Chapter Four
Declan
“SON OF A BITCH!”
“You ok, boss?” Jackie Stilton, one of my deputies, popped her head through my door and asked.
As the sheriff, I should have the same respect for all of my deputies, but Jackie was different. She was twenty-eight years old, just a few years older than my daughter, and from what she told me when I hired her four years ago, a cop was all she ever wanted to be.
She was by far the most dedicated and the most regimented when it came to the law. I admired that. I did. But sometimes she got a little stuck between the black and the white. She struggled to see the gray.
“No, I’m not. I gotta run to the clubhouse. If anyone needs me, I’ll be on the radio,” I said, getting up from my desk.
Walking to the printer, I grabbed the handful of sheets it was spitting out. Grabbing a file folder, I stacked them inside and rushed out, not bothering to close my office door.
It wasn’t necessary. I had six deputies that rotated shifts, and I trusted them all. If I didn’t, they wouldn’t be working here. In the five years I had been sheriff, not much had happened to warrant hiring more.
Until recently.
If this bullshit with women coming to town didn’t stop, Mayor Hoffman would have to up my budget to hire more help.
And the latest one was proving to be a thorn in my backside. The repercussions of her being here had the potential to create more chaos than the three previous women, who had upended my quiet little town.
I climbed into my car, slamming the door shut. Pulling out of the station onto the street, I headed east.
King had been an arrogant asshole last night. The information I had with me would knock him back down. Someday, he would learn to trust my instincts. Someday, he would understand everything I did was to keep him safe.
Pulling up to the gate, I sat there while the prospect meandered over. He knew who I was.
“Open the fucking gate, kid.”
“Can’t do that without calling it in.”
“Open the fucking gate before I drive through it. King will take it out of your ass if it needs to be replaced.”
He paled slightly, but nodded. He hurried back over to the gate and pressed a button, letting the gate slide open. His phone was to his ear, which told me someone was sure to know I was coming.
Quickly parking, I grabbed the file before I shoved the front door open and looked around.
“Where the fuck is King?” I asked, seeing Jack at the bar.
“Uh, he hasn’t come down yet.”
“Get him.”
Cash walked around the corner and glared at me.
“You can’t just come in here, ordering us around.”
“Watch me,” I clipped, turning to the prospect. “Get King, now.”
Then, I turned to the room and bellowed, “Officers, in church. Right fucking now!”
Storming past everyone, I vaguely heard Jack whisper, “Can the sheriff call church?”
I didn’t wait for the answer. I marched right into church and walked to the front of the room, pacing while I waited for everyone to show up.
The officers piled in, with King bringing up the rear.
“What the fuck, Dec?” my little brother growled.
He would always be my little brother, despite being as tall as I was.
I looked around the room at the men sitting at the table.
“Where’s Ghost?”
“He’s in Oklahoma,” King said, moving to take his seat at the head of the table.
“Why?”
“None of your fucking business. What crawled up your ass this morning?”
“Maureen fucking Murphy.”
King rolled his eyes. “Are you kidding me right now? Have you been stirring about this shit all night? Look, I don’t know what she said to you, but get a fucking grip.”
“It isn’t about what she said. It’s about who she is and where she came from.”
I tossed the file on the table, making sure it slid over in front of my brother.
“You looked her up?” he said, shaking his head at me.
“I ran her plate to see who she was. Then I did a quick search. The shit we’ve been dealing with from women showing up in this town has given me a touch of PTSD.”
A few of the officers chuckled.
“I will again remind you, one of those women turned out to be your daughter, and learning of her existence was the best fucking day of your life,” King groaned.
He was right. Finding my daughter was the best day of my life. Keeping her safe became my mission. This was how I kept her safe.
“Maureen Murphy is a Mob widow out of Boston.”
“Fuck.”
I looked over at Blade, and he had dropped his head to the table.
“Easy, brother. Could be a coincidence.”
I swung around to King. “What did you just say? Is he caught up with the Irish Mob?” I asked, pointing at my daughter’s old man.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Blade repeated, banging his head on the table.
“What the fuck did you get my daughter involved in?” I demanded.
“You better tell him the truth before he blows a gasket,” Jack said quietly next to Blade.
He never lifted his head from the table, probably afraid to look me in the eye. He fucking should be.
“You know my family was in WITSEC. Well, the reason why was my dad was an accountant for the Mob. He stole some money, and they found out. He turned on them so the FEDS would protect him. Had some of the older guys sent up. When I was eighteen, they found us again. They had already killed my mom, and I watched them kill my dad.”
“Why didn’t they kill you?” I asked, not believing his story.
“I don’t know. The guys said I was a baby when it happened, so they didn’t consider me a threat since I didn’t know anything, and Dad had already given them everything he knew. About every six months, the boss calls me to touch base, making sure I have done nothing to change their opinion of me.”
“And now one of their widows just happened to decide to move here?” Colt asked. “I’m with the sheriff. This seems awfully coincidental.”
“When was the last time you spoke to him?” I asked.
I was trying to keep my temper contained.
I wanted to flatten Blade for putting my daughter at risk.
“About two months ago. The call went exactly like it has every other time.”
“Does my daughter know all this?”
“Everything but the phone calls. I didn’t want her worrying.”
“Asshole,” I muttered.
“Alright, Dec, enough. This isn’t his fault.” King sighed heavily and looked at Cash. “Go get Maureen and bring her in here.”
“You brought her here?” I yelled. “Did you fuck her?”
King jumped from his chair and stood toe to toe with me.
“Watch your fucking mouth. You may be the sheriff, but you’re my brother first, and I will lay you out if I have to.”
Gunner stepped between us, a hand on each of our chests. “This is not the time or the place for a pissing contest.”
We stood there glaring at each other for a few minutes before the door opened and Maureen walked in.
She was gorgeous last night, but this morning?
I didn’t have words to describe this woman.
She had piled her silver hair high atop her head and was glaring at me with her striking green eyes. She was fucking stunning, despite looking like she just crawled out of bed.
The question was, whose bed did she crawl out of?
I stomped over and stood looking down at her. My mouth opened before I could catch the words and keep them from being released.
“Did you fuck him last night?” I growled.
The widening of her eyes and the gasp that slipped from her lips caught me off guard.
Her right hook was even more shocking.
“Fuck you,” she barked and turned toward the door.
Colt was standing in front of it, preventing her from leaving, with a proud, shit-eating grin on his face.
“Declan!” King shouted.
He rushed over, getting between Maureen and me.
Looking at Blade, my brother ordered, “Call your old lady.”
Shit.
“Don’t you dare,” I warned, pointing my finger at my soon-to-be son-in-law.
“I take orders from King.” He smirked, placing his phone to his ear.
“Hey, baby. Yea, can you come over to the clubhouse? We need your help with a situation.”
I stomped over and grabbed the phone out of his hands. The bastard laughed at me as I talked to my daughter.
“Baby girl, you don’t need to come over here.”
“Dad, what is going on?”
“Nothing. Just a difference of opinion that we will work out.”
“Will my child still have a father when you’re done?” she asked.
“Yes, baby, he will.”
“You don’t know it will be a he.” She sighed.
We didn’t know yet, but I could feel it. I was positive I was getting a grandson, and I couldn’t fucking wait.
“Call it a grandfather’s intuition. Go back to whatever you were doing. We’re fine here.”
“If I get another call, you’re in trouble.”
“Oh yea, what are you gonna do?” I asked with a grin.
She couldn’t see me, but I knew she could hear it in my voice. We had gotten close since we met. We talked every day, either on the phone or in person. She was my greatest achievement, despite not having been in her life for the first twenty-five years.
“I’ll think of something,” she said and hung up on me.
I turned and glared at my brother. “Don’t pull that shit again.”
“Then get a fucking grip.”
I turned to look at Maureen, and I struggled to read the expression on her face. It was a mix of anger and curiosity. But the way her eyes glittered told me she was more angry than curious.
“Maureen, I am sorry for my brother’s behavior. He usually has more decorum and manners around women.”
“He’s your brother?” she asked.
Her gaze was still on me, and I watched as her eyes narrowed for just a second. Something passed over her face, but it was gone too quickly. She suddenly looked away, settling on King.
“Yea, he is. Anyway, I needed to talk to you for just a moment.”
He led her over to sit in a chair next to him. Seeing his hands on her pissed me off. She wasn’t mine, and she never would be. But I damn sure wouldn’t let him have her either.
She was older than him.
A decade stood between them.
“Yesterday, when you met Blade. You said he reminded you of someone you knew. I need you to tell me who that was.”
I watched her as her eyes widened a fraction, and then trailed from King, across the table to Blade. She took a deep breath and asked, “Why?”
“Darlin’, my brother ran your plates this morning. We know where you moved from, and who you’re affiliated with. We need to know if there is a threat coming.”
“Why would you assume a threat was coming?” she asked, looking back at Blade.
Maureen studied Blade. Her face paled, and she shook her head. “No, you can’t be.”
“My father was Eduardo Cimorelli.”
“Shit,” she whispered. “Shit, shit, shit.”
Standing from the table, she eyed the door, biting her lip. “I need to go. I can’t be here. I’ll call Kristy and tell her to re-list the house. I’ll find somewhere else to settle.” She was babbling to herself. There was something in her tone, and I watched her quietly.
“Maureen, wait,” King called out.
She had nowhere to go.
Colt still stood in front of the door, blocking her exit.
“Your car won’t be ready for at least a week. Stay until after the holiday.”
I stared at my brother. What the fuck was he doing? If she wanted to leave, he needed to let her go. She couldn’t stay here. There was too much at stake.
“I can’t stay here. He doesn’t know I’m here.” She looked at Blade. “They told me you were dead. You were all fucking dead,” she screamed.
She looked scared. Her hands shook, and her body trembled.
“If Sal finds out I’m here and you’re here, he’ll be pissed.”
“Sal?” Cash asked.
“He’s the head of the organization. If he finds out his men didn’t do what they were told, he’ll come here and do it himself.”
Fuck.
Sal was the head. Of course he was.
He was the fucking heir.
“He knows,” Blade said softly.
“What?” she gasped. “He couldn’t know. If he did, he would have finished what they didn’t. He’s ruthless. He doesn’t leave loose ends.”
“I talked to him two months ago. He has called me every six months for the past eight years to make sure I don’t step out of line.”
“Why didn’t they kill you?” she asked, sitting back down in the chair she had earlier abandoned.
I stood there listening as Blade explained what happened when his father was killed. Sal had ordered that he be left alone.
Why?
He hadn’t joined the Silver Shadows yet, so it wasn’t an ally with a 1% club he was looking for. He had another motive.
What was it?
Sal never did anything without a reason. What reason would he have for leaving Blade alive?
Blade brought my attention back to the table when he turned to Maureen and asked, “So you knew my father?”