Davin: #6 (Kelly Clan)

by Madison Stevens

  Finn might have not ended up quite the bastard his father was, but it wasn’t like his childhood was fun and filled with love.

  “But nothing from the Russians since you all were able to seize the weapons from Braden’s bust?” Davin asked.

  Noel shook his head. “They’re watching us. That much is certain. And no one seems to know just where that bastard Boris is.”

  Davin already had read over a profile of the man. He was a nasty piece of work even by the twisted standards of professional criminals.

  “Maybe Boris decided it was too hot around here.”

  Noel shrugged. “He and Anton are like two peas in a pod. If he’s still around, so is Anton.”

  Davin watched as his second cousin clenched his fists.

  Noel had suffered at Anton’s hands. Of course he wanted a little payback.

  Revenge. It was something most of them could understand. They had been spoon-fed revenge as children. An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. They’d been taught to take out anyone who crossed them, and doubly so if those people got away.

  Sure, it could keep trouble from growing too large, but it also kept feuds going for decades.

  Well, at least until Davin and his men came on the scene. They didn’t seek revenge. They took out the competition completely. No point in worrying about revenge if you just took care of the problem at the root.

  And it seemed like the area was rife with competition. If it wasn’t the Russians, it was Los Malos. The Mexican gang had graduated from performing minor jobs to now being a serious presence in the area. And then there was a rogue biker gang who would pop in from time to time to fuck shit up and leave.

  From what he’d learned, Los Malos was working closely with the biker gang, and it wouldn’t be long before that shit came to a head. No wonder Finn had brought Davin back into the area. He obviously needed some serious problem solvers.

  “When is Finn expecting us?” Davin asked.

  He was ready to get to work. Among other things, the longer he sat around, the harder it’d be to avoid thinking about Morgan.

  Noel stood from the couch. “Around three.”

  Davin nodded. “Good,” he said. “Most of the men should be here by then.” He raised a brow to Noel. “You think your guys are going to take the news well?”

  Noel shrugged. “Probably not, but they don’t have much a choice. The chance to duck out with Ennis is long gone, and if they want to keep getting paid, they’ll fall in line.”

  “And if they don’t?”

  Noel stared directly at him this time, no waver at all in his gaze. “Anyone who isn’t with us is against us, and we’ll handle as such. Finn may want to go totally straight, but that’s not going to happen until we deal with all the people trying to fuck with us.”

  “Then we’ll see you at three.”

  Good. Davin smiled. That was exactly the sort of commitment he was hoping for. No way he was going to war with half-assed people. They were either in this, or he and his boys were out. He couldn’t risk Finn’s other guys not having their back.

  Chapter Three

  “They should already be fucking,” Sierra said. She shrugged. “There, I said it.”

  Morgan nearly choked on her coffee as Sierra got the book club off to a start with a bang. The boisterous blonde was known for saying the first thing in her head, and this case was no different.

  “I don’t know,” Kayla said, leaning forward in her seat, their latest book clutched in her hands lovingly. “There’s this sort of magical build up to that for things to work.” She sighed, her long brown lashes touching her cheeks behind her glasses as she did so. “Brock has had such a troubled life. Losing his wife and now struggling with how to get past her death as a new woman comes on the scene. He wants her, but he can’t really bring himself to break the vows he had with his past life.” She smiled lovingly at the book in her hands. “I want that sort of love.”

  Erin snorted. “Not me,” she said. “If I die, I want my man to move on.”

  “Pretty sure he will,” Sierra mumbled under her breath.

  Erin’s short, chin-length hair bobbed around her face as she turned to glare at Sierra. “It was one time,” she snapped. “I’ve let it go, and so should you. Not like it’s your business.”

  They could all hear the edge in her voice and knew that her boyfriend of two years might have been forgiven for cheating, but Erin hadn’t forgotten.

  Morgan felt her heart twist for her friend and the pain all her boyfriend’s antics had caused her. Why couldn’t more men be like the guys they read about in books? Trying to make themselves the best men they could possibly be for their women? Was it really that hard?

  It’s not like they expected perfection. They did expect though for their men not to run around on them.

  “Sorry,” Sierra said quietly. “I didn’t mean to make you feel bad.”

  Although the woman had a tendency to put her foot in her mouth, she didn’t do it out of malice. They all cared about their friend and hated to see her feel this way.

  There just wasn’t much they could do about it. Maybe it would have been better if she just left her boyfriend. Morgan couldn’t be sure, and Erin was right. In the end it was her business and her choice.

  Erin gave a small nod and turned to look out the window. The women had fallen quiet, and now no one was quite sure how to break the awkward silence.

  The doorbell rang, startling Morgan.

  The door opened and Jamie stepped in, a box of pastries in hand and large grin on her freckled face.

  “You are never going to believe this,” she said as she placed the box next to the coffee.

  “Don’t tell me they ran out of chocolate,” Kayla said with a sigh. “They always run out of chocolate. You’d think they’d make more.” A look of horror spread on her face.

  Jamie waved a hand dismissively. “No, you junkie. They didn’t run out of chocolate.” She rolled her eyes. “I got your damn chocolate.”

  Morgan chuckled, but then Jamie turned to stare directly at her.

  “No,” Jamie said. “You are never going to believe who I saw.”

  Morgan’s heart hammered in her chest. There was only one person she would be surprised to see but had been wanting to see this whole time. Of course, it was impossible. There was no way it could be him of all people.

  Jamie flopped down in the nearest chair and swung her legs over the side, donut in hand as she did so. “So I’m at the bakery and just waiting for my turn. I’m glancing around, you know, checking around, when a hot-looking ’69 Mustang pops in across the street for a quick coffee.”

  Confusion washed over Morgan, both over what this had to do with who she thought was coming and the fact that Jamie seemed to care more about some random car than anything else. At least, she was pretty sure it was a car. She still had no idea what a ’69 Mustang even looked like.

  She shrugged. Several of the other women exchanged glances.

  Jamie looked around the room as if they were all complete idiots for not understanding her car babble. They couldn’t all be mechanic gearheads.

  “Christ, a fast fucking car,” Jamie said. She rolled her eyes.

  The others nodded as if they had been following all along.

  She snorted. “I’m not really paying attention to the guy driving it because who would with that sort of metal beauty in front of them.” She sighed, obviously still in love with the car. “Anyways, the guy goes back to the car, and it’s Davin.”

  Jamie, Sierra, and Kayla nearly stared a hole in Morgan as they waited for her reaction. She could feel the color from her face drain as she tried to compose herself.

  Davin. After all these years.

  Morgan wasn’t still in love with him. She knew that. At least she hoped that.

  It didn’t matter that she’d thought about him nearly every day since he left. That was just about memories. It wasn’t love.

  “Who’s Davin?” Erin said.

 
; Morgan might have been relieved to have all the eyes shift over to her friend if they weren’t about to dig into a wound that had never really healed.

  “Davin is the sexy gangster that stole Morgan’s heart,” Jamie said with a grin.

  Sierra huffed loudly. “You mean broke her heart.”

  Erin frowned. “You dated this guy? I don’t remember you ever mentioning him to me.”

  Morgan took a sip of her coffee. It was bitter in her mouth, and she had trouble swallowing the brew. “We never dated,” she said softly.

  “I don’t understand.” Erin cocked her head to the side. “Then how did he hurt you?”

  Morgan shook her head and offered a small smile. “He didn’t,” she said. “He was always there for me. Protecting me, and never asking for anything in return. I just wanted more than that.”

  She could see when her friend understood the situation.

  Kayla sat forward. “We’re always reading about unrequited love,” she said. “Maybe he’s come back to confess his feelings.”

  Morgan shook her head. “I doubt that. All these years he could have picked up a phone, and he didn’t.” She shrugged. “I’m not angry, really. I just don’t think him being back means anything like that.”

  Jamie placed a hand over Morgan’s. “But he did send that beautiful arrangement when Aunt Dee passed.”

  Morgan nodded. Davin had sent a arrangement with a card she kept tucked in her favorite book. But there was always a part of her that wondered why he didn’t come.

  He knew what Dee meant to her. That she would be hurting more than she’d hurt in years. Yet he still didn’t come.

  “Well, I for one think you should stay clear the fuck away from this guy,” Sierra said. “He was trouble then, and he’s trouble now. He’s a criminal for crying out loud.”

  Judging by the frowns of everyone else, Sierra was in the minority.

  “I don’t think it will really matter,” Morgan said, and stood to grab a donut. “I doubt I’ll even see him. It’s not like he’s going to stop by for a chat.”

  Jamie jumped up and snagged another donut from the box. “We’ll see.” She winked.

  Morgan swallowed, trying to control her thumping heart.

  He wouldn’t come. No way he’d come. Not after all this time.

  Chapter Four

  Davin looked around the room. He didn’t bother to count. When Finn’s father had run things, they’d never had so few men. Of course, he’d never been one to tolerate men leaving the family, at least not while they were still alive.

  Davin stood quietly next to Finn as the men finished filtering into the new club Finn had recently opened. These business ventures were key to the Kellys going straight, and they seemed to be working out, given that Finn had two profitable clubs with plans to open another two.

  A chuckle threatened to erupt. For all the talk of Finn being soft, the truth was the guy still was a master leader and businessman. In the end, the point of the family business was to make money. Any stupid thug could kill people.

  From where Davin stood, Ennis had been an idiot for leaving. He’d joined with the Russians and turned the town into a warzone, cutting into profits for everybody. If he’d stayed with Finn, they could have ruled the town and business sector with ease. Plus, less blood, more cash.

  Kane and Torin moved and stopped beside Davin. They were his closest men and had been with him the longest.

  He looked over at Torin who still seemed a little green from the festivities from the night before. He smirked.

  “You look like you could use a big greasy burger with a runny egg on top,” Davin said.

  Torin swallowed hard before shooting him a death glare. Which wasn’t really hard for the big guy with his shaved head and tattoos.

  “Fucking cocksucker,” he mumbled under his breath.

  Davin snickered.

  “Should have quit when I told you,” Kane said with a shrug.

  Kane was the oldest in the group and the deadliest, with or without a gun. Years ago, the brooding giant was king of the underground fighting circuit, taking out man after man in a single night. Everyone wanted a shot at him, but they all regretted it once they got it.

  With big profit on the line, his manager got the bright idea to drug Kane so he’d lose a long-shot match with 100/1 odds. It didn’t matter. Kane got the shit beat out of him in that match, but he still managed to squeak by with a win.

  The manager lost a fortune, so he and his goons took Kane out back and nearly finished the job.

  Nearly.

  They likely would have if they had known the sort of hell they’d unleashed.

  It was that sort of fire in Davin’s men that made them so good at what they did. Made them deadly. And that’s exactly what they needed to be in order to go up against people like Boris.

  Davin frowned as he thought about that. The Kellys always had a certain restraint, even going back to the Old Country.

  Sure, no one deluded themselves that they weren’t criminals, but they still thought of themselves as sort of dark servants of the people.

  Boris and his people though didn’t give a shit. Everyone was just a tool to make money and expendable.

  Finn gave him a small nod before standing in front of the gathered men. Davin and Finn had talked several times about the best way to handle the situation. In the end, even gangsters had to worry about politics and appearances.

  No matter how it was sliced, no organization wanted some outsiders stepping in to handle their garbage. At least the normal grunts wouldn’t, but it didn’t matter.

  As long as they were firm about the changes, the men would do what they were told to get a check. Loyalty and money would be the glue keeping the family together as long as they didn’t strain the bonds too much.

  “Let’s get this started,” Finn said to the group.

  Davin stood behind him, staring down the men. They returned angry glares. They knew before he’d even started what was about to happen.

  “The Russians have been quiet for the past few months,” Finn said. “We scored a large cache of weapons from them, and this likely hurt more than they want to admit. This also gives us a window of opportunity.”

  Several men mumbled their approval.

  “But they are far from on the run. We know they have roots in a casino in the town over. They’ve infiltrated the police and the ones in town have been tainted as well, according to sources.”

  One grizzled man near the front snorted. “Who gives a fuck about some pigs? Fuck them. If they’re dirty, they’re dirty.”

  Davin frowned and stepped forward. “You should,” he said flatly, and then looked to the other men in the room. “You all should. The cops keep order and keep things from sliding into too much shit. Do you want your home looking like a garbage dump?”

  The man glared daggers at him. “Maybe I do,” he countered.

  Davin wanted to roll his eyes. These men were fucking idiots. Not a one of them understood the order of things.

  “We operate a business out of this town,” Finn said calmly. “And the point of business is to make money. If all the shops close up, and the people leave, we’ll have no business, and we won’t make any fucking money.”

  Davin glanced over to his cousin. Finn was a far more even-tempered leader than he could ever be. But then, Davin wasn’t really a leader.

  He kept men under him that understood his end goals and were smart enough to reach their own conclusions. He didn’t have grunts. He had warriors.

  “Who the fuck is this?” another man asked, pointing to Davin.

  Finn placed a hand on Davin’s shoulder. A sign of camaraderie. “This is my cousin Davin,” he said. “A few of you may recognize him from years back, or you may not, as he was just a scrawny kid then.”

  Despite himself, he had to agree. Last time he’d been in town, he was still in training. It wasn’t until he met his great uncle of the Murray family that he really was able to hone his craft,
so to speak.

  “I’ve brought him and his men in to help with our problem,” Finn said.

  Several of the men started to grumble.

  “I don’t need some kid coming in to tell me what to do,” said one of the men.

  Finn slammed his hand against the table in front of him, and silence filled the room. He stared down each of the men.

  “We are outmanned and outgunned. The men Ennis left with have joined the Russians, and we’re running out of options if we don’t want to lose control of our town.”

  It wasn’t a plea. It was a warning. They all knew what would happen if the Russians took over. They would either need to sign up with them or leave town. At that was assuming they were even given a choice.

  Finn nodded to Davin to have him help fill in the gaps.

  “Listen, I’m not your leader, and I sure as hell don’t plan to be,” Davin said. “We just want a place to settle in, and this is how we can help best. Plus, we’re new, so the Russians don’t really have a good handle on us yet.”

  A man in front looked to Finn as his cousin spoke.

  “What are we supposed to do then?”

  “You’re going to do what you have been doing,” Finn said. “Keeping an eye on our assets. Making sure our houses and businesses are safe.”

  The men seemed mollified by the idea they would have the most important job: keeping people safe. It didn’t hurt that many likely had families of their own and other people they wanted to protect.

  That was why Davin and his men worked so well together. None of them were attached. In a sense, a family or lover could be a weakness an enemy could exploit.

  It was hard, but sometimes you needed to leave the people you cared about behind to protect them. His heart twisted again. A small, nagging reminder of his true feelings.

  “Now everyone needs to get back to their jobs,” Finn said. “We’re starting a war, and shit is about to get very real around here.”

  As the men broke up, Davin followed Finn into the back office, with Noel, Kane, and Torin close behind. They closed the doors behind them.

  “Where’s Conor?” Davin asked.