Raiden: A Stand Alone, Irish Mob Crime Romance (The Kent Brothers Book 2)

by A. M. Hargrove

  “Raiden, say it like you mean it.”

  What the hell was I apologizing for, anyway? This entire problem between us was her fault. But I’d take the high road and do it to please her. Another day away from her was too painful.

  “I’m sorry for acting like an ass. Will you please forgive me?”

  “Okay.”

  Then I went to kiss her again, but she stopped me.

  “Now what?”

  “Promise me you won’t act like an ass again.”

  This time I took a step back. “Scottie, I didn’t… I mean…” I needed to think about what I wanted to say, but having sex with her muddled my brain. “Okay, I won’t. Promise, but the fact they almost killed you upset me. It really hurt that you didn’t call, and I had to find out about it on the news. I get why, but it still gut-punched me.”

  Her eyes searched mine, and she nodded. “I’m sorry too. It was a completely confusing night, and it overwhelmed me. In hindsight, I should’ve made that call. It was a colossal error on my part.”

  “Scottie, I have missed you. Not seeing you has turned me into a grump, as Elena keeps telling me.”

  “Well, then. Shall we do something about it?”

  “If I recall, you told me on the phone you wanted me to lick your pussy and fuck you.”

  “Then stop talking and start doing.”

  As I pulled her against my body, she moaned.

  “Scottie Sullivan, you’re mine, and mine alone.” My lips crashed onto hers as I took command of her mouth. When I released her mouth, I said, “Never ignore me again, or I might have to steal you away, then punish you.”

  “Is that a promise?”

  This woman was driving me to the brink of insanity. I pulled off the shirt she wore and unhooked her bra. Her fingers fumbled with my zipper as I undid hers. She was naked, but I wasn’t. “I’ll teach you to undress me. But later.” Brushing her hands aside, I made quick work of the job. Then I hoisted her up and pressed her body against the wall as I entered her. She was molten lava to my dick, and I couldn’t get enough. We caught each other’s rhythm and soon she was calling my name as her muscles clamped around me in a fierce orgasm. It brought on my own, and I knew I’d never be able to hold one off with her.

  We both floated back down to earth in post-orgasmic bliss.

  I nuzzled her neck and said, “I’m so happy you called, but I still owe you a good pussy licking. I’m sorry I jumped right in there.”

  Her eyes locked with mine. “I’m not. It was amazing.”

  “Scottie, I…”

  Then the private elevator in the apartment dinged.

  “Are you expecting anyone?”

  “No!” We scrambled to dress.

  “Where’s your gun?”

  She ran toward the bedroom, and I followed. We closed the door behind us. Then we heard a movement in the room we’d just vacated. Scottie pushed a button on the wall next to the bed.

  “What’s that?” I asked in a whisper.

  “Alarm. Call Drex. Go into the bathroom and stay down.”

  “What about you?”

  “I’m staying here.”

  We argued about that until a spray of gunfire hit the wall and door. Luckily, we were both near the floor, so everything missed us both. I pulled her arm, and we both landed in the bathroom.

  My eyes searched the room. “Is there another way out of here?”

  Scottie shook her head. We were trapped. Her single handgun was no match for what we were up against. “The door should hold. It’s bulletproof. Drex had this place sealed up tight. I can’t believe they got in.”

  “Maybe, but the wall isn’t. I hope they don’t have any explosives.”

  “Me too.”

  The sound of relentless, rapid gunfire kept coming, and I prayed help would arrive soon.

  “If they get through, I might get a clean shot at them.”

  “How? This door won’t hold.”

  “It’ll take them a while to blast through the wall. When they stop shooting, I’ll crack the door.”

  I tried to persuade her otherwise, but she wouldn’t hear it. My phone dinged, and it was Drex. “Help is coming. Hang tight.” Easy for him to say. Where were the bodyguards? Most likely dead.

  Then it became quiet. Too quiet. At least when they were shooting, we knew where they were. Scottie moved over to the door. I grabbed her hand. “You sure about this?” She nodded, turned the nob to open the door, but returned to the floor. Then she cracked it open. We heard voices. Her hand came up, gesturing for me to stay silent. She pushed opened the door and took aim. Pop, pop, pop. She hit the ground, and we waited but heard nothing.

  I feared she’d go out there and they’d spray her with bullets. As she made to open the door, I tightened my hand around her ankle, shaking my head.

  “Just wait until help arrives,” I whispered.

  “I need to run a quick check.”

  “It may be a trap.”

  “I can’t sit and do nothing.”

  When this was over, I would spank her until she couldn’t sit for a week.

  I watched in horror as she opened the door and raised her weapon. Then I heard her fire, but the worst sound of all was the gunfire that resounded back at her. More gunshots sounded from outside the other room, and I heard, “Put your weapons down. This is the police.”

  An all-out war broke loose before everything went silent. I had pulled Scottie back into the bathroom during the mayhem and placed my full attention on her. Blood seeped from her side, so I grabbed a towel and pressed down. Then I hit 911 and called for an ambulance.

  “Jesus, are you okay?”

  She nodded and said, “Think so.”

  “Christ, woman, you’re going to give me a heart attack.” I kissed her and held her hand as I continued to put pressure on the wound.

  Cops swarmed the room, and I called out for help. “They shot her.” Drex came in, followed by Gemini.

  “How bad?” he asked.

  “I’m not sure. I begged her to stay in the bathroom, but she wouldn’t listen.” The EMS team came in soon after and loaded her onto the gurney. By now, she wasn’t talking. The situation seemed bleak until they told me her blood pressure was still okay. Not great, but okay.

  Not waiting for them to tell me it was fine, I walked out with them and hopped inside the ambulance. “Sir, we don’t usually—”

  “You’re wasting time. Let’s go.”

  At my command, they jumped in, closed the doors, and we were off.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Raiden

  My first inclination was to berate Scottie for her actions, but if the shoe had been on the other foot, wouldn’t I have done the same? Besides, I was too worried about her. She’d lost consciousness and couldn’t hear me, anyway. Instead, I asked the EMTs, “Why is she still out?” I held her hand and squeezed it gently, but got no response.

  “My guess is shock. Her BP is okay, but I’m putting a line in now.” He attached a bag of fluids to her and cut open her shirt. He removed the towels I’d covered her with to add a compress. Blood seeped out and my anger resurfaced.

  “I told her to stay in the bathroom. They had automatic rifles and were spraying us with gunfire. She refused to listen to me, the hardheaded woman.”

  “We’re three minutes out and they’re ready for us,” the driver relayed.

  “What does that mean?” I asked, confusion clouding my usual sharp mental acuity.

  “It means they’ve prepped an OR, and a surgeon is standing by.”

  “That’s a relief.”

  His grave expression didn’t match my statement. I didn’t want to know any more than I already did. That she was critical was obvious.

  We pulled into the semicircle in front of the ER doors, and a team met us with a gurney. They worked like a well-oiled machine. They placed Scottie on the second gurney and rushed inside with me following.

  One doctor asked me questions as we ran down the hallway. I told hi
m everything. When we arrived at the OR, he pointed toward the waiting room.

  “I’ll let you know something as soon as possible. I’ve got to run.”

  The wait was endless. My phone rang, and it was Drex wanting to know the state of things.

  “Not much to tell. She’s in surgery right now.”

  “Where are you?”

  “In the surgery waiting area.”

  “I’ll be there shortly.”

  The call ended before I could tell him to stay home. He had enough on his plate with the mess at the office. He didn’t need to come and babysit me.

  I was pacing the hall when I heard my name. It was Cruze.

  “Hey, man, I’m sorry.”

  Two burly guys I’d never seen before escorted him. “New guards?”

  “Yeah. We’ve increased our numbers again after what happened tonight.”

  What a shit show. “This is really getting out of hand. How much more will we tolerate?”

  “I hear Drex and the team have a plan.”

  “Good, because something’s got to give. Bombs, shootouts. What’s next?”

  “He was reluctant to talk about it. Said it was too dangerous.”

  What was more dangerous than bombs and a shootout? I kept that comment to myself. “I hope it works because if it doesn’t, I’m moving.”

  “Where?” It was Drex who posed the question. He’d gotten here fast.

  I turned toward him. “I don’t have a clue yet, but I’ll figure it out.”

  “Listen to me, Raiden. Aiden O’Brien will find you wherever you go. The only way to stop this is removing him permanently.”

  “Then call in the big guys.” My eyes clashed with his.

  “They’re already on it and we’re twenty steps ahead of them at every turn. I promise we’ll get him and end this.”

  “Hopefully before any of us dies.” My snarky comment didn’t go unnoticed. But he didn’t take the bait either, which was unlike him.

  “It may not appear so, but we’re doing our best. I know how frustrated you are, and this is the straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back. But Raiden, I’m asking for your patience right now.”

  I massaged my throbbing temples. “Why Scottie? This is twice now. What are they after?”

  Drex shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine. The only thing I know is she’s working with us and they know it. They might consider her a weak spot.”

  “Maybe a leave of absence is in order with that target hanging over her.”

  Cruze spoke out this time. “Hey, bro, don’t you think that’s her decision to make? A woman as strong as Scottie won’t appreciate you suggesting those things.”

  “You mean protecting her or saving her life?”

  “I’m telling you, she won’t look at it that way.”

  Drex said, “I agree. Women like Scottie are strong and don’t fear things most women do. Not only that, deciding for her will only make her believe you don’t think she’s capable of making them on her own. That’s not a good thing. Trust me on that. Gemini gets pissed off if I try to order food for her.”

  This was excellent information for when times were normal, but we were anything but normal. “Did you question any of those men?”

  “Not yet. One’s in surgery and the others died.”

  A huff of frustration wheezed out of me. “I figured she got one of them. She’s damn accurate with a weapon, from what I could tell.”

  “Yes, she is. The one she killed took a bullet between the eyes. She probably figured he was wearing Kevlar, which he was.”

  I honestly couldn’t say I was sorry. It had been them or us and I’d much rather be standing here, taking in air, than eating dirt.

  Cruze threw an arm around me. “You want anything to eat or drink?”

  “Some coffee. I couldn’t swallow anything solid if you paid me.”

  Cruze wandered off to find coffee for the three of us while Drex and I took seats in the waiting area. Bodyguards flanked us and he brought me up to speed on them. He’d spoken to Cruze, and they’d upped the ante on the numbers present.

  “We can’t afford to take any chances. I didn’t have any stationed outside the apartment or at the private elevator because I was foolish enough to believe the building was secure. Nothing is secure when an invasion occurs the way it did tonight. I lost eight men tonight and you can’t put a price on that. I’ve pulled out all the stops. No travel anywhere unless it’s in an armor-plated vehicle.”

  “I don’t have one of those.”

  “We’re renting a fleet of them for everyone. If we’re out and about and take on rounds like you two did tonight as sitting ducks, there won’t be any hope for survival.”

  Moving sounded better and better. I mentioned it again, all I got was a resounding no.

  “Raiden, like I told you before, O’Brien is relentless and out for revenge. He’ll find you. It’s much safer here.”

  It didn’t seem that way to me, but I had to put my trust somewhere. Drex had lived up to his reputation, so I would continue to follow his recommendations. “The only thing I’ll say is, I hope this plan of yours works. If it doesn’t, we’ll all need to move.”

  Cruze returned, carrying large cups of coffee. Not much later, the doctor appeared.

  “Mr. Kent, she’s out of surgery. It went fine, although the bullet did a bit of damage. It entered at a trajectory from top to bottom, if that makes sense.” He pointed his index finger in a downward direction. “It went through the bottom portion of her liver and then perforated her large intestine. The surgical team was happy it didn’t hit her kidney. We removed the bullet and patched her up. She’ll be as good as new. She’ll stay for a few days, because of the drainage tubes and IVs, but once we get rid of those, she can go home.”

  Every muscle in my body released the tension at once, and I sagged until my knees gave out. Drex grabbed me under the arm and forced me to sit. Relief washed over me in waves as I soaked in the doctor’s news. Scottie would be okay. The band that had compressed my ribs loosened, and I could finally breathe comfortably again. Inhaling seemed to be a newly discovered pleasure as I took in several long, badly needed breaths.

  “Thank you, doctor. That’s good news, indeed.” I wiped the sweat off my brow. Why was it suddenly hot in here?

  “Raiden, are you okay? You’re looking gray.”

  The room swam for a minute and then rectified itself. “I’m better now. Was a little lightheaded for a second.”

  “It’s not unusual,” the doctor answered.

  “Can I see her?”

  “Not yet. She’s in recovery and will stay for a while. I suggest you go home and get some rest. Come back in the morning. She’ll be transferred to a room by then.”

  Drex and Cruze looked toward me for an answer. “Sounds good.” I was still fairly weak. What a wimp. I needed to bolster myself up.

  “I’ll drop you off at your place then,” Cruze said. “I can drive by somewhere to pick up some food if you’d like.”

  “Thanks. And thank you both for coming and waiting with me. I really appreciate it.”

  “Hey, it’s what friends do,” Drex said, extending his hand. I took it and we shook. Then the bodyguards escorted us to our cars.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Scottie

  My mouth tasted like a dead critter, and I was in acute pain. I heard a constant beeping, which was annoying as hell. When I cracked open my eyes, the bright lights made me wish I hadn’t.

  “Ms. Sullivan, welcome back.”

  “Where’d I go?” My neck craned to find who the voice belonged to.

  “You just had surgery,” the voice responded. Then a young woman appeared next to me and began asking me a series of questions. It was so bright that all I wanted was for her to dim the lights. I held up a hand, and that’s when I noticed the IV.

  “Um, what happened?”

  “Don’t worry, everything went well and you’ll be fine.”

  “Nic
e to know, but what happened?”

  A group of people who wanted to chat joined us. Didn’t they see I wanted to sleep?

  “Ms. Sullivan, I’m Dr. Carter and this is the surgical team that performed your procedure.”

  “Procedure?”

  “Don’t worry. We have given you sedatives so your memory will be slightly clouded. It will come back tomorrow.”

  I tried to sit up, but pain sliced through me. “See this button?” the doctor asked, pointed to a little button near my hand that attached to the IV.

  “Yeah.”

  “Whenever your pain gets bad, just tap it. It’s a morphine pump.”

  “Whoa. I don’t want that stuff. It’s addicting.” As a former DEA agent, I’d heard all kinds of horror stories about people getting addicted like this.

  “You’ll be fine. It’s only for one or two days.”

  “Can’t I have Tylenol instead?”

  He took my hand, and his kind eyes met my worried ones. “I know you’re scared, but you need morphine and not Tylenol. You just had surgery to remove a bullet that pierced your liver, damaged it, and went through your large intestine too. We had to fix you up and insert two drain tubes. Until we get you through the pain hump, you need this. Being in pain will only extend your recovery time, and we don’t want you on any solid food yet. We want to get you back on your feet as soon as possible.”

  As he spoke, it was all coming back to me. Raiden, me in the apartment. The invasion and the gunfire. I thought we were both dead.

  “Fine. I’ll stay on it tonight, but I want to reassess my condition tomorrow.”

  He smiled. “We can do that. We’re waiting on a room for you to be transferred. Your boyfriend just left. He waited for you and wouldn’t leave until he knew you would be okay. I sent him home and told him not to come back until tomorrow because you need your rest.”

  “Okay.” My boyfriend, huh? Had the doctor assumed that? Or was that how Raiden introduced himself? “Am I going to be okay? I mean my liver and large intestine.”

  “Yes. Don’t worry. We did an excellent job of patching you up, so you’ll be as good as new. You must be on liquids for a few days and a patient here until we get those tubes out, but afterward, you’ll be free to leave.”