JAY'S P.O.V.
I know I told Christine and Voight that I was all in, but I don't know if I can go along with their plan. There's too much at stake now. There's Aiden and Quinn to think about. There's Christine's safety to think about. I'd like to think Voight has my family's best interest at heart but I'm not sold on his motives. As we sit here on the plane heading towards Myrtle Beach everyone is in vacation mode sipping on Mimosa's and Bloody Mary's. Everyone except for me and O'Malley. At least I didn't have to deal with the other two morons, Liam and Shamus O'Doyle. I couldn't talk to Christine about any of this. I had promised to support her when we got back together. When we get to Boston, I've made plans to talk to her Dad in private. I'm not only asking for his blessing to marry Christine but I'm also going to tell him the truth about what's been going on. I have a plan to end this once and for all.
CHRISTINE'S P.O.V.
I've gotten so good at keeping up pretenses lately that I was pretty sure no one knew how upset I was. Jay has barely spoken to me since Saturday. Today is Tuesday. He was pissed at Hank and beyond pissed at me. Why doesn't he understand that this is the way out for me? Then he also brought up how ridiculous it is that I'm flying everyone on a private jet. If he is this mad now he definitely isn't going to be happy when he finds out I'm buying a private plane for the company and after the deal in Boston is complete I'm buying two hotels in Ireland. The Hotel 30 Collection will be adding a Dublin hotel and a Galway hotel to the portfolio. Having hotels in Ireland will also give me access to some of the bosses that call the shots to the Irish Mob stateside...the people who control my Uncle Paddy. I wasn't going to bring him down. I am going to make him bring his Irish bosses down and force an immunity deal to be drawn up for him. I just couldn't tell anyone yet.
"Okay everyone! We should be on the ground in twenty minutes or so. I just want to say how excited I am to have you down in Myrtle Beach. We pretty much have the rest of the day to relax and then I planned a clambake tonight on the beach for dinner. Laura and I will be at the hotel tomorrow and Thursday from 9:00am – 2:00pm. I thought we could do low key dinners at the house those two nights and then we can hit up Molly's on Friday and Saturday. I really want to get a feel for the crowd and how the hotel is doing overall. I'd really like to know what you all think of it. With that being said, Kim you have the most important job out of all of us. You'll be spending the day tomorrow at the hotel's spa being spoiled and pampered why the guys golf at the resort's Championship Golf Course." I told them as the plane made the initial decent into Myrtle Beach.
We landed and loaded luggage and ourselves into three waiting SUV's. O'Malley, of course, rode with Jay and I. There was no tick in Jay's cheek so I decided to approach a light topic with him. "Babe, I'm so excited for you to see the house! The pictures I showed you are nothing compared to seeing it in person. If there's anything you don't love or want to change, let me know since we will hopefully be taking plenty of trips down here in the future. And the hotel...I haven't been there since March. I can't wait to see the renovations. It's going to be such a great few days. As much as I already miss Aiden & Quinn, I think we really need this getaway. I hope you enjoy this trip. Things will definitely be changing for us again at home in a few weeks when the twins are released from Chicago Med!" I said. Jay just looked at me and gave me a half-ass don't really want to talk to you kind of smile. Fuck this shit I thought to myself. "Jay, look you haven't spoken to me since Saturday. If you need to be mad at me then be mad at me on Monday morning when I have my meeting in Boston. If you can't get over it until then there's plenty of room in the guest house. I'm sure you and O'Malley will be comfortable being roommates. Now, we're here." I said as we drove through the gates leading up to the house. As we disembarked from the SUV, Jay grabbed my hand and using his thumb caressed the top of my hand. He smiled and softly told me I was right but he was worried. He then told me he would try to save his worry for Monday. We were interrupted by the others, who were in a little shock at the size of the beach house and the amount of property that went with it.
Later on as we headed down to the beach for the clambake everyone stopped to appreciate the set-up and planning that went into our private dinner. I brought in driftwood style tables and chairs and had them set family style for the six of us. The table was draped with a blue and white table runner and a row of small lanterns with LED candles going down the middle. There were four wooden posts on the outskirts of the table connected by white crisscross light bulbs. Ruzek, stopping and looking back and forth from the house to the beach said "Hey Halstead. Does it bother you that your girl is so rich and you're so not? I mean, Christine, let's face it. Jay's never going to help you add to your empire on his meager Detective's salary." "Jesus, Adam. How many beers did you have when I was in the shower?" Kim asked. "I'm just curious. What is your net worth anyway? I bet I could google it and find out." Adam continued oblivious to the tick that was showing in Jay's left cheek. "See Ruzek, that's where you're wrong. Jay has already added to my so-called empire more than you can imagine. He's the reason why I'm a Mom. I'd say Jay's contribution is priceless." I said as I walked over to Jay and kissed the man I love. "How sweet. Can we eat now? I'm starving." Connor said changing the subject as we walked over to the buffet. I had hired a Chef who cooked and prepared a true seafood clambake dinner consisting of: fresh oysters, New England clam chowder, shrimp, lobster, crab, mussels, roasted potatoes, corn-on-the-cob, fresh watermelon and banana pudding pie. The catering staff was very attentive making sure we had everything we needed thru the course of the dinner. We had plenty of good wine and beer to drink throughout the night. After dinner we walked back up to the patio and sat on the Adirondack chairs around the fire pit. We spent the rest of the night drinking, laughing and playing Cards Against Humanity.
As 11:00pm approached, I told Jay I wanted to show him something so we said goodnight to the group. I took him up to the master suite and we walked thru the bedroom onto the private deck. "Come sit with me." I said as I sat down on one of the cushioned chairs. "Jay when I ran away in January I came out here every night and thought about the last conversation we had. I'm only going to say this once and then Jay you need to tell me if you really are all in or not. I made the choice I did to keep you safe and if needed I'd make the same choice again. This isn't something I plan on being involved in for the rest of my life. There is an end in sight and then I hope to put this behind us. I need to know if you really are on board and really will support me. I can't keep going back and forth with you every other day or every other week. Especially after the twins come home."
Jay didn't say a word. Instead he handed me a glass of wine and we stood overlooking the pool with the beach and ocean behind it. Jay took a few sips and told me that we were going to have a truly amazing life and we were lucky to have found each other. As he lightly kissed me his hands made their way to the back of my neck to untie the top of my black and white halter dress. As the dress fell to the floor, exposing my almost completely naked body, Jay quickly moved my white lace thong to the side as he unzipped his shorts. He bent me over the railing, taking me, almost animal like from behind. As I felt the first orgasm pulsate thru my entire body I remember thinking it was a good thing our deck wasn't visible from down below or from any of the other rooms. I'm not a prude but I prefer to only put on a show for the man I love. A short while later as we laid in bed listening to the sound of the waves with the moonlight streaming in thru the open patio doors, Jay tipped my head up towards him. At that moment, as he looked at me with so much love in his eyes, he said "Christine, you and our children are my life. When I tell you I'm all in, I am. I will do whatever is needed to protect the three of you, forever. I love you Christine Brennan." "I love you too Jay Halstead." I replied.
The rest of our time in Myrtle Beach was wonderful. Laura and I only had to make minor changes to the hotel. I informed her we would need to hire a new General Manager and Assistant General Manager for the Chicago hotel because we wouldn't be able to oversee day to day operations with the three new hotels we would be opening by years end. It was a challenge and an opportunity we were both very excited about.
On Sunday Jay, Kim, Adam, O'Malley and I boarded the plane and made the two hour flight to Boston. Shamus, Liam and Luis (who Hank managed to locate) were waiting for us along with three SUV's at the hanger. We quickly loaded the luggage into the SUV's and made our way to the Four Seasons Hotel. O'Malley checked us in and we all headed up to the sixth floor. Jay and I, as did Kim and Adam, had a Garden Suite overlooking the beautiful Public Gardens. The other four men shared two rooms on the same floor. They would take turns guarding my door when we were in the hotel. To prove I was truly in charge I made a change to my Monday meeting without telling anyone. I informed Jay, Kim and Adam we would be heading to Mother Anna's in the North End for dinner. I know as soon as we were seated at the restaurant someone would get word to Anthony DiStefano that I was in town and in the North End. I would wait for him to approach me.
Knowing none of my hotel business attire would be appropriate for a meeting like this, after showering I left my hair curly and pulled it partially back from my face. My make-up was applied very carefully and I was hopeful that my smoky eyes deterred from the worried look in them. I slipped into a very tight pair of black skinny jeans with cuffed ankles, a gray strapless corset bustier style top, my gray suede peep-toe lace booties with a short-sleeve light black fitted summer jacket completing the look. As I walked out of the bedroom I saw Jay sitting on the couch watching tv. He looked up, the surprise and quick flash of lust written all over his face. "Damn." he said. "If you weren't my girlfriend I'd definitely try to pick you up and take you home from the bar. You're hot." I grinned and said "Well that's good because tonight you have to do just that." Moments later there was a knock on the door and Luis let Kim and Adam into our suite. They too were surprised by my appearance. "Car's downstairs whenever you're ready." Luis said. The four of us hopped into the SUV and were driven to the restaurant. We were seated on the outdoor patio at Mother Anna's, with my lieutenant and soldiers two tables over from us. I kept my guard up and other than one glass of wine I primarily stuck with water. We had just ordered dessert when a man approached our table. Jay and Adam noticed him coming right away and automatically stood to protect me. "That's far enough." Ruzek said. "It's okay Adam." I said standing. "Anthony, it's been a while. I hope your lovely wife, Rosa, is well. Why don't you join me, over at that table. Have a seat and I'll be there momentarily." I said motioning to the table on the other side of where my men sat. "What the fuck are you doing, Christine?" Jay said angrily. "I'm taking control of the situation and this is the way I'm doing it. I'm getting this shit done tonight. I need to show them who's in charge in Chicago and it's not Paddy. I need to take control Jay." I said. "How are we supposed to protect you? How are your guys supposed to protect you? You need to at least give us a heads up." he retorted. "If I told anyone word would have somehow gotten back to Paddy and I'm not ready for that. Why else would I have chosen a restaurant in the Italian section of Boston, as opposed to the Irish section? I'll be back in a bit. By the way, I'm sure you've noticed but DiStefano has five guys watching him. I'm sure he's got at least one or two more out front." I said getting up from the seat walking over to where the former Consigliere, the current head of the DiStefano Mafia family, was waiting for me.
He opened his mouth to speak as I sat down and I put my hand up to stop him. "I'm not here to listen to you Anthony. Your son made a grave mistake in choosing the Cartel over me, my family and your family. That betrayal can not go unpunished. Amends need to be made. The only reason I didn't kill Joseph is because of the hospitality your wife showed me when I stayed with your family all those years ago. I know it would have destroyed her if I had killed your son. That's why I chose to shoot him in the legs instead. I will tell you what I am offering opposed to letting a war begin between our families in both Boston and Chicago. You will turn all of your Chicago business over to me. All of it...the drug running, the weapon sales, the girls and the gambling. I will now control all of Chicago. You will also pay a fee in Boston. To continue your operations here you will now pay Paddy McGuire a protection fee of $125,000.00 per quarter. Those are my terms. If they're not acceptable to you then I suggest you let your wife know that it is your fault your son was killed during the middle of the night in his cell at MCC Chicago. You have until 10:00am tomorrow morning to get back to me. O'Malley here will provide you with a phone number you may call when you reach your decision. Now I am going to insist you and your escorts leave so I may enjoy the rest of my meal with my friends. Nice to see you again Anthony. I look forward to hearing from you." I finished as I stood up without sparing him another glance and walked back to where Jay was glaring at me. Kim and Adam didn't look much happier with me. I sat down and sipped my wine as I waited to pay the bill. Without a word to the three of them, after I finished my glass, I walked out of the restaurant and into the waiting SUV.
No one spoke on the way back to the hotel. Adam and Kim went back to their suite and Jay decided to go for a walk. He didn't want anything to do with me at the moment. Thirty minutes later there was a knock on my door and O'Malley walked in and handed me the phone. It was Anthony DiStefano. He agreed to my terms as long as I could guarantee safety for Joseph in prison. That would be easy enough thanks to the connections I had from both the O'Doyles and from Hank. Holy shit! I couldn't quite explain how I was feeling. It was almost exhilarating. I went head to head with a Mafia Boss and I came out on top. I showed him who was the Bad Ass Boss Bitch!
JAY'S P.O.V.
I'm going to fucking kill her was all I could think as I hopped in an Uber and took the twenty minute drive to Michael Brennan's house. "Mr. Brennan. Thank you for seeing me so late. I know we're going to see each other tomorrow at the game, but I wanted to talk to you about a couple of things in private before the game..." I started. I made the man very happy when I asked for his blessing to propose to and marry Christine, but then I almost destroyed him when I told him what his daughter and brother-in-law had been up to recently. I told him my plan to get Christine out of it and he was on board. As I got in another Uber to head back to the hotel, I called the one person I knew could help me take down Christine's Uncle and the Irish Mob. Hopefully that person will be able to do it without putting Christine in any danger or putting her behind bars. Taking a deep breath I scrolled through my contacts until the name came up on my phone. "Hello?" a breathy voice said in greeting. A voice I hadn't heard in almost two years. "Erin. It's Jay. I need your help." I said.
A/N: Christine got a taste of what control felt like. Yes she has control in her hotel business, but this was a whole other feeling for her. A feeling she's not going to want to give up very easily. And she is not going to be happy when she meets Erin Lindsay down the road. Christine's life, the happily ever after she imagined with Jay after the twins come home from the hospital is not going to be easily obtained. She's going to have to fight for her children and for Jay, if that's what she really wants.
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