Mitch seethed. Declan was right, Juliana could have been hurt. His unborn child could have been hurt. A white-hot rage roiled throughout him, and Mitch knew they couldn’t let these men get away with what they’d done. Mitch looked up to see that Declan walking away from him, and towards the shackled men. Mitch stood back and watched.
“You guys have been busy,” Declan looked at him. His good-natured Irish accent now held a hard edge. The men said nothing, and Dylan took out his gun and held it to one man’s temple. “Who put you up to it? Who greenlit me?”
The man spat on the floor. “Your uncle.” That got Mitch’s attention. Colin O’Connell had authorized the hit from behind bars? Mitch strode forward. “Colin planned this?”
“Aye, he doesn’t like that you’re in cahoots with the pigs,” he nodded at Mitch.
Mitch furrowed his eyebrows. Colin was the one who’d called for Declan for the purpose of working with Mitch to take out the Russian mob influence in the city. It seemed Colin O’Connell had plans of his own.
Declan pulled back and punched the man in the face, hard enough to make blood spew from his mangled jaw. Mitch wasn’t sure how he had any teeth left. Declan turned to him. “You want a shot?”
Mitch wanted to kill the sons of bitches. But still, he knew that he should walk away from this. He should arrest them for endangering dozens of lives inside the pub. But after seeing him there with Declan, there was no way that the men could live.
“Juliana was there,” Declan reminded him, urging him on, knowing which buttons to push to get a reaction.
Mitch didn’t need to be reminded. He could have lost everything. The rage bubbled again, and he stalked closer. He went for the one that Declan hadn’t punched, and he attacked. He punched, pounding on the face of the man until it was putty beneath his knuckles. He lashed out, wanting to kill, releasing all of the fury he felt. His family could have been murdered, and a rage he’d never known before coursed through him. When the man’s head slumped to the side, his face was obscured by the thick blood that covered it. One blow caused a sickening snap, as Mitch continued to pummel the man’s face until his head lolled lifelessly to the side. Mitch didn’t have to search for a pulse. He knew the man was dead. He’d killed him. With his bare hands.
Mitch pulled back from him suddenly. Unable to believe the out-of-body experience he’d had at the thought of losing everything he held dear. “Fuck,” he spat out, inhaling a rough, jagged breath through his flared nostril. He’d crossed a line. Mitch turned away just as Declan raised his gun, shooting the other man, killing him instantly.
Mitch turned back around. “What do we do now?"
“We will take care of the bodies, and that will send a message to the rest of the ranks. They’ll fall in line or get out. We’ll be in touch about setting up your captain, too. Go home, Detective. I think you’ve proven where your loyalties lay tonight. Go home to your woman.” The Irishman cast a final glance over the bloody scene before them. “Leave this mess to me.”
Mitch nodded. “I want you to stay away from her,” he said, calmly.
“She and I are still partners, but I’ll stay away until the heat dies down. I need something from you, though. I need you to help me vet my guys. I’ll let you know of anyone who’s suspicious, and you see what you can dig up, where they’re going, if they’re visiting Uncle Colin in jail. Think you can do that?”
“All right,” Mitch extended his hand and they shook in agreement. “Speaking of Colin we need to figure out why he put the hit on you. He knows too much about my involvement, and I can’t afford him lashing out at me or Juliana just to get to you.”
“We’ll figure it out.”
Mitch nodded, and walked away.
Chapter 16
Juliana was in Mitch’s bed when she heard the door open. She’d tried to sleep but none would come, not until he was back home with her. She was nervous, scared, and wanted nothing more than for Mitch to wrap his strong arms around her and tell her that everything was going to be okay. But instead he’d left again.
She got out of bed, and walked to the foyer. Mitch was standing there, not moving, looking down at his hands. When Juliana turned on the lights, she looked at them as well, and saw that they cut, his knuckles swollen, and then her eyes travelled up, to the rust-coloured specks that covered his shirt. Undoubtedly blood, and probably not his own. But it was his eyes, both wild and uncertain that tore at her. She went to him.
“Mitch, what happened?”
He said nothing for a while. But he reached out and pulled her to him. In the warmth of his embrace, Juliana closed her eyes and breathed him in.
“I could have lost you,” he muttered against her hair. “Both of you.”
“You didn’t though. Where did you go?”
He shook his head and pulled away. “That’s not important. But just know we’ll never have to deal with them again.”
Juliana knew he was hiding something. It scared her, made her angry, especially since she’d asked him to be honest with her. Something bad had obviously happened to him that night, and she didn’t want to press him.
He was watching her. “Do you want to move in with me?”
She looked at him. “What?”
“I want to know that there is someone to come home to at the end of the day.”
Juliana smiled. “Yeah, let’s do it.” She’d never lived with a man before, and even though Mitch was stubborn, over-bearing, and bull-headed, the thought of waking up next to him every morning, in their own home was exhilarating. He hugged her again, kissed her.
“Do you want to go to bed?” she asked between kisses.
He nodded. “I’ll need to shower first.”
“Want any company?”
He smiled. “Always.”
“Well, let’s go then,” she said, taking him delicately by the hand, careful not to hurt his already damaged knuckles. She still wondered what had happened to them. But she didn’t press it. A part of her knew, and at the same time, another part of her didn’t want to know. It was conversation that could wait until later.
They had time.
Thank you for reading Long Shot!
If you enjoyed it, please leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads!
About the Author
J. Margot Critch graduated from Memorial University with a BA in Religious Studies and Folklore. She currently lives in St. John’s, Newfoundland, with her husband, Brian, and their two little buddies, Simon and Chibs. She spends equal amounts of time writing, listening to Jimmy Buffett music and looking out at the ocean, all the while trying to decide if she should have coffee or margaritas.
Connect with J. Margot Critch online!
Website: jmargotcritch.com
Twitter: @juanitamcritch
Facebook: www.facebook.com/jmargotcritch
Sign up for the newsletter for exclusive information, sneak peeks and giveaways!
ALSO BY J. MARGOT CRITCH:
Double Shot to the Heart: Brewed Moon #2
All of Juliana Lark’s hard work is finally paying off. Brewed Moon, her trendy downtown St. John’s café, is finally turning a profit, and she is on her way to business success. Her days are consumed with running her business, but her nights belong to Leather & Lace, an exclusive club that facilitates sexy rendezvous for its members. It was at the club’s Halloween masquerade ball that she met a mystery man in a fox mask, and their subsequent encounters have been lifting her love life to new heights. Just as Juliana’s stars seem to be aligning, her life gets turned upside down when she witnesses a grisly murder behind her café on a quiet winter morning. Shaken to her core, she calls the only person she can trust to protect her – Detective Mitch Swanson.
Mitch, the leader of special team trained to fight organized crime, suspects this latest killing in a string of murders is linked to Yuri Petrova, the head of a Russian crime syndicate. A major war between two gangs is boiling over into barely-contained bloodshed, and this latest crime is puttin
g his friends in the crosshairs. Unfortunately, Mitch’s team has been unable to get any concrete evidence to hold their prime suspect. Mitch is reluctant to involve Juliana in the case for her own protection, but he can’t deny that the killing at her café might be the break his team needs to blow the case wide open – and end the turf war before more lives are lost.
Meanwhile, the street violence reaches a fever pitch and Mitch is torn between protecting his witness at any cost and falling in love with her while keeping secrets from both her and his team. At the centre of the chaos, Juliana fights to maintain some normalcy in her life, and her independence despite Mitch’s intensifying insistence that she lay low with him until the danger subsides. However, she finds the stress of doing nothing is worse than the danger, so Juliana clings to the two bright spots in her life: the café and her anonymous lover from Leather & Lace, who may be someone more familiar to her than she realizes.
Up All Night: A Brewed Moon Single Shot (Brewed Moon #1.5)
Available only in Tricks & Treats – A Romance Anthology
When Detective Mitch Swanson gets word that a deadly drug cocktail is being distributed through Leather & Lace, an exclusive St. John’s club, he decides that he needs to get inside to see for sure. He secures an invitation to the club’s Halloween masquerade party, but once he’s past the club’s heavy wooden doors, finds himself immersed in an erotically-charged anonymous party for the city’s elite. For once Mitch might be in over his head, until he gets the attention of a mystery woman who offers to show him around. In the company of the seductive stranger he finds it impossible to concentrate on the job, and soon, he finds himself more at home in the club, and with the woman, than he ever imagined he would.
Bump & Grind: Brewed Moon #1
By day, Erica Hardin is a barista at Brewed Moon, a trendy downtown St. John’s café, but by night, she is one of the city’s most sought after burlesque dancers. She craves more adventure and excitement in her somewhat dull, coffee-pouring life, and she gets all that and more when Peter Swanson walks into Brewed Moon. Unknown to Erica, Peter is a detective, part of a special team trained to fight the scourge of organized crime. When he and his team have suspicions of mobsters associating in the Brewed Moon, they spring into action, investigating the café and everyone who works there.
In Peter and his sinfully-good looks, Erica sees the element of danger she’s been craving. Peter however, can’t look past her luscious curves and wily red-lipped smile, and he’s willing to sacrifice everything he holds dear to get close to her. Despite the circumstances, neither Erica nor Peter can escape the instant attraction they feel, and before they know it, their steamy, forbidden affair is embroiled in a sinister plot perpetrated by Irish mob kingpin, Dylan O’Connell. Soon Erica finds herself in more danger than she anticipated, and she must rely on her own wits to survive, while Peter has to stop O’Connell before he makes his evil plans a reality.
HARLEQUIN® BLAZE®:
In the Boss’s Bed
Hot for the boss…
Maya Connor was already embarrassed after a dare—and a shot of vodka—resulted in one seriously sexy kiss with an even sexier stranger. She had no idea that the man she made out with was hotel magnate and reputed playboy Jamie Sellers. Or that she would soon be working for him…
Maya won't let anything get in the way of her ambition. And she's determined to be taken seriously as she begins her career—and not give in to the heat that's constantly driving her to distraction. Lust, that's all it is. The more Maya and Jamie ignore it, the stronger it gets. But ending up in the boss's bed won't just be Maya's wickedest fantasies come to life…it'll be the end of her dreams.
In Her Best Friend’s Bed (coming February 2017; available for pre-order now)
She wants him so much!
Abby Shaw has had enough. She's done with relationships (why are guys always so needy?) and wants to focus on getting her career off the ground. The fact that Trevor Jones—her new best bud and her boss—is seriously hot shouldn't complicate things at all. But that deliciously hard, tattooed body? A kiss that suggests hours—and nights—of wicked pleasure? Yep, Trevor is trouble…
Abby and Trevor can't resist turning "just friends" into "friends with sexy benefits." Which means lots of hot sex, no messy emotions. It's the perfect arrangement—at first. But their searing sexual chemistry verges on becoming dangerously intimate…and Abby will do just about anything to keep herself from falling in love with Trevor Jones.
Long Shot: A Brewed Moon Novella Page 8