Page 14 of Trust In Me

No, focus. No more kissing! Now she is my nanny, she is even more off-limits. Besides, I’m far too broken to give Mia what she deserves. She deserves someone who can give her the world, and I am barely keeping my head above water with life. We don’t belong together, no matter how much my heart burns for her.

“See you at breakfast in about ten minutes,” I shout over my shoulder as I head out of the door.

I run down the corridor, trying not to question what the hell just happened. Holding Hallie in one arm, her changing bag over the other shoulder, I make my way through the house, towards Liam and Bree’s room. I know I should knock. They’re an engaged couple who went on a date last night, and are probably enjoying a lie-in together. Probably some sexy time. But I don’t care. From the moment Mia woke me up in the middle of the night, I have only had one thing on my mind. Well…two things, but I’m trying not to think about the overwhelming desire I have to fuck Mia, instead concentrating on the second thing.

I burst through the door, and luckily they are both asleep. The noise from the door opening wakes them up. To make sure they are fully awake, I flick on the light, causing them both to groan. That should do it! I stride towards them, ignoring their complaints and Liam’s extreme curse words. They both sit up in bed, and I’m pleased to see Bree is wearing Liam’s t-shirt.

While he’s still half asleep, I hand Hallie over to a stunned-looking Liam, and she squeals with excitement, while I climb over his legs to sit in between them in the middle of the bed. Liam’s face softens as he looks at my daughter, who wraps him around her little finger in an instant. Bree, on the other hand, looks at me with fire in her eyes that’s as bright as her red hair. “Kellan. Why the hell am I awake at six in the morning?” Bree groans, as Liam hits me around the back of the head.

“We were supposed to be having a lie-in. Date night, remember?” Liam groans at me, before turning to face Hallie. “Not that I mind seeing your gorgeous face, though, Hallie Bear. Although Uncle Liam would love you even more if you smelled less.” I can’t help but laugh as Liam practically sings to Hallie. She giggles and coo’s like he’s her shiny new toy.

“Yeah, well, this is important. You can change her while I talk. I have a job for us. I need your help to kill someone.” My voice doesn’t waver, and Liam looks at me, his brow furrowed with concern. I’ve never asked him to kill anyone for me. Not when Shayla and Whiskey screwed me over, not any of the Reapers who ruined my life, not even my fucking mother who is still a pain in my ass. I’ve never asked him for this, which is why he looks so concerned.

“I will change Hallie, you two talk.” Bree hops out of the bed, and I avert my eyes just in case. She comes around to Liam’s side of the bed and has already pulled some sweatpants on, much to my relief. She grabs the changing mat they keep in here—it’s not the first time I’ve come into their room for help with Hallie.

“Actually, Bree, we probably need you in on this,” I say, as Bree lays down the changing mat on the bed in front of Liam, and he lays Hallie on it. They don’t need words, they just seem to know what the other person is going to do. They’re the perfect couple, just totally in sync with each other.

“Why? Who is it?” Liam asks, scepticism dripping from every word. He doesn’t think I’m serious. He thinks I’m having one of my anxiety meltdowns and that I’m just pissed at someone. That I will get over it, but not this time.

“Kyle Fratacello.” Disgust ripples off my tongue as I say his name, and it tastes like ash on my tongue. Just the idea of him repulses me.

Liam looks lost, the name means nothing to him, but Bree knows. I see the look of recognition on her face, followed by the mutual hatred we share.

“Is he as bad as my imagination is making out? I don’t know the full story, but the bits I know are bad,” Bree says, and I know what she means. Mia isn’t good at opening up, so Bree probably knows even less than me. But together, I think we have enough evidence to make a case to Liam.

“It’s bad. She has nightmares about him nearly every night, and last night he made contact saying he wants her back. I’m not going to let that happen.” My voice is stern, making it very fucking clear I will not waver in the slightest.

“No, it fucking is not. I will get Kian to bring him to the warehouse. I think me and my knife need to have a little chat with Kyle. He needs to learn that people do not belong to him. Mia is not an object. She is under my protection, and the sooner he learns that the better.” Gone is the Bree that was here just a second ago. This Bree is harsher, and more ruthless. This is the girl tough enough to bring an army to their knees, to rule as the first female mafia family leader. This is the girl I want on my side.

Liam, however, doesn’t know any of the backstory and needs a little more convincing. “Okay, back up for a second before we slaughter someone and no doubt start a war. Tell me everything. Then we can have him come to the warehouse, and decide what to do. As much fun as it is assassinating people who deserve it, I may not know who Kyle Fratacello is, but I’ve heard that name before. They’re a big family up north. We are not starting a war unless it’s justified. Understood?” Liam states firmly, and Bree turns to him with a fierce look on her face.

“We will talk to him at the warehouse, but if I don’t hear what I want to hear, I will kill him, Liam. Consequences be damned. I’m the leader of this family, and I make the decisions. He is a pervert and a psychopath, and if he poses a danger to someone I love, then I will take him out. I do not need your permission.” I can’t help but sit there with my mouth wide open. I don’t know whether to be shocked she has the balls to say that, or proud as hell. She’s becoming quite the feisty little leader. Nobody should ever doubt Bree is capable of leading this family, she’s a force to be reckoned with.

“Relax, Princess. I’m not challenging your leadership. I’m just stopping us from starting a war. But, if he genuinely is a threat to Mia, I will happily take him out. So, let's get him to the warehouse and get this sorted, shall we?”

As they finish changing Hallie together, I do subtly mention something I may have forgotten. “Oh, and can we not say anything to Mia? She’s downstairs making us all breakfast. I’m not sure she would approve of us interfering, but I really don’t give a shit. I need to make sure she’s safe.” I ignore the looks they give me. I know what they are thinking, why do I care so much? I keep asking myself the same question. I think my shy little wallflower has crawled under my skin, when I wasn't expecting her to, and I’m not sure I can let her go.

The next week passes by in a torturous blur. When I woke Bree and Liam up that morning almost a week ago, demanding the assassination of Kyle Fratacello, I meant it that day. But, of course, Liam and his big fucking conscience had to stick his nose in. Bree and I were all ready to storm Kyle’s house and murder him in his fucking sleep, which is really unlike me. I’m the guy who stays back and does the mission from behind the screen. Not because I’m a coward or because I’m not able to run into the fray, because I will. I’m just better at running surveillance.

When Bree was taken, I was the first to say I wanted to run into the thick of it, that’s what you do for the people you care about. Bree, though I’ve only known her a small amount of time, she’s family to me. I can see the way Liam loves her, but more importantly, I can see how much she loves Liam. She’s taken him in, and by extension me and the rest of the crazy family, never once complaining. So, of course I would throw myself into the mix for her.

I’m telling myself the reason I would do that for Mia is because she is family to Bree, but we all know it’s more than that. For some reason, I want to protect this beautiful, broken girl.

Not so long ago, there was another beautifully broken girl who needed my help, and I gave it without a second thought. I not only gave her access to all my money—with the exception of the hidden off-shore secret account, thankfully—I let her into my home, and I gave her a chance with my heart. She stole them all, claiming she was doing the right thing and that I’d understand one day. I don’t, and I hope I never see her again and have to find out.

What happened with Shayla, it ruined me, and it means that I’m not capable of being the person Mia needs me to be. Whenever she tells me stories about her past, and about how broken she is, I’m looking for the inconsistencies. I’m questioning which bit is the lie, or what her ulterior motive is. I don’t trust her completely, and even though every fibre of my being tells me this girl is nothing like Shayla, I can’t get rid of the nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach. I can’t allow myself to be distracted by love, or lust, again.

So, as I pace up and down my office, waiting for Liam to finish reading the document he has in front of him, I try to convince myself that I’m doing all of this because she’s like family. But, every time I’m in the same room as her, I have to give myself a mental pep talk that this girl is now my nanny. Hallie’s bonding with her, and that means my daughter should always come first. I can’t have my daughter bonding with another woman who abandons her.

Mia’s been working as Hallie’s nanny for the last week, and she’s doing a great job. She’s more than qualified, but I knew that after the shitshow of an interview. I know that by hiring her as my nanny, I have to assess her as part of her university course, which means allowing a strange person to observe how she interacts with my child. I may not like the idea, but Mia deserves her qualification. She loves her work, and the more I watch her with Hallie, I can see how good she is at her job. Hallie adores her, and it’s beautiful to witness.

“Liam, for the love of God, are you finished reading?” I snap, losing my patience, as I have done every fucking day for the last week. It feels like Liam is purposefully dragging his heels, and I haven’t worked out why yet.

“If you stop pacing, I might be able to concentrate.” Even without looking at him, I know he’s rolling his eyes right now.

Liam’s always been the level-headed part of our duo, but despite knowing this, it’s still winding me up. I’ve avoided calling him out over the last week, but my patience is waning thin. I know this is his business, and I have to respect his process, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it, and I’m not entirely sure Bree does either.

I hear a knock on the door before it swings open, the person on the other side not bothering to wait for a reply. Since it’s her house, I don’t blame her. Bree storms into the room, her face a mask of determination. This is the ruthless mafia leader, not the sweet friend I live with. She looks murderous, and quite frankly I’m glad her cold, focused eyes are trained on Liam and not me. Her left-hand man—as Kian named himself—trails behind her, looking slightly uncomfortable. He’s still relatively new to the family, and is not entirely used to Bree yet.

---