Drowning in Lies

©2025, E.K. Hart

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This is a work of fiction. Character names, descriptions, and events are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

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Cover design by: E.K. Hart

Chapter 1

Liam

“My Da needs to see ya.”

A brief rap of knuckles on the doorframe of my office preceded the command by a split-second, and I looked up to find Conor Flanagan standing in the doorway.

“Problems?” I asked, shooting a quick glance at the bank of security monitors mounted to the wall in front of me. Nothing looked amiss, but that didn’t mean that trouble wasn’t brewing somewhere in our world. As the head of security for The Family, I knew better than anyone that things could pop off at any second, and I was the man in charge of handling it.

“Nah, nothin’ like that.”

I stood and followed Conor down the long hallway to the large set of double doors at the end. I nodded to the two men I had assigned to stand guard, as Conor knocked once and waited.

“Enter,” came the gravel-voice command from inside, and Conor swung the door open to his father’s inner sanctum.

There, behind the hand-crafted mahogany desk sat Patrick Flanaghan, the head of The Family, looking every inch the mob boss known to the world as “the King of Chicago”.  He was a big man, tough as nails with a faint scar on his jaw from a long-ago knife fight, a gold signet ring with the family crest, and a tumbler of what I knew was Irish Whiskey in his hand.

“Boss,” I greeted him with a deferential tip of my head in his direction. The leather of his huge desk chair creaked slightly as he leaned back in it, motioning me to take a seat in one of the chairs positioned in front of his desk. Conor closed the door before settling into the chair next to me.

 “Liam, I’m gonna get right to it. We’ve chosen an organization for the alliance.”

I’d been tasked with running background checks on members of various organized crime syndicates for the past few months, so I’d known this was in the works. The Flanagans wanted to expand to other territory, and the easiest way for that to happen with the least amount of bloodshed was through marriage. Conor’s youngest brother, Kieran, was the lucky groom-to-be. Until now, however, his intended bride had been up for debate.

Conor chuckled, and his father cocked a brow at him in question.

“What Da means is that Kieran got a good look at one of the women and decided she’s the one.”

I kept my expression neutral, hiding my surprise at this news. The last time I’d spoken with Kieran, he’d made it clear that he didn’t give two shits who he married, being far more interested in the connections the marriage would bring than in his future wife.

“Aye, that he did,” Boss agreed with a shrug. “Luckily, the boy chose well. Natalia Rossi will make a fine bride, and I can tolerate her father, Luca. He’s not nearly as much of an arse as those Italians outta New York. La Famiglia Rossi will be a feckin’ good ally to have, all things considered.”

He took another sip of his whiskey before setting the tumbler aside and pinning his gaze on me.

“Rossi has no sons, only nephews who are engaged in their own enterprises separate from the family business. He’s agreed to a partnership which would allow his new son-in-law to set up a base of operations there. I’ll need your best man to head up security for Kieran’s outfit.”

I sat up a little straighter at the news that the alliance was going to expand to that degree, my ears perking up at the location.

“In Indianapolis?” I confirmed.

“Aye,” he replied. “Who do you have in mind for the job?”

“Me. I want to do it myself.”

Conor snorted, then chuckled to himself. “Big fuckin’ surprise there,” he muttered, not quite under his breath.

Conor and I had been good friends for years, although as his father’s second-in-command, there was a definite hierarchy and protocol that needed to be observed at times. This wasn’t one of those times, and I shot him a glare, along with my middle finger. Discreetly, of course.

I glanced back at the Boss, to find him eyeing me thoughtfully.

“You’d be willin’ to take over security in Indy, even though it would mean steppin’ down as my Head of Security here in Chicago?”

“If it means I’m home with Lila every night, then yes, sir. I want the job.”

“Lickarse,” Conor mumbled. Boss and I both ignored him.

“Just to be clear…you’re willin’ to take a demotion to move closer to her?”

I nodded without hesitation. “Aye, that I am. Seamus,” I said, referring to my right-hand man, “can take over for me here. He’ll do a good job for The Family.”

“I’ll have to cut your pay, if you ain’t runnin’ things here anymore,” he cautioned.

I nodded, expecting as much. “Understood, sir. You’ve paid me very well over the years, and I haven’t had much in the way of expenses, so I’ve saved most of it. Lila and I will get by just fine on a lower salary.”

He raised a brow at that. “Considerin’ she has one helluva trust fund, I’m sure you will,” he goaded.

My jaw tightened, and I reminded myself that I couldn’t knock the shit out of my boss, no matter how much I wanted to in that moment. He might be my best friend’s dad and my woman’s uncle, but he was still one of the most feared mobsters on the planet for a reason.

“Respectfully, sir, Lila’s trust fund is just that. Lila’s. I’m not like that thievin’ bastard she was married to. I’ll not be living off her dime. I pay my own way, and hers when she’s with me. It’s been that way since the beginning. She’s good with it, and so am I.”

He gave me an appraising stare, and the leather creaked again as he leaned forward suddenly, bracing both forearms against the desk. He pinned me with a glare as he asked what my intentions were with his niece.

“You two have been carryin’ on for over two years now. If you’re willin’ to lose your job – and the pay that comes with it – to be with her, then why the fuckin’ hell haven’t you married the girl yet?”

“I bought a ring a few months after I moved back to the states from Ireland. She’s not ready, sir.”

“I didn’t know that! She turned ya down?” Conor asked in surprise.

I shook my head. “I haven’t even asked her. She’s got some convoluted idea that she doesn’t deserve to have a happily-ever-after. Says there’s a stain on her soul from that clusterfuck with her dead husband, his whore, and his mangy scrote of a brother. She’s wrong about that, but there’s no convincin’ her otherwise. We’ll not be havin’ kids, so I didn’t push for marriage at the time. We’re committed to each other even without makin’ it legal, so I just went along with it. Figured she’d come around, sooner or later.”

“I’d rather it was sooner,” Boss said, arching his brow in a way that meant business.

“It will be, Boss,” I assured him. “I think part of her hesitation was also that she didn’t want to leave her friends and godchildren in Indy, and she knew I couldn’t move there full time. This eliminates that problem.”

“And if she still doesn’t say yes?” Conor asked, and I glanced over at him.

“She loves me, and I love her. That will never change, even if she never wants marriage.”

“You’re kinda thick, aren’t ya, boyo? You just need to take away the choice. Tell her you’re getting’ married, instead of askin’.” The Boss had a wide smirk on his face as he made the suggestion.

“She had him kill the last guy who pissed her off, Da,” Conor pointed out to his father, who barked out a laugh.

“Good point,” he allowed, then nodded at me.

“My sister, God rest her soul, would rise from her grave and slit my throat if I let anythin’ else hurt that girlie of hers. I know she’s in good hands with you, whether those hands have a ring on ‘em or not.”

A breath of relief escaped me at his words, glad he wasn’t going to force the issue. Lila had spent years being manipulated by the man she’d loved. I refused to do that to her again, no matter how much I wanted to be able to call her my wife. Marriage certificate or not – she was mine, and I was hers. That would have to be enough, for now at least.

“Thank you, sir. I’ll take care of her until my last breath.”

He and Conor both nodded, then shook my hand.

“Do you want me to call Seamus in so we can begin the process of turning things over to him?”

The Boss cocked his head slightly, then said no.

“You didn’t really think I’d let you step down as my Head of Security, did ya?”

I stilled, my heart sinking at the idea that he’d changed his mind about letting me move to Indianapolis permanently.

“Sir?” I questioned.

“You can still be in charge of things from Indianapolis almost as easily as you can from here. You’ll still have to come back to Chicago for a few days each month, but it’ll be a damned sight better than the commute you have now. Seamus can step up and play a larger role here, too.

For once in my life, I didn’t know what the hell to say, except thank you.

He waved me off. “Not doin’ it for you, I’m doin’ it for her. She deserves a good man, and I think that’s you, even if you are a bit thick in the head. I’m trustin’ you with her. Now, get outta here, the both of ya. Feckin’ gobshites,” he muttered.

Later that evening, I pulled into the driveway of the home I shared with Lila whenever I was in Indianapolis. I couldn’t wait until I was coming home to her every night.

I’d called her on the way down from Chicago, to give her a heads up that I was coming in a day early.

When I walked in the front door, I was greeted by the delicious aroma of oregano and basil filling the air, and the sound of Lila singing in the kitchen as she cooked.

I crossed the living room and came to a stop in the kitchen doorway.

“Hello, Princess.”

Chapter 2

Lila

I whirled around at the sound of Liam’s voice, excited to have him home a day early.

He crossed the kitchen in three long strides, pulling me into his arms to give me a huge hug as he always did.

I breathed in the familiar scent of sandalwood from his cologne, reveling in the warmth of his solid embrace.

“I’m so glad to have you home. Can you stay through the weekend, or do you have to go back early since you’re taking the day off tomorrow?”

He nuzzled his face in my neck, kissing his way across my jaw before taking my lips in a full-on assault that left us both panting for more.

“I’m yours for the next three days,” he murmured, then pulled back to cup my face in his hands. He brushed his thumbs over my cheekbones as his eyes searched my face.

“You still take my breath away,” he whispered, then captured my mouth in another devastating kiss that ravaged my senses and made me weak in the knees.

The moment was broken as the oven timer dinged, and I laughed softly as I pulled away to turn it off and open the oven.

 Over a meal of lasagna, salad, and some of the crusty Italian bread I always bought at the farmer’s market, I filled him in on the latest antics of my godchildren.

“Sean’s first tooth finally broke through this morning. The good news is that he’s not fussy anymore. The bad news is that they discovered the tooth when Maddie fed him a bite of her banana, and he bit her finger. She was devastated that ‘bubby was being a meanie and bit her’ and cried for almost an hour. Sherry called Chris at his office and demanded that he move up his appointment for the vasectomy.”

Liam laughed as he ate another bite of his salad. “It’s a good thing we’ve already planned to take the kids to the zoo this weekend. I’m sure Chris and Sherry could both use a bit of a break.”

I agreed, then asked how he’d been able to get a day off on such short notice. I knew that he took the safety of The Family seriously and normally planned for any time off well in advance to be sure that everything ran smoothly in his absence.

Liam set his fork down and took a sip of his wine before answering. “Well, there are going to be some changes within The Family,” he started, then explained that my cousin Kieran was getting married to Luca Rossi’s daughter.

I didn’t know much about the inner workings of The Flanagan’s organization, or about the other crime syndicates that existed. Uncle Pat and Liam both wanted to protect me and shielded me from that world as much as possible. However, like most people in Indianapolis, I’d heard of Luca Rossi. The head of La Famiglia Rossi didn’t exactly keep a low profile in the city.

“Wow, so the Irish and the Italians, huh? That’s going to make for some interesting family gatherings,” I observed with a chuckle.

 “That it will, Princess.”

 We finished our meal, with Liam insisting that I take my glass of wine and relax on the couch while he cleared the table and loaded the dishwasher.

He joined me a few minutes later, setting his own glass of wine down on the coffee table next to mine, then sitting next to me and pulling me into his arms.

I curled my feet up under me and laid my head on his shoulder as Liam lazily ran his hand along my arm. Snuggling up with him was my favorite way to spend an evening. The last of the tension in my body eased, as it always did with Liam around. I felt safe and could let my guard down with him in a way that I couldn’t with anyone else, even my best friends.

After a few moments, Liam broke the easy silence between us. “Kieran’s wedding isn’t the only change coming. The marriage will create an alliance between the two families, and Kieran will be establishing his own branch of the organization here in Indy. I had a meeting with your uncle and Conor, and I’ll be overseeing security for Kieran as well.” He hesitated, and then shifted, so that his body faced mine. The hand that had been gliding up and down my arm stilled, and I looked up to find an almost expectant expression on his face.

 “I’ll still have to be in Chicago a few days a month, but I’ll be moving the base of operations for the family here.”

 My breath caught at his words, and hope flared within me.

 “You’re moving here…full-time?” My voice betrayed my anxious excitement.

 He nodded. “Aye, Princess, I’ll be living here permanently, if you’ll have me.”

 I gave an embarrassingly girlish squeal as I drew myself up onto my knees and threw my arms around him.

 “Yes, of course I will!”

I peppered his face with kisses as he laughed, then took my face in his hands and kissed me properly. The slide of his tongue against mine set off a different kind of excitement within me, and I clutched his shoulders as I moved to straddle his lap.

I reached for his buttons, so intent on opening his shirt that it took a moment to realize he had grasped my hands in an effort to stop me.

“What –,” I started in confusion, only to be shushed by Liam’s finger pressing against my lips.

“You know I love you.” His solemn words were a statement more than a question. We had confessed our love for one another less than a year after he’d moved back from Ireland.

I had always taken comfort from the fact that our relationship was built on more than love, though. I’d loved David from almost the beginning, and that clearly hadn’t been enough to keep things from ending in disaster. Liam and I had a solid foundation built on trust, respect, and admiration first, with love coming over time, and that felt so much different for me.

Secure.

Unshakeable.

All-encompassing.

I nodded before replying, “and I love you.”

“I love you with everything in me, except my soul. I pledged that to The Flanagan Family years ago. It’s dark and twisted, stained with the blood of more men than I can count, so I’ll gladly let them keep it.”

He smiled, then pressed a gentle kiss on my forehead. Just as the faintest niggle of worry creeped in, he started speaking again.

“My heart though, Princess, that’s a different matter entirely. My heart was untouched by anyone, until I met you. It’s filled now with the goodness and light that you’ve brought into my life. My heart is worthy of you, even if my soul isn’t. I will love and cherish you ‘til the end of my days, and if you’ll have me, I want to be tied to you in every way possible.”   

He shifted slightly to reach into the front pocket of his pants. He pulled out a ring box, and my breath stalled in my lungs as he opened it to reveal a beautiful oval shaped diamond, set in a series of platinum Celtic lover’s knots that formed the band.

“I bought this ring over two years ago, and I’ve held onto it, biding my time. I know you don’t think you’re worthy of a happily-ever-after, Princess, but you’re so very wrong. There is no one more worthy of happiness than you, and I’m going to give you a happily-ever-after, whether you marry me or not. I’d just prefer to do it with you wearing my ring.”

Tears filled my eyes as I stared at him, unable to believe this moment was happening. I’d spent the past few years convinced I’d never want to marry again, and an hour ago, I would have sworn I still felt the same. Now though, when presented with a ring and Liam’s heartfelt declaration, I realized how very wrong I’d been.

“I would love to be your wife,” I whispered.

Liam’s eyes flared with an intensity I’d never seen before, and a radiant smile broke over his face. His hand was shaking slightly as he lifted the ring from the box and slid it onto my finger. He held my hand in his, staring down at the ring before slowly, reverently, raising it to press a soft kiss to my finger right over the ring.

“Thank you, Princess, for allowing me to love you the way you deserve to be loved.”

“Thank you for loving me, whether I deserve it or not,” I replied, running my fingertips over his strong jawline in a soft caress. “I know that you always call me ‘Princess’, but I think I’ll love being called ‘Mrs. Doyle’ even more.”

“How about ‘my wife’?” Liam’s voice was deep and husky, taking on that sexy tone that sent shivers of need coursing through me.

“I like the sound of that even better, my husband.”

—The End—