Chapter 27
Called Away
Brooklyn
Six months later …
“Fuck,” I roar after I hang up the phone with LaSalle.
They still haven’t released Logan and now motherfuckers want to test me just because my brother isn’t around. Wrong fucking move. Logan is the sane brother and that’s saying a lot.
I’m the brother who’s coming for your head first, then I’m showing up at your funeral to ask questions to see who else needs to die with you. It seems while I’ve been dividing my attention, some motherfuckers have forgotten.
I’m Brooklyn O’Brien. It’s important you think twice before coming for what’s mine or anything connected to me. If not, I’m going to answer accordingly.
“Let Christian and Arnez know we’re heading out,” I bark at Emory on the other end of the phone.
Seán needs to remain here this time. It’s fine, I don’t need many for this. I plan to make my message heard myself.
He sighs. “Yeah, all right.”
I get it, my guys are exhausted. We’re always on the move. Before that call, I had planned to remain focused on DJ for the next few days.
The guys thought they would get a few days off. Not anymore. Everyone’s plans will have to change.
Pissed as fuck, I head to the bedroom and get dressed, ready to deal with this shit. I need to head back to New York. LaSalle should never have to call me about shit in my own backyard. I’m taking this one personally.
I’ve been riding a pendulum. I get one place under control and the other starts acting up. Ireland is on its way to being stable again, but not without consequences. I’ve buried a few of my own and caused twice as many funerals in return.
Dressed in a fresh suit, I head back out into the bedroom. DJ is in bed, fast asleep. I frown.
Our situation is becoming a different kind of problem for me. I’ve had less and less time to spend with her. Shauna needs more with each day.
At fourteen months old, she’s walking and starting to talk. I’ve had to keep Aisling on for much longer than I had planned. I just changed their location.
I now keep an apartment next door to theirs in case of an emergency or if I want to stay overnight. Some mornings, I don’t know where I am when I wake.
I needed this weekend with DJ. Having her around grounds me. I mutter a curse under my breath and go to lean in and kiss her temple.
She only stirs enough to turn on her other side and snuggle deeper into the bed. I nod to myself. That’s for the best.
I turn and leave, grabbing my dress coat to throw on as I exit the house and jump in my car. I turn the radio on to distract my thoughts as I head to the airport.
I only get halfway to my destination when my phone starts to ring. I groan as I see its DJ. I guess it’s better to do this now before I board the plane.
“Hello, baby,” I say tiredly.
“What happened to ya?”
“Something has come up. I need to head back to New York.”
She sighs heavily. “I thought ya were going to spend the weekend with me.”
“I still plan to. I’ll be in and out. I have something I need to take care of.”
“And ya couldn’t take me?”
“No, baby. Not this time.”
“Why am I not surprised? Be safe, Cole.”
“Fuck,” I snarl as the call ends.
My instincts are telling me not to take her to America just yet. Every time I think of changing my mind, I get this sick feeling that it’s not the right move to make.
The Alliance isn’t dead, but things have slowed down with Logan in jail and no real release date in sight. LaSalle has almost gotten him released twice now. Then, at the last minute, something has come up to stall everything.
“Be patient, baby,” I mutter to myself.
***
Phelim O’Doherty has lost his fucking mind thinking he can strong-arm anyone under my protection. As if I wouldn’t respond, as if I wouldn’t find out.
I step out of the back of my SUV in front of his club in Brooklyn. His guys see me coming, but don’t have the balls to make a move to stop me. I walk right by the bouncer and head inside.
I move straight for the private room. Just as my guy said he would be, he’s there as he has been for the last hour. His back is to me as he dances with some chick.
I’m not going to shoot him in the back, so I go and grab his ass by the back of his hair and drag him from the room, kicking and shouting.
His guys in the room go to pull their guns, but I’m faster. I put a bullet in one of their heads and train my gun on the other. He looks like he’s going to piss himself as he holds his hands up.
“What the fuck? Shoot him,” Phelim barks.
“Shut the fuck up,” I bite out.
Phelim stiffens as he hears my voice. Ah, he finally realizes it’s me. I keep dragging his ass as I head to the loading dock of the club.
When I get there, I throw his ass into a wall. He smacks into it then falls on his ass with his face busted open. He looks back at me with wide eyes and fear in them.
“Yer not so fucking bold now, are ya?” I snarl.
“Br … Brooklyn. What’s going on, man? What did I do?”
Pissed off that I’ve had to come all this way for this, I shoot him in the knee. He howls in pain as he cradles the wound. I flip out the tails of my coat and squat down in front of him.
“Do ya want to keep playing with me?” I hiss in his face.
“It was just a talk. I heard your interests were elsewhere. I thought I could earn a little something extra.”
“Yer a fucking idiot if ya think I believe that.”
I stand to my full height and put my gun to his forehead. I have no patience for this. Besides, I want to get back on the plane to get back to my woman.
“I’ll make sure your piece-of-shit brother joins you,” I say and pull the trigger.
“Anyone locate the other one?”
“He’s at some chick’s place in Dumbo. Word is she’s Fitzgerald’s daughter. He’s been fucking her for months,” Christian replies.
“Isn’t she like fifteen?” I ask in disgust.
Tiernan O’Doherty is Phelim’s older brother. He’s in his fucking thirties.
I know Fitzgerald’s daughter’s age because she wanted a summer job, but I said no because I didn’t like how she flirted with some of my guys while with her da at one of our stores.
I wouldn’t put my guys in that type of position, not knowing her age. Her father is an eejit.
I heard he gave her an apartment of her own in Brooklyn. There’s no way in hell I’m giving my fifteen-year-old an apartment of her own where she’s not supervised.
I think of DJ. If I want to ever have kids of my own, I need to be back on that plane. I can still spend the day with her if I move my ass.
“Let’s handle him. I want to be back on that plane within the next hour.”
Deja
Something has to give. Things have changed so much since that night I saw that text. I’ve noticed that Cole leaves the room when he receives certain calls.
He’s spending less and less time with me, and he never takes me on his trips to New York. The more I think about it, the more I wonder if there’s someone else in America.
It’s not like I would know. She’s over three thousand miles away. I’m here, alone and frustrated.
I took off a whole weekend for this. Pricillia, the new barmaid I hired, was supposed to cover for me while I spent the weekend with my man.
Now I’m sitting here with nothing on my mind but Cole O’Brien and how he could be playing me for a fool. I hate feeling like this. A glance at the clock only feeds my anger.
“My whole day,” I growl.
I get up and stomp my way into the bedroom. I’m going to take a bath to clear my head. Hopefully, when I get out, I won’t have Cole on my mind, and I can find something to do with the rest of my evening.
I smile as I think of watching a few American shows to work on my accent. New York Under Cover comes to mind. I still have a few episodes of that to catch up on.
I get my bath milk into the water and go to undress in the bedroom. I yelp and nearly jump out of my skin as I find Cole walking in.
Jesus, Mary, Joseph, this man shouldn’t look this good. I want to run into his arms, but I’m still angry at him. I place my hands on my hips.
“Did ya handle yer business, or will I wake to ya missing from me bed once again?”
“I took care of what needed to be taken care of. I’m all yours,” he says tiredly.
I slump my shoulders, feeling bad. He does have a lot on his plate. He looks exhausted.
I walk over to him, swaying my hips. He gives me a tired smile. Wanting to be near him, I wrap my arms around his waist.
“Were ya going to take a bath? I smell that shit ya love.”
“That was the plan.”
“Come on then. I had planned to pamper ya for the day. Looks like I’m right on time.”
“Not really, but I’ll let it go for now.”
He releases a tired laugh. Feeling sorry for him, I push his coat from his shoulders and begin to help him out of the rest of his clothes. Once he’s standing in his slacks and socks, he cups the side of my face and kisses me.
“Ya know I love ya, don’t ya?”
“Yeah, I do. I love ya too.”
He takes my lips again and things begin to heat up. When he begins to massage my bum in his big palms, I think our bath will be forgotten. However, he breaks the kiss and pecks the tip of my nose.
When we’re both undressed, we make our way into the bathroom and get into the tub together. Cole massages my back and asks me about my week. After a while, I can’t remember why I was so angry with him.
After our bath, when he wraps me in a towel, he then takes me into the bedroom where he puts a face mask on me, then paints my toes—I don’t even care anymore. Cole shows me he loves me all the time.
I need to stay out of my own head. Things will get better. I just need to be patient.