Tempting The Mafia Twins
Goodbye Astra
1/8
Walking into the funeral home, Genesis felt her heart pounding in agony. She looked at Kiefer who held her hand in his, “I don’t know if I can do this.”
“You can. I know you can. I’m right here.”
“It doesn’t make sense, Kiefer,” she fought the tears which threatened again. “Who would hurt her?”
“I don’t know yet, baby, but we’ll find out and we’ll make them pay.” He lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed her fingers.
“Do you really think it’s possible whoever killed her were watching to see if we came to claim her?”
“Yes.”
“But you flew her from Chicago back here. Would they have followed?”
“If they are thinking she was the only lead to you, then yes. They would have. With luck, they are lagging behind because we kept everything super quiet and last minute. We threw in diversions. We made the coroner in Chicago think the funeral home there was going to process her and hold her funeral. We moved her within an hour of her transport. They would have been given. no heads up other than a change of plan when we picked her up from the morgue. The plane we used to bring her here, belongs
Goodbye Astra
2/8
to an associate but not the family. The arrangements made for her were all made with an alternate name until we got her here and we gave them the proper name once we arrived.”
“You guys thought of everything.”
“We did.” He took a breath. “I know you noticed Dad keeping Egan back a bit. We want to give you an opportunity to see her. The casket is closed, however, if you wish to say goodbye to her and see her, the funeral director has said they made sure none of her wounds are visible.”
“I don’t want to, but I need to. I think I need to know for sure it’s here there,”
“Okay.” He squeezed her hands and nodded at the man in the far corner of the room. “I’m going to be right here with you all the way. If it gets too much, if you need a break, if you need to step away, all you have to do is tell me you need out and I’ll get you out.”
“Thank you.” She walked towards the man who opened a door for her to go through. She entered the space, which turned out to be a small chapel, and the large mahogany casket at the back of the room caused Genesis‘ feet to falter. “I feel like shit just got real,” she whispered to Kiefer.
At the casket, the funeral director gently removed the spray of flowers and the photo of Astra which sat atop it and then very carefully opened the casket. “I will give you a moment.” The man stepped out of the room quietly closing the door behind
him.
Goodbye Astra
3/8
Genesis felt the sob bubbling up as she took in the sight of her best friend. “Oh Astra. Why?” Reaching shaking fingers out, she touched the heavily made–up face, “she looks so puffy.”
“She was quite savagely beaten. They did the best they could.”
“Whoever did this to her, Kiefer, I want them caught. I want them caught and dealt with.” She didn’t if someone was listening. “I want them caught. I want them beaten. I want them to feel every single thing she felt. Then I want it done again and again and again until they are begging for death.”
“I will make it happen.”
“When they beg for death,” she growled angrily, “you keep them alive and let them suffer more and only when I say they die, will they die.”
She missed the admiration in Kiefer’s eyes as she drew at vengeful breath as she touched Astra’s hands.
“We will do whatever you command.” Kiefer said quietly.
“Astra, I love you. I know it wasn’t the kind of love you wanted but I did love you, in my way. You were the only family I had for so long and I wish in this life you could have found what you needed in a person who loved you the way you needed to be loved. You were so special Astra. Thank you for protecting me and for Egan. I might not ever learn exactly what happened to you, but I promise you, I will get retribution for your murder if it is the last thing I do on this planet. I’m so sorry for dragging
Goodbye Astra
4/8
you into whatever this is, Astra. I’m so sorry.” She turned into Kiefer’s arms and began sobbing.”
“Shh,” he rubbed her back, holding her tight in his arms. “She knows, love. She knows it is not your fault and none of this is on you. Whatever happened is not your fault and she knew it. It was why she kept you and Egan safe like your father told him. She did good. She loved you very much.”
Her legs weakened as her heart felt it was shattering when the director stepped back in to close the casket and whisper it was time.
“Mom,” Egan’s little voice as he slipped his hand into hers, “are you okay?”
“No but I will be.” She admitted as she took the tissues Tadgh held out to her. “This is very hard.”
“Let’s take our seats. We’ll have a very quick sendoff for her and then we’ll go to the cemetery. Okay?” Kiefer whispered in her ear as they moved to sit in the two front rows of the chapel.
She let him escort her to the pew and she was nestled between. him and Egan, Lorcan on the other side of Egan and Tadgh beside Kiefer. Kiefer held her hand while he kept his other hand around both her and Egan’s shoulders. She was curled in tight to his side while Lorcan beside Egan kept his arm over the back of the pew, his arm protectively around them. Tadgh’s hand was stretched across Kiefer’s lap to rest on top of the hand Kiefer held.
Goodbye Astra
5/8
While the officiant said some prayers and offered her words. of encouragement, she struggled not to break down, especially when they played Danny Boy, which she knew Kiefer played as an ode to Astra’s Irish heritage. It was one of the few good memories she had of Astra and Kiefer together. It was from the night they first met, when they all drank too much in the pub and at the end of the night, they’d ended up singing the ballad. because Genesis admitted it was the only Irish song she knew and she’d botched the words so bad, Kiefer and Astra needed teach her the right ones.
When she realized Kiefer arranged for several men to be pallbearers to escort the casket to the hearse while Ava Maria played, she wept into his shoulder.
Everything was moving at a quick pace, and she knew the highly organized procession was all due to the three men who weren’t moving an inch from her side. When they insisted on putting the vest on her again to walk to the car, she wanted to balk about it but contemplating how considerate they’d been to make this happen so effortlessly, the last thing she wanted to do was fight
with them.
She didn’t like the idea of standing at the gravesite wearing the armor but again, as they walked to where the hearse unloaded the casket, she didn’t argue their request. Holding the rose in her hand, she walked with Egan and Kiefer to the edge of the casket and the three of them each tossed a flower into the ground as it was lowered.
Watching the casket get lowered into the earth she almost.
missed the sound of Egan’s sob, and she turned to lift him up
Goodbye Astra
6/8
into her arms, holding him tight and rocking him back and forth. She’d been his age when her parents died, and she didn’t even remember attending a funeral. Was six loo young for such a thing? Was it why she didn’t recall burying them?
Carrying the sobbing boy away and back to the car, she held him on her lap while he cried his heart out. She looked at Kiefer and noted his eyes were reddened.
“I wish I could take this pain from you both,” he whispered quietly.
“I wouldn’t wish this pain on anyone,” she returned and rested her head on his shoulder. “Thank you for being here for us. All of you.” She looked at Lorcan and Tadgh. “I am so thankful to have you as my family.”
Lorcan shook his head, “there is nowhere else we should be.”
“Will there be funerals for the men we lost yesterday?” she asked suddenly.
“Yes. Their families have all been notified. It is what I did most of yesterday.” Lorcan said quietly. “I personally visited the families of the men who lived here in Boston and then made phone calls to the one family from Ireland. I’ve already arranged for him to be sent home.”
“Are we going home now?” Egan asked quietly sniffling against Genesis’s shoulder.
“Yes, baby. We’re going home. We will spend the evening going
Goodbye Astra
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through some of the photos I have of Astra and talking about her and enjoying her favorite meal.” Genesis rubbed his back unwilling to let him off her lap aware he didn’t seem too eager to leave the comfort of his mother’s arms.
Lorcan’s phone buzzed, and he frowned, “why is Jerren calling me? He’s in the car ahead of us, is he not? He’ll see us in fifteen
minutes.”
“Put him on speaker in case we have trouble up ahead,” Tadgh said shifting in his seat as he loosened his tic.
“You’re on speaker.”
“You aren’t going to believe this.”
“Spit it out.” Lorcan hissed.
“The convoy, which was hit, and they took Laoise? They took her thinking they were taking Genesis.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Allan just called. He was finally able to separate the words spoken by the two men while Laoise was screaming her fool head off, right before they punched her. It was hard because it was their voices mixed, hers over it, the sound of gunfire and screeching metal as our guys tried to get the car back but he finally got it. She was screaming and the guy hauled off and punched her, but his exact words were, shut the hell up
Genesis.”
Goodbye Astra
“Fuck.” Kiefer hissed angrily.
8/8
“It’s not the worst part, Kiefer.” Jerren continued. “The reason it took a bit for Allan to figure out was because they weren’t speaking English. They were speaking Russian.”
5
