Savage Hearts (Tiernan Crime Syndicate #2)

1. Killian

1

KILLIAN

We were finally moving forward. One more night in New Orleans, and then we were heading back to Chicago to begin taking over the city.

Everything was going according to plan. I should be fucking ecstatic about that, but I wasn’t. I couldn’t fucking be, not when I knew my brothers were making a big mistake, and that mistake was currently sitting in the back seat of the car.

I couldn't see the little club princess from where I sat in the front, and that should have been a blessing, but I could feel my attention being drawn to her.

It was the energy she gave out, I decided.

That, and her unusual reaction toward us.

I expected a fight or, hell, at least for her to curse us to fucking hell, but she was too subdued for my liking.

As if life had beaten her down, and she didn't know how to get up.

I shouldn't fucking care about Daniel Hayes’s fucking daughter. And I hadn’t.

Our trip to New Orleans was about tying up loose ends. It showed our men that we could take care of business. Certainly, one of our men could have gone to New Orleans in our stead.

But this was our revenge.

And it should have been easy. Uncomplicated.

Then I saw fucking Mila Hayes through the scope of the rifle, and I?—

I fucking hesitated. I never hesitate, not on a mission. But I did with her. If Silas hadn’t tackled me to the ground, I didn’t know if I could have pulled that trigger. And that was a fucking weakness we couldn’t afford.

Now Silas said he wanted to keep her? My fists clenched by my side. What the hell were we supposed to do with her? I shook my head. I knew what Silas wanted to do with her. I wasn’t fucking stupid. He wanted her. But then what?

Were we supposed to keep her and love her?

What the fuck did my brothers and I know about love?

We loved no one save for each other, because for so long, we had no one save for each other.

I’d thought I was in love once.

And that cost us the empire, and nearly our lives.

Never again. I wouldn’t put my heart on the line for anyone, but especially not for Hayes’s fucking offspring.

Someone shifted on the seat behind me. It wasn’t Silas.

Fucking hell.

I climbed out of the car as soon as Maverick pulled up to the hotel’s entrance. Whatever Silas had to say to ensure the girl didn’t cause a scene was none of my concern. Just as long as it worked.

Maverick got out of the car and met me outside. Silas and Mila still hadn’t come out yet, though I could see some movements from inside.

I met Maverick’s eyes, not saying anything.

He was even more quiet than usual, and I wasn’t sure how he felt about our little brother’s newest obsession.

We were at a point where we’d shared more women than we were going solo.

Fuck, I couldn’t even remember when we’d all decided to share, only that it had felt right, and I’d much rather my brothers be there to stop me from losing control than not.

I felt more monster than man most days. I was truly living up to our namesake.

Savages.

Whispering gossip in the streets called us savages, and how apt that was. We had done most of the things rumored about us, and so much more.

So much worse.

I hadn't lost control yet, though that thought was always in the back of my mind, and a stupid voice in my head whispered that if there was a woman I would lose control with, it would be Mila.

I grimaced and looked away from Maverick’s inquisitive eyes just as the door opened and a grinning Silas stepped out.

The fucker winked at me before he leaned back in and helped out a pale-faced Mila.

Why that look on her face bothered me so much, I didn't know.

I scowled at her and turned, walking into the luxurious five-star hotel.

The first night we came here, the staff had looked at us with a horrified expression on their faces, much to our amusement.

I suppose we stood out in stark contrast to all the prissy little fuckers that usually frequented the hotel.

But, alas, we had been acting like model fucking citizens.

That was, until Silas decided he wanted to add kidnapping to a long list of crimes he’d commit in his short life.

The manager stared at us from across the lobby with a look of equal fascination and fear. It wouldn’t take much for any one of us to bring her to bed and show her what she had definitely been missing with her straitlaced husband I saw coming in earlier today.

A crook of our finger, and she would be a willing and eager player in our game.

She frowned when her eyes found Mila.

I followed her gaze. Silas had wrapped a possessive arm around the girl.

There was something infinitely fragile about her that brought out the worst in me. Something even Lilliana hadn’t been able to do, even when I had been a young-and-ready-to-please fool.

Perhaps it was the lost kitty look Mila wore so well.

I couldn’t figure out if that look was a fa?ade or if she really was fucking lost.

Silas moved his hand down to cup that perky ass of hers as he led her to the elevator.

Even at a distance, I could see her tense beside him before she stopped walking and glared up at him.

The fire in her hazel eyes was unmistakable.

Ah.

So, not as meek as I’d made her out to be.

Silas leaned down and whispered something in her ear, his hand playing with her ass cheek.

The sight caused a small sting of arousal to shoot through me.

I shifted on my feet and watched as whatever Silas said must have gotten through, because she allowed him to escort her into the elevator.

Maverick and I shared an amused smile.

Fuck, but what was it about this girl that brought out such a reaction from me?

I shook my head and followed Maverick into the elevator.

Mila shifted awkwardly on her feet as we ascended to the penthouse suite.

We got to our room in silence.

Silas brought her to the huge leather couch that took up center space in the suite.

She sat down and tucked trembling hands beneath her thighs.

I had to hand it to her. I wouldn’t have known just how scared she was had I not seen that one telltale sign of it.

She took in the three of us standing there, watching her.

Her eyes barely met mine before she turned away and focused on my brothers, and stayed on Silas.

I didn't know why I hated that.

I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned back against the wall.

She was obviously more comfortable with Silas than either me or Maverick.

“W-what do you want from me?” she asked.

Silas grinned. “Lots of things.”

I shook my head and rolled my eyes at him. If the fucker wanted her, scaring her wasn't the way to go about it.

“I want to know how you knew there was going to be an attack,” Maverick said.

How she knew wasn’t important. At least, I didn’t think so. Though Maverick didn’t want any unknown variable.

She pursed her lips but didn’t answer him.

Maverick continued to stare her down. I hope she didn’t think she could outlast him. He was the most stubborn and frustratingly patient man I had ever met.

And sure enough, she squirmed in her seat. “Why would you say I knew an attack was coming?”

I almost smiled at her nonresponse. “If you didn’t know we were coming, you wouldn’t have run.”

Her face paled. We had her there.

“What do you want?” she asked softly.

“An answer to the question, to start,” Maverick replied calmly. Gone was the playful man who’d played with her at the pool with Silas. In his place was the ruthless leader of the Tiernan crime syndicate.

She took in a deep breath, and my gaze automatically moved to her tits. She would be the perfect handful. The fact that I was getting hard just thinking about it was starting to piss me off.

I was fucking attracted to Mila Hayes. That shouldn’t have come as a surprise. After all, I’d nearly lost control in the elevator when the little firecracker kissed me for the first time. I never lost control. Not over a girl, and certainly not over a fucking kiss.

My scowl darkened, which didn’t go unnoticed by Silas.

When Maverick didn’t answer her, she said, “I saw your men on the property line from my room.”

I shared a look with Maverick.

“And you didn’t think to warn your dad?” I asked.

It wouldn’t have made a difference. The men would have died. Daniel Hayes would have died…

Or not.

Knowing the coward, he’d probably run and let his men die for his actions.

We deduced she probably didn’t like her dad much, but I still wanted to hear the words from her.

She shot me a look, as if saying it was a stupid question with an obvious answer.

I scowled at her. “Careful, girl. I'm not as patient as my brothers. You don’t want to find out what will happen when you piss me off.”

She grimaced and quickly looked away from me. I could see Silas turning his attention toward me from the corner of my eye, but I ignored him.

All he was doing was proving me right. She was making him soft. She was his weakness, his downfall. And that was unacceptable to me.

We were in this mess because of the fucker. It was our inability to ever deny our little brother anything, and I swore, one of these days, Silas was going to find himself in trouble.

Luckily, he knew Maverick and I would be there to clean up all the fucking messes.

That didn’t mean I had to like it.

We should not let another woman into our life.

Especially one who affected us like this.

That just made her fucking dangerous.

"I took it as my opportunity to run."

Smart girl. But just how smart was she? Smart enough to kill us? Probably. If we gave her the chance.

Maverick tapped his fingers along the side seam of his pants. The movement was small, and I doubted anyone noticed it or saw it for what it was—he was feeling on edge.

And for what?

For a little girl that didn’t even reach our shoulders?

My eyes roamed over her slender figure.

She looked?—

Hungry.

As if she never had enough to eat. It made me want to go out and buy the girl a fucking cheeseburger.

I shook away the stupid thought.

“The way I see it, you have two options,” Maverick said.

“And what are they?” she asked, wariness entering her eyes.

I held my breath as Maverick took his time to answer her, my fists clenched at my sides.

Maverick looked at Silas as he answered her. “You stay with us.”

There was no disguising what he meant by that. I could hear her sharp intake of breath. Silas’ lips tilted up in a small smile. I could punch the fucker in the face. This was what he wanted. He wanted her to be kept, not just by him, but by all of us. And Maverick was conceding to it.

“And the other option?”

“You come back with us and serve my men.”

She stood. The fire I’d first caught a hint of in the elevator was back in her eyes, and it was blazing, and it was fucking beautiful.

“What kind of options are those?”

Maverick opened his mouth, but she cut him off with a shake of her head.

“I’ll either whore myself out to you and your brothers, or I whore myself out to your men? What was the point of this last week? Why do all this with me when you knew this was where we were headed?”

Silas frowned at her choice of words, but he didn’t correct her. Maverick crossed his arms over his chest and stared her down.

She was right about that, no matter how much Silas might think differently. She could be our whore, or she could be the syndicate’s, no matter how badly Silas wanted to keep her for ourselves. The choice was up to her, and I was just about done with this entire thing.

As for the little play pretend game they were playing with her, I couldn’t tell what they were trying to accomplish. Silas said it was to make her hate us a little less. I didn’t think this worked out the way he wanted.

She took a small step back before she thought better of it. “Fuck that,” she snarled, and then she moved so fast, I didn’t even see it coming. She grabbed the first thing her hand touched—a black remote control—and aimed it at my head. And the bitch’s aim was true. Had I been slower, she might have taken out an eye.

She didn’t wait. She jumped over the coffee table and swiveled around me, heading for the door.

I moved before either one of my brothers could react, reaching for her first. I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her tightly against me, ignoring how good she felt pressed so close to me, or how fucking much my dick liked having her close.

Her familiar floral scent hit me, bringing me back to our moment in the elevator.

Fucking hell. It was going to take a while for the effects of that goddamn moment in the elevator to fade… or not.

“Let go of me!” she screamed, her arms and legs flailing. She got in one lucky shot when her sharp elbow caught me on the side.

I grunted.

“You’re a little firecracker, aren’t you?” I asked, my lips touching her ear.

How wrong I’d been about her.

I’d thought she was meek. Beaten down.

The little wildcat in my arms was anything but.

I held her tighter when I felt her slipping. “Hold still, girl. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Fuck you,” she spat out.

I couldn’t help the small grin that peeked out at her venomous words, which I quickly let slip away when I caught Silas’ knowing grin from across the room.

I shook my head at him, carried the little firecracker back to the couch, and sat down with her on my lap.

One, to keep everyone safe from her throwing arm, and two, to hide the fucking hard-on I was currently sporting.

She tensed when she felt it pressed against her.

“You have got to be kidding me,” she gritted out.

I squeezed her to me, trying to keep her quiet. It didn’t work.

“Let go of me.”

“No,” I answered easily. I looked up at my brothers standing there and waited for them to take the lead. Silas was determined to have this girl, and with Maverick on board, there was nothing I could say or do that would make any difference.

And a part of me didn’t want to admit I wasn’t fighting the idea very hard.

“Why do you want this?” she asked miserably. “I’m sure there are plenty of women out there who would be more than willing.”

“Yes, but none of them are Daniel Hayes’s daughter.”

“So, that’s it? I’m paying for my father’s sins, even if I don’t even like the man?”

Maverick shook his head. “You’re not paying for his sins. Otherwise, we would have killed you already.”

Never mind the fact that it had been the original plan.

She stilled against me. I heard her take a stuttered breath. “I have nothing to do with the club. I’m innocent.”

“So were we when your dad decided to attack our club. But he made the mistake of not coming after us. That led to his death,” Maverick answered her.

Her breath hitched at the confirmation about her dad, but otherwise, she didn’t show any reaction. Was she telling the truth, then? Did she really hate her old man, and if so, why was that?

“And now you’re making sure you won’t make his same mistake? You think I’m going to come back and kill you?” Her voice was incredulous. I didn’t blame her.

With this soft girl in my arms, the thought that she would come back and kill us was downright ridiculous.

She shook her head. “Please. I never wanted to be a part of this life. Just let me go and I promise you won’t ever hear or see from me.”

“Can’t do that, little monster,” Maverick said. “You belong to us now.”

She flinched at the finality of Maverick’s words.

I couldn’t see her face, but I could see the way her shoulders sagged, as if she didn’t know how to keep holding the weight.

My heart felt suddenly heavy.

“That’s not much of a choice, is it?” she said bitterly.

“No, it’s not,” Maverick answered calmly. “So what’s your answer, little monster?”

She laughed, the sound empty. “I’m not the monster here.”

He shrugged as if he couldn’t care less. He tilted his head to the side, waiting for her.

“Option one, you stupid son of a bitch,” she said angrily. Maverick didn’t show any emotion at that, but I could tell by the look in his eyes that he was amused by her.

She wiggled against me. I tightened my arms around her for a fraction. “I’m not going to run, so you can let me go now,” she insisted.

I held onto her for a moment before I loosened my arms, and she quickly climbed off my lap. I felt empty with her gone, and I didn’t know what to do with that feeling, so I scowled at her.

“What now?” she asked. “What about tonight?”

This sounded like a conversation she would be having with Silas, not me. I stood up to my full height, thoroughly enjoying the way her eyes widened a bit in fear before she formed her face back to defiance. I still scared her. That was good. She would do well to keep her distance from me.

I would do better if I stayed away from her.

I walked up to her and cupped her shoulders in my hands. Leaning down so our noses touched, I said softly, “I think you forgot your place in our lives. Starting right now, little girl,”—my grip on her shoulders tightened a fraction—“You’re to do as we say, without question. You’re not in charge. Remember that.”

She sucked in a sharp breath and tried to get away from me.

I kept my hands on her shoulders, my eyes roaming over her face and taking in her delicate features. I didn’t let go of her for five long seconds, and only did so because it seemed Silas was going to step in.

I moved away from her and headed out the door. Whatever the fuck Silas wanted to do with her tonight was his business.

As for me, I headed straight down to the lobby. The valet grabbed the truck for me. I got in without saying another word to anyone and drove off.

It was barely ten o’clock at night.

I could hit any bar and get drunk off my ass. Hell, I could probably find a warm bed tonight, a willing woman to fuck hazel eyes out of my thoughts. I could go on the prowl for any woman who knew the score, who didn’t look like a scared little virgin at first glance, and stay there until we had to leave.

I didn’t do any of that.

I drove around the city, as if that would get my mind to focus on anything else but the girl. As if I could drive far enough, long enough, fast enough to not have to think.

I was acting more and more like Silas every day.

Un-fucking-believable.