Free KILLIAN: A Mafia Romance (The Callahans Book 2) by Glenna Sinclair Page A

my room, sinking down onto the couch with a heavy sigh. “What did I say?”
    “Something about fate and love. I don’t know, you were sort of mumbling.”
    “Sorry about that.”
    “How’s Stacy?”
    I glanced at the windows that looked onto her apartment. “She’s sleeping, I think.”
    “It is fairly early. Pops has us all up early for a shipment. Jack’s trying to switch things up and do it earlier in the day so that the Italian might not realize what we’re up to.”
    “You’re going?”
    “All hands on deck. Pops even talked Sean into coming.”
    “Sean? He’s never gone on a run before.”
    “Yeah, well, he’s about to get a first class seat on one. Wish us luck.”
    I leaned forward, resting my aching forehead on my hand. “Are things really that bad?”
    “The Italians took our four of Jack’s men just last week. Pops is feeling the heat, and he’s letting it roll downhill, if you know what I mean.”
    “Surely Jack understands that even though we provide protection, we can’t predict everything.”
    “Yeah, well, every time one of his guys dies, he comes looking for Pops. He thinks that someone in the family is giving intel to the Italians.”
    “Why would he think that?”
    “Because the Italians always seem to know where we’re going to be before we get there.” I could hear the tension in Kyle’s voice. “It’s bad, bro. Pops sent Kevin away last night. Made him go to the cabin down in Florida. He wanted Brianna to go with him, but she refused to leave her mother. So he told Cassidy to go, too, but she refused to leave Pops. It’s insane.”
    “I should be there. I should come home.”
    “Pops thinks that Stacy might still be in danger. He won’t let you.”
    “But I should be there!”
    “It’s not my call. Maybe you should talk to Pops yourself.”
    “Yeah, maybe I should.”
    I stood and walked to the window, spotting Stacy just as she crossed the street in front of a speeding taxi. The man yelled something at her, and she offered him a middle-fingered gesture, a bright smile on her face as she did it. It was almost as if she was born in this city.
    “I’ve got to go. Keep me informed, huh?”
    “Of course. But you might cool it with the drunk dialing.”
    Kyle was laughing as he hung up. I set the phone on the coffee table and opened the door before Stacy had a chance to knock.
    “Are you always standing at that window?”
    “No.”
    She brushed some hair out of her face as she looked up at me. There was something in her eyes…I wanted to kiss her and that made me step back because I wasn’t quite sure I could trust myself.
    “Do I smell?”
    “I probably do.”
    She smiled softly. “Maybe we could take a shower together.”
    Oh, my God!
    She limped a little as she came inside, taking advantage of my distraction to invite herself in. She brushed her hair out of her face again, a nervous habit I knew all too well. Her eyes moved around the room, settling on my unmade bed.
    “You were gone when I woke up. I thought we were going to talk this morning.”
    “I was pretty drunk last night. I’m not sure…”
    “You don’t remember?”
    “Only bits and pieces.”
    She blushed, suddenly looking uncomfortable.
    “Maybe I should go, then.”
    “No.” I moved between her and the door, blocking her exit. “I remember enough.”
    I lifted my hand to touch her, but I stopped myself just before I actually cradled her jaw in the palm of my hand. But she took my hand and pulled it to her, encouraging me to do what I’d wanted to do. I stepped into her, drew her close to me.
    “Is this crazy? Am I pushing you into something you don’t want to do?”
    “No.” She rested her hands against my chest, staring at her own fingers for a long moment. Then she looked up at me. “I don’t know what’s happening here anymore than you do. I just know that when you brought Sara up here, it killed something inside of me. And then when we kissed yesterday, something that had