Page 20 of Colin (The Doherty Mafia)
I sat at my desk while my head spun.
I couldn’t align the two images together—the guy I had woken up to, the guy I had sex with that morning in the shower, did not make me angry or fearful. In fact, he had the opposite effect on me.
He calmed me. He made me feel safe. When I didn’t know who he was, I felt comfortable around him. Even though he was still a stranger. If I was crazy enough to ever actually marry someone, this was the image of a man I would have in mind.
I couldn’t picture him as a part of a mafia family. Not even when I saw him with the other Dohertys—his brothers. They looked normal. Well, sure, they were all ridiculously attractive, but other than that, they just looked like a group of men who were having fun together.
The accounts I read and the stories I heard about the kind of stuff his family had been involved in—did not fit what I saw.
Or was I just being delusional again? Was my judgement clouded by the sex and how he made me feel?
I reached into my purse sheepishly and rooted around for the ring. I just wanted to feel it in my hand again. I didn’t know why, but it brought me some sort of comfort. Like I felt closer to him.
“You messed up my order,” I heard a voice behind me. I spun around in my chair to find one of the detectives standing there, glaring down at me with his arms crossed over his chest.
“Okay, I’m sorry, I guess,” I replied distractedly.
He narrowed his eyes, a bitter smirk crossed his lips and he shook his head.
“Attention to detail is one of the qualities a good detective has. You’re clearly not going to make one,” he said.
I was too stunned to say anything for a few moments, and I just sat there in silence. He had already walked away when I opened my mouth.
“You’re harassing me,” I said.
He turned to me slowly as I stood up.
The floor was empty. Everyone else seemed to already have gone to lunch. So it was just him and me there.
From the look on his face, I could sense he was fuming. The trouble was—I didn’t know what he would do to me.
“What the fuck did you just say?” he growled.
“This is harassment. All of it. You are all abusing your positions here by using me to run your errands.” I crossed my arms over my chest just like he had.
“Just face it, Price, you’re not man enough for this precinct and you never will be.”
“No, I won’t, because I’ve got a pussy,” I said, walking past him.
It was his turn to be too stunned to say anything to me.
I knew he was staring after me, but I was glad I got the last word.
I went to the toilet and locked myself in a stall, trying to catch my breath.
I was worried I’d fucked up. These guys had more control over my career than I did. He could screw me over if he wanted to. We both knew that.
But the truth was, I didn’t regret it. He had it coming.
Apart from a pussy, I had something else none of these other guys did. I was married to a Doherty.
The more I thought about it, the more the idea took shape in my head.
What if I was somehow able to use this marriage to my benefit? Was there any chance I could get close to Colin and his family? Could I infiltrate the mafia? Could I go back with him to New York?
How crazy would that be? What would it mean for my career?
If I could get information nobody else around here could get their hands on—I’d be unstoppable. Every asshole here would have to eat his words and maybe then, maybe finally, they would learn to treat me with a little respect.
Now, all I had to do was convince Colin I was harmless.
The thought of seeing him again gave me a thrill I wasn’t expecting. And now I had the perfect excuse to be close to him again.
I was going to do it for the sake of my dreams.
Twelve
Colin
When I told Aidan I wanted to go back to the hotel and take some time off from the group, he seemed to jump at the idea. Almost like he wanted me to leave.
Maybe my hangover and my general gloom were acting as deterrents to their celebratory mood. I couldn’t really blame them. I would have hated being around myself.
I left them at the casino and returned to my hotel room. I wouldn’t have to put on a happy face and make conversation with anybody. I needed some time to myself and I needed time to think. Neither of which my brothers would understand.
