felt compelled to say something, but Tristan motioned her to stay quiet.

After a minute, the first voice returned the call," Mr. O'Sullivan has rescheduled your meeting for this weekend at his office. Declan will receive the details via text message." The call was unceremoniously disconnected. Jessica sank back into her seat, detaching from Tristan's side. He noticed her absence and felt inexplicably lonely.

"Jess, if you want to close your eyes, we'll tell you when we get to the apartment." Tristan looked at the time displayed on the console screen. "We still have another 10 or 15 minutes before we arrive." Though uncomfortable falling asleep in front of them, she felt empty. Completely worn out, she couldn't resist drifting off.

When Jessica opened her eyes, she was lying down in the dark. Anxiously, she jerked upright, trying to figure out where she was. Her fingers found the switch for the bedside lamp. She was back in her room at the apartment. The clock on the nightstand displayed the time, 8 PM. Plopping back down in her pillows, Jess stared at the ceiling and let the last 24 hours replay in her mind. No, it was less than 24 hours. So much had happened in less than a day. It was no wonder Jess had passed out. Her stomach gurgled; Jessica realized she'd barely eaten in that time. Aside from dry toast and fake eggs, she hadn't had anything. A trip to the kitchen to raid the fridge was required.

The living room tv was turned on a movie channel, and the lights were set low. Veggie tacos, still sizzling, permeated the air. Declan and Tristan were waiting for her with a surprise. On the kitchen counter, treats of all types were arranged in an impressive display. As she left her room, she found the boys standing side by side, wearing innocent grins.

"What?" Jessica's eyes darted side to side. What were these two up to?

Tristan spoke up first, "Jess, the last two days must be a lot to take in. We thought," he looked over to Declan, "well, Declan thought, and I agreed that you could use some fun." Declan rolled his eyes. How the hell Tristan thought he was so smooth with women when he couldn't even tell one girl he wanted to watch a movie with her was beyond him.

"What I mean to say," Tristan cleared his throat, "we ordered you dinner and got tons of snacks. Oreos, sour patch kids, and even sliced fruit if you don't want candy. How about we watch a movie?" Jessica was both unsettled and tickled. The big bad mob prince didn't know how to cheer someone up, but it was sweet that he was trying. Declan must be the one who got everything set up. It was clear Tristan had no idea what he was doing.

For the first time since the three had come together, she laughed. An honest, actual laugh that captivated both men. "Sure, thanks, guys." The trio settled on some buddy cop movie. Jessica said she wanted to watch something funny while digging into her tacos. Declan sat on one sofa, stretched out and relaxed, while Tristan insisted on sitting next to Jessica. Come to think of it, it was rather strange how he was near her every time Tristan was around. In the car, during breakfast, and even now, he was always beside Jess.

She tried not to think about it as she finished eating. When they started the movie, Tristan turned the lights off and brought her her favorite candy. How did he know everything she liked? His every move felt calculated. 10 minutes into the movie, he scooted closer to her. Half an hour into the film, he covered them with a throw blanket barely large enough for them to share.

Declan resisted the urge to laugh at his friend. "Smooth, buddy," he thought. "Not obvious at all." Fortunately for Tristan, Jessica didn't notice what he was doing. As the movie neared the climax, he gathered the courage to put his hand beside hers under the blanket. Jessica tensed, feeling the familiar fluttering of butterflies in her tummy. Was he trying to hold her hand? Jessica and Tristan were too awkward to say anything and nervous to look at each other.

Tristan just let his hand sit next to hers, wanting her to get used to him and not reject him altogether. Wait! Was he actually worried about a girl? Inwardly, he started to panic. This wasn't like him at all. No, Tristan was the guy that women threw themselves at. He was the one to say if they could stay or throw them away. This feeling was so foreign to him. As soon as the movie ended, Tristan excused himself and practically ran to his apartment. In the elevator, he let out the breath he had been holding. What was that?! Landing on his floor, Tristan was looking down, pulling his key out to unlock the door, when movement caught his attention.

"Sophia," he breathed her name, entirely caught off guard. "Sophia! What are you doing here? How'd you get in?" f**k she was so damn sexy. Her short skirt showed off her long legs, and her long blonde hair draped over her breasts. The pink sweater she was wearing left nothing to the imagination. Every curve and bump was displayed as if it were painted on her. Tristan bit his lip; he hated the power she had over him. He didn't love her, he wasn't even sure he liked her, but she was his to play with.

"Tristan," she purred, "I saw Jimmy outside, and he let me follow him in." Dammit, Tristan realized no one had told Jimmy what was going on. Of course, he wouldn't know why letting Sophia inside was a terrible idea. She swayed, pressing herself against him just as he liked. She ran her nose along Tristan's jaw and kissed his neck firmly.

"Baby, I missed you. Won't you let me come in?" The emphasis she placed in that sentence set Tristan off. He should have sent her home. He should have thought about Jessica. Instead, he unlocked the door, threw Sophia inside, and double-locked the door behind him. Sophia was exactly the distraction he needed.

Floors above, Declan and Jessica were cleaning up and laughing over their favorite scenes. There was a knock on the door, then a beep announcing someone with access had entered the apartment. Jimmy walked in on the harmonious picture.

"Hey, Declan, mind I crash in the other guestroom tonight? The wife and baby are sick; she doesn't want me to catch what they have." Jimmy's lackadaisical statement wasn't really a request. He was going to stay in the guest room. Declan nodded. What did he care? Jessica was on the other side of the apartment, and Jimmy was married. Plus, he was the most innocent man in the organization. Declan was still trying to determine how Jimmy ended up working for the O'Sullivans in the first place.

"Sure, Jimmy. You'll have to take the one with the Murphy bed because I took the other one."

"That's not a problem," Jimmy replied. He set his phone on the counter and took his overnight bag to the room. Declan motioned to himself, told Jess he'd return, and left the room. She figured he'd gone to talk to Jimmy about something but didn't think too much about it. It wasn't her job to keep tabs on the man. "No, it's the other way around," she laughed.

Jimmy's phone started buzzing on the counter. It was loud enough to reverberate through the spacious room, but no one came to retrieve it before the call ended. Almost immediately, it began to ring again. Curious, Jess saw the name of the caller was 'wifey.' Shoot! Jimmy said she was sick. Worried there was a problem, Jessica grabbed his phone and walked through the hallway to the guestroom. She heard the water running behind a closed door and assumed it was the restroom. This left two other doors for her, both partially open.

Thinking the room with the door open and light on was Jimmy's, she knocked on it before pushing it open, "Hey, Jimmy, your...."

She stopped dead. It was comical how wrong her assumptions had been. Declan stood stark naked in front of her. She could see every tight, sculpted muscle and, well, everything. She knew she should turn away or leave the room or do something. Instead, her eyes widened, unable to stop staring at the gorgeous man before her. It really was unfair how both men she had to spend the majority of her time with were so f*****g sexy.

"Jess!" Declan came to his senses first. Hearing her name, Jessica remembered herself, and flushing, she spat out a harried apology and ran back to the kitchen. A few minutes later, she could hear Jimmy laughing his ass off from the guest quarters.

"Great," she thought, "I'm never going to live this down." Jimmy and Declan walked back into the kitchen. Declan had changed into conservative pj's and could not look Jessica in the eye. Before either man could speak to her, she quickly explained that Jimmy's wife had called twice. When handing the phone to him, she told the room that she was going to bed, too embarrassed to look at either of them.

Jessica didn't have class the next day but had homework to finish. She saw it was just her and Declan when she entered the kitchen. The residual awkwardness from last night hung in the air. He acknowledged her with a grunt and resumed his habit of reading the paper at an unreasonably fast pace.

Jessica gathered her courage to speak first, "Declan, about last night, I'm really sorry. I honestly thought it was an emergency since Jimmy said his wife was sick."

"You're forgiven. Drop it," Declan responded, terse as always.

"Um, Declan," Jessica asked, sitting at the table with leftover fruit from last night.

"What?"

"I need to do my homework, but you took my phone and laptop, so..." she left her sentence unfinished. How do you ask a mobster for your electronics back to do your homework?

"Oh! I forgot." Declan left the table and then returned carrying her stuff. "You can have it back now."

"Really?! You're not worried I'll call my parents or something," she questioned. Declan shook his head and gave her a bewildered look.

"That's why you thought we took your stuff?"

"Well, yeah. It was the middle of the night. My dad owes the mob money. What else was I supposed to think," Jessica stated as though that was an obvious conclusion.

Declan animatedly rolled his eyes at her, "You need to stop watching buddy cop movies. We took your stuff to ensure a suitable VPN was set up and that you had no viruses recording your location or activity." Declan shook his head. "How often do we have to tell you you're safe here? You have everything you need. Your dad just needs to focus. The O'Sullivans actually really like Manuel. He's a good man and a hard worker. He needed help, Jessica. But we're the mob; we can't just look like we're going easy on someone. Having you stay with us while he takes care of your mom and gets the store out of the red is a way to help him without our enemies thinking he's an easy target."

"Okay, but you came to the house in the middle of the night and tied us up."

"Yeah, that's what we do. Your father was dodging our calls and not listening. How else were we supposed to get him to listen to us? Yeah, your dad is on the 'good' list, but he still owed us money." Neither of them could believe the other, unable to see the situation from the opposite point of view. "Anyway, IT is done with your stuff, so you can have them back to do your homework. Any other questions?"

Jessica thought momentarily, "Why am I not allowed on the balcony then?"

Declan slapped his hand against his face, "I thought you were supposed to be smart. Have you seen the state of the outside of the building? The O'Sullivans value luxury but not at the expense of safety. The outside of the building is being renovated and evaluated for any structural issues. Don't go on the balcony while people work on it so you don't get hurt."

"Oh, I thought, "Jessica began. "Never mind. Thank you for my laptop and phone. I'm going to text my parents and do my homework." The rest of the day passed with little interruptions. Jessica did have a lot of work to do and would alternate between working at her desk and the dining table. She even stood sometimes, working away on her laptop in the kitchen.

Around six that evening, Declan asked her to take a break and eat dinner. He led her onto the balcony connected to the living room. "This side of the building is already complete. You can come to this balcony if you want to go out so bad. Yours is on the corner and starts a different work section."

The evening sun threw brilliant orange and yellow beams onto the balcony. Declan had ordered dinner, Mediterranean, and plated the table outside so they could eat together. "You've been inside all day," he explained, "Eat something good and breathe some fresh air." There was something about the setup that was indescribably romantic.

"Thank you, Declan," she said, smiling at him. Sunlight streamed into her green eyes, making them even more vibrant and enchanting than usual. Declan felt himself blush.

"Stick to the plan," he repeated internally, not bothering to respond to her. It was better that she was kept at a distance. Dinner was delicious. Jessica enjoyed the seasonings used on the grilled vegetables. Usually, fennel was too overpowering, but the restaurant had applied it sparingly, which elevated the flavor profile of the whole dish.

Declan picked up their dishes and placed them in the sink when she was done eating. Jessica was back at the dining table, working on her paper.

"I have a meeting this evening with the security team. Will you be okay alone for a while?" She nodded absentmindedly, only realizing he had left when the door shut behind him.