Page 30 of Killian (The Doherty Mafia)
I did almost laugh, but stopped myself in time. Her cheeks were flushed pink and the only thing I could think about was how much I wanted to kiss her right then.
Sixteen
Reese
I could see him grinning.
Was it really that funny? The fact that I harbored aspirations of becoming a nurse?
I rolled my eyes at him and he took a big bite of his burger.
“Okay, I’ll be honest, you would make a good nurse,” he admitted.
I couldn’t stop myself from blushing hard. Was that a compliment he just gave me? I couldn’t believe it.
Killian didn’t strike me as the kind of guy who happily dished out compliments.
“But why nursing? What gave you that idea?” he asked.
I shrugged, focusing on drinking the milkshake so I wouldn’t have to look into his dreamy brown eyes.
“I figured if I can’t truly love someone personally, maybe I can help people through my work instead.”
“Nurses are strong creatures. They see a lot of shit, literally and figuratively,” he replied. We grinned at each other.
It was kinda hard to believe we were sitting there together in the cold basement, eating fast food and cracking jokes.
“I think I can handle it. I’m a lot stronger than most people assume I am.”
Killian nodded like he agreed.
“But it’s not like I can actually become one. I don’t know how to make it in the real world. I don’t know how I’ll do it alone. If I’ll even have the chance,” I continued. I watched him closely for this part, hoping his reaction would give me a clue for what he planned to do with me.
He didn’t reply, moving his jaws slowly as he ate his food. But at least he didn’t look away. He held my gaze, letting me soak in my own worst assumptions. I had moments when I just wished he’d put me out of my misery.
If this was going to be the end of my life, I wished he’d just do it already.
I had to break eye contact. It was too intense. His face was too handsome and sharp. Everything about him was dangerous. It was like I was constantly sinking in quicksand.
“What about you? What got you involved in your…uh family business,” I asked. I didn’t know how else to frame the words without actually mentioning ‘mafia’ directly. I may not have known all the details about the Doherty family, but the fact that they were associated with Aldo meant they belonged to the same world.
It was a no brainer.
It seemed like the question made Killian uncomfortable.
Why?
So, I felt the need to keep pushing. I needed him out of his comfort zone.
“Why did you choose this path for yourself? Wouldn’t your family have supported you with any profession you chose?”
He flashed his eyes at me. They were suddenly bloodshot and burning. I knew immediately that I’d asked him the wrong question.
But I really really hoped he answered it.
I was desperate to take a peek inside this man’s mind.
* * *
“I had no choice. I had to do it,” he replied. I watched him rub a hand over his face in frustration.
Actually, I didn’t expect him to answer. The fact that he did gave me the encouragement to carry on with my line of questioning.
“Why? Were you forced into it?”
“We all were. We had to make them pay.”
He wasn’t looking at me anymore, but staring at the wall. His eyes were still very red.
“Whom? What did they do?”
He jolted his face in my direction, narrowing his eyes at me like it was my fault. Like I was the one who had wronged him. Instinctually, I wanted to inch away, go curl up in the corner again. But I didn’t. I glared at him, wanting answers.
“Our family had connections with the mafia, but we were never directly involved. My father wanted to stay out of it. Mind our own business.”
Killian kept raking his fingers through his hair. I could see this was a difficult conversation for him, but I didn’t need to push him anymore. It was like a dam had broken or something, and now everything gushed out.
“But that’s not what they wanted, not how they liked it. They killed my mother.”
Killian’s burning dark eyes settled on me. He looked through me like he was imagining the scene.
I felt my heart sink. All I could do was clasp and unclasp my hands. He lost his mother too…somebody killed her.
He clenched his jaws and spoke through gritted teeth.
“The Di Maggio family. They had the wrong information. They thought my father had done something he hadn’t. They wanted revenge and came into our house at night and killed her.”
His voice was hollow and deep, like a wild animal’s foreboding growl. I had goosebumps on my skin. A chill ran down my spine as Killian spoke. In that moment, I could see he was capable of anything. His heart was empty. He’d lost all feeling.
