Finn

by Madison Stevens

  Table of Contents

  Copyright

  Title Page

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Thank You

  Also By

  Author Bio

  This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations, and incidents depicted in this work are of the author’s imagination or have been used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, locations, or events is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved.

  Copyright 2014 Madison Stevens

  No portion of this book may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, or by any means, without the prior written permission of the author.

  Finn (Kelly Clan #1)

  by

  Madison Stevens

  Getting shot again isn’t on top of Alyssa’s list of favorite things, but if it means saving Finn Kelly, she’s more than willing to take the risk. Now, if she can only convince him to quit being so overbearing, they might stand a chance at starting some sort of relationship.

  Being the head of an Irish mob family is a dangerous line of work, even if they are trying to move away from illegal activities. The last thing Finn wants is to drag Alyssa into his world, but he isn’t given much choice. With a crazy Russian mobster out for blood and his own brother fracturing the family, Alyssa and Finn will need to learn to trust one another to survive.

  This book follows KACE of the Allen Securities series. Although it can be read as a stand-alone book, some characters and plot elements will have stronger impact if you have read KACE.

  Chapter One

  Alyssa paced in her cute little apartment, her phone to her ear. It had taken nearly a month to put things together, and she was proud of all the work she’d done. A few cheap pieces of art hung on her wall, and she’d even been able to get a decent-size TV. The place was small, cozy and totally hers.

  But as she listened to the therapist on the other end of the phone bumble along with why he wouldn’t be able to continue helping at her physical therapy appointments, she was reminded just how small her place, and world, really was. She ran a hand through her short blonde hair and tried to keep from laughing hysterically.

  This would be number five that had been driven off. She couldn’t keep running through them like she had, or she was going to have her name blacklisted for this sort of thing.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to just switch days, Roger?” she pleaded over the phone. “I’ve really enjoyed out sessions, and thought I was making real progress under your care.”

  “I just have too many patients right now,” he said. “I shouldn’t let you be assigned to me. Sorry.”

  She sighed at the lame excuse.

  He really had been very good, and it didn’t hurt that he was pretty damn nice to look at as well. Not that she didn’t get plenty of man candy daily, but all of them were under threat of death to avoid even acknowledging she was a woman.

  “Okay, I understand,” she said into the phone. “Thanks.”

  Alyssa hit end on her cell, tossed it onto the couch and started pacing again. Her boss, Finn Kelly, could be so infuriating sometimes. It had been bad enough when she decided not to stay in Jessica’s townhouse. He pestered her day and night about it but had finally given up. Then there was the furniture fight. In the end he had won, but only on the basis that she’d pay him back over the next few months out of her paychecks.

  She sighed and slumped down on her dark gray couch. Finn had been an ongoing problem since the first day she met him, up until the point where she’d been shot in the shoulder and then even after. Dark and dangerous, he intimidated her. There was always something about him that drew her in though. Maybe it was his incredible good looks.

  She grinned. With his dark brown hair, bright green eyes and strong jaw, he looked like he belonged on a billboard and not as some mob boss. Though without that job, he wouldn’t really be Finn anymore.

  Being near him for this last month, she’d gotten to know the side of him that she didn’t even know could exist. She just wished he wouldn’t take everything to the extreme.

  Alyssa picked up her phone. He wasn’t going to get away with it this time. She was going to really tell him off.

  * * *

  Alyssa slammed through the front door of Cortex, turning her body to the side so she didn’t bump her bad shoulder. The sling could only do so much.

  She was starting to see the benefits of being the front manager of the club, even if she was just getting the chance to use her new key.

  “Hey, Alyssa,” Conor said from his stool at the bar.

  She whipped up a hand and barreled past through the back pass of the bar. After all, Conor was just another piece of man candy who wasn’t allowed to acknowledge she was a woman.

  “Oh,” Conor said. He jumped up and tried to cut her off at the end of the bar. “He’s really busy.”

  He held up his hands, trying to signal that she should stop.

  “Oh, I’m sure he’s real busy,” she said, sarcasm lacing her words.

  “No really,” he said when they reached the door. “He’s in a meeting.”

  “Well then.” She smiled and muscled him out of the way with her good arm. “I’ll just have to keep it short.”

  She walked threw open the door to Finn’s office and stomped in, narrowing her eyes. He sat in his office chair behind his desk, smugness on his face, like he was a king taking audience.

  Her eyes dashed to the side, and she was stunned by the beautiful woman sitting in the chair.

  The woman smiled at her, and for some reason, it pissed Alyssa off. It was like the woman was in on some secret joke.

  “I think we’re done here,” the woman said.

  “You giving the orders now, Claire?” Finn said, arching an eyebrow.

  Claire stood and folded her arms over her well-chosen business outfit, formfitting top, jacket and skirt but not enough that she’d not be taken seriously. Alyssa looked down at her own clothes. She’s been forced into mostly jeans and t-shirts with the sling.

  After Finn stood, Alyssa could see just how tall Claire was. She’d always guessed Finn at about six feet, and the other woman was very close to that.

  Claire tossed her dark brown hair over her shoulder and smiled.

  “You know I was never one to follow along with you.” She winked. “I’ll be in touch.”

  Alyssa watched as Claire walked out of the room, that same secret smile in place. Anger flared inside her.

  She turned to Finn, frowning. He sat back down in his chair, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the desk.

  “Can I help you?” He smiled, and she knew that he wasn’t surprised to see her.

  “Don’t give me that crap,” she said and moved further into the room. “Five,” she said, slamming her hand on the desk, “five therapists that refuse to come back.”

  Finn shrugged and seemed unfazed by her antics. “So we hire a new one.”

  She sighed and sat in the seat across from him. “You know how important it is that I keep getting therapy.”

  Finn sat up and leaned in. The scent of his spicy soap floated over to her.

  “Of course,” he said.

  “Well then, let me
get my therapy,” she said, the exasperation evident in her voice.

  Finn leaned back and stared hard at her. “If you would just let my men come in with you, there wouldn’t be a problem.” he grumbled.

  “No,” she said firmly.

  It had taken time to get used to the fact she had some not-so-nice scars. Last thing she wanted was for a bunch of sweaty men to see her blemishes.

  Finn scrubbed his hand on his face. There were dark circles under his eyes.

  “You understand that the Russians are still out there, right?” he said, looking at her with concern. “It doesn’t help that my brother is still out there somewhere.”

  “Ennis,” she whispered. Finn’s face darkened, and she regretted saying the name.

  She could handle the Finn that was arrogant or bossy, but there were moments where another Finn came out, and that version of the man chilled her to the bone. That was the man that would shoot someone dead without remorse, and she pitied the person who came up against him.

  He closed his eyes, and she wondered if she should just go. It was still a bit early to start work, but there had to be something she could do.

  She let out a mental sigh when he opened his eyes. The ruthless Finn had vanished, for the moment.

  “Things are on high alert right now,” he said. “Don’t trust anyone.”

  She thought about it, and although she understood, it still seemed a little overboard.

  “Besides,” he mumbled. “Couldn’t you get a woman?”

  Alyssa blinked several times, floored into silence. Heat flooded her cheeks. She stood and looked down at him with all the irritation she felt.

  “No,” she said. “Is that what this is really about? From now on I’m going to ask for nothing but men.”

  Finn stared at her for a few seconds and then burst out laughing.

  “You tell them that, and I’m not going to have to run them off, they’ll stop assigning them,” he said.

  She smiled. “Oh, I don’t think so. Lois likes me.”

  Finn frowned. “Who the hell is Lois?”

  “She’s the scheduling person at the hospital,” he said in irritation.

  Finn snickered. “You know the scheduling woman by her first name?”

  She felt her fingers pop as she restrained herself from reaching across the desk and throttling him.

  “Only because you run them off,” she said through gritted teeth. “Whatever.”

  She shook her head and turned to walk out of the room. When she reached the door, she stopped and looked around.

  “What the hell did you do to the office?”

  * * *

  Finn had been waiting for it the whole time. As much as he shouldn’t enjoy it, annoying Alyssa was becoming one of his favorite things. Her reactions were always so great.

  Besides, it was one of the few ways he could get her to even interact with him. He didn’t understand why she still shied away from him. She didn’t seem to still be angry about the whole false accusation incident. He’s gone out of his way to make sure that she had every comfort she could want. And even though it annoyed her, he watched out for her safety.

  Nothing bad was ever going to happen to her again. Not under his watch.

  He looked around the room at his handiwork. They had taken out the file cabinets and moved them to the back room. Nobody really needed them now that they had computers. It was mainly filled with paperwork for the IRS and such. A man in his position couldn’t be too careful when it came to the government.

  He’d kept the couch. He never knew when he might need to spend the night. Besides, the damn thing was beautiful. The feel was amazing, and he just loved it.

  “Why are there two desks in here?” Of course that would be what she focused on.

  He pointed to the other desk, which formed an L with his.

  “Your desk,” he said and then pointed to the desk he sat behind. “My desk.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him, and he marveled at how beautiful she was when she was angry.

  She stepped toward him. “And why would you need a desk?”

  “To do work,” he said simply. She didn’t need to know how much he worried for her safety at work. He’s spent so much time trying to convince her to just take the job that he’d forgotten just how she’d gotten shot.

  His track record for keeping people safe in his business was pretty poor. He wasn’t about to let there be a repeat.

  She watched him for a moment, and he was fairly certain that if she could have exploded his head with her thoughts, she would have.

  “Why does my desk have to be over to the side like that?” She pointed to how much space there was between the desk and the wall.

  “How else am I supposed to stare at you without you knowing?” He grinned broadly when she huffed over to the door.

  “I’m doing inventory,” she said and stomped out of the room.

  “Let Conor help you,” he hollered at her and laughed when he heard her kick open the door to the room next to his.

  Something had clicked in her over the last month. The woman that he had known before had faded away, and instead he was left with this very unsure spitfire. It was much better than what she had been. With someone who had been beaten repeatedly like she had, it was just luck that she had been able to pull herself out of it.

  Regardless, the next man would have a hard time doing anything that might harm her. Finn frowned. Maybe there shouldn’t be a next time for her for quite some time.

  “You know you shouldn’t get her so worked up,” Liam said from the door. His cousin looked as worn down as Finn recently. “The doctor said it was important for her to rest it as much as possible.”

  Finn shrugged. “I tried to keep her home as long as I could. At least here I can keep an eye on her.” He nodded to shut the door. “What’s the latest word?”

  Liam shut the door and stretched out on the couch.

  “Lot of odd movements going on,” he said and looked up to Finn. “Lopez and his crew have slowed things down. Can’t tell if they are gearing up for a war or waiting until things pass with the Russians.”

  “And Boris?”

  Liam shook his head. “Nothing yet, but Viktor is bouncing all over the place. He seems to think his days are numbered.”

  Finn raised a brow. “And are they?”

  He shrugged. “Maybe. He didn’t do his job, and Boris has little patience for that. However, I don’t think Boris wants to get stuck here managing things. Americans aren’t as easy to pay off, and his kind of criminal activity goes outside the bounds of what most feel comfortable with.”

  Finn nodded. Boris and Ennis were proving to be far more irritating than he had anticipated.

  “What about the zoning?” Liam asked.

  Finn groaned. “Claire brought over the paperwork, and it’s a clusterfuck. This one council woman is pulling the strings for the rest, and she’s just got something against me.”

  Liam laughed. “Well, you are a mob boss.”

  “Right, but we’re not into that anymore,” Finn said and leaned back. He stretched his arms over his head and yawned. If only he could just get in a few more hours of sleep, things would be so much easier. Finn opened his eyes.

  Liam was nearly asleep.

  “Not sleeping?” he said to Liam. He opened one eye and looked at him.

  “Meg’s in London learning from those computer pervs there,” he said.

  Finn nodded. “Staying up late to chat to her?”

  Liam froze, and Finn nearly laughed when he blushed.

  “She doesn’t post on her blog until three in the morning. I’ve been getting up to read it,” Liam said and looked up at the sky. “Damn woman.”

  Finn chuckled. Liam had been denying himself for that woman for so long, it was amazing his dick hadn’t fallen off.

  “I don’t know why you don’t just make her yours,” he said.

  Liam looked at him in disbelief. “With the shit I’ve done, I’m n
o good for her.”

  Finn gave a cold laugh. “Is that all? You’re just a baby in all this. These,” he held up his own hands in disdain, “these are dirty hands.”

  “That why you’re getting out?” Liam sat up with interest.

  Finn hadn’t been totally honest when he’d pushed for the family to move into a more legit business. He was tired of it. Tired of the lifestyle and what it created. It demanded a man like his father, and he’s be damned if he turned into that rotten son of a bitch.

  It was bad enough knowing that his father’s blood coursed through him. He lived in daily fear that he’d wake up one day too far gone to be saved. As it was, he’d done things he could never be forgiven for.

  Finn nodded to Liam. “I’m not him,” he said firmly.

  Liam nodded his understanding. “This is the right move.”

  He felt a weight lift off a little. Despite being told by some of his closest men, it was hard to really take them at their word. It was great to have men that would stick by you no matter what, but someone like Liam would tell it like he saw it. Even if that meant pissing people off.

  “Good,” he said. “Now if I could just get this shit sorted.”

  Finn pushed around various files on his desk.

  “Can’t help you there.” Liam laughed and stood. “Going to go get some shut eye before duty.” He stretched and yawned.

  Finn looked up. “Take the night off,” he said. “You’re no good to me if you get sick.”

  “You sure?” he said skeptically. “You aren’t looking so great yourself.”

  Finn nodded. “I’ll be fine. Tomorrow is Sunday, so I can sleep in a little.”

  Liam gave a curt nod and headed to the door. “See you tomorrow.”

  Finn sat in silence and thought about what he was going to do. If that damn woman would quit being so stubborn, things would be easier. Then he wouldn’t need to have his trusted men so divided in the evening.

  He sighed. Things couldn’t continue that way.

  Chapter Two

  Alyssa sighed. Music thumped in the background. It was still early in the night, and there was only a sparse crowd. She wondered if people were still afraid of the club could be the scene of more violence. With all the trouble and rumors they’d had prior to her getting shot, it was a wonder anyone came at all.