Vengeance: MMA/Ink Romance (KO Ink Book 1)

by Harley McRide

  Fin growled again and Jet slapped his partner on the back of the head. I just shook my head and walked into the room, Brook was by herself with her mom, and Fin and I went directly to her side.

  “Brook, sweetheart,” Fin leaned down and whispered while touching her shoulder. And we both watched as her eyes opened and she looked around as if acclimating herself to where she was.

  “Oh, hey, I just closed my eyes for a minute.”

  “Where’s Reese?” I asked, because we’d stopped on the way over and picked up coffee and breakfast for them, knowing they wouldn’t want to leave their mom’s side.

  “He went to the doctors’ lounge to catch a shower and change clothes since he never had a chance after arriving last night,” she spoke and covered her mouth with her hand as she yawned.

  “Honey, if you want to do the same, Fin and I will be glad to sit with Ms. Maddie.” She looked at me and her brow creased before she answered. I would have given anything to know what ran through her head at the moment.

  “Nah, Reese will spot me when he comes back,” then she pointed at the bag and cup holder I had in my hands. “Is that coffee for me?”

  “Oh shit, sorry, honey. Yeah, Fin and I stopped and picked it up on our way over.” I handed her a cup and then pushed the bag toward her. “And in the bag is breakfast. Figured you hadn’t eaten since you’ve been here. Hospital food is the worst.” I watched as she opened the bag and a small smile graced her face. When I looked at Fin he was watching her too.

  We waited as she dug into the food. Damn she was gorgeous, no make-up and exhausted, as I watched her, and she was still glowing. How in the hell had I not seen this before? Not noticed her before. Mia had already told me and Fin that we had seen her a few times, but we hadn’t noticed. It was kinda fucked up considering how I was feeling toward her now, it was like I had missed time I shouldn’t have.

  After a few bites she finally spoke.

  “The doctor told us if Mom continues to gain strength and has no complications, we would be able to take her home in a week.”

  “That is great, Brooklyn,” I said and Fin agreed while we watched her go back to the food. I wondered what she was going to say when she found out Reese and her would be staying with Fin as well as Ms. Maddie when she was released. It had already been decided, and since Fin had the largest house with five bedrooms, he was chosen. I didn’t care, my condo was small; in fact, we had been talking about sharing a home recently, especially since it hadn’t looked like either of us were going to settle down anytime soon.

  I barely stayed in the condo anyway. If I wasn’t working, I was with Fin and his brothers, or at my parents’ house. I sometimes stayed at the office at night, I had a room there, which I could use if we all drove each other nuts.

  The three of us stayed in silence while Brook finished her breakfast and Ms. Maddie continued to sleep. Reese walked in just as she got up and walked across the room to throw her trash in the can.

  “Hey, guys.”

  “You look refreshed, bro,” Fin approached him and shook his hand. I followed the gesture.

  “What are you two doing here?” Reese looked between us and I knew by the frown he was wondering what was up.

  Chapter Five

  Fin

  Thankfully when Tony would have told Reese and Brooklyn a little of what was going on, Ms. Maddie moved.

  “Mom?” Reese said and went to her bedside. The older woman slowly opened her eyes and looked around, obviously disoriented.

  “What?” she croaked and Brook made a noise and leaned over.

  “Shh, Ma,” she whispered. “You are in the hospital.”

  “Accident?” Ms. Maddie asked and then her eyes hit me and Tony. They widened a little and then she smiled. “Boys.”

  I stepped up to the bedside and took the older woman’s hand. Damn, she was so fragile, something I would not have actually thought about when thinking of the woman. “Hey, lady,” I whispered and bent over and kissed her on the forehead.

  “I will get the nurse,” Brook said and hustled out of the room. Tony came to the other side of the bed where Brook had been standing and he smiled at Ms. Maddie.

  “Ms. Maddie,” Tony said softly. “Do you remember how you got here?”

  The older women looked at Reese then back at Tony and then at me. She nodded slowly and closed her eyes. “Shot.”

  “That’s right, Ma,” Reese said and put a hand to her shoulder. “You were shot, do you remember anything?”

  The older woman nodded slowly and she winced in pain. “Yeah,” she whispered. “Harvey?”

  I looked at Tony who grimaced. The younger man had not made it. Last night around midnight the police had come in and told them, though until now, they hadn’t told either Reese or Brooklyn, they had too much to worry about.

  “I am sorry, Ms. Maddie,” Tony said softly and the older woman just nodded. The tears gathering in her eyes and falling out of the corner to run down the side out of sight and into her hair. Yeah, this sucked.

  “Brant?” Ms. Maddie said and I lifted my head up and frowned. Why would she ask about Brant? He was a young boy who had been working out in the gym. He had great form, and I had already planned to ask him to train a little more. The boy’s mother was a crack head and left him alone a lot. Brant was special though, he had real talent, hell, if I was honest, I would say I saw a little of myself in the boy.

  Tony leaned forward. “Ms. Maddie,” he whispered. “Why are you asking about Brant, he wasn’t there, it was only you and Harvey.”

  The older woman shook her head and then said, “No, Brant is in trouble.”

  I sucked in a breath and then looked at my best friend and shook my head. No, I hadn’t heard about anything going on with Brant, but then of course, I hadn’t seen the boy in a few days. He wasn’t due into the gym until tomorrow. He had failed a Biology test, and the rules were the boys had to have good grades to train, Ms. Maddie insisted on it.

  “Brant,” Ms. Maddie said again and then the door opened. Tony and I stepped back as Brook and the nurse moved quickly forward.

  Reese put an arm around his sister’s shoulders and then looked over his shoulder at us and shook his head slightly. He didn’t want Brook to hear anything about this, at least they agreed on that.

  Tony

  It took an hour for the doctor to get into the room and check over Ms. Maddie and then update them on her condition and what he thought her course of treatment was going to be for the next week. That was how long the older woman would be in the hospital.

  We finally were able to get a moment alone with Reese when Brook insisted on helping the nurse clean her mother up a little. They went to a small family room and shut the door before they spoke.

  “So,” Reese said and crossed his arms over his chest. “What are we going to do about this?”

  “Well,” Fin said slowly and I interrupted.

  “Reese, gonna give it to you straight, man. We have no idea what is going on here, the only thing we do know, is that until all this shit is sorted—you, your sister, and your mother will be moving in with Fin,” Tony said quickly.

  Reese frowned. “Is there still danger out there? This wasn’t a drive by then?”

  I ran a hand down my face. “Sorry, man, no.”

  Reese nodded. “So Ma was targeted?”

  I nodded. “Yeah, I saw the whole thing on camera. Your mom asked me to install security cameras, she wanted the kids to feel safe while they were there. Lately though, there were other things going on. The neighborhood has gotten dangerous, new crews coming in, old crews pushing back. The cops can’t get a handle on it, and no one is talking right now. Your mom, she was the only one who would speak out against stuff like that. You know her, last week one of her kids was arrested for pushing H. She went to bat for him because the guy who forced him to sell the drugs was his landlord, threatened to toss his family out on their ass if he didn’t peddle his drugs. Ms. Maddie was pissed. Now the kid she mention
ed. Brant, I have no idea what he has to do with this, but I will find out. I promise you that.”

  Reese sighed. “I know you will, and trust me I am not questioning you at all when I say that I want in on this. They fucked with my mom, man.”

  Fin sighed and looked at me and shrugged.

  “Reese, you are a suit, you have a lot to lose if you get involved with this,” I said.

  “Doesn’t matter,” Reese said firmly. “I will put in my resignation in the morning, I am moving back here. No way this place is gonna fall to these parasites. My mother will fight until her last breath to make sure that doesn’t happen. If that puts her in danger, then I am here. No questions asked. As for being a suit, you know as well as I do that Mic taught us how to fight and fight dirty. Once you learn you don’t forget.”

  “This is going to get messy,” I said quietly. Reese nodded and then waited. He wanted to know details. “Okay, the police said the car was left a few blocks away, they tried to get fingerprints but it had been wiped down. There are two groups who could be responsible for this, they are rivals, they have been causing a lot of problems recently. We had been trying to find out who their leaders are but so far nothing. They are remaining in the background and the kids are remaining silent, drugs, guns, the whole nine yards. They are more sophisticated than some of the other gangs. The police don’t know what to make of that.”

  “This Brant kid involved in that?” Reese asked and then Fin stepped up.

  “Not as far as I know. He has been coming to the gym for a while now, his mom is a waste, on crack, ignores him, you know the deal. Anyway, the kid needed an outlet, and Ms. Maddie sent him to me. He has talent, I have spent time with him, he doesn’t do drugs and stays out of that scene. Good grades mostly, only time he has problems is when his mom is partying and he can’t study. He talks, I listen, no way he wouldn’t have told me if one of these groups approached him.”

  “Then why did she say his name?” Reese said.

  “I don’t know,” Fin said and then looked at me. “I know where he lives though, him and his mom, they live over the bodega on Union Street.”

  I nodded and then said, “When Brooklyn leaves, see if you can talk to your mom a little more. Don’t do it in front of your sister though.”

  “Yeah,” Reese said and then turned to the door. “Let me know what is going on.”

  “You got it,” Fin replied.

  When Reese was gone I turned to Fin and said, “This is jacked, man.”

  Fin nodded. “Yeah.”

  “Reese and Brooklyn are both in danger, you know that. If these people want to make a point, they will use anyone they can to keep Ms. Maddie quiet,” I said.

  “No one is going to touch them,” Fin growled and I grinned.

  “About that,” I said. “I think we need to have a talk about Brooklyn.”

  Fin turned to him and shook his head. “Not really, figure I already know your ideas, they match with mine, she could be ours, man. And if she is, well then, we’ll put all we got into making that happen.”

  “Yeah, she could be. And I agree, if this goes where I hope it will, she’ll end up being ours,” I said firmly.

  “We just need to convince her of that if that happens,” Fin laughed.

  Brooklyn

  They were hiding something from me, I could tell, my brother sucked at keeping secrets. My mom was finally resting peacefully, they had given her more pain meds and it had knocked her out.

  I was sitting in the chair, watching my brother talk to the two men who were now guarding the door. It was shift change, and Reese had been happy when his childhood best friend had shown up to guard. Michael O’Malley was just as gorgeous as his brother, but I wasn’t attracted to him, damn it. Hell no, I was pining over Fin and Tony, since seeing them yesterday they had not been far from my thoughts.

  I stared at the door and willed either of the two men I had been thinking of to appear, of course they didn’t, and if they did it would be to see my mom.

  “Honey?” I heard my mom whisper and I jumped up and went to her side.

  “Mom,” I said softly. “Are you in pain?”

  “No,” she whispered and closed her eyes but continued to speak, “I forgot to tell them.”

  “Tell them what, Ma, and who?” I asked.

  “The boys,” she said. “I forgot to tell the boys.”

  “What did you forget, Mom?” I frowned, she had to be talking about Fin and Tony.

  “Brant told me about the fights. I was going to call the boys and tell them, thought they could help out. Didn’t have a chance.”

  “The fights?” I whispered confused.

  “They need to find Brant,” my mom whispered and then fell asleep.

  Chapter Six

  Fin

  Bry and I stood outside the apartment door, we could hear rustling around but no one had answered the knock.

  “Bro, we can hear them in there. Knock again.” Bry was the impatient one. I knew if I didn’t do something he would, so I knocked again and we waited as all movement stopped and the place went silent.

  “That’s interesting,” I said to Bry and then the door was jerked open and Brant’s mother, Martina, stood in the opening glaring at us.

  “What do ya want?” I could tell at one time the woman had been pretty. But now, not so much. Her hair looked like it hadn’t seen a brush in quite a while—or even water. Her face was covered in acne and when she sneered, her teeth had the telltale signs of a longtime user of meth. I’d only seen the woman a couple of times before when I would take Brant home after a late session, and even in the short time I hadn’t seen her she had changed again, worsened if it were possible. Living in the South Bronx, growing up we had dealt with drug users, of course back then though meth wasn’t popular, it used to be cocaine, which was just as bad. I seriously wondered when people would stop trying to escape reality and just fucking deal with shit, it made me angry. Not because I didn’t respect that people had issues, and some people were pure evil. No, I did, but what pissed me off was when no one helped to break the cycle and kids like Brant got caught up in the byproduct of drugs. It was sad. I wanted to help one person, just one escape this shit, Brant was it.

  Ms. Maddie had sent him to the gym just a few months after I opened the doors, at first I had been skeptical. He'd been a gangly teen, his attitude followed as so many from the neighborhoods did, defeat. The why bother ‘cause I’m never going anywhere with my life but this neighborhood, attitude. Then to now, his body had physically changed along with his attitude. Better grades in school, hope that he could have a brighter future than what he came from. The knowledge that you are responsible for your future and not one that others deem fit for you. The boy had a head on his shoulders, so where the fuck was he?

  “Where is Brant?” I ignored her initial question and asked my own.

  “Last time I looked he was my kid so not thinking you need to know where he is?” I glanced over her shoulder and the place left much to be desired, the small living room was cluttered and looked as if it could use a good cleaning. The smell coming out of the place was one of trash that needed to be taken out with the overlay of pot and whatever else Martina was using. I figured the rustling we heard was her trying to hide the drugs in case we were the cops.

  “Woman, and I use that term lightly, Fin asked you a fuckin’ question. Answer it,” Bry said, leaning in closer to her.

  “Fuck off, who do you think you are. I don’t have to answer shit. He is my kid. You O’Malleys come back and think you can change stuff. I know the deal, you just came back to flaunt your success to everyone around so they would bow down and kiss your ass. I hear things and what I hear is it won’t be long until you bunch is taken down a few pegs if not for good. All that has to be done is cut you at the legs a little at a time and then your house will begin to crumble.” She sneered and I never wanted to hit a woman so much in my life.

  “I’m waiting. Where is Brant? He didn’t show up aft
er school today.” Brant never missed his time in the gym, even if he was sick he came in. I had a bad feeling that I couldn’t shake.

  Tony and I had gone by the hospital this morning to check in with Brook and Reese and to see how Ms. Maddie was doing. That’s when Brook told us about Ms. Maddie’s worry for Brant. We hung around a while hoping Ms. Maddie would wake up and we could question her but they told us she had gone to sleep and hadn’t woke up again since. I voiced my concerns on that, but Brooklyn said the doctor had checked in and said her body was still fighting to recover and the sleep was it doing its job. That when it was healed enough to sustain the strength needed to be awake for long periods of time, she would show the signs of being on the mend.

  We left and Tony went to his business and I went to the gym. When Brant didn’t show up after school, I called Tony and told him I was going to swing by Brant’s house and see if I could find out why he didn’t show. Tony told me to call him if I didn’t find him and he would do some checking after he dropped some of his stuff over at my house. He was moving in little by little and hoped to be fully in by the time they released Ms. Maddie and she, Brooklyn, and Reese moved in.

  “None of your business. Maybe he finally got wise to you bunch. Or maybe he is out earning his keep. Who knows.” She stepped back and grabbed the door as if to close it in our face and I couldn’t have that, so I stuck my arm out and held the door open with my hand.

  “Let go of my door or I’m going to call the cops.” Yeah, right, biggest bluff I have ever heard. But before I could reply, Bry snapped. I wasn’t so sure I was glad he was here right now either, but he saw me leaving the gym and asked where I was going. He was bored and taking a break since he didn’t have any clients and the other brothers were busy with theirs. When I told him, he invited his own ass to come with, claiming I needed backup. And it would seem now, he was out of his limited patience.