Keegan

by Savannah Rylan

  His hot breath fell over me as he pushed himself down. I could feel his cock between his legs. He was turned on. There was a gun in his hand. There was some sort of a fight brewing outside! How was he turned on in the middle of this?

  I tried to struggle against him, push him off, but he opened his mouth and sucked on my chin. I felt a wave of revulsion spark through my body. I thought I was going to be sick, but in the next instance…I bit him. I bit the top of his left cheek and he howled like a little girl and jumped away from me.

  “Bitch!” he growled and slapped me again. Sending my face sideways.

  “Braden! What the fuck are you doing? Get her out here!” There was someone else at the door now.

  Braden was still standing over me, clutching his cheek where I’d bit him, glaring at me.

  He reached for me again and I spat at his face, but this time, he slipped a knife out of his pocket and cut the ropes. I jumped up, thrusting myself into him but he caught me by my hair.

  “Where do you think you’re going, bitch?” he growled and dragged me by my hair off the bed.

  He dragged me outside. I could feel a sharp piercing ache in my skull from the pull of my hair. I was on the ground, being dragged behind him while Braden stalked outside. He still had the gun in his hand.

  It was dark outside, pitch black but I could sense people there. It took a few moments for my eyes to adjust to the lack of light.

  Then I saw him.

  It was Keegan. He was kneeling on the dusty ground with his hands up in the air in surrender. I cried out for him when I saw him like that. A group of five men were standing around him in a circle. All their guns were pointed at him.

  Keegan stared at me. I could see a gash on his forehead and what looked like a gunshot wound on his shoulder. His shirt was bloodied. There was fire in his eyes, even though there was no escape now. We were outnumbered.

  “Keegan! I’m sorry. I’m so sorry!” I cried.

  Braden tightened his grip on my hair, yanking me to stay quiet.

  Connor was one of the men standing over Keegan, and he looked at me, then at Keegan. There was an amused expression on his face. He was having fun.

  “Reunited at last. How does it feel? Ah…to be young and in love!” Connor said and then laughed at his own sick joke.

  I was crying again. Clutching at my cheeks as tears poured down. I couldn’t bare to see Keegan like this. On his knees, completely helpless against all the guns that were pointed at him.

  “Just let her go, Connor, and we can talk—man to man,” Keegan said, dragging his gaze away from me.

  Connor threw back his head and laughed.

  “You think I’m an idiot? The only reason I have you here now is because of her. So, first, I’m going to get what I want.”

  I could see Keegan clenching his jaws.

  “Don’t give him anything. Keegan, please!” I screamed.

  Braden yanked me by my hair again and I saw Keegan flinch. He was doing the best he could to not lash out at the men. I shook my head at him, pleading him with his eyes.

  The last thing I wanted was for the Gallaghers to win.

  “What do you want?” Keegan looked at Connor again.

  “Complete surrender. Give up all your supplier details and back out of the business.”

  “No! Don’t give him anything!” I screamed.

  “Fallon! Don’t. Just be quiet!” Keegan shouted at me and I clamped my mouth shut. Above me, Braden was sniggering.

  “Just let her go and I’ll tell you everything,” Keegan said and Connor shook his head.

  “You want me to let her go so she can get your family to storm this place? I’m not an idiot, Keegan. How many times do I have to remind you?” Connor answered, through gritted teeth.

  I sobbed, bawling as I sat kneeling on the ground with Braden still gripping my hair tightly.

  “If you don’t let Fallon go, you’re not getting anything from me.” Keegan replied.

  15

  Keegan

  I didn’t care what happened to the family business anymore. I needed to get Fallon out of here and to safety.

  Connor Gallagher was glaring at me, refusing to budge on the deal.

  “Meet my demands, and then maybe I’ll let your little girlfriend live,” he said.

  I was regretting coming here by myself. I shouldn’t have been so confident to think that I could storm this place by myself. I was clearly outnumbered now, and I had no choice but to either meet their demands or watch Fallon being shot, before I met the same fate.

  “How am I supposed to trust you’ll let her go after I give you everything?” I hissed at him and Connor laughed.

  “I guess you’ll just have to take a gentleman’s word,” he replied.

  “The last thing you are is a gentleman, you fuck!” I growled at him.

  Connor arched his eyebrows, then he turned to his son Braden who was holding Fallon by her hair. He gave him a nod and Braden whacked her face.

  Fallon screeched and fell to the side and he picked her up again. She had a split lip now and I felt like choking every one of them to death.

  “Is there anything else you would like to say to me, Keegan Murphy?” Connor turned to me again.

  I was glaring at him, wishing death on him and his family—but I knew I couldn’t physically do anything. If I did, they were going to hurt Fallon. That was the control they had over me now.

  “Good. That’s what I thought. Now, should we all go inside and sit down and have a little chat?” Connor asked.

  I grunted a response. There was no other choice. My best bet right now was to do what they told me to, and hope that eventually, they’d let Fallon live.

  I was about to stand up off the ground when there was a gunshot behind us. I had no idea where it had come from, but I took the opportunity of distraction to grab the gun from one of the men who was standing over me.

  “Fuck!” I heard Connor growl and I shot a guy in the foot. They trained their guns on me.

  “Take her inside. Shoot her if you have to!” Connor shouted at Braden and I pointed the gun to Connor’s head.

  “Make one move, Braden, and your father is dead. You choose!” I growled. There were other guns trained on me, but I was willing to take my chances. Braden wasn’t going to risk his father’s life.

  “Drop your weapons now!” we heard a voice behind us. I recognized Callum’s voice immediately. My brothers had followed me here.

  I didn’t blink though. I didn’t take my eyes off Connor for a second. If I did, I knew I would be giving Braden the opportunity to take Fallon away inside.

  “Ah, the cavalry has arrived,” Connor sniggered. He still seemed pretty sure of himself. But not for long.

  My brothers had brought the entire Murphy brood with them. Guns started to fire and soon, we all realized that the Murphys outnumbered the Gallaghers.

  In the commotion, despite taking shots at him; Connor had run away. I looked up to see that Braden was dragging Fallon inside the warehouse again. I ran towards them, trying to shoot Braden in the leg. Fallon was struggling against him, putting up a fight.

  I was running through gunfire. Bullets whizzed past me. I was still bleeding profusely from my shoulder where I’d been shot earlier. Connor appeared, pulling Fallon to himself and pushing Braden away. Braden made a run for it, and Connor pulled Fallon to his chest, using her as a human shield. He knew I wouldn’t shoot at him if he had Fallon.

  I weaved towards them. Fallon wasn’t crying anymore. She was glaring at me, trying to plead me to leave her, to back away now that I had the chance. I wasn’t going anywhere.

  “Keegan!” I heard my brothers shout at me while they continued to battle the last standing Gallaghers.

  Connor had Fallon in front of him. He was pointing a gun directly to her head.

  “What are you going to do now, boyfriend?” he sniggered. I aimed at him but I couldn’t shoot. He’d shielded himself completely, including his head with Fallon’s
body. His back was to the warehouse. I knew that if he managed to back into it, he’d shut the door on us and he’d kill Fallon.

  I could feel my hand shaking now as I tried to decide what to do.

  “Keegan, please, just leave me and go!” she pleaded.

  “Listen to the girl, Keegan. Go.” Connor shouted.

  “Keegan. Now!” I saw Eamon flash in front of me. He was running sideways, in Connor’s direction. Connor made the mistake of reacting and he turned to the side. I shot him in the arm first and he growled, releasing Fallon who fell to the ground. I shot him again, this time in the side of his torso.

  I walked ahead, with my gun still pointed in his direction. I shot him again and this time the bullet went straight to his neck.

  Fallon screamed, dragging herself away from him.

  I went up to Connor, standing over him with my gun pointed at him.

  “Fuck you Murphy!” I heard Braden’s voice and looked up to see he was going to shoot me, but I shot him first.

  I looked down at Connor again, who was bleeding on the ground.

  “This is for killing Michael Donovan.” I hissed and I pumped my last bullet into his chest.

  The world seemed to stand still around me. I’d never shot so many people in one night. Who had I become? What was I capable of doing to protect Fallon?

  I couldn’t even see her anymore. She’d dragged herself away from the site. When I turned to her, she was sitting on the ground, rocking herself with her arms around her knees.

  “Keegan…Keegan…” she was mumbling my name. I loved this woman. I would do this all over again if I had to, to keep her safe.

  I went to Fallon. Placing my hands on her shoulders, I pulled her up and tangled my arms around her. She buried her face in my chest, holding on to me like she never wanted to let me go.

  “Keegan, I’m so sorry. I’m sorry I dragged you into this,” she sobbed as I stroked her hair.

  “You have nothing to be sorry about, Fallon. None of this is your fault. I’m the one who led the Gallaghers to you. It’s my fault!” I spoke to her tenderly. My face was buried in her soft chestnut curls.

  She shook her head, drawing herself from me.

  “I shouldn’t have come back. I should have listened to you and stayed away from Chicago,” she cried. I stroked her soft cheeks with my thumbs.

  “If you hadn’t returned, we would never have found each other again. I love you, Fallon. I’ve always been in love with you.”

  I didn’t want to waste another moment in telling her the truth. I wanted to tell her exactly what I’d always wanted to say. Fallon’s mouth fell open. She was peering into my eyes.

  “I love you too, Keegan. I came back for you, because I wanted to see you again,” she said.

  I kissed her then, holding her tightly in my arms. She sank into me, kissing me back as wildly as I was kissing her. My fingers were in her hair, my mouth was everywhere. It didn’t matter where we were, what had happened before this moment. All I cared about was having her in my arms right now.

  When Fallon drew herself away from me, she was breathless but her eyes were bright.

  “It’s over now, Fallon,” I told her and she nodded her head. Her eyes were watery again, and I could see she was struggling to stay brave and not cry.

  “Thank you, for everything you’ve done. Finally, my father’s soul will rest in peace.”

  I kissed her forehead and she smiled weakly at me.

  “We should get your shoulder looked at, you’re bleeding, Keegan,” she said, looking at my bullet wound. I hadn’t even felt it all this while that she was in my arms.

  “I’ll be fine. Are you okay?” I asked and she nodded.

  “I’m fine now,” she replied and sank into my arms again. I couldn’t get enough of holding her. Of finally having Fallon in my arms. I never should have forced her to leave Chicago. I should have taken care of the problem right away. Connor Gallagher and Braden should have been dead a long time ago.

  “Fallon!” It was Connor’s voice behind us.

  She slowly drew herself away from me and looked at my brothers. Callum, Eamon and Seamus were standing there—staring at her like she was totally unreal.

  “Hello boys!” she exclaimed and I watched as a wide smile broke out on her face.

  Seamus threw his arms wide open and she ran into them. I stood back as I watched them hug her tightly.

  “We had no idea where you were. Are you okay? We’ve all been so worried for you!” Callum said, still holding her. She was like a baby sister to them. They’d watched her grow up with me, and then she’d disappeared. And I’d always known they were worried for her.

  Fallon looked at me.

  “I sent her away, to get away from the Gallaghers ten years ago,” I replied and my brothers looked at me, shocked.

  “You have a lot of explaining to do, little brother!” Eamon said and thumped my back. We were all wounded, but not severely. The others who my brothers had brought with them were clearing up the mess around us, taking care of the Gallagher possessions inside the warehouse.

  “I’ll explain everything,” I told them with a smirk. “Why did you follow me?”

  Callum shrugged.

  “We knew something was up. We went to Paddy’s Pub and beat up Finn some more till he told us what he told you,” he explained. I shook my head. Poor Finn. He was probably the only half-decent Gallagher, even though he was a useless junkie.

  “Thanks,” I remarked and Eamon thumped my back some more.

  “We will always have your back, little brother. No matter how hard you insist that you don’t need our help,” he said.

  “I was just trying to keep you guys out of this. I was the one who got Fallon in this mess, and I wanted to fix it myself,” I said and looked at Fallon.

  Callum was standing with his arm around her protectively.

  “Well, you can give all your excuses to dad when we see him. Tell him why you didn’t call for reinforcements!” Eamon exclaimed and I grunted. I wasn’t looking forward to that conversation. On the plus side, I knew dad and the entire family was going to be relieved when they found out that the Gallaghers weren’t going to be a real problem for us—at least not for a while.

  “In the meantime, we should take you home. Mam is going to be so happy to see you. She’s been worried sick about you all these years,” Seamus told Fallon and her cheeks flushed.

  “I can’t wait to see her again,” she responded and I reached for her hand.

  It was time that I introduced her to the family as the woman I was in love with. Although I suspected everyone already knew what I felt for her.

  Seamus and Callum sniggered while Eamon made jokes, as the five of us made our way to the cars so we could drive back to our family home. It had already been a long night, but now that Fallon was back—I knew none of us were getting any sleep.

  She looked at me and smiled. I kissed her cheek lightly and told her again that I loved her.

  16

  Epilogue

  Fallon

  Six Months later

  I woke up in bed to find Keegan’s side empty. In the past six months, this had never happened before. I’d never woken up alone. Keegan was there to greet me every morning with a sleepy kiss. When I touched his side of the bed, it was cold and a sudden fear gripped me. Where was he? Had something happened?

  I sat up with a start and was about to get out of bed when our bedroom door opened.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” he asked, with a grin on his face. I nearly laughed out loud. He was wearing an apron and had a tray in his hands. He came towards me and I saw he’d made me my favorite breakfast—pancakes with whipped cream and maple syrup. There was a pot of steaming coffee on the tray too and a small crystal vase with one red rose.

  “Happy Birthday, my beautiful,” he said and leaned in to give me a kiss.

  “You didn’t have to…” my voice trailed as his kiss got deeper. He put the tray on my bedside
table and sat down on my side of the bed.

  Keegan wasn’t wearing a shirt, and my hands travelled all over his torso, feeling the strength of his muscles under my fingertips.

  “Did you think I’d disappeared?” he asked, tucking my curls in behind my ears.

  I blushed and he kissed my forehead.

  “You should know by now, Fallon, I’m not going anywhere,” he said and I nodded. I knew he worried about me. I still got nightmares sometimes. I woke up in a cold sweat, imagining that I was back in the warehouse. My hands tied and Connor Gallagher smiling at me.

  But Keegan was always there to calm me down when that happened. All I needed was to be in his arms and I was reminded of the happy life we now led.

  He laid out the breakfast for me and poured coffee in two mugs. We shared the food, talking and laughing as we ate. Every morning I was grateful that I was with him, that we’d found each other again.

  The weeks following the warehouse shootout were turbulent, but Keegan had made me a promise that he would bring normality to our lives. And he had.

  With Connor and Braden dead, the remaining two brothers of the Gallagher family were powerless. One of which was Finn, the junkie who didn’t want anything to do with the business. Keegan had gone to speak to him soon after the shootout, and made a deal with him. The Murphys were going to leave him and his brother alone, as long as they didn’t retaliate and plan another revenge.

  Finn Gallagher had quickly agreed to that deal.

  After that, there was the business of settling the remaining score with the Gallagher family and their associates. Order was soon restored as everyone in the circle quickly agreed that the Murphys ruled the land now. I saw how much everyone respected the family. People looked up to them and they were glad that the Gallaghers were out of the picture.

  Within a few weeks; things had settled down and it seemed like Keegan and I could finally begin our life together.

  He bought a house, close to the Murphy family home and we moved in together. He wanted me to go back to college and finish my teaching degree. So, I enrolled myself in classes and in the evenings, visited Keegan’s mam and spent time with the family.