Chapter 39 Maeve #2
A thick, strong hand clasps my ankle and drags me off the axle and down through the gravel.
Scowl pulls me out from beneath the truck.
I claw at the ground, hoping—praying—I can catch myself on something.
But there’s nothing to grab.
This beast of a man flips me onto my back and pins me in place, all his weight on my stomach. I can’t even scream and struggle to breathe.
I know Suit wants me alive—for now—but I’m not convinced this guy got that message.
He grips my arms with a nasty scowl, his spittle splattering my face. “Keep still, bitch!”
I kick blindly and ineffectively until a loud pop echoes through the industrial yard.
We both freeze.
A gunshot.
Am I hit?
Scowl climbs off of me. I suck in a desperate mouthful of air and roll away, pushing up onto my knees as I cough.
Ten feet away, Russian Number One collapses to his knees. A red stain spreads over his shirt from his heart before he falls face-first to the gravel.
Scowl yanks a gun from his waist, spinning wildly while searching for the threat.
After another pop, his gun flies right out of his hand, clanking against the gold wall before falling.
Scowl screams.
I fight down bile.
A bullet’s blown away half the man’s hand.
Frantically, he rips off his jacket and bunches the material against his remaining limb in an attempt to staunch the blood.
He’s got bigger problems than keeping me under wraps.
I crawl away, my heels slipping on the loose rock.
Another shot. When I whirl around, I see Scowl fall back, a small hole in his forehead leaking blood.
Someone’s screaming.
Several moments pass before I realize that person is me.
I’ve never…
I’m Declan’s daughter. I grew up around death and violence.
But I’ve never…seen a man…
Right in front of me.
Holy shit.
Movement to my left. I flinch, grabbing a fistful of gravel.
Hardly a weapon, but it will have to do.
And then my shoulders slump.
Kellin.
He stands at the front of the truck, gun drawn, blood on his sleeves and chest and all over his face.
I’ve never seen anything so fucking beautiful.
He waves a hand at me as his eyes scan the area and his head swivels around. “Stay down!”
He doesn’t have to tell me twice.
I drop to my stomach. I wouldn’t say I’m calm, but my breathing has slowed, and the tension in my muscles has loosened.
Kellin’s here.
I’m not going to die.
A shadow under the truck catches my eye. Suit is barreling toward Kellin with a semiautomatic held down at his side.
Hot panic stabs my chest. “Kellin! Behind the truck! Armed!”
Kellin ducks right. And instead of waiting for Suit to come around the cab, he rolls under the truck and pops out right behind the man.
I watch him sweep the Russian’s legs out from beneath him. Suit goes down immediately.
The semiautomatic fires at least a dozen rounds into the sky.
Kellin flips up onto his knees. I can’t see his head, but I see him raise his handgun and point it straight at Suit’s face.
Pop, pop.
Blood fountains from Shout’s neck until he stops twitching.
The rifle tumbles free with a clatter.
I push up onto my hands and knees as Kellin rounds the truck. He crouches down beside me, grabs my neck, and tucks me against his chest.
As much as I’d love to feel his arms around me, this is no embrace. Kellin’s still tense, his eyes alert, his gun ready for the next threat.
I clutch the front of his chest. “I think there were just the three.” My voice trembles. I hardly recognize myself.
Another minute passes.
Silence.
Slowly, Kellin settles.
He leans back just enough for me to gaze up at him.
His nose is broken. Dried blood flakes off his lips and chin, staining the collar of his white Oxford.
But he’s here.
He came for me.
My knight. For real this time.
For once, someone chose me.
Kellin drops his gun and cradles my face. “Maeve.” He breathes my name like a prayer. “I fucking love you. I’m sorry I let all this messed up shit happen.”
I grasp his wrists. “Me too. I love you too.” I breathe in the scent of him—clean, slightly sweet musk beneath the blood and sweat and oil and gas—and blink away tears. “I went to sleep loving you and woke up loving you even more.”
His Adam’s apple bobs. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if—”
He breaks off and kisses me.
Everything from the past few days melts away. The dinner. The wedding. The Russians. Watching my father torture Kellin.
All that remains are the lips and tongue devouring mine, the big palms warming my cheeks, and the distinctive, intoxicating scent driving me wild.
I love him. I’ve known that.
And now I know he loves me too.
Nothing else matters.
Not my dad. Not the Port Kings or the NYC Kings or Gallaghers or whoever.
Just us.
He pulls away. “I’m sorry. Really. I shouldn’t have lied, shouldn’t have drugged you. But the way I felt…the way we connected… That was real, Maeve.”
I close my eyes. Those are the words I’ve been waiting to hear. No matter what else happens, I believe him.
He leans back. “Are you hurt?”
“No, not really. I’m okay.” I suck in a breath before exhaling the lingering tension from my limbs. “Just tired.”
His lips touch mine. “Let’s get you out of here.”
After he helps me to my feet, we half walk, half jog out of the industrial yard.
I don’t truly relax until we’re through the gate, and then I nudge my elbow into his side. Gently, because I’m sure he’s hurting, but enough to get his attention.
“I’m still pissed at you.”
Kellin side-eyes me and grins. His teeth look extra white with all the dried blood and bruising and the thick layer of dirt covering his face.
“Fair. I promise to make it up to you.”
My chuckle dies when I see Brody’s Escalade parked on the street. My feet falter.
He squeezes my hand. “Long story. Let’s go.”
Once we’re on the 10 West, we both start to breathe normally.
I glimpse around the empty vehicle. “Where’s Brody?”
Kellin hands me a phone. “Ask him yourself.”
I recognize this case. Black with orange trim. It’s Brody’s. “You have his SUV and his phone? Please don’t tell me—”
“He’s alive, Maeve. Last I checked anyway. He went after Nolan Doyle, the accountant your dad was trying to bribe to take us down.”
So, it really was just a way to start a fight with New York. A generational drama I want nothing to do with.
I nearly died for this stupid shit.
Kellin reaches over and places his hand on my knee. “Brody set me free to save you.”
I glance from his hand to his face, which remains focused on the road, and then I peer down at my brother’s phone.
As kids, Brody and I always had each other’s backs. He was always taking a punch for me, and I’d always fib for him to keep him out of trouble.
At some point, things changed between us. Brody started shadowing our dad and withdrawing from me. For a long time, I believed he’d abandoned me, but maybe I was mistaken.
“He’s a decent man.” A smile splits my face. “Stubborn and too rigid, sometimes, but…I’m glad to know I can still depend on him.”
“He’s not the guy I thought he was.” Kellin shakes his head. “He gave me his ride, his weapon. He unlocked his phone. Put it in the hands of the enemy. You know what I could’ve done with that information?” His eyes flit to me before returning to the road.
I continue to peer down at my brother’s cell, tracing my fingers over the edge of the case.
I’ll never know what lengths my father would’ve taken to save me. But Brody risked everything. He put my life—and his own—in Kellin’s hands.
Because my brother loves me. And trusts me.
Kellin’s laugh sounds more like a cough. “I really underestimated him, I guess.”
I snag his hand and fold his fingers around mine. “Me too. But I’m glad we did.”
“I love you.” Kellin utters that beautiful declaration again.
I kiss his filthy, grimy knuckle as joy floods my heart. “I love you too.”