82

Gregory
“Did you seriously grow up here?” Allison asks, staring out the window as we roll down the private driveway toward the mansion.
It’s an enormous house. Ostentatious, obscene. “My great-grandfather built this place to project the family’s power,” I tell her as the sedan parks near the side entrance. The private doorway is for close members of the organization only. “But yes, I grew up here.”
“I can’t even imagine,” she says, a strange laugh in the back of her throat. “And it’s not like I came from nothing. But this…” She trails off, at a loss for words.
It’s hard to see this house through her eyes. This building and the accompanying power dynamics are woven into my very existence. The columns, the tiles on the roof, the multiple wings, manicured landscaping, multiple cars, the armed guards, they’re all a part of my life, etched deeply into my childhood. The dim rooms, the twisting passages, the secret staircases, libraries, music halls, and billiards rooms, they’re the veins through which my memories flow. This house is everything to me, but it’s also a monolith, a representation of the family that binds me to its will. No matter what I do, I will always be a Callahan. Like this mansion will always be the Callahan mansion.
“We’ll see my brother first,” I say as we head inside. She’s staring around, her jaw hanging open at the paintings, the statues. There are some new antiques I’ve never seen before. Carson’s making the place his own, it seems. “Then we’ll visit my mother.”
She clears her throat, looking overwhelmed. “Your mother?”
“I can’t have a wife without presenting her to my mother.”
“Too late for that. Pretty sure we signed all the papers. What if she doesn’t accept me?”
“Those can be destroyed if my mother so chooses.” I try to bury a smile, though I’m only slightly kidding.
She looks uncomfortable. “Now I wish I’d dressed nicer.”
“You look perfect,” I say, meaning it. Allison’s gorgeous: thick, auburn hair, full red lips, a lovely figure. Small, slender features. Russian, extremely Russian, but in a good way.
We reach my brother’s study. My father’s former office. I don’t miss the old man. I knock once then enter, not waiting for Carson to call out. I know he’s here-I sent word ahead to confirm-and I’ve never bothered with ceremony. If Carson doesn’t like it, he can try to make me change. Though we both know that won’t happen.
My brother looks up from his desk, annoyed, but says nothing. He’s in the middle of looking through a ledger, one of half a dozen splayed all over the place. Businesses, probably local. Checking to make sure their profits and losses align. Part of the job of being the boss, making sure everything’s earning money. Despite how powerful our family becomes, cash keeps everything going.
“Gregory,” Carson says, not sounding at all excited to see me. The feeling’s mutual. “You brought a guest.”
“Carson, this is Allison Adams. As of this morning, she’s Allison Callahan.”
No reason to fuck around.
Carson’s mouth drops open. He stares at her, obviously stunned.
Allison clears her throat, clearly not comfortable with the last name yet, and approaches the desk. “It’s nice to meet you. Gregory’s told me lots-”
“We met yesterday,” I tell him, interrupting her. She grimaces, then turns and glares at me. I ignore her and continue. “She was going to marry Paul Debarcio. Now she’s married to me instead.”
Carson sits back like I punched him in the face. He looks from Allison to me and back again, shaking his head. “I’m sorry, Allison? It’s nice to meet you, but can I speak with my brother alone?”
“Of course.” She turns to leave.
“Stay.” I pin her with a stare. “You’re part of this family now whether Carson likes it or not. Don’t go anywhere.”
“Uh, sorry, I don’t want to get in the middle-” she starts, but it’s much too late for that.
“Fine, let her stay.” Carson rubs his temple. “What the fuck is this about, Gregory? Are you being serious right now?”
I sit down on the chair facing his desk. After a moment’s hesitation, Allison joins me, looking pretty pissed off.
“Extremely,” I say. “She comes from a good family. It’s a worthwhile match.”
Carson looks at me like my skull’s on fire. “I don’t give a shit about her family, Gregory. Was she really about to marry Paul Debarcio? What the hell is that all about?”
“Yes, she was.” I glance at her and her face is a stone mask. Only a hint of tension remains around her eyes and mouth. “I met her at their wedding, but she decided to run away. I decided to help her, and in the course of escaping, realized we had a lot in common. We fell madly in love.”
Carson nearly gags. “Are you joking?”
“Yes,” I say, straight-faced. He can’t tell whether I’m serious or not. They never can. “This is real, Carson. Our marriage is serious, even if it’s based on business.”
“Mother’s going to have a heart attack,” he says, leaning forward on his elbows. “Seriously, Gregory, I honestly wondered if you were even, you know-” He gestures at me.
“Capable of human emotion?”
“Interested in getting married,” he says, exasperated. “But fine, you married this girl, and now I’m guessing the Debarcio Bratva wants to kill you? Considering you stole her out from under their leader.”
“More or less, that’s correct.”
“Which means you just came in here with a wife I’ve never heard of before and dumped an enormous pile of shit on my desk. Is that about everything?”
“That’s accurate, yes.”
He groans, leaning back in his chair. “Welcome home. You fucking asshole.”
“Thank you.” I stand up and hold out a hand for Allison. No reason to drag this out. Carson knows, and that’s all I wanted. We’ll discuss strategy and next steps later, but for now, he needs to process and make some calls. I’m sure he’ll want to check up on my story. “Come on, let’s go speak with my mother.”
“It was, uh, nice to meet you?” She looks bewildered as I lead her from the room.
“Don’t let him drag you into his bullshit,” Carson calls out as I close the door behind us.
“That went well,” I say, smiling to myself as I walk toward my mother’s wing of the house.
“That went well?” She stares at me like I’ve lost my mind. That’s possible. Though I’m not sure I ever had it to begin with. “He’s livid. And we were in there for like ten seconds.”
“Is he?” I tilt my head. “Hadn’t noticed.”
“Are you sure he’s going to commit resources to this fight? Honestly, based on how annoyed he looked, I’m not going to be surprised if he lets Paul kill you.”
“Carson may be angry now, but he has too much pride and he cares too much about this family to back away from a challenge.” I pick up my pace, enjoying myself. It’s not every day I get to come home and toss a live grenade into the middle of this stuffy place. “Don’t worry about him for now.”
“Right, sure, I should worry more about your mother.” She chews on her lip. Nervous, which is adorable. “What’s she like?”
“Smart. Strong. Difficult. She’s going to love you.”
“How do you know?”
“Because she’s convinced I’m never going to settle down. You’re here to prove her wrong.”
“Good for me.” She stops mid-stride. “Gregory. How much trouble are we in? Seriously.”
I look back her, trying not to smile. But it’s so damn hard. “A lot. But don’t worry. We’ll have some fun too.”
She groans, but once I start walking again, she follows.