Boston Blood

Twenty nine

Bridget drove Cillian to his apartment downtown right after they had dropped Frankie off. He got into the front seat and lit a cigarette. He was tired, much more than usual. He didn't know why but he was feeling unusually uneasy. He kept thinking Frankie was going to lose her shit again and fuck everything up. It was a close call the other night. If he hadn't have arrived in time that prick might have killed her. She was wasted and he was sure she couldn't remember that he had got her out and shot that guy. She would have said something if she remembered, wouldn't she? He wasn't sure. She was normally very vocal but the kid seemed so shaken up by this whole thing. He couldn't blame her. It was unfortunate that it had to be her. Her life had nearly been as bad as his, worse actually and this was something that might just throw the poor kid over the edge.

Cillian rubbed his head, roughly and shook it, lightening another smoke. "What's up with you? You don't look so good. I hope you're not thinking about her." Bridget's usual playful tone was being overshadowed by something that sounded an awful lot like worry. Cillian held the bridge of his nose in an effort to calm himself down. He liked Bridget, she was like a sister to him but if she didn't stop pissing him off with this he was going to kill her. "Shut up, would ya? I'm fine and all I'm thinking about is how good it will fucking feel to see finally see Tommy Ryan's corpse."

Bridget relaxed a little but still had a wary look on her face. "Do you think it will work? Is she up to it?"

Cillian looked out of the window and thought about his answer. He knew Frankie was one tough woman who had been through some serious shit and had a past but he was worried. When he was first told to start watching her a few months ago he thought it looked like she was okay, like she had some kind of life back, but the more he followed her, the more he saw how broken she really was. When Aidan had told him all the shit about her and what had happened, he couldn't help but feel sorry for her. Her mother, being fed to the nuns, that girl Sinead being killed and then being so helpless that she turned to a life of crime? It was fucked up. He still found it hard to believe that the strong, gorgeous girl he had met all those years ago would have ended up here, like him. At least he had chosen this life, sort of, that's what he tells himself, anyway. She on the other hand, had no choice and still doesn't.

"Hello?" Bridget pulled Cillian from his worrying thoughts. He couldn't understand why he was becoming so restless and unglued. He cleared his throat and mumbled; "It'll work. We'll only need her for a while, then all this shit will finally be over and she can leave and forget all of this ever happened."

"I still don't get why she doesn't want to kill that mother fucker her self. I mean, my old man was no better and I made sure I was the one to pull the trigger. The fucking pain he caused my family, I laughed when I saw his black soul leave his body." Bridget sounded frantic and unhinged at the memory.

Cillian sighed and put his sunglasses on. "Yeah, but she's not like us, Birdy. She's good."

"Don't do that, Cill. Don't do that shit, again. You-,"

"Bridget, enough! I know you're older than me and you've been with Aidan much longer but I'm your boss, you got it? The next time you start doubting me I swear to God I'll fucking kill you." Cillian grabbed Bridget's arm causing her to swerve the car and narrowly miss a truck passing. She jammed on the breaks and pulled to the side of the road. She was fuming.

"Listen, kid. Boss or not not, if you ever threaten me like that again I'll fucking kill, you, ya hear me? I know you, Cillian. You may act the big hard man but I know you and I can see what's happening here. Just get your shit together, you got it?"

The authority and threat in Bridget's voice made Cillian recoil in shock. She hadn't spoken to him like that since he was a kid. He felt like a fucking teenager, again. He had killed people, beat people until the were an inch from death, he was a feared man who had respect and here he was scared of a five foot nothing woman.

He stared at her, speechless until she eventually laughed. He couldn't help but join in. Bitch.

"Dick." She muttered and took off down the street.

They pulled up outside Cillian complex where they saw Vicky waiting. Cillian groaned and patted Bridget on the knee but before he could get out of the car she held him by the arm and her face with serious, again. "Listen, I get it, I like Frankie. She's tough but you need to remember that she's the enemy here. Her father killer your father. That's something you'll never be able to forget. Once the job is done she'll never have to see or hear from us again. She'll be free."

Cillian smiled. "Bet she can't wait. She fucking hates our guts."

"Yeah, well, look, I'll see you tonight for the meeting and hey, we're not actually the bad guys here. Remember that." Cillian put on his hat and got out of the car before turning back to Bridget and muttering; "Aren't we?"

***
"Cillian, baby, what's wrong? I thought you liked it when I did this." Vicky was kissing Cillian's neck, sloppily and making her way down to the floor in front of him. He closed his eyes and tried to relax but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. He felt off and had no idea why. Vicky started to undo his belt buckle but he grabbed her by the elbow and pulled her up off the floor. "Hey, what the fuck is wrong with you? You've been acting so fucking weird the last few days. What's the problem?" Vicky was trying to act furious to hide the sadness in her voice. "I'm not in the mood, okay?" He brushed past her and poured himself a drink at the small bar. His apartment was small. A one bed studio but it did the trick. He rarely stayed in the city, only when they had a meeting so it did the job, nicely. He always met Vicky here when he was downtown but today, he just didn't feel up to it.

"Fine, well If you're not gonna fuck me then I'll just find someone else who will." Vicky roared, grabbing her bag and heading for the door.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Cillian tried to sound angry or even remotely interested.

"It means that I've had enough of your shit. I'm sick of you dicking me around. I told you what I want. I want you, Cillian. I don't want you to just call me up when you're in town. I love you and I want to be with you." Vicky was starting to get upset now, she was trying to fight the tears burning her heavily painted eyes.

Cillian downed his whiskey and sighed. He didn't need this shit, now. He had too much on his mind without her making him feel like this. He had told her from the start that he didn't do relationships and she was happy with that. Guess that's changed.

"You don't love me, Vik. You love the idea of me. My lifestyle and connections and the fantasy of it but I told you what the story was. I'm sorry but that will never change."

Vicky screamed in anger and fumbled in her bag for her car keys. "You're a prick, Cillian Donovan. You're going to die alone and miserable. You're a piece of shit."

Vicky slammed the door causing a small photo to fall off the wall. He sighed and walked over to pick it up. The frame was broken. Fuck!

He stared at the faces in the picture and closed his eyes. It was of him and his mom and dad. Cillian was only about three and they were at the fun fair. He had cotton candy and the biggest smile on his face. He was so happy then. He touched his mom's face with the tips of his fingers and was shocked to feel the unfamiliar sting of moisture building in his eyes.

The sound of his phone ringing caused him to jump and drop the photo to the floor. What the fuck is happening to me? He couldn't believe how emotional he was acting. Maybe he was sick or something because this definitely wasn't normal? He fumbled in his pocket for his phone. It was Damien.

"What?" Cillian barked, still feeling uneasy.

"Boss, we have a problem. Aidan wants to meet you at his place, now.

"For fuck's sake. We're meeting tonight, can't it wait?"

"No, boss. It's about that bitch Frankie."

Cillian froze for a moment and ran to grab his keys off the coffee table. "Okay, hold on. I'm on my way."