The Escape: An Irish Mafia Romance (Downing Family Book 1) Read online

  That mingled with the scents of cologne, alcohol and perfume.

  The perfume came from the ladies in attendance—the entertainment. Marcos had offered to take care of the entertainment, but I’d declined. That didn’t keep him from bringing a couple of women along with him when he arrived.

  There seemed to be a bit of rivalry between the women I’d arranged to hire and the women who’d come with Marcos. I hoped the evening wouldn’t end in a catfight. Granted, that might be seriously appealing to some of the men there, but since I’d been in charge of planning this whole deal, I didn’t want to see it ruined because Marcos had decided his involvement was welcome despite the fact that I’d told him no.

  I didn’t like Marcos.

  There was something … seedy about him. Coming from a kid who’d been raised in the Irish mob, that was saying something, I realized. But I couldn’t wipe my dislike for the other man away.

  I could, however, ignore it. I set about doing that as I sat on the couch with my brother Declan and Dominick, one of Sean’s friends.

  Sean was sitting in the position of honor, alone on the love seat, the recipient of several lap dances.

  He was more than a little drunk and looked to be enjoying himself.

  I considered my job a success and was already counting down the minutes until I could make my escape and consider my job as his best man over.

  At least for the night.

  That escape was still several hours away though and I sipped on my whisky and told myself to enjoy the moment.

  “Want a dance?”

  I glanced up at the woman just as she sauntered around from behind the couch, stroking a hand down my arm.

  She’d made the offer once already, introducing herself as Peaches. I had no idea if that was her real name or a stage name she’d picked for herself. Peaches was one of the women who’d accompanied Marcos and I almost brushed her off.

  But then she eased her weight down on the couch, bracing one knee between my thighs. She was so close I could feel the heat of her skin all but kissing my balls.

  She cocked her head to the side, reddish brown curls spilling over a pale shoulder, the ends trailing down to curl around one mostly naked breast. Her nipples were covered with some sort of glittery shit.

  When I didn’t immediately say no, she settled down until she straddled me and rolled her hips until she was grinding up against my cock,

  My cock, naturally, decided to take interest. Slumping into the cushions of the couch, I let her pump up against me and watched her from under my lashes.

  She continued to move against me, her hips rocking, her breasts close enough that I could bury my face between them if I chose.

  I didn’t choose even though I’d swear she was all but daring me to do just that.

  I kept my hands to myself and just enjoyed the moment.

  “You get all the luck,” Dominick said, grousing next to me.

  “Flash a few bills,” I told him, still watching Peaches. Her breathing was coming harder, faster now. I couldn’t deny the fact that my own heart was racing faster than normal. “You’ll get all the attention you want.”

  I was vaguely aware he took my advice and I noticed my older brother slipping off the now-crowded couch, moving over to the open bar set up across the suite.

  Peaches dipped her head lower until her hair fell around us in a curtain. She pressed her lips to my ear and murmured, “If you want more than a dance, just say the word.”

  I reached up and gripped her hips, the idea tempting.

  But I just brought her movements to a halt and met her eyes as she straightened. “Maybe later,” I told her. Then, with a pat on her excellent butt, I sent her away.

  She pouted for a few seconds, but when I didn’t beckon her back, she slid off into the crowd.

  Next to me, Dominick was gazing up at the face of the pretty girl who’d come to relieve him of his cash. He went to reach for her and she caught his wrists, guiding them to the cushions by his head.

  Several other women there were just as skilled at evading the wandering hands of the partygoers. It hadn’t escaped my notice that each of them belonged to the group of strippers I’d hired.

  The few who were indulging in more … intimate contact were all associated with Marcos.

  Thanks to Peaches’ softly whispered comment, I now suspected that his selected women had all been told to play up to the partygoers in whatever way seemed to please the customer most.

  Declan stood off to the side and I went to join him, grabbing a glass of whisky from the bar on the way.

  “Looks like the party is a hit,” he said in a measured voice.

  “Looks like.” I sipped my whisky. “You’ve missed out on the pleasure of having a nearly-naked woman grinding against you.”

  He eyed me narrowly. “I’d prefer to know the women who choose to grind themselves against me are doing it for some reason other than money.”

  I couldn’t find the fault in his reasoning there.

  “Doesn’t it strike you as kind of … sad, knowing that after tonight our baby brother will be a married man?” I asked, changing the subject.

  Declan cast me a look. “He’s clearly not sad about it.”

  “He’s got a hook in his mouth,” I said, shaking my head. “Two of them, really. Isabel and her big, dark eyes, and then Dad, with whatever promises he’s made Sean, so long as Sean marries a Castellanos and helps the family. But think about it … he’s giving up his freedom, everything, for one woman.”

  “Maybe he thinks she’s worth it,” Declan said, shrugging.

  I glanced at him then, wondering if he was thinking about Saoirse, his ex-wife. At some point, they’d both loved each other—I knew that. They had two kids together, the oldest having been conceived while they were still in high school.

  They’d been divorced for more than eighteen months now, although they’d been separated for a while before that.

  I knew the reason why—Declan hadn’t made any attempt to hide his numerous affairs. I’d always liked Saoirse, even though part of me hadn’t believed she’d be happy with Declan for long, or him with her. It hadn’t brought me any pleasure when they’d split up. I knew my brother missed his wife, but his kids most of all.

  They all lived in Idaho now, close to Saoirse’s family. She’d left Philadelphia not long after the divorce had been finalized. To my knowledge, Decan hadn’t seen the kids since Saoirse moved away.

  He must have sensed the direction of my thoughts, because he caught my eyes and held them for a long moment. Finally, he shook his head and said softly, “I’m not Sean, Brooks. I’m not you, either.”

  “Never said you were.” I shook my head. I didn’t need to be reminded of who and what my older brother was. He was more than just a sibling—he was Dad’s right hand man and took his position in the family seriously.

  Sometimes, I thought he might take it too seriously, to the point that he had no life outside the family.

  But then again, I’d pretty much given up the life I’d planned for myself.

  I, too, had done it for the family.

  Seven

  Daria

  This was my first bachelorette party and I couldn’t really say I was enjoying myself.

  The surroundings were fine—we were in a posh hotel on the pristine sands of Miami Beach, tucked up in the presidential suite. The suite was practically palatial, a pristine white decorated with hints of gold and silver. The party had been arranged by Isabel’s maid-of-honor, a woman by the name of Lucky.

  Isabel told me that she and Lucky had been friends since childhood and their families were tight. I think she’d been trying to explain why Lucky had the position as her maid-of-honor, but I could have told her she didn’t need to worry about that. There was no way I could handle pulling off a party like this, even if I hadn’t lived over a thousand miles away.

  Of course, if I had been in control, I might have been prepared for how things were rolling out.r />
  I hadn’t thought to ask Isabel what to expect, but I definitely hadn’t expected for the … entertainment that arrived.

  The party had been in full swing for almost an hour when somebody knocked on the door.

  I’d been fully prepared to find out it was management, asking us to keep the noise level down.

  But while the two men were dressed in professional, well-fitting suits, they were definitely not there to admonish us about the noise level. No sooner had they stepped inside than Lucky started whooping, crying out that the party could really get started.

  I hadn’t understood what she meant until one of the men actually started to strip out of his clothes.

  The other was adjusting the music and soon joined his friend.

  My face heated as they slowly and teasingly shed one piece of clothing after the other.

  One of their ties ended up draped around Isabel’s neck and she laughed, clapping her hands together enthusiastically.

  One of them made an effort to approach me, his tie dangling from his loose fist, but I practically shoved my way behind Isabel. She didn’t seem to mind and patted my knee, waving the guy away.

  Lucky laughed at the entire exchange.

  My cheeks heated.

  I had no doubt she was laughing at me, but I didn’t care in that moment. I wasn’t used to having some guy stretch out a silk tie between his thighs and grind against it.

  Since when was that a bad thing?

  Lucky gestured for the one I’d shunned to come to her and he did so good-naturedly, apparently not concerned about my lack of interest in him.

  Lucky had no such qualms and from the corner of my eye, I could see her stroking her hands down the man’s chest. “Take it all off,” she said, her voice eager.

  It wasn’t long before their thongs followed suit and I was once more staring at naked men. Two of them.

  I’d gone my entire life without being in the presence of a man while he wore nothing but skin and now, today, in the span of hours, I’d been exposed to three.

  As the men gyrated their hips and moved to the music, I had no problem admitting to myself that I’d much preferred Brooks.

  Not that I was at all inclined to do anything about it. Even if Isabel hadn’t warned me that he was something of a player, I wouldn’t have done anything about it. It was something that just fell outside my area of expertise. Talk to me about dancing and I was just fine. But other things … especially in the social realm left me feeling out of place and awkward.

  And nothing seemed quite as awkward as having a strange man shaking his ass in my face.

  As the other one circled around in my direction, I grabbed my half-empty martini glass and tossed back the rest of my Cosmo. I flagged down the server who’d been dealing with our drinks and waved frantically.

  Not even a minute passed before I had a fresh drink in my hand and I had to force myself to sip it instead of tossing it back in an effort to cool the heated flush from my face.

  Not much longer and this night will end, I told myself. Not much longer.

  It was close to two hours before the last of the guests trickled out, either to be ferried home in taxies or driven via limo back to the estate.

  I was the one who had to take charge of a very inebriated Isabel. Even though Lucky was the maid-of-honor and supposedly handling things, she’d disappeared almost forty-five minutes ago. Conspicuously, both strippers had left just as she did.

  I wouldn’t be at all surprised to find out that they were all locked up in a room somewhere.

  While Isabel lay on the couch, a soft, snoring sort of sigh escaping her, I called the front desk.

  After being transferred to the night manager, I was assured that everything for the party had already been handled and did we need a ride?

  I should have coaxed Isabel into the limo that had left earlier, but she’d still been awake, and there had still been other guests loitering around the suite.

  It hadn’t seemed right to leave at that time.

  “We could use a ride back to the estate.” I wracked my brain for the address.

  Before I could pull it from the alcohol-fogged depths of my brain, the manager said, “Of course. We’ve already arranged for a second limousine. It’s out front waiting for you.”

  Sweeter words had never been uttered and I told the man I’d have Isabel down there soon.

  Soon translated to almost thirty minutes later.

  I had to pour some water down her throat and coax her into taking some ibuprofen in hopes of staving off the hangover she’d started courting after her third drink.

  At last count, she’d had six Cosmos, so that hangover, if we let it make an appearance, would be epic.

  Once I managed to get Isabel somewhat alert and upright, it wasn’t too bad. I had to steady her on the walk to the elevator but by the time we emerged from it, she’d woken up to some degree and looked all around us with the over-bright gaze of the trashed. “We’re going home?” she asked, her voice just a little slurred.

  “Yes.” I steadied her body against mine with my arm at her waist. “We’re going home. Party is over.”

  “Them strippers …” She smacked her lips together. “They were yummy. Weren’t they yummy, Daria?”

  “Of course.” I hadn’t noticed much about them other than the fact that they hadn’t been wearing much. My shyness had manifested and never fully left, so I hadn’t gotten the eyeful the other women had enjoyed.

  Once we reached the front doors, I heaved out a sigh of relief. A uniformed limo driver was already waiting by the door.

  “Are you and Miss Castellanos ready to go?” he asked, holding my gaze and discreetly ignoring the fact that I was the only reason Isabel wasn’t flat on her back.

  “We absolutely are,” I told him.

  “Shall I assist you?” he asked as he opened the door.

  I wanted to tell him no, but I didn’t know how I’d get Isabel into the car as she was still so out of it.

  I nodded and the two of us managed to pour her into the limo. I helped her to stretch out on the wide bench seat that ran along one side of the long stretch. “Don’t fall off,” I admonished her before moving to take my seat across from where she lay, dead to the world again.

  Soon, the limo was out of the city and heading toward Isobel’s family’s estate. I recognized some of the scenery as we passed by, although it had a different look in the dark of the night.

  I saw enough to know we were going in the right direction and I fought the urge to rest my weary eyes.

  Soon.

  I could sleep soon.

  I was gratified when I saw one of the uniformed servants waiting at the foot of the steps, clearly expecting us. Whoever had opened the gates for the limo to come onto the property must have notified the household staff and let them know we were here.

  A slim man by the name of Jorge helped me get Isabel out of the car, but when I went to support her wobbling form, the trim man waved me off. “I can get her from here.” He offered a polite smile and added, “You could walk with us and help get her tucked into bed, if you wish.”

  Since I couldn’t leave her to sleep in her dress, I followed along after them and soon found myself easing a very tipsy Isabel out of her clothes. She had finally woken to some extent and was trying to focus her gaze on something.

  “I’m completely plastered,” she said in a whiny voice.

  “I’ll get you some water,” I told her after folding the jeans I’d helped her remove. “I already gave you some earlier, plus something for the headache.”

  She blinked owlishly. “I don’t have a headache.”

  “You will,” I told her grimly.

  It was another hour before I was satisfied that she would sleep comfortably and wake up not too plastered. I’d poured a good three glasses of water down her throat and even got her to eat some of the food that Jorge had kindly sent up.

  Between the hydration and calories, she should be fine in the
morning, as long as she got some sleep.

  Now it was my turn.

  I was dragging as I made my way through the big house and up the stairs. I reached my room, but something drew my attention back to the door behind me.

  Brooks’ room.

  Was he in there? I wondered.

  I heard nothing to indicate that he was.

  It was just completely silent.

  He could still be out at the bachelor party. I knew they were having one. Isabel had told all of us, laughing as she tried to guess who would be more hung-over on their wedding day.

  I sincerely hoped it wasn’t Isabel. But she’d packed away a lot of vodka so it was anybody’s bet.

  I felt another tug inside and thought about closing the distance between me and the door to Brooks’ room. But in the end, I turned on my heel and slid into my room, locking the door carefully behind me.

  I stripped out of my clothes and slid into the loose, faded T-shirt I preferred to sleep in. After putting my clothes away, I went into the bathroom to start my bedtime ritual.

  Face washed, hair combed, teeth brushed, I stood at the sink, staring at my reflection.

  I don’t know what I was looking for.

  Whatever it was, I didn’t find it and retreated to my bed where I lay down.

  Silence wrapped around the room and I closed my eyes.

  Sleep seemed to hover close.

  But it was a long, long time before I slept.

  When I did, I dreamt about Brooks.

  Eight

  Brooks

  “You … are the … greatest.”

  I had Sean’s arm slung around my neck as we made our way up to the rooms I’d reserved for us for the night. If things had worked out for us to go back to the estate, we would have already been on the road.

  However, considering Sean had already thrown up twice—thankfully making it to a toilet both times—I wasn’t so sure I wanted to put him a moving car, even if it wasn’t one of my own. I’d still have to sit there and smell it, and why make somebody clean up that mess if it could be avoided?