Chapter Six

 

Kelly made sure that Father got home safely. His two bodyguards, Jack and Riley, were above questioning. They’d been raised in the O’Gill family and were second cousins besides. She knew their loyalty was absolute.

The lieutenants, however—that was a different story.

There were five lieutenants, and three had been raised in the family. But Sean, her father, coming over from Ireland and taking over when his cousin the former boss had died… that hadn’t sat well with a lot of people. According to what her mother had told her once—Father never talked about it—the resulting transition had gotten bloody.

Could it be that one of those lieutenants was secretly harboring a resentment all of those years? Perhaps this was revenge for being passed over by the original boss in favor of her father. Or perhaps her father had done something to hurt one of the lieutenants in the transition—killed a family member or something.

She would have to find out what Ivan was learning. She couldn’t interview anyone without people getting suspicious, especially when Ivan was doing the same thing. But when she helped him with the records she could pump him for information. There were still enough people left over from those days when her father took over. Somebody had to know something.

Kelly didn’t go home—she went to the safehouse, as she’d said. She might not be spending all of her time there but she could at least sleep there at night.

She missed her own apartment, but this was all right. Honestly, she’d rather be back at the sick room with Shane.

How could Connor be gone? How could Shane, the liveliest of them, be lying there, clinging to life, barely able to breathe without assistance?

She should have done something. She should have known that something was wrong. She should have told them not to go out clubbing that night, should’ve told them to stay at home and play cards or something with her like old times. It had been months since they’d all played poker together. She’d let them drift apart, angry that they were being groomed for leadership and she wasn’t.

Now she’d never get to see Connor’s sweet face again. Never hear him sing “Danny Boy” in that lovely singing voice. He’d hated his voice, said it was too high and sounded girly but he’d sing for her when it was just family. Her little brother, the one she’d had to teach how to throw a punch because he didn’t know how and was scared to admit it to Shane or anyone else. The one she’d coached on how to ask a girl out when it came time for him to go to prom and he’d wanted to ask Lauren Hinchcleff, the girl from down the street.

He was gone from her.

Kelly curled up on the sofa, pulling the throw blanket over herself and flicking on the television. Some sitcom was having a rerun marathon, so she just let it play, the volume low. She didn’t want to sleep in a bed tonight. Didn’t want to get comfortable.

She tucked a box cutter underneath the couch and let her hand dangle off so that it was just within reach of her fingertips if someone picked the front door lock.

Connor was gone. And Shane—Shane might be next. He was a fighter, Shane was. Always looking to kick someone’s ass or to get his own ass kicked. It had taken her far too long to realize why he seemed determined to throw himself in the way of danger, why he seemed to want to punish himself for something.

Father still didn’t know Shane was gay. Tough Shane, lively Shane, always-ready-with-a-joke Shane. He didn’t fit the stereotype so how could Father possibly have guessed? He still called them ‘fairies’ for crying out loud.

She’d promised Shane that she’d never tell Father or anyone. When Shane was out seeing someone, she covered for him. This was the apartment he’d bring men back to, since Kelly was the only one who had a key as far as Father knew and Father never checked up on this apartment, keeping its location and existence secret in case the worst happened—like it was happening now.

She’d never tell Father if Shane died. She wouldn’t place that burden on Father. She wouldn’t complicate his mourning.

But god, she’d give anything for Shane to live. Anything.

The fact that there was nothing she could do was what hurt the most. She couldn’t pump Shane’s blood for him. She couldn’t do his breathing for him. She could only sit there and hold his hand and pray to whatever god might be listening to please, please save her brother. Mother was superstitious and believed that the good gentlemen of the hills were watching over them, but even if fairies did exist, Kelly didn’t really see them bothering to heal a broken human. That didn’t seem like their way of things.

No, there was only one thing that she could do to make things right for her brothers.

And that was avenge them.

She was going to find out who’d killed Connor and nearly—might still—kill Shane. And nobody was stopping her. Not Father, and not that stupidly attractive Ivan. She was going to find out who it was and when she did, she was going to make him wish he’d never been born. You didn’t cross her, and you certainly didn’t underestimate her. She’d show them all—her father’s blood, the blood of the mob, ran through her veins sure and certain.

And she could be as deadly as any of them.