Free Deadly Shamrocks: An Irish Tale of Love, Murder and Revenge by J. B. Reed Page B

wife to you, at least not the kind of wife I should be, not the kind of wife you deserve.”
    “Maybe not right now; but in time Vivie, who knows. Time brings change, in all of us.  You may find that, in time, you can be exactly the kind of wife that I want, and need and deserve. I can be a good husband to you Vivie, and a good father to the child.
    “Michael O’Bannon, what did I ever do to deserve you?
    “Jesus, Vivie, I don’t know, but maybe you’ll be forgiven of that too, in time.
    Michael and Vivie held each close and laughed. In the back of Michael’s mind, he was thinking about Joseph and what he was going to say about this. If he could keep her father’s death a secret, then he could keep his marriage to Vivie a secret from Joseph.
    “Vivie, tell you what we’ll do. Tomorrow morning, we will get on a plane and fly to Las Vegas. We can get married there in just a couple hours. How does that sound?
    Michael knew that if they were married in Vegas, Joseph would be less likely to hear about it. He also knew that getting Vivie out of town right now, she would be less likely to hear about her father’s murder.
    “Las Vegas Nevada?”
    “Do you know of any other?”
    “Michael, do you know what this means? The letter I wrote to my folks will no longer be a lie. Thank you, Michael, for making my lie the truth. You are my Prince Charming.”
    “Anything for you Princess Vivie; anything for you.”
    Never, in his wildest dreams did Michael ever picture himself as a husband, much less a father. The best mechanic in the business, as Joseph put it, changing diapers? The very thought was laughable. But for Vivie, he was willing to try anything. 

6.
    VIVA LAS VEGAS
    To secure their safety, Michael knew he had to ask Joseph’s permission to leave the city for a few days.   He had a good excuse; he needed to get Vivie out of town, to avoid her finding out about her father’s death.  Michael knew Patrick’s death would be in all the papers by this time.  A gang related hit was big news.  The media would be all over it, even if it did happen in Hell’s Kitchen.  Michael was not convinced this was gang related.  No, it felt more like a hit that was ordered by one man, one, Tommy Flannery. 
      While Vivie was busy packing, Michael placed the call to Joseph, taking care that Vivie did not overhear his conversation.
      “Joseph, I need to get out of town for a few days.  I need to take Vivian out of town.  With the media all over this hit, she’s bound to hear about it.  I think if I take her away for a few days, maybe a week, it will give things time to cool off here.  You know the media doesn’t follow through on anything longer than a week.”
    “That’s not a bad idea Michael.   It might be a good idea for you to lay low for a while as well.  Listen, why don’t you take her out to Vegas for a couple weeks.  I have a suite at the Palms; you are more than welcome to use it.  No one will be looking for you there.  Live it up a little.  Might be good for the little girl too.”
      Michael could hardly believe his ears.  Joseph was actually suggesting he take Vivie to Las Vegas….could this be any more perfect?  He and Vivie could leave for Las Vegas tonight, with Joseph’s blessing, get married with as little fuss as possible, and spend the next couple of weeks, absorbing all the pleasure that Vegas has to offer; all on Joseph’s dime.  What a wedding present.  Too bad Joseph did not know what a gift he had given them. 
      “That sounds great Joseph, thank you.   We can be ready to leave in a couple hours.  I’ll tell Vivian I want to take her on a little holiday.”
      “That will give us time to get her mother and the rest of her family relocated too, Lucky.  By the way, I’m going to take care of the expenses for the old man.”
      “Joseph, I had already intended on doing that.”
      “Yeah, I kind of figured you were.  I do not want you anywhere near this thing