The Enforcer or The Mafia Prince

Chapter 12

Tristan finally came out of his bedroom a while later, blushing. Jess loved this bashful version of this supposed playboy. She didn't realize he was only like that with her because he had real feelings for her. He couldn't say he loved her. It wasn't like that, but she definitely had a hold over him that no other woman ever had. He had changed out of his suit into a pair of gray sweatpants and a t-shirt. His casual look was sexier than any suited-up one she'd seen so far. Jess still looked flushed. She'd put her shirt back on but neglected her bra. The lacy black item was thrown over the back of Tristan's couch.

"Do," Tristan stuttered, "Um, are you hungry?"

Jessica felt a smidge of guilt when she remembered the pizza that Declan made her. Well, now she had secrets from both men. Not that she was ashamed or anything. She was attracted to both of them and wasn't in a relationship with either. Jess only wished not to ruin the friendship they had between them. That being said, she had needs, and nothing was wrong with that. Her stomach growled, answering for her. Tristan chuckled; he'd heard it from across the room.

"I don't have any food in the house, so why don't I order something? Do you like vegetable lasagna?" Tristan shuffled toward his phone on the counter.

"Is it made with normal cheese or cashew cheese?"

"I can have it made with cashew cheese. I forgot that you're entirely vegan, not just vegetarian." One phone call and an hour later, the couple was sitting at the small table eating dinner together. Tristan's post-orgasmic guilt made him a talker. He asked her all sorts of questions. Thinking back to her meeting with Tristan's dad, Jess had her own questions.

"Hey, Tristan? What happened to your mom? Your dad said she passed away." A dark shadow passed over Tristan's face. Jess felt he was suddenly much farther away now.

"I don't want to discuss it. Don't ask," Tristan abruptly ended their conversation.

By the time Tristan and Jessica returned to the shared condo, Declan had already returned from whatever he needed to do. He saw Tristan's hair was messed up, and Jess's lips looked slightly swollen. However, the air between them was so cold that Declan wouldn't have believed them if they told him what happened on Tristan's couch. Tristan was rigidly polite; he kissed Jess's hand and left for his place alone. Declan guessed that Jess had made Tristan mad, and he was trying to keep himself in check.

"What happened? I was gone for a few hours at most." Declan texted Tristan, not wanting to upset Jess if something had happened.

"She asked about Mom." Those four words were all Declan needed to understand.

"Got it," he texted back. "Hey, Jess?" She was in the kitchen getting a glass of water. Declan noticed her shirt looked oddly wrinkled but didn't think much of it.

"Hmm?" She looked over while taking a drink.

"Tristan told me you asked about his mom?"

"I did," she replied guiltily. "I didn't realize it was such a sore subject after the way Ciaran spoke earlier." Declan nodded and motioned for her to sit with him at the table. When she joined him, Declan explained the situation to her.

"You see, Tristan is very angry about his mom. Mr. O'Sullivan wasn't the best husband to her. He had lots of girls around, though no one knew if he really cheated on Mrs. O'Sullivan. Tristan's mom was depressed about it, though. She was a socialite in her own right and found it humiliating that her husband would be seen with other women. It'd be one thing if it had been about work, but she'd she some young girl on Ciaran's arm leaving the theatre or something. Mrs. O'Sullivan tried to hide it from her son and raise him to be a happy boy. Unfortunately, Ciaran got into a conflict with a rival organization. Long story short, Tristan's mom got caught in the crossfire. Tristan still harbors so much hate for his father as a result. It's not something he talks about." Declan gave her a severely watered-down tale about what happened to Tristan's mom. As always, things were more complicated than the official story. Jessica's felt awful. Had she known, she wouldn't have asked Tristan directly, especially not after what they had done that evening.

"Should I apologize to him?" Jessica could only ask Declan what to do to fix the situation. He indicated that Jess should drop it and not ask again.

"What did Tristan do that got him in trouble," She figured no one else would tell her, so why not ask Declan? The question made him uncomfortable.

"He started seeing a woman that was engaged to someone else. That person works with a rival company. The affair ended the man's engagement. In his fury, he made some moves against the O'Sullivans that were problematic, to say the least."

"That's vague," Jess accidentally rolled her eyes. She wasn't mad at Declan but became increasingly frustrated at everyone's indirect answers.

"Jess..."

"I know. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you," Jess apologized, putting a hand up to end the conflict. Something Declan said made her a little anxious, though.

"Did Tristan stop seeing that other woman?" Jessica's question made Declan pause. How would he answer her? Was she helping Tristan cheat on someone earlier? Was Tristan faking his actions toward her? Why did Declan react that way? She knocked on the glass table to get his attention.

"Declan, did Tristan stop seeing that other woman?" It was no longer a question but a demand that Declan answered her.

"I believe Ciaran instructed Tristan to cut ties with her." Declan's elliptical response didn't satisfy Jess at all. She merely looked at him with probing eyes. She knew that Declan was avoiding answering her directly.

"Yes, he's stopped seeing her." He didn't add that Tristan hadn't cut things off cleanly with the woman nor that he had just seen her after they brought Jess to the condo. Everyone was under strict instructions, not to mention Sophia to Jessica.

The night was getting late. After their talk, Jessica left Declan in the dining room and went to her room. She wasn't sure what felt off to her. Was it the enjoyable day she'd had with Declan? Was it her talk with Ciaran? Was it her fun session with Tristan? She didn't have a bad day, yet something still felt off to her. In fact, Jess didn't feel well at all now that she thought about it. She went to the restroom to splash some water on her face. Looking in the mirror, Jess felt a familiar dull ache began in her abdomen.

"s**t," she thought, "I'm starting my period." Jess scoured the restroom and her bedroom and tore through all her things. After a while, she gave up and sighed. This is what happens when leaving living arrangements in the hands of men. There wasn't a single tampon or anything for her to use in the condo. Giving up, she returned to the living room only to find that Declan must have gone to bed. Jess checked her phone; it was late, but a few places were still open. She could run to the store a block over and be back in under twenty minutes.

She didn't think anything was wrong with her leaving for a moment. Everyone had told her it was okay for her to come and go. Plus, she desperately needed a few things. It wasn't like it could wait until tomorrow. Settling on a plan, Jessica left the condo and went to the lobby alone. She waved to the nightguard behind the reception desk. They'd seen each other a couple of times now. He knew she was staying here and had seen her with the boss's son. He didn't think to stop her.

Jess's trip to the store was uneventful. She'd grabbed a box of tampons, a packet of feminine wipes, some painkillers, and a box of some fancy chocolate that would last her a while. After she paid for her things and walked outside, she was surprised to run into a very worried Declan.

"What the hell, Jess! You couldn't leave a note?" Declan doubled over and struggled to catch his breath while looking at her.

"Huh?" Jessica was clueless as to what was going on.

"You just left and didn't leave a note or say anything!" He stood up and walked over to her. At his full height, he towered over her. She realized that Declan had been trying to appear smaller, less threatening to her the entire time.

"I'm sorry," she squeaked, "I just needed a few things, and last time I tried to go on that side of the apartment..." Jessica blushed up to her ears, remembering walking in on him changing. Suddenly, Declan pulled her into a tight hug. Jess realized he'd been shaking.

"Declan, what's wrong? I just needed..." Before Jess could explain, Declan tore the bag from her and looked inside. It was then that he realized he was an i***t. He had forgotten that she might need these things and didn't have the building staff stock them. No one had thought to tell her that there was a convenience shop in the building or that she could ask and someone would bring them right up. Taking the bag in one hand, he took Jess's with the other and practically dragged her back to the condo.

Later, some security guy would laugh at the camera footage of a giant man carrying a bag of period supplies and pulling a disgruntled young woman behind him. The comical scene looked like an ogre stealing a princess. Though, he was a very handsome ogre. Jess didn't notice the crowd of people downstairs when they entered the building or the addition of bodyguards in the hallway.

"Declan, did I do something wrong?" Jess couldn't figure out why he was acting so strangely. She was just a street over and had her phone on her. She was also wearing the bracelet they could use to find her; she realized that's probably how Declan knew where she had gone anyway.

Declan slammed the door shut and dropped the bag on the ground. Before Jess could finish asking her question, he took her face in his hands and kissed her so gently she wasn't sure what was happening at first. Declan pinned her against the door and deepened the kiss. Jessica didn't know what to do. The last time they kissed, he had obviously regretted it. Now he was pressing her against something, and she couldn't help but close her eyes and enjoy it. All too soon, Declan pulled away and touched his forehead against hers.

"You have no idea how afraid I was." He was telling the truth. Jess could hear his worry and feel his heart pounding.

"What's wrong," she whispered. Declan squatted down. He was so tall that they were almost at eye level. Jess was shocked to see Declan's eyes were slightly red. Something had gone down in the few minutes she had been in the store.

"Jess," he whispered, "someone broke into the lobby and shot the nightguard." Her blood turned cold. She had just seen him. That meant someone must have walked in as she was walking out. Jess strained her memory but wasn't paying attention, so she didn't remember seeing anyone.

"I got the security alert on my phone that there was a shooting downstairs," Declan continued, "I went to check on you, but you were gone. It had just happened, so I didn't know if it had something to do with you. I was terrified, Jess. I thought someone tried to take you." There were too many questions swirling through her mind.

"Why would someone try to take me," she asked, wide-eyed and confused.

"Jess, you've been spending all of your time with us. People have seen you around a mob boss's son. If they want to get to him, they will go through any weakness he has. They don't know if you're a weakness or not. Why do you think we've been overly concerned with your safety?" Declan hated having to spell this out to her. Declan wrapped his arms around her again. Lord only knows how afraid he was when he saw she wasn't in her room. He hadn't felt fear like that in years. If anything happened to her, forget the O'Sullivans, Declan would never be able to forgive himself.

Jess felt like she had just been doused with water or hit with a ton of bricks. It never once occurred to her that what she was doing was dangerous. She had always been reserved. Whenever she organized events or fundraisers, she was the one to give credit to others and stay out of the limelight. She never thought she'd be important enough for someone to go after. The weight of her agreement with Ciaran finally clicked. The more time she spent with Tristan, the more people saw her with the O'Sullivans and the more danger she'd be in.

"Someone tried to kidnap me?" Jess couldn't wrap her mind around this.

"No, honey," the word slipped out of Declan's mouth, "it seems that someone had a personal problem with Rick. That's the guard that was shot. I didn't know that at the time, then you were gone, and I panicked." Jessica didn't point out how Declan had addressed her. Things were already weird between them.

"Is he dead," She asked in a morbid whisper.

"No, he'll be fine. Things like this happen sometimes. Please don't go out again without saying anything." Declan finally let go of her and stood back up. He picked up Jess's shopping back and returned it to her.

"That's good," Jessica said as she nodded, focusing on the positives. "Then why did you kiss me?"