Just as I’m about to open the door, a man comes rolling out, smashing into the barrel of my weapon. I fire two shots before he can register what’s happening and then move around him. Three men are shouting and running around the office I enter.
I get the man behind the desk between the eyes as his shot bounces off my shoulder. I barely feel it as I spin and hit the guy running toward a door in the back of the head. Three down, one to go. He sprinted into the warehouse as soon as I shot my first round.
Another hunt.
I move into the open warehouse and halt when I find the man standing on top of what looks like a ton of C-4.
Shit.
“You’re Kane right?” he asks shakily.
I nod as I watch his hand tremor on a detonator. Either he needs to push it to blow the place or if he lets go, we blow up. Fuck me.
“I knew he’d send you. His prized fuckin’ possession. They say you can’t get shot. But can you explode?”
I shrug. I don’t know.
“You gonna blow yourself up and try to find out?” I ask plainly.
“I kill you, and my family gets to more money than they’ll know what to do with. Can you be blown up?!” he screams
Enough talking. This is a hit for both of us. I don’t plan on dying today. I raise my gun at his head and squeeze the trigger as his thumb presses the button. The fire of the explosion doesn’t burn me as I fly backward from the blast. I smash through a wall, landing flat on my back against bricks and beams.
I cover my head with my arms as the ceiling comes crashing down. A six-story building collapsing on top of my body. This could be it. The way I finally die after spending thirty years being virtually invincible.
And when my world goes black, I don’t regret a moment of my life.
“Caelan, I’m a doctor. What the hell do you expect me to do?” I hear a woman whisper harshly.
There’s no response, so I’m guessing she’s on the phone. Thinking about it hurts my fucking head. Headache doesn’t begin to describe what I’ve got going on right now.
“He’s not fit for travel. I’ve gotta keep him here. I’ll lose my fuckin’ job if I just wheel him outta the hospital. Should I just wave and smile as I go? He’s not little. I can’t carry him out over my shoulder,” she argues.
I crack my eyes open to find I’m in a small, typical hospital room with a young woman in a lab coat pacing back and forth at the foot of the bed I don’t quite fit in.
She’s got her light blond hair swept up high on her head. I can only see her profile as she moves, but I can tell she’s stunning and fucking short. And unfortunately, very familiar.
Alannah Carey. The doctor daughter of Caelan’s dead brother-in-law and former right hand man. She grew up in the life, but when her old man got popped, she and her mom stayed away. As much as you can stay away from family. Her mom, Cait, is the baby of the O’Donnell family.
I haven’t seen Alannah in almost ten years. I didn’t go to Niall’s funeral. I didn’t know the man well, but I went to the pub for a party afterward to pay my respects to Caelan. I found an eighteen-year-old Alannah hysterical in the parking lot that night. My initial instinct was to walk past her. She didn’t know me, and I’m not the most comforting guy around. It wasn’t my place to ease her pain. At twenty-one years old, I hadn’t spent much time in the world, and I knew what my limitations were.
But as I moved toward her, she popped her big electric blue eyes up at me, and I stopped. I stopped fucking dead in my tracks. She needed me at that moment. I don’t know why. But she wasn’t just looking for anyone to hold her. She was looking for me. Maybe not consciously, but when she peered up at me through her long wet lashes, I saw need. Alannah crashed against my chest and squeezed my ribs with every ounce of strength her tiny body possessed.
We stayed like that for hours. I eventually pulled her into my truck when she needed to sit down. I cradled her in my lap most of the night. Caelan came out to check on us at one point, but when he saw us together, he simply tipped his chin in my direction, giving me his blessing to comfort his niece.
There wasn’t a lot of conversation. She talked a little and I listened, offering my condolences. I killed the men that took her father from her. I don’t kill for emotional reasons. It’s a job to me. No feelings involved. But with her tiny, soft body pressed against mine as she mourned her father, I felt vengeance for the first time in my life. And it felt fucking good.
“What’s wrong with him anyway?” she huffs into the phone.
Shit.
“Hey,” I grunt.
She jumps as I scare her, squealing and dropping the phone with a crash.
“Jesus, you scared the shit outta me,” she gasps.
Then she drops to her knees out of my view, surely picking up the pieces of her phone. She stands back up cradling what’s left with her brow crinkled.
“That’s not goin’ back together,” she says with a snort. “This is my fourth phone in a year. I need something construction grade. Why do they make phones that can’t be dropped? People drop phones. I drop mine all the damn time. Sorry, I’m rambling,” she finishes with a grimace, tossing her phone pieces in the trash.
“You were in an accident. An explosion in the West Bottoms. How are you feeling?” she asks cautiously, leaning close to my face as she shines a pen light in my eyes.
“My head hurts,” I answer honestly.
Once she’s done with the light, she starts pressing around my head and neck. I study her as she works. She has milky skin and a heart-shaped face with the biggest electric blue eyes I’ve ever seen. Her nose slopes in a subtle curve just above fat, pouty crimson lips. She looks like a fucking fairy tale character.
When she stops, Alannah leans back and watches me for a moment with her arms crossed under her big tits, making them look even more alluring.
“You’re in pain because we couldn’t get an IV started. Every needle we tried broke against your skin. You don’t have any lacerations, and I’ve only found a few contusions. You survived a six-story building landing on your body without a scratch. How is that exactly?”
“Am I free to go?” I ask, ignoring her question.
I sit up and pull the hospital gown off my body as she stares at me. She tries to keep it in check, but her gaze travels down my broad chest and I swear she counts each ab in my eight-pack before tracing the V muscle.
I do nothing to stop her perusal. I’ll use it to get my way. The suits will be here soon. No question.
“Doc, I gotta get outta here, and that’ll be easier if my dick’s not hard,” I inform her with a quirked brow at my tented sheet.
The blush on her cheeks deepens as she clears her throat.
“Mister?” she waits for me to tell her my last name so she can remain professional. That starts to piss me off, but I let it go. She’s probably freaked and confused.
“Just Kane, Doc,” I correct her, swinging my legs off the bed.
“Kane,” she repeats it like she’s tasting my name on her tongue to see if it caresses her the right way.
It does.
“You need to stay here. We need to run some tests and monitor you.”
“No thanks,” I say dismissively, pushing to stand up until her small hands grasp my tense shoulders.
“You’re not goin’ anywhere. Caelan’s got men on the hospital to make sure no one else comes after you. You’re safe here, Kane,” Alannah tries to reassure me.
“It’s sweet you’re worried about me. Caelan knows I can take care of myself. So did your old man, Alannah. Thanks for watchin’ out for me, but I gotta go.”
I grab her wrists off my shoulders and stand up as my vision gets hazy.
Shit.
“You’re not goin’ anywhere,” she commands, leading my back onto the bed before lifting my legs back under the sheets.
“I looked up a few medical journals while you were unconscious, tryin’ to figure out how to treat you. Can you tell me about your conditio
n?” she asks with a concerned tone.
“I…you need…shit,” I groan before I start to pass out. “They’ll come for me,” I whisper before everything goes black again.
“Stay still,” Alannah growls when I wake up as my bed flies down a corridor.
My stomach rolls as she wheels me toward an exit sign. This is worse than when I was shot in the face. I definitely have a concussion. Something I wasn’t certain I could get.
Alannah smashes the foot of the bed into a door that leads to a small parking lot, not stopping until she gets to a red Audi TT. I’ll never fit in that thing.
“Come on,” she orders, scanning around the area as she extends her hand to me.
I stand up in all my naked glory, and she diverts her eyes, leading me to the passenger side of her car. I drop in and pull my knees almost to my chest to fit. My six and a half feet frame is not meant for girly sports cars.
“Here,” she grunts, tossing the sheet at me before speeding out of the parking lot.
I scan the area and realize we’re at St. Luke’s Hospital. Not far from my place at all. That’s good because her erratic driving is going to make me puke in a few more turns.
“Who were those guys?” she asks, flicking her big blue eyes at me. “They came for you. I don’t know who they were, but they got onto the floor like they owned the place. I sent them to the room furthest from yours and took off with you. They’ll have your name and all your information from the hospital records now. Shit!” she shouts, slamming her palm into the steering wheel.
“Slow down and take a breath, Alannah,” I try to soothe her, but it comes out raggedly. “They won’t find shit. Take a left on Main.”
“Why?”
“That’s the way to my place and you’re makin’ me sick swingin’ you’re toy car around the road.”
I twist to look behind us, searching for any suspicious cars. It’s the middle of the night, and the streets are pretty empty. I’m relieved when I don’t see anyone. I’m not in any shape to fight, and I don’t have my weapons on me. I’m butt ass naked in a car with a woman who’s…doing pretty well actually as I glance over to see her breathing normally.
“Thanks,” I say, squeezing her forearm gently.
“I should take you to my place, Kane. You can’t be on your own with your concussion. It’s not safe.”
“You gonna protect me?” I tease.
“I already did,” she points out with a smirk.
“I’m not the one I’m worried about, Doc. There’s nothing to find because the ID anyone found on me leads to a person who doesn’t exist. But when they go to your house, which does exist, you’ll be the one who’s in danger. Take a right on Sixteenth.”
“I should call my uncle,” she says quietly.
“You can do that from a burner at my place. It’s a good thing you smashed your phone earlier so they can’t track you. We’ll be safe at my place,” I assure her. “Up on the left. I’ll hop out and open the garage.”
“I’ll help you,” she says, turning to get out of the car.
“Alannah, I know you’re a doctor and you’re used to helping people. And I’m not tryin’ to be a dick, but keep your ass in the car and let me handle shit,” I instruct, grasping her elbow.
Her mouth sets in a hard line, but she doesn’t argue. I unfold myself from her miniature car and hold the sheet around my waist as I stride to the door next to the garage.
I punch in my code and scan my thumbprint to gain myself entry. This is not the first time I’ve ended up at home without my keys. This is the first time I’ve done it naked.
I press the button to open the garage and wait for Alannah to pull in. I help her out and lead her up the metal staircase with a hand in her back, noting she’s the first woman I’ve ever had in my place. Actually, she’s only the third person to be in my place other than Chann and me.
I flip on the lights and nod for her to take a seat in the living area. I’m no longer feeling wobbly on my legs, but my head is still screaming at me. I stride to my closet, dropping the sheet before tugging on a pair of sweats.
When I turn around, I catch Alannah staring at me with hungry eyes again. I wait for her to realize she’s been caught and then smirk when her embarrassed eyes find mine. She quickly averts her gaze to the floor causing me to snort as I bend down and snag a burner phone from my bedside table.
“Call Caelan and let him know you’re safe with me. Don’t tell him where you are and keep it quick. I doubt they’re tracing his calls yet,” I say, handing her the phone.
“What do I tell him?” she asks, clearing her throat nervously.
“Whatever you need to. I don’t know anything more than you do, Doc. I’d prefer it if you didn’t tell him about my skin. There are rumors around the clan, but I’ve never admitted anything. I don’t know who those guys at the hospital are, but it’s not the first time they’ve come for me. They’re obviously government. Beyond that, I’ve got nothin’ for you.”
I don’t wait for her to respond before turning and heading into the kitchen for some pain relievers.
“Uncle Caelan, it’s me. I don’t have long to talk, but I wanted to let you know I’m okay. I had to take off from the hospital with Kane. I’m still with him, and he says to tell you I’m safe,” she says with little conviction.
I guess she doesn’t feel safe with me. I don’t know if she should. I’m an enforcer for a crime family that her father died serving. This isn’t the lifestyle most women want. I’m usually skeptical of any that say this is the life they want unless they were raised in it and know what they’re getting into. Even then, it’s sketchy.
“Government looking suits came in askin’ about him. I figured it was best to get him outta there.”
“It’s a burner, so I don’t think so.”
“He can’t call me on this right?” she asks me.
I shake my head and drain my glass of water with a handful of pills. Maybe I should call Sorcha and ask her what to do for my head. She surely has some brew to heal a concussion. I know she’s nuts, but I spent my life drinking the proverbial Kool-Aid, so I still use her as my go to in life.
“Okay. Love you too,” Alannah says sweetly before ending her call.
“He’s sending guys to my place to watch for anything. He wants us to call back in two hours. And he said if anything happens to me because you fuck up, he’ll kill you himself,” she repeats clinically.
“Good to know,” I snark, thinking Caelan couldn’t kill me if he wanted to.
“What did you just take?” she asks, nodding toward the pill bottle on the counter as I swipe the phone from her hand, popping the battery and then crushing the phone in my palm.
“I like that phones break easy,” I inform her through a grin. “Just some Tylenol, Doc. I figure it’s better than the marching band stomping through my brain.”
“Why don’t you lie down so I can check you out? You really shouldn’t be up and moving so much.”
She stands up from the couch and slips off her heels. I knew she was short, but now that she’s barefoot, she’s almost child-sized. I don’t remember her being this small. It was only ten years ago, and I don’t think she shrank. I feel massive standing in front of her though.
“How tall are you?” I question, ignoring her request.
“Weird question.” She pauses to see if I’m serious. When I wait for her response, she furrows her brow. “Five two,” she responds, looking down her body for some imagined imperfection.
When her eyes scan her figure, I allow mine to do the same. She’s petite in all the right places and curvy in even better ones. Her tits belong on someone much bigger than her and her round hips flare out, making her look like a pin-up girl from the fifties. And while she’s short, her legs seem to go on for days.
Alannah Carey is fucking hot.
“I could fit you in my pocket.”
“We’ll try that later,” she retorts sarcastically. “Not all of us are sculpted mythol
ogical Irish gods, Kane.”
“You think I’m a god?” I flirt.
“It would explain your skin,” she says with a shrug.
“That it would.”
“Are you a god?”
“Just in the bedroom, Doc,” I purr with an eyebrow wiggle.
“I don’t doubt that.”
I know she’s affected by me, but not the way most women are. I don’t usually have to say more than three words to get a woman to be putty in my hands. Alannah doesn’t seem fazed by me, other than when she’s staring at my body. But she could just be trying to figure out the freak. I’m probably more like a science project to her rather than a man.
She lets out a big yawn and then covers her mouth as she apologizes.
“Let’s get in bed. I’ll set an alarm so you can call Caelan,” I suggest.
“If you have a blanket, I’ll crash on the couch. I’m pretty beat. I was getting off shift when you were brought in. You came in as a John Doe, but Chann showed up just after and gave them Drake Worthington’s information. It took them eight hours to dig you out, Kane,” she finishes sorrowfully.
“You stayed at the hospital for me?” I ask, surprised she would do that, knowing she doesn’t deal with the clan.
I file the other pieces of information in the back of my mind for later.
“You needed someone with you and Chann had to take off. When the nurses started breaking needles, I admitted you for further testing. I knew something wasn’t right, and then Uncle Caelan called me. He said it was a hit. They blew up a warehouse to try to kill you. Whoever ‘they’ are,” she grumbles.
“Thank you, Alannah,” I say quietly, closing the distance between us to push a piece of her silky blond hair behind her ear.
“You’re an intriguing man, Kane,” she whispers, peering up at me through thick lashes just as she did years ago.
Fuck me, I want to kiss her. I’m always horny after I kill. The adrenaline and need for affirmation of my own life raises my testosterone levels. It seems ramped up a few notches now that I almost died.
Misunderstood Miracles Page 2