American Dynasty

T W E N T Y - S E V E N

Hello all, thanks for your patience :) Another new chapter will be uploaded in a few days!

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"Enlighten me," Flynn said, trying to keep his voice steady. Somehow Stella had grown even more beautiful since he had last seen her. The fierce look in her eyes reminded him of their first meeting; how they had danced that night, how her boldness had made him feel all sorts of ways he had never felt before. 

"It's been months, Flynn. Months." Stella's voice ripped him back to reality. She was staring at him coldly, her small hands tightly gripping her gloves. "I can't decide what I'm angrier about; the fact that you haven't contacted me or the fact that you didn't fight for me in the first place." 

"I didn't fight for you? Stella, I don't think you understand. If I fought for you, you would have gotten hurt. I warned you already, I'm too dangerous for you to be around. You don't belong in my world." Flynn said firmly, putting out his cigarette in the ashtray and immediately lighting a new one. 

Stella watched him quietly as he took a few drags. "You only chain smoke when you're stressed or sad." 

Her remark took him by surprise. "My smoking habits are none of your business, bab-Stella." 

"You almost called me baby girl," she noted, raising an eyebrow. 

"Dammit, Stella!" Flynn pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Stop making this so difficult." 

"I'm making things difficult? Flynn, I gave myself to you, I gave you my heart, and what do you I get the next morning? I don't hear from you for months."

 "Do you really think I wanted to leave you? It nearly killed me to say goodbye to you, Stella. You're my everything!" Flynn said, trying hard not to raise his voice. "And that's exactly why I need to stay away from you. I love you, doll, I really do. With all my heart. But I'm not willing to risk your life. I'd expect you to understand that."

Stella inhaled deeply and scowled. "Would have been nice for you to come to that conclusion before we slept together." 

Her words stung, but Flynn knew she was right. "I wasn't trying to play with your feelings, if that's what you think," Flynn said, hearing the desperation starting to seep into his voice. Stella didn't reply, she simply put on her gloves and stood up. "Stella," Flynn pleaded. 

She looked at him with an unreadable expression. "I was willing to fight for our love, Flynn. But it's a two-person job, I can't be the only one trying. When you're ready to fight, you know where to find me." With that, she spun on her heel and walked out the door. 

Flynn stared at the spot where she had once been sitting, his heart aching in his chest. His cigarette had long burned out, but Flynn had barely given any notice to it. He placed it in the ashtray and stood up. 

"Flynn?" Aiden's voice came from behind, concerned and tinged with irritation. "What was all that about?" 

Flynn whipped around to face his best friend. "Were you eavesdropping?" He asked angrily, his eyes narrowed. 

"Well what do you expect when you hide so many secrets? Beppe's daughter? Really, Flynn?! You must be out of your goddamn mind," Aiden yelled, throwing his hands in the air. 

"I don't need to ask your permission for which girls I can see," Flynn said indignantly. 

"You do when the girl is Stella Biancardi!" Aiden practically shrieked. "Do you even realize that you have put this entire operation into jeopardy? Beppe is our associate, and if he finds out that you've been fooling around with his daughter, he and Joe Masseria will come and slaughter us all!" 

"Joe Masseria and Beppe Biancardi are the least of our problems," Flynn snapped. "As far as I've seen, barely any progress has been made in finding out who has betrayed us." 

Aiden clenched his jaw. "I'm working on it." 

"Well until I see results, you are in no place to question my decisions," Flynn said, his voice steady. He tried to walk past Aiden, but he was promptly stopped when Aiden grabbed his shoulder and yanked him back. 

"No, Flynn, you listen here; we have worked far too hard for far too long for you to go and throw it away on a nice pair of legs that happen to have caught your eye. This isn't the Flynn who started the Dempsey gang." 

"The Flynn who started the Dempsey gang was cold, ruthless and void of hope. I don't want to be that person anymore, Aiden," Flynn murmured quietly. He shrugged Aiden's hand off his shoulder and started to walk away. 

"So what then, all of this was for nothing? All the work we put in, all the risks we took? Flynn, Seamus fucking died because of this plan, doesn't that mean anything to you?" 

Aiden's words made Flynn stop in his tracks. He took a deep breath. "Of course it means something to me, Aiden. But I don't know if this is the way I want to run things anymore. Not if it makes it so that I can't have the one person I desperately want in my life. I would cross oceans for Stella, so if changing is what I have to do for her, then that's what I'll do."