Ruthless Reign

Chapter 25

Hardin and Becca slept in the shed until late afternoon.

Iwatched over the yard and the perimeter from Hardin’s new 4K video monitors in his bedroom since they weren’t using it.

Aodhánstill didn’t wake, but we knew what he’d done now. More or less.

Astorage unit went up in smoke twenty minutes before he showed up at our door. SantaClaritaPD said that by the look of the wreckage it was filled with ammunition and some larger artillery. It wasn’t ours, and the only gang with that kind of munitions store on our turf right now was the Sons. They recovered several corpses and managed to ID one as an Irish national.

So, he really had slowed them down. And even took out a couple of his own men in the process. I wondered if he knew them. IfI could have done the same if I were in his shoes. Honestly, I couldn’t say.

“You missed a spot,” I told Becca as she set down a steaming mug of coffee next to me at the desk.

Shewiped blindly at her face until I jerked her into my lap and rubbed the dried paint from her hairline. It was still damp from the shower she and Hardin had just shared. She winced as her ass settled against my thighs, and I wondered how hard my brother gave it to her. But by the sated, almost peaceful look on her face, I knew it was nothing she couldn’t handle.

“You guys good?”

Shenodded gratefully. “AndAodhán? He didn’t wake up at all?”

Ishook my head.

“You sure you wouldn’t rather take a nap? How much coffee have you had?”

“Too much,” I admitted with a sigh. “But there’s no time, anyway. Dad’s on his way over.”

Sheshot up from my lap as if I shocked her.

“What? Right now?”

MyVixen glanced to the door and I knew she was seeing Aodhán still passed out on the table through the walls. “He wants to talk to him, that’s all.”

“I’ve seen how you guys ‘talk,’” she scoffed, using air quotes with a tension pulling in her shoulders.

“He won’t kill him,” I said with a one shoulder shrug. “Not yet, anyway.”

“Because that’s so reassuring.”

Ismirked, pulling her closer to press a kiss to her neck that made her shiver. She smelled like a mixture of my shampoo and something else that was just uniquely her.

“You should eat, Vixen.”

Herjaw tightened.

“Look, I get that it’s hard when shit’s like this, but you need your strength. We all do right now.”

“Later?”

Ipursed my lips, trying to read whether she really meant it from the pained look in her eyes. But what the fuck was I supposed to do? Stuff it down her throat? I sighed. I might not force her, but if she wasn’t careful, Hardin would.

“Okay. Later. A whole meal. Deal?”

“Deal.”

Shestole my coffee for a sip, clenching it between her hands as if trying to leach its warmth even though it was hot as balls in here.

“Come on, Vixen, let’s go check on Aodhán and get you some ice for your pussy.”

Shespluttered, almost spewing coffee all over me as I tapped her thigh, helping her up with me as I stood. She coughed, pushing the coffee into my hands as she cursed, but there was a smile on her lips and that was my goal. Achievement unlocked.

“Kidding,” I said, leaning in conspiratorially with a wink. “Mostly.”

Shefollowed me out at the same time Hardin exited the bathroom with a plume of steam trailing behind him, a towel hung low on his hips. Becca paused to stare and I caught my brother’s smirk as he brushed past her into his room. She watched him go, licking her lips.

“No time, Vixen,” I said with a mock apology, tugging her along with me. “Dad’ll be here any minute.”

Aswe entered the dining area, we found Aodhán sitting upright on the dining table, trying to roll his shoulder, shaking his head as if trying to clear his vision.

Beccawas across the floor and over to him in an instant. “You shouldn’t move it,” she was saying. “It was dislocated. Well, and shot. But we got the bullet out. How are you feeling? Do you need?—”

“Take a breath,” I interrupted with a laugh, handing Aodhán a glass of water.

Hedrank greedily, draining it in three long swallows before setting it next to him on the table.

“I’m alright, mo mhuirnín,” he told her, setting his hand atop hers where it rested on his knee. “Do—” he started but stopped, his cheekbones flaring. “Do you have a shirt I could…”

Fuck. Right. His scars.

“One sec.”

Igrabbed a plain slate gray tee from my closet that I never wore anyway and handed it to him.

Helifted an eyebrow at the scraps of Becca’s torn shirt holding up his arm and carefully removed them to put the tee over his head.

“You should keep a sling on. I can grab you something,” I offered, already starting to turn, but he was shaking his head.

“No. That shit happens all the time. This shoulder’s bad for it. Just needs icing.”

Beccatook that as a direct order, racing to the freezer for a bag of frozen peas.

Aodhángave her a thankful grin as he took the peas and set them over his shoulder without so much as a grimace.

Iwondered if the fucker even felt pain like a normal person after all that he was subjected to over the years.

“Who do I have to thank for the…” He waved a hand to the stitches along the side of his neck and his bandaged shoulder.

Hardinexited his bedroom and froze as he and Aodhán locked eyes.

“Hardin patched you up,” Becca answered him and my brother strode over, his jaw set.

Amuscle in Aodhán’s temple twitched but he inclined his head in gratitude, saying nothing.

“Dad’s here.” Hardin jerked his chin to the door.

Itwas seconds before Dad came in without knocking, Zade tight on his heels.

Behindhim, I could see three other Saint vehicles stationed up and down the street.

“What’s with the entourage?’

Dadfixed his icy stare on Aodhán, seeming to appraise him as if he were trying to decide where to lay his bets.

Hecleared the distance in three long strides, reeled back and threw his fist into Aodhán’s face.

Becca’shands flew to her mouth with a short squeal.

Shethrew herself between Aodhán and Damien as the Irishman picked himself back up and spat blood onto the floor.

“Damien, what the fuck?” Becca glared at him, her arms out.

“That was for my son,” he said in a dangerously even tone and I knew he wouldn’t attack again.

Aodhánlicked the blood from the split at the far left of his mouth and smiled—fucking smiled at my Dad. “Fair play,” he said, his voice rough.

Damiennodded as if that was that and Becca gaped at them both.

“The senator just washed up on shore at his resort in Panama,” Dad explained. “With a bullet between his eyes. And two of our own are missing. That’s the reason for the entourage.”

“Who?” Hardin asked.

“Chase and Israel. I sent them out to see if they could pick up a trail from the storage warehouse your boy blew up that might lead back to the Sons.”

“They found it, then,” I muttered. “If he has them.”

“Where’sSloane?” Becca asked, trying to look out the still-open door.

Dadsnorted. “IfI let her come in here with me this fucker would be a pile of ash at our feet.”

Andsure enough, I could see Ma outside, fuming in the passenger seat of Dad’s ride. I gave her a little wave and she flipped me off. With love.

“If my father has your men, they’re dead,” Aodhán said and whatever trace amounts of camaraderie had started to form between him and my Dad grew stale.

Dadclucked his tongue.

Aodhánhad no apology in his eyes, just a stone cold hardness as he met my Dad’s stare. “MyDad doesn’t hold people. He ends them. Without prejudice. Without mercy. If he took your men, that means he knows it was me at the warehouse last night. It’s retaliation for his fallen men, but he won’t be finished.”

Aodhánlet out a heavy breath. “He won’t attack yet. I made sure of that. But when he can replenish what I destroyed, he won’t hesitate. He’ll throw everything he has at you.”

“To get you back?” Becca asked him, confused.

Aodhánlaughed haughtily. “No. To kill me and every last one of you. WhatI did last night was an act of war, and he’ll treat it as such.”

Dadswore.

“It’s what we were getting ready for already,” I reasoned with him when he looked like he was two seconds shy of pulling his pistol and eliminating the problem. “At least now we know it’s coming. And time is on our side. It’ll take that bastard weeks to replenish what Aodhán took. That’s more than enough time for Diesel and his men to station themselves down here for the fight.”

Aodháncleared his throat. “You have days. Maybe a week at most. With my father’s contacts, he’ll have everything replenished and then some by then.”

“Jesus,” Zade whispered, incredulous.

“Then we don’t wait. We strike now. Before he has a chance to recover. Where is he hiding?”

Dadput the question to Aodhán, a knot between his brows.

“I don’t know.”

“His men, then? Where are they?”

Aodhán’sjaw flexed. “I only know of one location, but he might have cleared it out by now.”

“That fast?” Becca challenged. “It’s barely been hours since you showed up at the door.”

“It’s possible they’re still there.”

“How many?” Hardin asked.

Aodhán’sAdam’s apple bobbed. “Thirty. Forty possibly.”

“And how many men does he have in total?” I asked, my mind racing, trying to keep up with all the new information, store it away for future use.

“A little over a hundred, but he was still bringing men in from across the pond. He could have more now.”

Dadwhispered something to Zade and he left, rushing back to the car where Ma was waiting.

“Will you give us the location?” Dad asked him.

Aodhán’sbright green eyes flicked to Becca and held there. “Yes.”

Herlips parted in surprise and his lips pulled up in the ghost of a sad smile. “Give me your phone,” he told Dad. “I’ll show you where it is.”

Trueto his word, Aodhán marked out the exact location of the nondescript triplex set at the edge of the city, on a street filled mostly with industrial complexes.

Macame in, leveling a look on Aodhán that could’ve scorched the devil.

“Could it work?” Dad asked her, showing her the location on the phone.

Mazoomed in on the screen, thought quietly for a second, and nodded. “I can make it work.”

“Pack up, boys,” Dad said with a grin, pocketing his phone. “We’re going to a bonfire.”

Zadewhooped, chasing Ma back outside.

“You’re going to let her use the RPGs?” I asked, unable to share the same level of excitement I saw in Dad’s eyes. InZade and Ma’s.

“Let her?” he asked with a raised brow. “Son, you should know by now that I don’t let your Ma do a damn thing.”

“You should stay here,” Becca was saying to Aodhán. “You don’t need to watch that happen.”

“Actually, I’m afraid he does,” Dad corrected her. “I’m grateful for what you did for us, boy, but I’m a long way from trusting you. I need him watched. At all times. No offense, Irishman.”

“It’sAodhán,” I corrected Dad. “His name is Aodhán.”

Aodhán’ssurprise was evident in his expression as he turned to me with a nod of acknowledgment. I ignored Dad’s glare.

ThisIrishman was a lot of things, and I didn’t trust him, either, but after what I suspected he went through last night to buy us some time, he’d at least earned the respect of being called by his name.

“No offense taken,” Aodhán told Dad as he slid from the table. I half expected him to fall on his ass, but he stood strong. “Ready when you are.”

We couldn’t risk tipping off the Sons about our approach, so we needed to position ourselves carefully to avoid being seen. We also couldn’t evacuate the neighboring buildings. Ma assured us that according to her calculations, the other buildings would sustain minimal damage and no loss of life.

Ilooked to Aodhán for the fifth time since we arrived on the roof of a building half a block down the street. I didn’t like the look on his face.

“What is it?”

Heshook his head. “Something’s not right.”

“What do you mean?”

“They aren’t there.”

“Are you sure?”

Hebit his lip, thinking, watching.

Wehadn’t seen any of them, but there were a few cars outside. One of which Aodhán picked out as a stolen vehicle used by one of Séamas’ men.

“You don’t get it,” he said in a low voice that I almost thought wasn’t even meant for me to hear. “My da is always one step ahead. Always.”

“But he didn’t expect you to take out the warehouse, right? So he can’t be this time.”

Hesaid nothing, his eyes glued to the older sand colored brick building two hundred meters away. “We should go back.”

“What?”

Pasthim, I could see Ma positioning herself, ready to accept the massive rocket launcher onto her shoulder like the goddamn war goddess she’d become in the years since she met Damien. There were four other Saints with equal artillery ready for positioning. Five would be enough to level the entire building to the ground. But if we used them all, we’d only have two left.

Mathought it was worth the cost.

“I don’t like it.” Aodhán’s upper lip twitched. “It’s too easy.”

“What is he saying?” Hardin asked, coming over with Becca.

“He doesn’t think we should do it.”

“Of course, he doesn’t,” Zade said, eavesdropping from where he was crouched further down with a bunch of the other Saints. “Those are his people in there.”

Aodhándidn’t rise to the bait.

“I’m going to check the perimeter,” he said, rising to his feet. Dad jerked his chin for me to follow him as he started toward the edge of the roof. I didn’t know what he expected to do if he found anything, anyway. It wasn’t like Dad let him keep his weapons.

“See anything?”

Thisarea of the city saw little traffic, and for miles all around us there was nothing but the hum of machinery and dull drone of the city in the distance.

“No.”

“You don’t sound sure.”

“I’m not.”

Damn. This guy could give Hardin a run for his money in a brooding competition. I wanted to brush it off, but something about his discomfort made my own hackles rise and by the time we got back to where the others were, the sense of disquiet in the air was suffocating.

“Maybe we scope it out first,” I said, interrupting something Dad was saying to Ma.

Hegave me a look that brokered no space for argument at the same time Ma said, “fuck that,” and pulled the trigger.

Mybrother folded Becca into his chest and turned her away from the blast as the rocket soared and my ears rang.

Ithit home.

“Get down!”

Myeyes flew wide as the RPGs hit their target and the building erupted in white light. Something knocked me to the ground, and I heard Ma shouting an instant before the shockwave reached us.

Shockwave?

Itpulsed through me, over me, even on the ground with the weight of Aodhán half covering my right side, I felt the heat of it.

Notthe RPGs, but whatever other explosive had been planted in the Sons’ hideout. TheRPGs set it off and I felt it shake the steel structure beneath us like the earth was cowed by the power of it.

Ashand debris rolled over us, tearing at skin and knocking bones.

Noone moved until the gust passed and the tremors in the earth stopped.

WhenI shoved Aodhán off me, I shielded my eyes from the sun, peering into a black crater, its gaping maw spewing smoke as lighter debris continued to fall.

Theblast had taken out not just the triplex building, but a good chunk of the industrial complex to the north of it. I didn’t see any wounded or corpses, but that didn’t mean no one was hurt.

Dadhad Aodhán by his shirt, shaking him before I noticed he was even there. “Did you know?” he was shouting viciously into Aodhán’s face. “Did you fucking know?”

Icoughed at the scratch of smoke in my lungs, wiping something wet from my cheek. “He didn’t,” I told Dad. “He said something didn’t feel right. He wanted to stop it.”

Hereleased Aodhán, shoving him back to the ground in the process.

“Fuck!” he yelled, crouching to his knees with rage.

Rageat having missed the Sons, likely by mere hours.

Rageat having wasted five missiles.

Rageat putting his family and men in danger.

Rageat having been one step behind SéamasO’Sullivan. Again.

Icouldn’t imagine how much worse this might’ve been if Ma had positioned us just fifty meters closer.

Iwatched as Dad lifted something from the roof by his feet, turning it this way and that. It looked like…a coin.

No. Not a coin.

Apendant.

“Jesus fuck,” I muttered, looking all around me to find at least a hundred of the small bronze pieces scattered across the roof. They must have rained down on us with the debris from the explosion.

Ilifted the one closest to me.

Themedal depicted SaintAnthony of Padua. The patron saint of lost souls.

Irecognized it because Ma had one just like it.

Shenever took it off.

Thiswas a threat.

Awarning.

Anda declaration of war.