“Shoot him!” Daisy screamed as she dropped an elbow to Blachley’s gut, followed with a stomp to his foot. She leaned forward, trying to escape his grip, but he was stronger, despite her fight. The chaos was only enough to throw him off balance, but Blachley was quick to recover. His weapon was no longer at Daisy’s temple, but now on Wylie, who was rushing him from behind.
Gunfire cracked through the air, echoing as it pierced their ears, then another shot rang out. Luke stopped in his tracks, his eyes wide, and he screamed Daisy’s name as he watched his brother fall, then Blachley with Daisy in his clutches. Dace and Declan rushed the scene, and City stayed back, holding Eva.
“No!” Luke dropped his weapon and ran to the pile of blood-stained bodies. “No, no, no, no.”
Luke didn’t even recognize his own voice, or the tears spilling over, staining his face. He didn’t care if Blachley was dead or alive, just tossed him aside so he could get to Daisy.
“She has a pulse,” he yelled, checking her over for bullet holes, then cradling her in his arms. “C’mon, baby. Wake up. Wake up for me.”
His brothers sat Wylie up, who was holding his shoulder. Declan yelled, “It’s clean. Through and through.”
“Daisy?” Wylie said, looking around in a daze, then he saw her. “Oh my God, Daisy!”
Wylie shrugged off his brothers and crawled the few feet to her side. “Luke, I didn’t get a shot off. I didn’t fire.”
Daisy started to stir, and relief settled in. There was a decent sized laceration on her forehead. She must’ve hit the ground hard when Blachley fell on her. Luke just held her until she was ready to wake up.
Carter knelt by the body of Terrence Blachley, checking for signs of life. “He’s dead. His weapon discharged.”
“The other shot, who got Blachley?” Declan asked.
Liam began his descent from the top of the mobile stairs, a blank look on his face and a weapon loosely hanging from his hand. Liam took the kill shot Daisy had given him with her fight against Blachley.
“She saw me,” Liam said. “She saw me when she turned around, and I…I nodded. I took the shot.”
Luke stared speechless. His brother saved Daisy’s life in a moment that felt all too familiar.
“I owed you,” Liam said under his breath, grasping his brothers arm. “I owed…you.”
Liam wasn’t a killer. Combat trained for self-defense, sure, but not a killer. When his now wife was in trouble, it was Luke who unloaded a bullet into the enemy, so Liam wouldn’t have to make a choice he may not have been able to live with. Liam returned the favor, if one could call it that.
Luke used his brother’s words to see him through the shock of what he’d done. “Liam, sometimes we do bad things for the right reasons. Sometimes…that makes you a hero.”
Liam smiled and nodded at his brother. “I know. I learned from the best.” Liam stood, but stopped to say, “The plane is clear. Me and Wy got the two. Pilot’s clean, but cuffed just in case. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need a minute with my wife.”
“Luke?” Daisy mumbled, her face pale and voice weak.
“It’s over, baby. He’s gone.”
“Luke…something’s wrong.”
“You took a hard hit, honey. You’re going to be okay.”
Carter approached. “I have Doc Charles on the line. He has credentials at the University Hospital. He’ll meet us there. Let’s load up Wylie and D—”
“Luke.” Her voice was louder, and she cried out in pain. “The baby. Something’s wrong.”
When Luke stood to get her to the car, his pants and hand were wet from holding Daisy. He extended his hand to see it covered in blood. Daisy’s blood.
“Carter!” Luke yelled. “The baby!”
“Get her to the car, Luke,” Carter yelled before relaying information into the phone. “Doc’s waiting for her.”
A black SUV with blue and red lights flashing pulled up, and Blake Cooper got out, still dressed in his wedding attire. He had Pete Langley from the local FBI Field Office with him.
“Take the car!” he said to Liam, tossing him the keys. “Use the lights. We’ll take care of this here.”
In a matter of seconds, Luke and Daisy were loaded, Wylie too, with Liam and City escorting.
“This isn’t how it ends, Daisy,” Luke whispered. “This isn’t how it ends.”
He cradled her in his arms, keeping her lifeless body warm. Then…he cried.
Luke sat at Daisy’s bedside for hours, though it felt like days. She had been sedated so she could rest – her body needed it after what it had been through. Though he was told to go home to shower and change because she would be sleeping for hours, he refused to leave. He held her hand in his, willing her to wake up and say something, anything, so he’d know she was okay.
Liam brought a change of clothes for Luke to change into, so the nurses weren’t as afraid of him in his blood-soaked attire. He owed his brother everything. He saved Daisy’s life. Luke had underestimated his brother – Liam was the real hero in this story. He was the one who’d saved the day, and all the days to come now that Washington’s biggest conspiracy yet was laid to rest.
“Luke…”
His head shot up, and he slid to the edge of his seat. “Daisy. Thank God. Are you okay? Does anything hurt? What can I—”
“Shhh…” she chuckled. “Not so loud. My head feels like tequila had its way with me.”
Luke laughed at her playful attempt at a joke. “Not tequila, darlin’. Just some asphalt and stuff to help you sleep.”
Her eyes darted open, her memory becoming clear. “The baby!”
She tried to sit up, but pain shot through her head.
“It’s okay, honey. Lay back down—”
Her hands rubbed her belly, looking for any evidence that everything was okay. “Luke, the baby?”
“The babies are fine,” he said. “Despite everything you went through, they’re fine. The fall caused a little trauma. Doc has big words for it and can explain it later, but you and the babies will be okay after a few weeks of rest.”
“Babies? You said babies.”
A proud smile covered his face, and the emotion that filled him caused him to choke on his words. “There are two of them in there. You kept them safe, and they’re going to be just fine.”
Daisy rolled to her side to face him and began to cry – for what had happened, cry because this time, it really was over, and cry because she had a family of her own now. He crawled into bed with her and gently pulled her into his body, kissing the top of her head as he often did.
“I love you so much, Daisy King. You were so brave and strong,” he cried. “If I know anything now, it’s that you are my everything. You and those babies. Forever.”
“You’re our hero, Luke. You always come for me.” Her voice was low, the sedative reclaiming her, but not before she said, “You’re our everything. Forever.”
THE END
Epilogue
Four months later…
Dace sat back and watched his brother celebrate his happily ever after. As different as they were, Luke and Daisy were made for each other. He was happy for them. They’d been through so much, and they deserved this day.
In keeping with tradition, they held the wedding at Pittock Mansion, but due to Oregon winter weather, it was held indoors. It was just as beautiful as the rest of the grounds. Cally had out done herself as the event planner, and Daisy’s maid of honor. She relocated to Portland, needing a change of scenery, and with her reputation, she could work anywhere.
He watched his brother dance with his bride. Luke had changed so much in such a short time; it was all for the better, though. He didn’t lose his edge, still a soldier in many ways, but he was softer now too. In what seemed like a flash, he’d watched all three of his older brothers fall…for the better. Each had a wife, babies were being born – the O’Reilly clan was growing.
Daisy and Luke were having twins, a boy and a girl, which was odd for
their family of mostly male twins, and they would be here before long – Tilly, after Daisy’s Gran, who had become a big part of the O’Reilly family, and Duke, named for Daisy and Luke. Dace laughed at that one, but it was wearing on him.
Everyone was on the dance floor, coupled up with their other half. Even Wylie and Eva were dancing, despite telling everyone how much they hated each other. There was only one woman Dace wanted to dance with, and he couldn’t have her. More like, she didn’t want him. He couldn’t imagine a life with anyone but Ivy, but searching for her was becoming monotonous.
He had every resource available to him, and still couldn’t locate her because she didn’t want to be found – not by him. When Cally crossed the room, eyes set on him, he decided to table that decision. What was one more night when it had been years of searching?
“Want to dance?” she asked.
Dace smiled, checking her out from head to toe, remembering what she had under that dress. He’d already had her in his bed, more than once since she’d been in Portland. It was just a fling, keeping each other company…for the past three months. Maybe it was time to move on…with a little brunette firecracker from Nashville.
Dace stood, took her hand, and twirled her around. “Of course I want to dance with you. Then later,” he whispered in her ear, “you can show me what’s under that dress.”
Cally tossed her head back in laughter. “You don’t have to ask me twice. In fact, I’ll just tell you: nothing.”
He pulled her closer, his hand on her ass and his steely length firm against her hip, showing her what she did to him. “One dance, and we’re out of here,” he said.
“Make it two and you have a deal.”
They danced their one dance, then the second, then clear into the night.
Dace had left his phone sitting on his table where it rang, more than once, the screen showing it was an Unknown Caller. The only problem with that was only his family had his number…and Ivy.
Luke and Daisy had a hard journey to each other, but it was worth every pulse pounding twist! Hope you agree!
Dace O’Reilly spent years searching for his fiancé, and just when he’s ready to move on…she shows up out of thin air, she’s not the innocent woman he once knew.
Dace is next! Hang on to your seat!
COPYRIGHT © 2020
Stephanie St. Klaire
Brother’s Keeper IV: Dace
Book Four in the Brother’s Keeper Series
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, or other status is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever known, not known or hereafter invented, or stored in any storage or retrieval system, is forbidden and punishable by the fullest extent of the law without written permission of the author.
EDITOR: Jenny Simms
COVER ARTIST: Opium House Design
FORMATTING: The SSK Group
Acknowledgments
For those who love this series so much and waited so patiently…
Dace is for you…
1
“Make it hurt,” Dace said. “Earn that tip, baby. The whole. Fucking. Tip.” He grunted.
“Did he just say tip?” Wylie questioned from the other room. “Wow, he’s into some kinky shit.”
“Suck it, Wy!” Dace hollered from behind a curtain.
Wylie chuckled with a couple of their brothers. “Hey, man, you said it.”
A loud groan could be heard from the semi-closed-off room. “Jesus! Is it all the way in?”
“Sure is, big guy.” A woman giggled. “How’s it feel?”
The bell above the entrance jingled as Rip, the owner of Rose City Ink, walked in and paused at the sight of the three oversized O’Reilly brothers filling the shop. “Ahh, shit.”
“Sup, Rip.” Wylie winked.
“Why do you fucking wink at me like that? It’s starting to get weird,” Rip replied with a middle finger.
“Mostly because it pisses you off.” Wylie winked again. “Not happy to see us?”
“Usually, I am. But the last time you were all here, it was like babysitting a bunch of giant toddlers. Tell me you’re all sober this time.”
“All but one of us.” Wylie nodded to the curtained-off workstation. “Dace is in there with Betsy.”
“With Betsy? What does he have left to pierce?” Rip questioned.
Declan, the oldest O’Reilly, shrugged. “Not sure, but he mentioned something about a…tip.”
Everyone cringed.
“He didn’t find her, did he?” Rip was referring to Ivy, Dace’s ex-fiancé, who had been missing for several years.
“Starting to see a pattern, huh?” Luke O’Reilly chimed in.
“Every time he’s chased down a lead over the past several years and turned up nothing, he’s ended up in my chair for new ink or in Betsy’s to get pierced. Definitely a pattern.”
Dace O’Reilly did have a pattern, and it was one of self-loathing and punishment. The bigger the disappointment, the bigger the physical pain to mask the ache in his heart that began the day Ivy disappeared. She was his first and only love. They’d planned a life together. And she was gone.
Before Dace became a full-time partner in Brother’s Keeper Security with his brothers, he worked as a mechanic…which was his cover as a covert operative for a special unit that was neither military nor government. It wasn’t anything. His contract had been nearly up, and he was determined to settle down with Ivy, start a family, and live the life they’d planned. Until he was offered a deal he couldn’t refuse, but Ivy could.
One year. One year of double pay and a bonus would have been enough to set them up comfortably and give them an even better start together than they were already off to. Dace didn’t believe Ivy’s ultimatum – her or the job – was real. But it was. Or so it seemed. Because when he returned home from parts unknown, she was gone. No note. No goodbye. Not even a fuck you.
He’d looked high and low, and followed every lead, yet turned up nothing. Despite operating a world-renowned personal and tech security firm that boasted a client list full of celebrities, political dignitaries from around the world, and more government contracts than was probably legal…he couldn’t find her. With all his resources, foreign and domestic, she’d simply vanished into thin air.
Sure, he’d get a lead here and there, and he followed every single one of them. But he’d turn up nothing, return home empty-handed with only a black eye, tattoo, or some other form of self-inflicted painful reminder she was…gone.
“Yeah,” Declan said. “He was sure he had her this time. Liam’s new software captured a grainy shot that could’ve been her…or half a million other brunette beauties out there.”
Betsy pulled back the curtain and out walked Dace, still buttoning his fly. “It was her. I know it was.”
“Why you walkin’ funny, bro?” Wylie laughed.
With a strained swagger, Dace walked toward his baby brother and began to undo his pants again. “Wanna see? Prepare yourself. This is what a real man looks like.”
Dace paused to pull a ringing phone from his pocket and clicked the red button to deny the call when he saw who it was.
“You pull that thing out in here,” Rip chided, pointing at Dace’s half-done pants, “and I’ll personally kick you in the balls and call your ma to tell her what you just did.”
Betsy cupped Dace’s groin with a bag of frozen peas. “Sit down, shut up, and keep this on it for a few. Or your ma finding out what you just did will be the least of your worries, honey.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Dace said, taking a nearby seat. “Shit, the cold makes it hurt worse.”
“That’s because little Dace is running from the chill. Give it a minute,” she said, disappearing back into her workstation.
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“Little? Pfft. I think I need another shot of something,” Dace said, letting his head fall back against the wall.
Rip reached behind the counter and grabbed a couple of bottles. “I have some Crown and Don Julio…pick your poison.”
Another phone call caught Dace’s attention but only for a moment. He saw the caller ID and hit that red button again. The guys each looked at each other, then let it rest.
“Crown? Canadian whiskey?” Wylie interrupted. “We’re Irish…”
“What? Irish don’t like Canadians?” Rip questioned.
“Well, no. We like them just fine, but we’re a little partial to our own brand of whiskey. It’s better for ya.”
Rip shrugged and pulled out another bottle. “Fine. I keep this shit back here too. Only you assholes drink it, though…tastes like burnt piss.”
Dace accepted the small glass of his favorite liquid gold. “You’re Canadian, aren’t you?”
“Just on my mom’s side,” Rip said, tossing back a shot of his own.
“Hey, we should get matching tattoos again,” Dace chimed in, referring to the last time he sat in Rip’s shop with his brothers. When Luke found out he was going to be a dad, the night ended at Rose City Ink and a new O’Reilly trademark branding each of the brothers.
“Hell no,” Declan said, pulling his now ringing phone from his back pocket. “Last time, we almost ended up with rainbows across our dicks.”
“I second that,” Luke said. “Rainbow dick is not on my bucket list and neither is playing matchy-match with you assholes like we’re a bunch of toddlers.”
“Man, is she calling your phone now, too?” Dace asked Declan as his expression hardened, gaze fixed on his phone screen.
Brother's Keeper V: Wylie (the complete series BOX SET): NEW RELEASE + Series Box SET included! Page 91