Chapter Two
Davin let out a long yawn. Fuck, it was too damn early.
He almost laughed. Twenty-eight years old, and Davin still hated fucking mornings. Although that might have more to do with his late nights than anything. Hazard of his profession, he supposed.
He walked around the house, sipping the coffee he’d picked up along the way. The house was a nice size.
Honestly, it was bigger than he thought it would be, but that fit his boss Finn perfectly. The leader of the Kelly Clan, the local Irish mafia, was never one to shy away from dropping some serious cash.
“He bought out the whole neighborhood,” Noel said. “Because of all this shit with the Russians, he thought it’d be better.” He shrugged. “Not as many people to get in the way, if they start shit.”
Davin turned to look at the scarred man. He’d heard what had happened to the poor bastard. Noel had been tortured, including chemical burns, by a sick fuck working for the Kelly Clan’s main enemy: the Russia mafia.
Still, Davin’s surly cousin looked happy. For all the pain the Russians had caused him, he’d had some luck turning his life into something other than pure violence. It seemed like Noel finding a woman had been just the thing to ease the pain in his heart from the scars.
Getting laid every night didn’t hurt, Davin supposed. Although that wasn’t exactly a problem for him.
“So all my men will get a house?” Davin asked, glancing at some of the furniture.
Noel nodded. “It’s registered as a gated community so we have more leeway to make sure this place is as secured as we can make it. Finn just bought the last house available on the block, and since it’s a dead-end street, this is about as safe as it’s going to get. If anyone comes, whether Russian bastards, or anyone else, they’ll be in for some pain.”
Davin nodded. He was impressed. The situation wasn’t what he’d been expecting at all.
The last he’d heard, Finn had gone soft, quitting the family business, getting hitched, and worrying more about his kid than keeping people respecting the Kelly Clan.
“My boys and I don’t need all this security, but I get it,” Davin said. “He just wants to protect them.” He shrugged. “And we’ve been away, so might be nice to have a little hardened base if people are going to come at us.”
Deep inside he felt his heart twinge a little, but ignored it. Protection. He’d spent so many years being the sword and not the shield, but there was someone he still yearned to protect: Morgan.
But he didn’t need to protect Morgan. She was perfectly fine without him. It had been part of the reason why he’d left. He didn’t want to drag her into his shit, and he didn’t want to hurt her.
If he’d stayed in town, eventually they would have ended up doing something, and then he’d be no better than that piece of shit that tried to rape her.
Despite himself, anger still filled him any time he thought about how he’d found her. He still felt like he should have put a bullet in the son of a bitch. If he’d known the truth at that moment, he was sure he would have.
“When are your men getting here?” Noel asked.
Davin gave a small laugh. “Not till this evening. They were busy tying one on last night. A sort of last hurrah before shit gets serious again. From what Finn told us, these Russians are no joke.”
Noel nodded. “No, they aren’t.” He raised a brow. “And what about you?”
“What about me?”
“No last hurrah for you?”
Davin shrugged. “Some of us need our beauty sleep.” He winked.
No way in hell he was going to mention how he spent most of the night thinking about the girl he’d left behind all those years ago. He didn’t need to look like a pussy in front of Noel, and he didn’t need to dwell on Morgan.
Davin had decided years ago to tuck away all those feelings and just let her live a normal life. The sort of life she deserved, one that a dangerous man like him would never be able to give her.
It was better this way for everyone.
“Any movement from the Russians?” Davin asked, taking his mind off his heart and putting it back where it belonged. Back on the Russians, his enemy.
Noel walked over and sat on the gray couch in the living room. Davin followed.
“Just a few things here and there,” Noel said. “There are some issues with a new drug on the market. Nasty shit that’s causing a lot of trouble. Finn spoke with a local security firm who’ve had some dealings with them. The cops also have confirmed the Russian mafia is involved.”
Davin snorted. “You in with the cops now?”
Noel gave a little chuckle. “Not quite.”
“What’s with this security firm?”
“A nice source of information. And the Allen brothers have no trouble laying it out there when things get hot. They’ve had our back more than a few times. Liam’s even married to an Allen sister.”
Davin nodded. He’d heard that Old Man Kelly fathered another kid. It all made sense when it came out, given all the time he spent following Liam as he was growing up.
Still, Liam probably finished out better that way. Davin might have respected Finn and Liam’s father, but that didn’t change the fact that the man was a ruthless asshole. Being raised by a man like that didn’t exactly make for the best childhood.
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.