#NYGirl (Midwest Boys Series Book 4)

by A. M. Brooks

  “You said Matt called,” Ciaran starts the conversation, his head tilting toward his grandparents.

  “Right before he got on the plane,” Mike answers, nodding his head. “He asked for our help and gave me the gist of what has been happening. Seems like you have three separate threats right now?”

  “Any ideas for us, old man?” Silas half-grins, while Mike laughs.

  “Still a smartass like your father.”

  Silas shrugs. “You know then my dad is also not here.”

  Janise steps forward, her hand resting on Mike’s arm. “Matt made us aware of that too. Said he gave Jason seventy-two hours to get Kelly and get back.”

  “If he can find her,” Saylor huffs from where she is sitting. Her eyes lower to her hands, when everyone turns to look at her. “There is a chance Calvin was lying to us and she never made it out to begin with.” Her voice cracks on the last few words, spurring my friend into action. Ciaran lifts her off the seat and sits back down with Saylor cradled in his lap.

  “We can’t think like that,” Janise tells Saylor, her voice soothing and gentle. “Your mother has always been a fighter. Even when faced with adversity, she has always been able to find a way to succeed. She got you to Rogue, didn’t she?”

  Saylor and Mila both look at each other. Mila reaches out her hand, and Saylor takes it.

  “So what’s your plan?” Mike asks, his eyes shifting among Ciaran, Silas and me. I stand straighter, running my hand through my hair.

  “Matt already put the town in lockdown. We need to make sure all our targets are secure and set up a trustworthy system for their check-ins. Someone is out to destroy our credibility and is using our own members to do it,” Ciaran explains.

  “We’re setting up a sensor perimeter around the outskirts and nearby towns to monitor from there as well. We need to have this done by the time Matt and my dad get back,” Silas adds.

  “We’ve scoured every database for the name Red or anything having to do with Toronto. Now that we’re back, I’ll be looking at older files stored here. Well, we.” I motion and point to Reed.

  “Matt told me a little over the phone, since our connection wasn’t very secure, but which threat are we eliminating first?” Mike probes further, stepping into the center of the room, his eyes continually moving to each one of us.

  Isn’t that the question. We can only hope that Calvin is buying enough time for Kelly to have escaped and that maybe she has valuable information.

  “Our most pressing matter is finding out what happened in Toronto and how that is connected to The Establishment. Then it might be easier for us to put a stop to them infiltrating our own operatives.” Ciaran turns to his grandpa, who is watching him closely.

  “We’ll always be hiding from and facing off against mob families.” I glance at my friends, before letting my eyes rest on Saylor and Mila. “This time it just hits closer because of who we’re guarding and what they mean to us.”

  Saylor gives me a small smile, with tears still swimming in her eyes. Mila glances around at everyone in the room, reading the atmosphere and taking note. The kid probably has the ability to be a great asset to Rogue someday, despite her physical state. I watch her stare longer at Reed, but he doesn’t acknowledge her. The only tell he shows, that he knows she’s watching him, is his fingers digging into his thighs.

  “And what about our vigilante killer?” Mike turns, this time glancing at Silas.

  My friend shrugs, like he isn’t concerned at all, and maybe he isn’t. “If anything, they are more of an asset to us. Everyone who has turned up was thoroughly investigated. They either switched sides or they were already from an outside organization trying to kill us. Do I agree with the method, no. But so far, whoever it is, is more interested in showing us where we’re weak rather than trying to hurt us further. He’s very low on the priority list.”

  Mike nods his head before glancing at Janise and briefly making eye contact with Molly. “Well, I think everyone should head to where they were assigned for the night. Try to get some sleep. We’ll do what we can tonight and trade shifts in a few hours.”

  “And if Matt calls?” Saylor questions.

  “I’ll make you all aware of whatever the situation is. He should be landing any moment. All we can do is wait for the time being,” Janise reassures us all, her voice comforting and strong.

  Everyone stands to disperse, but I can’t take my eyes off Oaklynn. The look on her face is devastating; sadness and betrayal are etched across it. She walks to the kitchen, the first time she’s been alone since we left. I somehow manage to drop back from the conversation, while Mike and Ciaran hash out who is bringing our targets home and how we plan to do checks and security. No one even notices I’m moving, or if they do, they don’t call me out on it. I manage to sneak into the kitchen, right as Oaklynn is finishing a glass of water. She stills when she sees me.

  “Can we talk?” I ask her gently, waiting for her to yell at me, but hoping she won’t.

  “There isn’t really much to say,” she finally answers, and the hopelessness in her voice triggers a fear in my gut that I’ve never felt before.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about how I really knew Saylor or that I work for Rogue. It isn’t that I didn’t want to, but I couldn’t. I hadn’t been approved to tell you either of those things because of the situation with your parents helping,” I tell her, wanting her to see how tied my hands really were.

  “But you really weren’t supposed to talk to me at all, were you?”

  Her question throws me, and I feel the guilt crawl up my spine. My head drops forward, and I shake my head no, silently answering her question.

  “Then why do it? Why put on this charade if you knew you’d be lying to me the whole time?” Her voice cracks at the end, and I bite the inside of my cheek to keep myself from reaching for her.

  “At first I was just vetting for information to make sure that Saylor was keeping quiet about where she was. We didn’t know, at that time, if there was still a threat in New York. Then we started talking and... nothing I said to you about me or what I like and dislike was a lie. The fact that I couldn’t tell you about Rogue was for your safety and ours.”

  I finally manage to bring my gaze up to hers and she looks away once I do. “Would you have ever told me?”

  I hesitate and that’s all it takes for her to pick up on the truth. Oaklynn scoffs and goes to leave, her shoulder knocking mine.

  “It’s not because I don’t trust you.”

  She stops, and I know I have her attention, even if she won’t look at me. I swallow past the painful words that are lodged in my throat. My past and present are colliding. The disappointment, anger, and fear I used to feel pushes against my insides while I fight to contain it in the box I’ve been keeping it in since becoming Rogue. “I didn’t think you’d like who I was once you knew everything about me. What you saw me do yesterday, kill people…this is who I am. A killer. And I belong to Rogue. Whatever they say or ask of me, I have to do. It’s the job I chose to help save people.”

  Oaklynn’s shoulders drop slightly, the only indication that she actually heard what I was telling her. I turn to face her, my hand reaching out to grab her arm, but she shrugs away. Without a word or even sparing me a glance, she stalks out of the kitchen and back to the crowd that is now dispersing. I hear her say something to her mom, and soon, they’re heading up the stairs.

  Once I’m sure I’ve picked my heart up off the floor, I finally manage to get my feet moving back into the living room. “Let’s go, Reed!” I call out, already aware of my assignment, my skills allowing me to track their entire conversation even while I was in a different room.

  Reed startles from the tone of my voice, but he’s up and following me anyway. We get to the door, and I hand him a bulletproof vest, before handing the other one to Bentley.

  “Good?” Ciaran asks. I nod, before checking my gun and pulling back the chamber. My fingers tingle, knowing a bullet is
now loaded and ready to go.

  Ci opens the front door and steps out, his gaze sweeping the area, gun out and ready. Bentley and Reed fall in line behind him and I bring up the rear. Even though we are cautious, it is easy to tell there is no danger tonight. The air is silent and still. There is not even the crackling of energy or warning. We drop off Bentley first and make sure his home is secure before doing the same for Reed. By the time Ci drops me off at my own door, the sun is almost rising.

  “Grandpa said they’d give us a few hours to sleep, but I don’t feel right making them work on this alone,” he says, leaning over the console. I stop in my yard and walk the few feet back to his truck.

  “How about at least three?” I all but beg. The cold smirk he gives me before driving away lets me know my wish is not being granted.

  I trudge inside, planning to go right to my room and enjoy the one hour of sleep I’ll get before having to be back at Ciaran’s. I still can’t quite wrap my head around the idea that his grandparents and his mom are stepping in to help out. I’m not sure if that is a good thing or if it goes to show how freaked out Matt must be on the inside.

  “Kai?” My mom’s voice calls suddenly from the kitchen. I freeze in my tracks, glancing at my phone.

  “Mom?” I follow her voice to the kitchen, only to find her standing at the sink, washing vegetables. “What are you doing up? It’s only six and it’s a Saturday.”

  She chuckles. “Kai,” she shakes her head, “Janise called. She asked if I could help make some snacks and check on some of the families later. Lockdown is hard when it’s this long. Or when it’s the first time.”

  I nod and swipe a piece of carrot off the counter, tossing it in my mouth. “Ci wants us back soon. Don’t let me sleep more than an hour, please?”

  “Only an hour?” She quirks her brow.

  “He’s on a mission to prove we can handle this,” I confide. My mom stops washing and turns to me. I can see the concern on her face as well as the pride.

  “I can’t believe it’s almost that time, you know? Matt and Jason have spent many years building Rogue up to where it’s at. I’ve watched them teach you boys everything they know. And just like everything else you do, Kai, you soaked up all that knowledge and mastered everything thrown at you. There is no doubt in my mind that you boys will be able to handle this and anything else in the future,” she tells me, her knife slicing through some cucumber.

  “Thanks, Mom,” I respond, both hating the praise as much as I love hearing that she has such faith in us.

  We’re both silent for a few minutes; she continues cutting while I go back and forth in my mind, wondering if I should tell her how much I am actually drowning in a different mess I made. My mom is aware of my feelings for Oaklynn. She helped me purchase the airfare last year when I took Oaklynn to her prom. Something tells me Mom is going to side with Oaklynn and the rest of the girls on this one, though. I’m about to tell her everything when she turns to me first.

  “Jack called. He said his team was heading into Iowa then would be coming back here for a few days. He told me to tell your sisters and you, hi and he loves you.” She pins me with her gaze. Somehow I manage not to flinch. “Kai.”

  “What, Mom?” My tone is biting, but I keep my face blank like I always do anytime she brings up Jack.

  “He loves you too. Do you hear me? He loves you just as much as your sisters.”

  I hang my head, letting her words pulse around in my brain. Rationally, I know Jack does love me. After all, he’s put up with me for the past seven years. He helped my mom heal when she first got to Minnesota. They became friends, and then more. Jack is my sisters’ father and my stepdad. I love him for all he has done for my mom. He treats her like she deserves and he has been nothing less than a great dad to my sisters. But he knows. He knows the piece of shit my biological father is. And every time Jack looks at me, I swear I see him stare a little longer, watching to see if that same type of monster lives in me. Jack is Rogue, and I can’t blame him for being cautious. I would be too. Every day I look in the mirror, I’m looking for the exact same thing he is.

  “Okay, Mom,” I tell her gently, not really in the mood to get into it again over why I can’t seem to bring myself to just let Jack care about me. “I’m going to get to bed.”

  Her knowing eyes roam over my face, and whatever she sees has her biting her tongue. Instead of pushing the issue, she lets me slide out of the kitchen and down the stairs. Once I’m in my own space, I can finally breathe again. After making sure my black-out blinds are closed, I fall on my bed, and sleep takes me hard and fast.

  Oaklynn

  “You wake her.” I hear Lux whispering, to whom I can only assume is Saylor. Choosing to ignore them, I keep my eyes shut and wish that they all would go away. I know eventually I have to get up and put on a smile and act like this isn’t one of the most messed-up situations I’ve ever been in. Second, of course, to when Saylor mysteriously disappeared from her home, almost a year ago, and I only reconnected with her through an Instagram account. At this point, I can’t move past my anger to even think about how I met Kai, the mystery voice on the other end of the phone, before I pushed us to be more. Before I persuaded him to come to New York, pretending I needed a prom date. God, I feel so stupid. All along I thought I knew him, that he was sharing himself with me. In the end, he played me for a fool. The last one to know everything. The very last to know the real person Kai is. I kill people. His words from last night echo in my mind. They created such turmoil in my heart that I couldn’t even dream last night, my mind constantly thinking when I should have been sleeping.

  “I’m scared.” I hear Saylor answer finally, and I scoff, before sitting up. They both jump back in surprise.

  “You’re awake.” Saylor tries to laugh, but it’s lacking. My narrowed gaze shuts her down quickly.

  “I’m going to give you two a few minutes,” Lux says hurriedly and exits the room. Saylor turns back to me and I look away.

  “Oak.” I hear her sigh, and I almost cave. Say is my best friend, my ride or die since the beginning. It tears me up knowing that she had all these huge things happening to her and I couldn’t help her.

  “If you could have told me, would you?” I finally ask.

  She hesitates, and just like with Kai’s response last night, I feel my heart deflating inside my chest. “Not because I don’t trust you, Oak. And definitely not because I think you wouldn’t understand.”

  “Why then?” I turn to her and see tears gathering on her lashes. I don’t want to make her sad, but I’m just as raw right now.

  “I didn’t want to drag you into this or chance that you could be hurt if the wrong people knew I was alive.”

  My lips snap shut as her reality sinks in. My chin hits my chest, and I close my eyes against my own stupidity. “Can you tell me everything now?”

  “Are you sure you want to know? Not everything I’m going to tell you is pretty to hear.”

  I wait her out. Right now all I want is the complete truth and I don’t care how horrible it is. I’m smart, and I can already make a pretty good educated guess that Rogue isn’t just taking in stray kids. Eventually I feel the edge of the bed dip. Saylor reaches across the space and takes my hand in hers.

  “That night after the birthday party, our home was attacked by people Calvin owed money to. My mom stopped them from figuring out that Mila and I were at home and they attacked her instead.” She breathes in and out slowly, her hand tightening around mine. “They did horrible things to her, Oak. When I finally worked up enough courage to check on her, I thought she was dead. They came back, and my mom shot one, but Mila...she killed the other guy so he would stop...he had his hands around my throat. My mom had me call Matt, only she called him Rogue. A few hours later, he picked us up and drove us back here to Minnesota.

  “So Rogue takes in people who need help.” I nod, letting the missing pieces of that night fall into place for me. I’d seen the aftermath, but never kn
ew for certain what occurred. What happened to Kelly sounds like a nightmare and I can’t imagine being one of her children and having to hear her go through that.

  “Kind of,” Saylor blows out a breath, “this is where everything took a turn. Rogue does take in people who need help. Only, they’re usually more high profile, the types of people that can’t be saved with just law enforcement or the government’s help alone. They also do many sex-trafficking busts and help place the women and children who don’t have a home to go back to. Matt took us in because he and my mom were best friends when they were younger. My mom used to work for Rogue before she moved to New York and married Calvin.”

  “But Calvin is not your dad anymore, so why are you still in danger?”

  “Calvin was taken in by Rogue when he was a teen. His, uh, family is a highly-connected crime family. Apparently, because of what he had done in New York, Matt taking us in caused some big waves of doubt in Rogue. This doubt is making it easier to turn members against the organization. We’ve been attacked and dead bodies are turning up. Some of them belong to the employees that turned on us and some are related to the crime families.”

  “That Bentley kid’s family?”

  Saylor sucks in a breath and exhales slowly. “Looks like it.”

  “So how does Nash fit into everything?”

  Saylor grimaces. “His mom apparently is connected to the organization that is working to turn our employees against us.”