“Goddammit Seamus!” I couldn’t believe he’d been so uncaring, so cold about his decision to get away for awhile. “You couldn’t have been more delicate about it all? You’re leaving her behind. Again.” I didn’t wait for my best friend to answer because I knew that while he loved Fiona, decades at the head of Cearul had given him a cold, me first, mentality.

“She’ll be fine, she’s a big girl,” he said just as I pushed the door open.

“Who singlehandedly took down most of the Red ‘Rocks, you think they’ll forget about that shit? She’s still in danger whether or not you’re traipsing around the free fucking world!” I scanned up and down the block in search of Fiona, but wherever she’d gone she had a good head start. The train station was close by and her best bet for getting back home.

She thought the danger was over but I knew that shit never ended. Especially now that she’d played such an instrumental role in bringing down half the Red Shamrocks organization. That meant the other half wouldn’t rest until they made Cearul pay, and anyone close to the organization. In this instance Fiona was one and the same.

Shit. That thought lit a fire under my ass and the frantic walk turned into a flat out run as the sounds of the train and hordes of people milling about increased. Inside the station I couldn’t see anything with so many people around, until a flash of red hair caught my attention and I plowed through the crowd to get them the fuck out of my way.

“Fiona!” Unease settled like a brick in my stomach. I’d learned as a child, and then again in the military just how valuable gut instincts could be. “Fi, stop!”

She turned and those blue eyes hit me with an angry glare. “I’m not going anywhere with you,” she spat with a venom I’d never seen from her.

Then I saw something else behind her, or rather someone else. “Goddammit Fi, Maeve is here. Do you think that’s a coincidence?” She turned away from me and all I could do was yell. “Be alert!”

It was too late though because Maeve was beside her and pulling her forward. If I had to guess, I’d say the rotten bitch had a gun pressed to her side. No matter how hard I pushed though, the crowd wouldn’t budge with the sounds of the train’s arrival. Fiona swiveled her head back, fear shining in her eyes. “Help,” she mouthed and I gave her a crisp nod, holding up my thumb and pinky in the universal sign for call me.

When I felt confident she understood I turned, plowing down anyone in my way to get the hell out of the station and back to my car. They wouldn’t actually get on the train, at least not for long because even Maeve wasn’t that fucking stupid. I drove along the path the orange line would take until Fiona’s phone pinged just outside Downtown Crossing. It didn’t take long to spot them in a red Shelby GT that clearly belonged to the Red ‘Rocks.

I followed them, closely, because there was no point pretending I wasn’t. Maeve didn’t have the brains to think of this, and if she got caught her bail would be revoked. There would be a secondary location, and that’s where I hoped they were going. “Easier to deal with them all at once.” Fear settled in my gut as I thought about how angry Maeve likely was at Fiona, and that’s when I saw it.

The GT jerked left and then right, and then even harder right until it slid against the guard rail, sending sparks flying as a loud screeching sound rent the air.

“Dammit Fi.” I stayed close because I knew she was stubborn and determined to save herself if only to show me she could. As soon as she was safe in my arms, I would throttle her.

The car came to a stop and I jumped out, charged forward to help Fiona who dashed from the wreckage in a frantic lop-sided run.

“Keane!” Her bottom lip was swollen and blood dripped from it. I wanted nothing more than to run to her, grab her in my arms and make sure she would be alright. But as she ran to me, to safety, I saw what she wouldn’t make it.

Maeve raised her right arm and aimed the gun right at Fiona’s back. I didn’t have a choice, and I wouldn’t have made a different one if this scenario had played out one hundred times. I’d killed before, and one more time wouldn’t be any different. Except this time I did it to save the woman who meant the world to me.

“Get down,” I shouted at Fi and raised my left arm, taking aim before firing two shots into Maeve’s chest. “Are you okay?” I couldn’t take my eyes off Maeve until she dropped to her knees and fell face first to the ground.

“I’m fine.”

“Drop the gun and put your goddamn hands up!”

Shit. I knew that sound anywhere.

Fucking cops.

* * *

“You’re free to go.” Officer Fat Ass growled the words at me, a sneer fixed on his ruddy red face like I’d done something wrong.

“It’s about goddamn time,” I stood and grabbed my leather jacket from the back of the rickety metal chair they’d had me parked in for hours. “What time is it?”

“Time for you to get going and be glad we didn’t book you.”

“For what? Doing your job for you?” I smacked his shoulder and walked out of the dimly lit interrogation room.

I spotted the captain heading towards me, a friendly smile on his face. We’d gone to high school together before joining the Army and going in different directions. On opposite sides of the law.

“You’re free to go, Keane. Fiona confirmed your story and we were able to get footage of them leaving the station.” He clapped me on the back and walked me out. “Did she really save Seamus’ ass from the Feds?”

I nodded with a grin. “Yeah, apparently she’s a whiz with computers. Is she still around?”

“Nope, she left hours ago. She gonna be okay?”

“I don’t know. I doubt the Red Shamrocks will forget this easily.” So I needed to find her. Protect her. “Thanks Monaghan, stay safe out here.” Outside the cop shop, a few guys waited in a car to pick me up. They drove me back to my car because of course the cops hadn’t towed it yet, and I left them behind with a message to grab any fucking Shamrocks they came across.

Then I left to go get my woman.