“Too bad the bookies don’t run numbers on med school exams. I’d put money on you.”
“You’re the sweetest man, using my hard-earned academic success to line your own pockets.”
“I’m a fucking degenerate, Princess. That’s why you love me.”
She laughed, and that always brightened my day. Every single fucking time. I felt like a superhero when I made her laugh…or made her moan in pleasure…or lit up her eyes with a compliment. I’d never be a good person, but Sofia made me want to be one—forhersake.
“Come with me to the pub to celebrate, beautiful?” I asked.
She considered it with her head tilted back, her arms around me, and her skin glowing in the sunlight. “Not today. I think I want a nice quiet evening with you.”
“You got it,” I told her as I slipped my arm around her shoulders. “I’m proud of you.”
She leaned her head against my shoulder, and I leaned in to kiss her cheek. She smelled wonderful. The hint of floral perfume complemented her natural scent in a way I found irresistible. After two-plus years, I hadn’t come close to tiring of the way she smelled, the softness of her skin, the glint in her eye, the sound of her voice, the way she cried during medical TV dramas or the way she curled up close to me—practically in my lap—during horror movies. I hadn’t tired of how she hated mob movies but loved dumb comedies or the way she cooked French Toast. I still loved how her ass looked in high-cut panties. I respected her intensity, the way her entire body went into overdrive when she was cramming for a big exam. I loved how she felt in my arms, both of us naked, and I would hold her tight so she would always know that I would die to keep her safe.
Nothing would take her away from me. Nothing in the world.
As for the rest, we were both very rich, but no one would be able to tell from looking at us. We lived modestly. We’d cashed in the cryptocurrency in the Cayman Islands, dividing it between U.S. dollars and Euros. With the fall in the crypto market and all the fees, cuts, and bribes, our take came out to a shade over ninety million dollars. We moved it into a dozen smaller accounts so that if one was compromised, all the money couldn’t be seized or stolen at once.
But for now, it was important to keep a low profile in Ireland. Our final destination was Escaldes-Engordany, but Andorra didn’t have a medical school. No extradition treaty with the United States, but no medical school. Meanwhile, Ireland had some fine medical schools, but they did have an extradition treaty.Thatwas why we kept our heads down and our noses clean. We couldn’t hide the American accents, and Sofia trying to do an Irish accent would offend the entire country, but our fake papers and false identities held.
Each day I remained free I considered a gift. I’d take all the heat if it ever came to that, but I didn’t miss the danger I’d left in New York. I didn’t miss the killing. I sure as hell didn’t miss the betrayals. Sofia had taught me to trust someone other than my family. Every day she showed me why I’d been right to do so.
As for the MacCarrick Mafia, it was pretty much done—at least in New York. It had ended because of me and that one last heist for the huge payout. By that I meant Sofia, but the money was nice too.
Sometimes I felt guilty for leaving. Mostly I worried about my brothers and Mum because I couldn’t be there for them if they needed me.
All three of them had generous cuts from our crypto haul, with millions in their own offshore accounts. Laundering it into the U.S. was another story, but it existed. Declan moved to Providence, Rhode Island, bringing Mum with him. I felt guilty about that too. I bet she would’ve liked Ireland, but we couldn’t stay. Ryan headed to Miami. The last I’d heard, he was dabbling in illegal street racing and betting rackets. Some things never changed.
As for Sofia, she was doing all right. One time when we were lying in bed after making love, I’d asked her how much she missed her old life.
“I miss my friends sometimes,” she said, lying with her head resting on my chest. “And New York. Places I liked to go.”
“Do you miss your family?”
“Not the way you do.” She was quiet for a long time. I started to wonder if she’d fallen asleep when she suddenly spoke again. “Does that make me a bad person?”
“No.”
“Maybe it does. You miss your family.”
“Yeah. But I made my choice. I wouldn’t change it.”
I felt her warm tears on my bare chest. I held her tight. We didn’t say anything else.
I did miss my brothers and my mom. Especially around the holidays. December was the worst.
The days before we’d left for the Cayman Islands had been rough. Our mother wasn’t stupid. She’d never asked for details, but she knew the three of us were involved in the same kind of shit that Cal was involved in. It must’ve been a nightmare for her, worrying that we’d end up like Cal.
Mum hadn’t surprised me by crying when I told her that I was leaving the country with Sofia and we’d be heading to Ireland for her to be a doctor. No, I’d expected tears from my mother. Whatdidsurprise me was when she told me they were joyful tears. Mum believed Sofia had somehow pulled me out of the life, out of the game, and she could finally stop worrying that I’d end up like Cal.
And after I’d told her who Sofia’s father was? Well, Mum had gone to Sofia, who looked as frightened as a deer about to be hit by a truck, and Mum pulled Sofia into a tight hug. Not saying a word. Just the two of them hugging and crying. Hell, I’d been choked up too.
We left New Jersey a week after that last meeting with my mother and my brothers. It took that long for Declan to fix us up with false identities and all the papers we’d need. We drove south with the USB drive, our new IDs, and plenty of cash. Driving was safer than flying for keeping a low profile, and the car and the plates were “clean,” courtesy of Ryan. I completely disassembled the HK45 and hid pieces of the pistol in trash cans at various rest stops or turnouts on the long road south. We crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas and flew out of Tampico, Mexico to Cancun, then to the Cayman Islands.
The rest, as they said, was history. We eventually made it to Ireland. Sofia was accepted into the Royal College of Surgeons. Now we lived in Dublin, and we weren’t anything of a rarity there. A large percentage of the students at RCSI were from outside the EU, surprisingly enough. Once Sofia was done with her medical degree, she would intern at Hospital Nostra Senyora de Meritxell in Escaldes-Engordany, Andorra. Meanwhile, I was learning Catalan and French. I wasn’t very good at either yet. Escaldes-Engordany had under fourteen thousand people living in the city. It was going to be a wild change after New York and Dublin. But Sofia could be a doctor there, and I would be safe and could keep her safe.
I only kept one secret from her. Once she was done with her degree, I was going to ask her to marry me. If my luck held, she would say yes. And who knows, maybe someday we’d settle down in that small country between the south of France and northeastern Spain and make a family of our own. If we did, I’d raise my kids to be better people than I was. With Sofia as their mother, I believed the odds on that were in my favor.
We walked home, leaving St Stephen’s Green behind and heading down Leeson Street to our rented flat off Pembroke. Sofia immediately showered. I joined her. We made love. Then showered again. I headed out to grab dinner while she studied and came back with fish and chips. Fish and chips and curry, some of our current staples. We ate and talked about the house we were going to build in Andorra. Sofia was adamant about having a fireplace. Maybe two. It started to rain in the evening, and Sofia fell asleep while resting her head on my lap. God, she was beautiful. And damn did I love her more than life itself. I had no regrets over the choices I’d made and never would.
Everything went wrong the night I came face to face with Sofia Accardo, and a bastard like me couldn’t be happier.
End
