Connelly Crime Family Trilogy

by Winters, KB

  I guess the only good news was that I’d left my breakfast in Ian’s room.

  At this rate I’d be skinny in no time.

  Chapter Four

  Shae

  “Once you’re out of that fucking hospital, we’re going to put those motherfuckers in a pine box, Shae. That’s a promise.”

  Eamon was fired up, and it was a good feeling to know my brother always had my back. In our line of work, who we could trust could change from one second to the next. But family was a whole different story.

  “Thanks for saying that, E-money. I’m going to take my time with Frank, though. Fuck! That asshole sucker punched me and never let up.”

  The more I thought about it, the more every single fucking blow came back to me, the angrier I got. That only pissed me off more because I was trapped in the damn hospital and unable to do shit about it. Yet.

  “Rourke spotted Angelo and Gio in town, and we have guys watching them around the clock. There’s no sign of Frank, though.”

  Eamon couldn’t conceal the anger in his voice, and I didn’t blame him. This was a major fucking breach, and what was worse, one we hadn’t seen coming.

  “I don’t know what the hell I was thinking, bro. Why wasn’t I paying attention? I made it too fucking easy for them.”

  “It won’t ever happen again,” he said with a certainty I didn’t feel, but I was angry enough to believe. “Look, I have to take care of a few things, so I’ll see you in an hour or so. You think you can keep yourself out of trouble until then?”

  I rolled my eyes, even though he couldn’t see me, and grinned. “I’ll see what I can do, but if those motherfuckers show up then all bets are off.”

  Eamon scoffed. “Even the Milano family isn’t that fucking stupid. Then again, they did start a game they don’t even know how to fucking play, so maybe years of stupidity has finally taken its toll.”

  I could hear Eamon’s shudder all the way down the line. “Stay where you are, Shae.”

  “Where the fuck am I gonna go?” The nurses and doctors were still hovering around my hospital room. I had no reason to think it was because of my handsome face or the power I held that most normal people would never have the unfortunate pleasure of finding out about. They were worried about a goddamn concussion.

  And I was so fucking bored after just a few hours that I was more than a little tempted to sign myself out of the damn hospital. I probably would have if it didn’t hurt so much whenever I moved. Sitting up in bed without help hurt like a motherfucker and coughing hurt as well. I didn’t even want to get started on the dizziness that came every time I tried to stand up. I was stuck here until the doctor gave me the all clear to leave or until my family came to spring me from this hell hole.

  With nothing but time on my hands, I laid back and thought about Ivy and her sexy ass curves. I’d been with some pretty amazing women in my life, but Ivy kept creeping into my head. I also thought about Frank and how it would feel to bash his face in before I put a bullet in his brain. Both thoughts gave me comfort, but only one woke my dick up and brought a smile to my face.

  Ivy.

  I hadn’t expected to wake up with a blue-eyed angel beside me, looking at me like I was someone worth giving a damn about. And the way she lashed out when I was a prick to her also made her memorable. I was used to women who threw tantrums when they didn’t get their way, or those who thought they could yell louder at me to win an argument. I didn’t go for that shit, and if I did, it was never for more than one night.

  I could have any woman I wanted, but I rarely kept one for more than one night because so few intrigued me. Most of them didn’t interest me enough to even bother with the morning-after awkwardness or small talk over breakfast. But right now I wanted to know more about Ivy. What was it that I saw behind those deep blue eyes? Exactly how incredible were the curves I peeped under her mom jeans? Was her hair as soft as it looked? Was she as good-hearted as she seemed?

  People rarely were as good as they appeared on the surface; they just used the candy coating to lure you in until they got what they wanted. None of that changed the fact that I wanted to see her again, almost as bad as I wanted to get my hands on Frank. But nothing topped my list of priorities at the moment more than payback. I could taste it, like a fine Irish whiskey. The payback that I would dole out to Frank. Maybe even to that little asshole, Gio, as well, just because I hadn’t seen that little fucker coming up behind me.

  I wanted them both, and I wanted to make them pay, not just for this, but also for the insult to the Connelly family. That alone deserved the beating I would hand out, but they would pay a much bigger price.

  Definitely.

  I had at least fifteen more hours until the end of my twenty-four hour concussion watch, and I was already bored out of my fucking mind. Even listening to the nurses outside my door talking about the ways their men disappointed them in bed, or how their children’s life decisions pissed them off. Not even when they started talking about nurses and doctors fucking in the hospital did I give a damn.

  Then a blur that was mostly blonde rushed by and instinctively I called out, “Ivy!” It was just a guess, not based on anything other than boredom and hope, but the footsteps stopped, and I held my breath.

  The steps came slow at first, then slower, but then she was there in the doorway. “Shae. Did you need something?”

  “Yes,” I said, trying to hitch myself up in the bed. She wasn’t all sweetness this time, and dammit if that didn’t only intrigue me more. “I need to apologize to you about earlier. My tone was too harsh when you’d only been kind. I’m sorry for being an asshole, Ivy.”

  She grinned. “I wouldn’t say ‘asshole,’ but thank you for the apology. And for the record, I didn’t look inside your pockets. Or your phone. I just wore the jacket so the officers who stopped by wouldn’t take it.”

  “Damn, now I’m really sorry. Forgive me?”

  “Of course. How are you feeling?”

  “I hurt like hell but they’re keeping me here for observation, make sure my brain is still firing on all cylinders.”

  She smiled. “Is it? Do you know what day it is?”

  I arched a brow, and she blushed. She stood right in the doorway, light surrounding her like a halo. “I mean, do you?”

  She looked down at herself and back up at me with a cute flush staining her pale cheeks. “I’ve had a long couple of days, but I think it’s Thursday or maybe Friday. Definitely one of those two.” She grinned and a little dimple popped out on top of her right cheek. It was cute, too.

  “Agreed. Definitely one of those two.”

  “Current President?”

  I grinned. “Let’s not talk about it.”

  “Year?”

  “Does it matter?”

  A smile bloomed, and I wondered if Ivy was a teacher or a nurse.

  “Brat. Are you nauseous?”

  “Are you a nurse?” I blurted out.

  “Nope. I have a younger brother, so I’ve done concussion watch about twenty times.” With her hands on her hips, she waited for me to answer her question.

  I smiled. “No nausea, just one hell of a headache.” She took another step inside that felt like a victory to me. I decided to push my luck. “Want to tell me what had you running out of here like a bat out of hell?”

  “Not really, no. You might have a concussion.”

  “I’m sure I don’t.” Laughter spilled out of me, and I couldn’t remember the last time I’d laughed with a woman. If ever. “Because you’re the concussion expert, and you don’t seem all that worried about me.”

  “I don’t want to dump my problems on you, Shae when you clearly have plenty of your own.”

  Another laugh bubbled out of me at the way she spoke her mind.

  “Well, I can’t do anything about my problems right now, but I’m stuck here, so tell me yours. You’d be doing me a favor. Really.”

  Chapter Five

  Ivy

  Yeah, I didn’
t buy that for one second. Sure, Shae was nice to look at, even with the bruises. He was also charming. But I didn’t know him or the kind of man he was, so why on earth would I open up to him?

  “We don’t know each other,” he said. “What difference does it make?”

  “Are you kidding me? Spill my secrets to some random stranger?”

  “Look, Ivy. You did something nice for me, and I’d like to be, you know, friends. Plus, I like looking at you.” His intense gaze danced over my body with an appreciation I couldn’t understand since I was still wearing yesterday’s clothes. And worse, yesterday’s breath.

  But it was nice to see a gorgeous man look at me with desire.

  “You’re a pretty sight yourself, Shae, even with all the decorations you’ve got going on.”

  He laughed and the sound was deep and rich, masculine. “Thanks, Ivy. You can come closer, I won’t bite. Unless you ask me to.” Eyes sparkling with mischief and good humor, Shae winced as he tried to sit up in bed.

  “Let me help.” I could hardly concentrate standing so close to him. He stared at me like I was some kind of science project while I worked the remote for his bed, gently easing him up to a sitting position.

  “Better?” I asked, flustered for reasons I couldn’t fathom.

  “Much. Thanks. Now have a seat and talk to me.”

  It seemed like he patted the bed, but I took the chair and let out a long breath. When was the last time I’d actually let myself share the burden with someone else? It had been a while because I wasn’t a leaner. I never asked for help if I could avoid it because who knew if I’d get it? Or, if it would come with strings attached? Abandonment Issues 101 at its finest. I knew all that but knowing it hadn’t help me do a damn thing to change it.

  But why shouldn’t I tell Shae? He didn’t know me or Ian, and although he was being nice, he wouldn’t care about any of it. He riveted me with those eyes and I thought, what the hell. I sucked in a deep breath and when I let it out, plenty of words came with it.

  “The reason I was in the parking lot when you were dumped is because my younger brother Ian was in a car accident. It has scared the hell out of me, and I think I’m still scared.”

  His eyebrows narrowed as he asked, “Why? Because something that could easily turn deadly happened to your brother?”

  I nodded, relieved he seemed to understand. “Exactly, but Ian doesn’t see it that way. Our parents died in a car accident, too, by a stupid drunk driver. Their car slammed into a tree right after he hit them. They had really bad injuries, so when we got the call that they were at the hospital, I gathered a few things I thought would make their hospital stay more comfortable. By the time Ian and I got there, they were both gone.”

  Shae tried to reach out and put his hand on top of mine. He got as far as saying, “Shit, Ivy. I’m sorry to hear that,” but the low growl of pain stopped him. He let his hand drop and just said, “So, of course your brother’s accident scared the shit out of you.”

  It touched me that he wanted to comfort me. “Yeah,” I sighed, closing my eyes for a nanosecond at the painful memory. “But it was more like paralyzed with fear. I stood beside my desk for at least ten minutes after the hospital called about Ian, just frozen with fear that I’d just lost the only person I had left.” A tear slipped out, and I quickly swiped it away. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to dump all that on you, Shae.” I flashed a small, embarrassed smile. “I guess I’m hanging on to him more than I realized.”

  Shae smiled again, soft and sweet, and I wondered who would want to hurt the man.

  “Don’t apologize for how you feel Ivy, not ever. I get why you’re so afraid for him, especially where car accidents are concerned. I lost my mom to cancer when I was just a kid and it’s not something you get over.”

  Now it was my turn. I reached out and offered a hand in comfort. Shae wrapped his fingers around mine and held it tight. “You know what’s sad? I barely remember her anymore, but that hasn’t lessened the feeling of loss.”

  “I’m sorry for your loss, Shae. I know it doesn’t do a damn thing to help, but I hate that anyone else has to feel this way.”

  He flashed a smile that made me happy I was sitting down because it was a knee-capper, the kind of smile that took a woman’s legs right from under her. “Thanks for that, Ivy. I’m glad your brother is all right.”

  “Me too. I just hope I can find a way to stop pushing him away with my own fears.” I let out another sigh and gave him a shaky smile, still a little chagrined that I told him about me and my worries.

  “You’ll find a way.”

  He said it with a smile that did things to my body, things it had no right to do when I was so worried about Ian. And now Shae.

  “Yeah, how do you know that?”

  He shrugged. “Because I do. You have a vibe about you, Ivy.”

  “Knock, knock.” A tall man stood in the doorway wearing an expensive suit and a suspicious expression on his handsome face. His glance bounced from Shae to me. When he stepped inside, I could see that he looked like a slightly older version of Shae.

  “Am I interrupting?”

  He had a no-nonsense tone that told me I was the one who was interrupting. It had me on my feet and casting an apologetic glance down at Shae. “Nope. Thanks for listening Shae. I’m glad you’re feeling better.”

  He flashed a panty-melting grin my way and took my hand. “Thanks for saving me, Ivy. And you can come back anytime, to talk to me or just to look at me. My face is getting better every single day.”

  I laughed as my hand slipped from his and waved. “I might take you up on that offer. Get better soon and that’s an order!”

  I left his room with a smile that some would say was inappropriate, considering Ian was still laid up with a leg broken in multiple places and looking at an indefinite hospital stay and more surgery. I wasn’t ready to face him yet though, so I kept on toward the exit and went home for a bath and a change of clothes.

  A place I could worry and cry and scream my head off if I wanted to without offending anyone else.

  Chapter Six

  Shae

  My eyes stayed glued to the round curve of Ivy’s ass until she turned out of my sight to go about her day, and I turned my attention to my older brother.

  “Who’s the little hottie?” Eamon asked, as he also inspected her disappearing curves.

  My brows quirked. “Should a man in your position even notice how hot she is?”

  He grinned. “I’m in love with my woman, but I’m not blind.”

  I knew he’d deny it until he was blue in the face, but whenever Eamon spoke about his woman, Layla, his whole face lit up in a way I couldn’t remember seeing since we were kids. When our Mom was still alive.

  Eamon was like a dog with a bone. He wouldn’t let it go. “Who is she?”

  I rolled my eyes. I couldn’t get out of it. “That hottie,” I nodded toward the door Ivy’d just sashayed out of, “is the good Samaritan who saved my life. She was outside when Frank and Gio dumped me in the parking lot.”

  Eamon walked up to my bed and sat down in the chair Ivy had just vacated. “Shit, did she get a good ID on either of them?” He shot his cuffs and adjusted his tie, smoothing it down the front of his designer shirt like he was about to call a board meeting to order. Eamon was in business mode, which meant the fucking Milanos should be scared as fuck. After kidnapping Layla, Eamon was out for blood, but spilling the blood of a Connelly? He was out to destroy them. We took our family oath and our family business seriously, which meant we avenged anyone who spilled a drop of our blood.

  I matched his dark stare, and repeated Ivy’s detailed account of my dumping in the parking lot. “Her description of Frank matches what I’ve been able to recover of my memories. Gio was there too, that little fucking shit. I owe him an ass whooping for the ages, Eamon.”

  “And you’ll get it. Pine boxes, remember?”

  “How could I forget? I’m just waiting for the doctor to give me
the all clear.” Even before I finished my words, Eamon leaped up from his chair, hovering over my bed, pushing and pulling me this way and that, checking my injuries for himself.

  “Ouch, bro. Easy,” I said at his rough but worried treatment. Did you get a medical degree when I wasn’t looking?”

  He stepped back from the bed, apparently satisfied. “Just checking you out myself. Patrick will want an update. One he can trust.” Eamon’s serious gaze penetrated my own. I nodded my consent before bowing my head to give him a proper look at my skull.

  “You got cracked good a few times.”

  I touched the tender spot on my head. “No shit, that’s why I’m on concussion watch.” And why my head throbbed like a motherfucker, but I kept that to myself just in case my family thought of sidelining me until they dealt with the Milanos.

  “How’s the pain?” Eamon asked, looking intently into my eyes now as if he had the skill to see into my brain for any injury there.

  I shrugged and pushed him away, tired of being poked and prodded by everyone. “It hurts, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.”

  Eamon’s blank expression gave nothing away, but his hands were clenched and his jaw ticked every few seconds. “Just checking. This happened because you went after Layla. For me.”

  “Fuck that, brother. This happened because Lorenzo fucking Milano isn’t satisfied with his lot in life. They want to go after the big guns, then they better be prepared to fight like we are the big guns.”

  There was no way in hell I would let this go, not even if Patrick demanded it. “They’re out of their fucking league, and I can’t wait to prove it to them.”

  Eamon’s lips twitched before a smile spread. “Glad to hear that, little brother.”

  I heard heels clicking at the door and then a familiar voice. “Oh. My. God. Shae!” Layla entered the room carrying a bunch of shit in her arms, tears swimming in her eyes as she looked me over. Shoving everything at Eamon, she rushed to my side and grabbed my hands. “I’m so sorry this happened to you. You guys should have just left me.”