Chapter 6
Where Do We Go From Here?
I woke up sometime in the dark hours of the early morning. I sat up in bed with a start when I realized I wasn't at home in my bed but instead in a motel room. It took a moment for my brain to process things and then I remembered the night before. Erika and I had went to the hotel room of Conner and Murphy MacManus and waited for them. We had arranged for them to kill our husbands in the mafia. I sighed and stretched and realized Conner was asleep in bed next to me. I studied him while he slept, turning so I could look more closely at him. I studied his tattoos. A tattoo of the virgin mary on his neck, a cross on his arm, veritas on his left hand and a few others. I looked at his rosarie laying on his chest, rising and falling with his soft breathing. Reaching out gently to pick it up, I leaned in closer to study it. My fingers brushed his chest lightly as I lifted the wooden cross. I studied the rosarie. It had a metal circle on it with Aequitas and Veritas engraved in it.
I never noticed Conner open his eyes and watch me as I looked at the rosarie. "It was my da's," he whispered softly. I dropped the cross and leaned back. "It's all right. I'm sorry I didn't wake you when we returned. You looked so peaceful, we figured we would let you sleep."
It was only then I realized Conner only had on boxers. His shirt and jeans discarded on the floor. "Was it nescessary to sleep next to me in only your boxers?" I asked smiling a bit.
"Well I certainly wasn't going to disrupt my comfort just for you. You are sleeping on my bed. Besides, I figured it wouldn't bother you too much," he explained with a cocky grin. "I could've slept in the nude if you would've preferred.
"Well how presumptious of you and no, I don't think I would have preferred you sleeping in the nude," I remarked laying back down and putting my arms behind my head as a cushion. He rolled to his side to look at me. Hesitantly, he reached out to touch my own rosarie but stopped to look at me for permission. I nodded and he took it in his hand. "It was my ma's. She gave it to me just before she died."
He released it and looked at me for a while. I tried not to look at him, but it was hard, I could see his eyes so soft and kind studying me and the bruises my husband had left on me. "What'll you do now?" he asked quietly.
I thought hard. "I don't know," I finally said reluctantly. "I really don't have anywhere to go. I have no home in Ireland without my ma and I have no family here other than my da. I would be a fool to go to him. He would have me killed, he would know I had played a part in the killing of my husband. So...I guess I really don't know." I looked to the bed next to the one Conner and I were sharing. Erika was cuddled up against Murphy sleeping with a content smile on her face. She was always a cuddler. I, on the other hand, avoided contact with men. I hadn't had many figures to make me trust men, so I naturally avoided them, but as Conner lay next to me I felt a pang of loneliness.
I rolled to my side so we could continue talking without disturbing Murphy and Erika. "She's seems comfertable," he commented looking over my shoulder at his brother and Erika.
I nodded. "I did this for her you know," I commented quietly. "My husband could do what he wished to me, but I couldn't stand seeing Marco hurt Erika any longer."
"She's like your sister isn't she?" he asked quietly.
"She's all I've had since I came to America. I would do anything for her." Conner reached out and brushed my cheek. This time I didn't pull away. He scooted closer and kissed me softly. I hesitated a moment and then returned the kiss, running my fingers lightly through his hair. He pulled me close to him and I curved into his body, resting a hand on his chest. He broke the kiss and looked down at me, his eyes were so warm, so safe. Resting my head on his chest, I cuddled close to him and fell back to sleep.