“What happened to him?” I never want anyone to know that I was the one that poisoned the bastards coke stash. If it comes out, then there will be war. The secrets I carry are there to stop the people I love from getting hurt.
She shrugs, “The cocaine he had was shit.” She shakes her head, a small smile playing on her lips. “He wasn’t found until morning.”
“Why are we even talking about this? The man’s been dead for almost six years, why bring it up?”
She bites her lip, she’s thinking carefully about what she says. Everyone sees her and sees this gorgeous brunette who is just the princess of the Vipers Fury Motorcycle club, but she’s manipulative when she needs to be and that’s most of the damn time. “Don’t.” I warn her, she’s never like this with me and I’m pissed off that she’s starting now. “Kins, whatever the hell you have to say, say it.”
“Fine,” she breathes, “we’re talking about this because I need to know what happened, Kenna. I need to know why the hell my father is letting that animal hurt me whenever he likes.”
“I don’t know, Kins. I really wish I knew why this was happening. I’ve tried so hard to take you away from them but you never would leave. You kept going back.” I would have kept her with me at all times, every time she went back made me lose a part of myself. How can I protect my best friend if she willingly went back into that hell? Instead, every time it happened, I’d get a phone call and I’d have to be the one to get her. Bring her home with me and stitch up her wounds, clean up her cuts, and hold her while she cried until she fell asleep.
“I had to go back. If I didn’t, they'd have come for me. You and I both know that. We’re the same Kenna, we both do whatever the hell we have to, ensuring the ones we love are safe. So I go home and I take what that asshole does and then I call the only person in this world that I can rely on. The girl that’s been my best friend since as long as I can remember. The one who’s had my back from the very first moment we met and the woman who’s been my backbone.”
I will the tears not to fall, “Don’t make me cry!” I warn her. “You’ve been here for me just as much as I’ve been there for you. You also cleaned up all the cuts and bruises I’ve had.”
She nods, “Let’s hope I’m right about your soon to be husband. I don’t want to clean up any more cuts.”
I reach for her and pull her into my arms, “I don’t want to clean anymore of yours, but until your father dies, I’m going to have to.” I release her and take a step back, once again, smoothing down my dress. “It’s time.”
She reaches for the bouquet and hands it to me. “Try not to kill my father as you walk past him.”
I grin, “Your dad’s here? Who the hell invited him?”
She shakes her head, gone is all the seriousness and in its place is happiness, just the way it should be today. “Let’s get you married.”
I exit the door and I’m greeted by my father, “Have you two been behaving?”
“Don’t we always?”
His brows practically hit his forehead. “Now, the day you two start acting like ladies, is the day, I begin to worry.”
“You love us really, Mr Gallagher.” Kinsley grins.
Dad shakes his head, “Kinsley, how many times have I told you to call me Seamus?”
She ignores him and turns to me, “I’ll leave you both alone for a few moments.”
Dad waits until she’s out of sight before turning to me. “Baby girl.”
I shake my head, “Don’t, Da…” It’s been a long time since I was this emotional. Today, my life is changing and I’m not sure if it’s for better or worse.
“No, I’ve failed you.”
“You haven’t,” I implore, needing him to realize he did what he needed to do.
“Kenna, will you be quiet for a minute so I can talk?” I nod. “Thank you, as I was saying. I’ve failed you. I couldn’t keep you safe even though that was my job. You’re my baby, Kenna, and I’ve fucked up in more ways than one. I’m sorry.”
“Da, you’ve done what you thought was right. This is our way of life, this marriage is what we do. It’s going to bring peace between the Italians and the Irish. Besides, I could marry worse than Dante.”
Da scoffs, “Yeah, if you say so. The boy’s a fucking psycho. He’s not what you think, he’s everyone’s worst nightmare.”
I laugh, “And, I’m the one that gets to marry him.”
“Remember, you’re a Gallagher Kenna, through and through. Even after you take the Italian bastard’s name, you’re still ours, and we’ll always protect you.” There’s a promise in his words, he’s letting me know that no matter what, he’s going to be there for me.
“I’ll be fine,” I promise him.
He kisses my cheek, “I know you will be. I’m proud of you.”
My heart swells at his words. “Da, you’ve got to stop, otherwise I’m going to cry.”
He shakes his head, “My Kenna doesn’t cry.”
“You don’t know me, Da, not anymore.” His eyes flash with guilt and I feel bad, “Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.”
“You did,” he says simply. “I sent you away hoping to protect you.”
I know he did, if only he knew the life he had sent me away to.
“You hate me for it, don’t you?”
“Da, I don’t hate you…” not anymore. “You did what you thought was right. That’s all that I can ever ask of you.” I place a kiss on his cheek, “I don’t hate you, Da, I don’t. So, we’re going to put a smile on our faces and I’m going to get married. Besides, I’ll be back on Sunday.”
He smiles, “Yeah, you will. You’re not allowed to miss Sunday dinner unless you're dying. That includes that husband of yours.”
I lift my brows, “Dante doesn’t seem to go anywhere without his brothers.”
Dad’s eyes narrow, “Fuck, do I really have to sit around a table with those Italian bastards?”
“Da!” I gasp, “you’ve got to stop calling them bastards.”
He laughs and I can’t help but smile. “Let’s get you married, huh?”
He holds out his arm for me to take and I do. A few sharp turns from my dressing room and we come to the doors of church. “I love you, Da,” I whisper as the bridal march song starts.
“And I love you, Makenna.”
The door opens and my breath is taken from me when I see Dante standing at the front of the altar, his eyes on me.
Kinsley walks ahead, I notice that Romero’s eyes follow her every move, her body tenses ever so slightly as she passes her father and brother on her way to the altar.
My arm tightens on Dad’s as we move toward Dante and the priest. My mother has outdone herself today. The church is full to the brim, the who’s who of the Mafia world are here and then some. The men of the East Street Kings are here, Landon, Scantor, Miller, and Prior. In front of them is Hudson Brady, along with his wife Mia, and his right hand man, Jagger, and his wife, Sarah. Dante’s family take up a huge portion of the church, each and every single one of them are armed to the teeth.