by KB Winters
“Just a turn of a phrase,” I said. “That’s all.”
“I see. So if you don’t find me unattractive, logic would seem to dictate that you find me attractive. Now be honest with me, sweetheart. What’s the real reason you didn’t go home with me last night?” He raised his glass to take a long drink of beer, looking at me from over the rim as he did so.
“Well, to be perfectly honest with you, I had a moment of clarity and decided it was best to think with my brain and not my hormones.”
“A moment of clarity?”
“Yes, Ian,” I said with a laugh. “I know a one-night stand when I see one, and I’m just not that type of girl.”
He looked offended, giving me his best who? me? expression of innocence. Clearly, I wasn’t buying what he was selling. I knew his type well.
“Come on, Ian. I’m not stupid. I know who you are–I know your type,” I said. “You’re a pretty boy who is always used to getting his way. You’re not the type to settle down. Maybe one day, but not right now. You’re too much into having fun with the guys and sleeping with as many women as you can before one of them gets knocked up and forces you to marry her.”
As I spoke, he grinned like he’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. And his grin only grew larger as I went on. He didn’t look surprised at all by what I was saying, though. Which in a way, actually surprised me. Men were always shocked when I nailed their intentions like that.
But it’s what I did. It was my job. As a special agent, reading people was what I was good at, and it often scared people with how accurate I could be. But not this man. No, he seemed amused, listening with his arms crossed in front of him as I called him out on his playboy ways. He was even cockier than I thought.
“Are you done?” he asked me.
“Is that not enough?” I laughed. I’d only told him half of what I saw. In actuality, he didn’t realize I knew more than I let on.
“It’s more than enough bullshit, sure,” he said, shaking his head. “But let me tell you a little something, sweetheart, you actually couldn’t be further from the truth about me.”
Oh, don’t I know it, Ian.
Four
Flynn
Ava was more dead on than she realized. In a way. Her assessment of my personality might have fit me a couple of years ago–actually, it fit me perfectly back then—which is why it was funny now. Hell, maybe if she had gone home with me last night, I would’ve considered her a conquest and never called or saw her again. I wouldn’t say it’s impossible, but I highly doubted that.
But there was more to Ava than I’d yet to discover, and like a lost pot of gold—I determined I’d search through the depths of her being, learning all about the woman who mysteriously intrigued me.
“Oh yeah?” she said, raising her eyebrow at me. “So tell me where I’m wrong about you then.”
“That boy you described–and yes, I meant to call him a boy and not a man because that’s what he is–might have been me at one time. In fact, I’ll own up to it and say it was me at one time. But now? No, I’m not that boy. I’m different. I’ve changed. I grew up. Today, I’m a man who wants things in life. A decent woman like me mum, someone to raise a family with one day.”
I tried to suppress a grin seeing the look of surprise that crossed her face as I spoke. She thought she had me all figured out, and then I went and wrecked her entire image of me. Ava sat back in the booth, eyes wide as she stared off into space–looking anywhere and everywhere but at me–as she was quite obviously trying to reformulate her opinion on the fly and think of some snappy comeback to what I’d just revealed to her.
Finally, she looked over and narrowed her gaze on me. “Yeah? You’ve changed, have you? You’re not that boy anymore?” she scoffed. “So you say. But lots of guys say they’ve changed their ways. And yet, they never do. How do I know this isn’t some story you feed to women like me–women you’re hoping are naïve enough to fall for it and sleep with you?”
I shrugged. “Believe what you want. But I can guarantee I’m not going home with you tonight. No matter how much you beg me to.”
Her mouth fell open and a look of disbelief crossed her face. “Me beg you?”
“I seem to have that effect on women.” I winked at her and saw the color creeping into her face as she looked away.
There was something special about this woman, something different. Ava was one of the good ones, I could tell. And a good woman was hard to find, at least when you’re the leader of the Irish Mob. There were women who wanted to be with me because of who I was, and I’d run into plenty of those. Those women were after notoriety, money, and even the danger the lifestyle brought. Most of them were cracked out or alcoholic whores who were looking for more of a free ride than a lifelong commitment. They most definitely weren’t the type of woman I wanted to bear my children. Those types of women didn’t make for good mothers. They weren’t the nurturing type that would sing songs to her sons as she tucked them in at night. Or tell them stories. Or do any of the million other things a good mother would do for her child.
Ava was that type. I could see it in her face, the way she carried herself, and even in the things she said. I knew she‘d be a fantastic mother.
Her eyes twinkled a bit, still amused. The fact that she hadn’t slapped me across the face, stood up, and run off by that point said a lot about her patience. Because I agreed with her–just about everything I said to her sounded like a line. It sounded just like something someone would say to get in her pants.
Which meant I was going to have to avoid sleeping with her. As I caught a glimpse of her pearl white cleavage peeking out from her low-cut shirt, I felt myself grow harder as I entertained the merest idea of fucking that sweet, young thing. Avoid sleeping with her? Yeah, easier said than done. Way easier.
But she was a good woman. A very good woman. And though I was fighting against my very instinct and nature, I didn’t want to screw this up. Whatever this was.
“You’re an alluring man, Ian,” she said with an adorable little laugh.
“So, does this mean you’ll see me again?” I asked. “You know, to give you a little more time to figure me out and all that.”
Ava was quiet for a few seconds longer, seeming to be mulling it over as she bit her bottom lip. Her green eyes sparkled as she stared into mine. It was so hard to walk away from this and not feel her body against mine. There was a large piece of me that wanted–no, needed–to be inside of her right then and there. But I knew I had to play it smart. Had to play it safe.
“Sure, I think I can manage that,” she finally said.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I knew I had business to attend to. Colin and Sean had left to drop some guns off with the Russians, and I’d been waiting for an update. It came late tonight. As much as I wanted to stay there with her for the rest of the night, I knew I needed to run.
“Good, sweet Ava. I’d really enjoy that,” I said, standing up after finishing the last of my Guinness. “I’ll call you soon.”
A look of disappointment crossed her face. It was brief—but it was there. I smiled at her, then reached out and gave her hand a gentle squeeze.
“You’re a fuckin’ temptation, sweetheart, and since you’re determined not to be a notch on my bedpost, I’ll respect that—I’ll be a gentleman. Most women wouldn’t deny my advances, they’d jump at the first romp between the sheets then get pissed when I didn’t call afterward. But you’re different. You’re honest and pure—somewhat an enigma for a man of my caliber. I keep my promises, Ava, we will see each again, and very soon.”
Ava was flushed, her cheeks pinker than normal as I kissed her hand and dismissed myself.
She could play hard to get all she liked, but I watched her in the mirror behind the bar as I left. And judging by the way she watched my ass as I walked to the door, I knew she was just as attracted to me as I was to her.
Five
Flynn
“What the fuck happened
here?” I asked.
The warehouse was filled with my soldiers, all of them alive and accounted for. Thankfully. Nobody was nursing wounds as far as I could see. Yet there was blood. So much fuckin’ blood leading from the driveway all the way up to the warehouse.
They parted ways, an eerie silence in the room as I slowly stalked forward. I studied their faces with a menacing glare as I looked each soldier in the eye, moving from man to man. None of them were brazen enough to meet my gaze, their heads downcast in shame.
“Where’s Colin?” I demanded.
“Over here, boss,” Colin called out.
And that’s when I saw my best friend–my cousin–covered in blood and gore. But it wasn’t his own. It belonged to the two dead bodies lyin’ at his feet.
Both in uniform.
“You killed not one, but two pigs, Colin?” I almost shouted. “What were you thinking? What the fuck is wrong with you?”
The job was supposed to be a quick—in and out—an easy delivery of guns over to the Russians. In our line of work, jobs didn’t get any fucking easier than that. But nothin’ was certain in traffickin’. Especially when your alliance was one of your greatest enemies. And most of the time, the easy jobs didn’t end up with two dead cops.
“I didn’t kill ‘em, Flynn,” Colin said. “I just cleaned up the mess.”
“Then who did it?” I demanded. “Who fucking killed them?”
Colin looked over at Sean but didn’t say a word. He was studiously avoiding my gaze, but he was pale as a fucking ghost. I walked over to him, grabbed him by his shirt and forced him to meet my eyes.
“You? You killed these two fucking cops?” I hissed, my voice low.
“T – t – they were following us, Flynn,” he stammered. “What was I supposed to do?”
“And what if there were more of ‘em? More that you didn’t see followin’ ye? What were you gonna do then? Hmmm?” I pressed. “Were you just gonna kill them, too?”
“I–uhhh–I dunno what I would have done.”
“You stupid, stupid bastard,” I said, shoving Sean to the side. “This is a death sentence for us, you know that? An automatic death sentence for killing one of Chicago’s finest, much less two. And you better believe that the entire force will be looking for these officers.” I raked my hands through my hair, tryin’ to wrap my head around this clusterfuck. “Colin, why’d you bring ‘em here?”
“We had to move fast, and I couldn’t leave them there,” he said. “They would have been traced back to us in a heartbeat. I need to dump the bodies somewhere, but I–”
“Fucking idiots,” I spat.
I stared down at the body at my feet. A pudgy, middle-aged man, likely nearing retirement. I could see the headlines that would be splashed all over the papers sooner rather than later. Beloved family man and police officer killed in the line of duty. Looking for any and all information leading to the arrest of those responsible. Generous reward.
The other cop was a younger man–probably a rookie. A rookie who was being trained by Grandpa over there.
“Get ‘em out of here, Colin,” I said, shaking my head. “Fuckin’ get rid of ‘em and be cautious with every move you make transportin’ the cunt pigs.”
“But where?”
“Figure it the fuck out yourself, why don’t you?” I got in his face and screamed.
“Why me?”
Taking a deep breath, I hovered over Colin. We stared eye-to-eye, and he wasn’t backing down. This was a power struggle—O’Brien versus O’Brien—syndicate boss goin’ toe to fuckin’ toe with his underboss. Colin would pay greatly for this grave mistake, his balls droppin’ at the wrong fuckin’ time to start a damn pissin’ match.
“Because,” I spat, “you were in charge on this job. This was your show to run and you were supposed to be watching the kid. You were supposed to be making sure he didn’t do anything stupid. And yet, here we are with two dead cops on our hands. So yes, this shit’s on you. Clean it the fuck up.”
I turned on my heel searchin’ the warehouse for the soldier. “Sean!” I barked, pullin’ him from his nervous pacin’, his hands shakily tugging at the ends of his hair. I hooked my thumb toward me, and his face fuckin’ paled. His strides were slow and unbalanced, almost as if he’d had one too many Guinness, but I knew it was just adrenaline wearing down.
“B-boss?” he questioned, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his blood-stained pants. “You thought yourself justified in pulling the trigger?” He nods—no words—just a disrespectful fuckin’ nod. “The next time you’re asked a question and you regard me without words, I’ll have your fuckin’ nut sack. Do ya understand?
“Y-yes, sir, boss.”
“You’ll be layin’ the departed to rest. Listen to Colin, and play it smart.” I tap my index finger against his temple. “You understand what I’m orderin’ ya, soldier?”
“Yes, boss,” his reply came steadfast.
I’d deal with Sean’s grave mistake later if it didn’t bite me in the ass beforehand.
Two dead cops. It didn’t take a genius to figure out we were in some deep shit. Whether they were following my guys because they’d gotten a tip or because they happened to be in the area, didn’t matter. All that mattered was that they’d poked their noses where they didn’t fuckin’ belong and their mistake was paid for with their lives. The city of Chicago wasn’t going to just sit on their hands when two of their finest were missing, potentially dead somewhere. The cops would be out looking in full force. I’d seen them launch manhunts before and knew this would be a tedious process that wouldn’t bode well for anyone.
Because the first place the cops were going to start looking for their missing comrades? The last point they’d checked in at with their dispatcher.
The only bright side to the clusterfuck of a night was that I hadn’t heard from my Russian friends about the guns delivery, so it was easy to ascertain that the delivery had been successful. Given what had happened, they might be laying low, too. It was always better to be safe than sorry when there was a cop killed right outside the fucking building.
“Ol’ Ike won’t be happy ‘bout this one, boss,” Red said quietly. “He ain’t one for gettin’ the po-po involved.”
Isaak Sokolov–otherwise known as Ol’ Ike–was the leader of the Russian brotherhood. Which meant that Ol’ Ike was not a guy you wanted to be on the wrong side of given that he was one of the most dangerous men in the city. If he wanted you dead, you were dead. There was no getting around it and no saving yourself. When Ike handed down a death sentence, all sales were absolutely final.
Which made my relationship with him something I took pride in. Being able to broker a deal with Ike and the brotherhood was important because for most of my life, the Russians had been at war with the Irish over territory. It had taken a lot of time, effort, money –and unfortunately blood—but I’d finally managed to get a sit-down, face-to-face meet with him. Something even my father hadn’t done. Once I’d explained to Ol’ Ike all of the ways we could work together and the massively mutual benefits we would all receive, we’d found a way to stop all of the violence and bloodshed.
Now, with this clusterfuck going down right outside of their doors? Red was right. Ol’ Ike wasn’t going to be too happy.
“I’ll deal with him, Red,” I said, patting him on the back. “Don’t worry about it.”
And I would deal with him. Not that I was looking forward to it in any way, shape, or form, but it was all in a days’ work as the leader of my Irish syndicate. These men looked to me. They followed my lead, most of the time without question or reservation. These men, they needed me. And because of all of that, I had to remain strong and unwavering or else this could turn into all-out war.
Colin came back inside and dragged the second body out, that of the larger man. He huffed and puffed, his face red and sweaty as he strained to move the overweight man.
“Fuckin’ pig. Shoulda cut down on the goddamn donuts and cake,” he
scowled, turning his attention over to Sean. “Lift with ya fuckin’ legs, Sean, you gobshite fuck.”
“I’m gonna fuckin’ vomit, Colin. Filthy pig is still bleedin’ every-fuckin’-where.”
Colin steeled his spine and took the two steps toward Sean, closing the distance between them. Fury radiated through him, having to dispose of the bodies, but Sean’s whiney-ass was only pissin’ him off further. “Ya’d do well to learn that every action carries consequences, lad. And in this business, those consequences mark a thin line between life and death, or ain’t you learnt that by now?” Colin snapped.
“I acted on fuckin’ impulse, Colin,” Sean pleaded, scrubbing his hand over his face.
“You don’t just go ‘round shootin’ cops whenever you get spooked just because they’re following you, Sean.” I chided, stepping between the two men. “Ya need to learn some control and discipline. This fuck up has cost us some heavy heat, and you’ll be disciplined accordingly once the wind blows over, lad. Now stop bein’ such a fuckin’ pussy, lift with your damn legs, and get this fuckin’ pig outta my sight. The next time you smart off to a boss, you’ll be layin’ in the same hole as this fucker.” I kicked the cop’s limp leg for emphasis.
“Yes, sir.”
Dropping his head, Sean followed the orders given, right down to lifting with his fuckin’ legs, helping Colin load the second body into the van parked outside the shipping doors of the warehouse. We were outside of the city of Chicago proper, and thankfully so. All around us, there was lots and lots of open land that could be used to dig a hole and hide a body. These two goons wouldn’t be the first ones buried out there. Probably wouldn’t be the last, either.
“Fuckin’ rookies,” Colin grumbled as he joined Red, Emmett, and me in the office. “Always fuckin’ shit up.”
“It was a mistake,” I said, shrugging. “A bad mistake that you’re as much responsible for as Sean was.” Colin’s eyes blazed with anger as his mouth parted to interrupt, but I put my hand up, palm out, silently ordering him to keep his feckin’ tongue in check. “When you take lead on a fuckin’ delivery, make sure you have your damn soldiers in check. This could have ended up much worse, and believe me, this is a shit storm we’re all goin’ to be payin’ for, I’m afraid. Not just with the law, but with the Russians as well. I’ll try to mitigate the damage, but we’ll have to lay low for a while.”