Chapter 2
Declan
My phone rang, the screen lighting up with a name I hadn't heard from in a while. Ever since my men helped her now-husbands rescue Thea from her mafia don father, the woman had been a major pain in my ass. I rued the day my cousin, Eden, decided they were best friends forever.
"Thea. What can I do for you?" I sat back in my chair and waited to hear what shit I needed to fix for her this time.
"I have a problem, and I need your help."
I snorted. "Of course you do. The list of favors you owe me is never-ending."
"I offered to work for you," she huffed. "You turned me down!"
"I turned you down because you're a mother now and I'm a family man. We don't send mothers out to do our dirty work." Thea's father had turned her into a lethal weapon from a young age, but I had Ronan to take care of the messy jobs these days.
"Sexist pig," she muttered before remembering she'd called me for a favor and it was better not to open with a string of insults. Not that it had ever stopped her before. She knew damned well my cousin would do something awful and painful to me if I ever hurt her best friend.
I loved Eden with all my black heart, but the woman had a vindictive streak a mile wide. The last time Ronan annoyed her, she hid prawns in his Maserati. He ended up having to ditch the car, which pissed him the fuck off, as it had been a custom paint job.
"If you've quite finished insulting me, Thea, how can I be of help?"
A few seconds passed while she gathered her thoughts. Then she said the last thing I expected to hear.
"My father's out of prison."
"What? Are you sure?"
"No Declan, I just took my lawyer's word for it… OF COURSE I'M SURE!"
The only reason I didn't end the call was I caught the thread of panic in her voice.
And for good reason. Something had clearly gone awry.
The court had found Francesco di Luca guilty of a long list of heinous crimes.
More than enough to ensure he never enjoyed another day of freedom in his pathetic life.
So why had the authorities sanctioned his release? It made no sense.
"It was a mistake," Thea said, in answer to my unspoken question. "Some bullshit prisoner amnesty for low-risk offenders. Only his name ended up on the list and he got out last week, along with a bunch of petty criminals. My lawyer didn't hear about it until an hour ago."
It sounded more than a happy accident to me. Mistakes like that simply didn't happen. Nobody wanted a serial killer or vengeful mafia boss on the loose, certainly not the justice department or the public.
"I thought he was in solitary, for his own protection."
"He was, which is why this makes no sense. Honestly, heads will roll. Milo's looking into it now, and Kyril reached out to his guys in the prison to see if any of them knew anything. We suspect he got to someone on the outside and requested a favor, but for the moment, we're clueless."
"And you need my help for what, exactly?"
"Verity. She's in Naples, Declan, which means she's in danger. If my father finds her, fuck knows what he'll do." Her voice trailed off.
"Have you called her? Warned her?"
"I tried, but she's not called me back. She'll be at work, and I know she doesn't check her phone until she finishes around 2 AM." Which was eight hours from now. "Dar is ready to fly out, but it would take too long…anything could happen in the meantime."
I pictured Thea's sister. Sweet, innocent, and far too vulnerable.
"I'll send the twins to pick her up."
"Thank you. I appreciate it."
"I'll add this favor to the list," I said, even though I would have offered to help, regardless. Verity had been part of our family from the minute my sisters adopted her like a stray cat.
God knows she’d needed people around her. The poor kid had been through hell. Only she wasn't a kid anymore, I reminded myself.
I ended the call, promising to keep Thea updated, while she promised to let me have news on her cunt of a father.
Conal picked up after two rings. The sound of Maeve's whiney voice in the background told me he had gone down to the docks after the fight. No doubt Ronan was balls-deep in some woman by now.
Well, he'd have to cut his partying short for once.
"I need you both back here, sober and ready to fly to Italy."
To his credit, my brother didn't ask any dumb questions. He knew better.
"I'll find Ronan and head back."
"You have the address. Keep it low-key," I warned my brothers. "And bring her back here, where she'll be safe."
"You know she won't be happy about that, right?" Conal pointed out with a frown. "We can't just kidnap her. She’s supposed to be enjoying a gap year."
"We also can't leave her unprotected in Italy." Irritation flared. "So what do you suggest I do?" The thought of what would happen to her if di Luca tracked her down made me want to punch a wall.
"Send a team to guard her until Thea can persuade her to leave Italy?"
To my surprise, Ronan jumped in before I could reply. "No, I don't trust anyone else to keep her safe."
My eyebrows shot up. My brother rarely gave a shit about anyone apart from his sisters and our troublesome cousin.
I tapped my fingers on my scarred mahogany desk, wondering if Conal had a point.
Perhaps Thea was overreacting. But then I remembered just how dangerous Francesco di Luca was.
Sure, he'd not seen daylight for a good few years, but I doubted he'd suddenly repented of his sins and discovered the Good Lord.
Once he figured out Verity had returned to Italy, it wouldn't take him long to pounce.
Unlike Thea, Verity didn't have a violent bone in her body. I could send some men to keep a watchful eye on her, but the only people I truly trusted to keep her safe - at least until her father was dead and buried - were my brothers or myself. And besides, I'd made a promise to Thea.
"Verity is coming back to Ireland. Drug her, if you must. Until we find and eliminate Francesco, she stays here, under our protection. She might not like it, but it's the only way to protect her."
Verity might not be a Kelly, but I'd do whatever it took to protect her all the same.