Devil You Know (Lost Boys Book 1)

by L. A. Fiore

  “So you pulled him in.”

  “Yeah. He was getting reckless.”

  “So what’s he got?”

  “Timothy Gallagher.”

  Apprehension twisted in my gut and my body went cold. “Come again.”

  “McKay had been stalking him, following his every move.”

  “And you were following him while he followed Gallagher. What did you get?”

  “Late night meetings.”

  “With who?”

  “Salvatore Federico.”

  Cold turned into numb. “He knows Federico?”

  Guy was barely holding on to his rage. “Yeah. We know Federico is linked to the dirty cops at the precinct, we know the dirty cops are linked to Edward’s murder, and that fucking asshole Timothy Gallagher is the point where all the parts intersect…Miguel Dobbs was being played by two puppet masters.”

  That explained why Salvatore cut ties with Dobbs because evidence tampering was one thing, the murder of a cop was something else altogether. “Shit.” I yanked out my phone. I called Thea, but her phone went to voice mail. I called Mic.

  “Where is she?”

  “Her apartment, her uncle arrived about a half an hour ago.”

  “Gallagher?”

  “Yeah.”

  I had walked into firefights where I’d been outnumbered ten to one, dodged IEDs, been tortured even, but never had I felt the fear that crippled me in that moment knowing that Thea was even now with a killer, a man she trusted and loved.

  “It’s him.”

  Mic hissed over the line, “Fucking hell.”

  “I’m on my way. I want ears on her apartment now.”

  “Thea?” Guy grabbed his coat. “I’m coming with you.”

  “I’ve got Cam on the line,” Razor said as we hauled ass out of the building, my discipline holding on by a thread as bloodlust consumed me. If he hurt her, even just one hair on her head, I’d kill him. Tear him apart, piece by piece…I would embrace the monster I had been called my whole life.

  “Tell him we had the wrong fucking uncle.”

  Hold on, baby. I’m coming.

  “What am I going to do with you? Getting whatever your father hid won’t be enough. You’re a loose end.” Uncle Tim was pacing my apartment and I thought to make a break for it, but the callous, almost disinterested act he was putting on was just that, an act. He was alert and on edge and I didn’t stand a chance at outrunning him.

  Maybe if I could appeal to the man who I had looked up to my whole life, to my beloved uncle, it might snap him out of his homicidal ideas. “You’ve been such a huge part of my life. I have to believe we can find a way through this that doesn’t end in more violence.”

  “Oh Thea, you’re so idealistic. It’s sweet and completely impractical. The good guy never finishes first. I love you, but we have to think of the greater good. When I become Senator I will have an impact on millions and millions of lives. I can’t allow sentimentality to cloud my purpose.”

  I knew he was arrogant, had always believed he had a reason to be, I hadn’t realized he was a narcissist. Sentimentality, the greater good…if we weren’t talking about me I’d actually be laughing right now.

  “You’re my godfather.”

  “Yes and it will make me an even more likable candidate when I’m there to help your family through their grief.”

  The man was certifiable. How had we never known this? And I thought I was good at reading people. “You’re crazy.”

  True fear gripped me in that moment because I was dealing with someone who had long ago gone off the reservation. There would be no talking down or reasoning with him. My only play was to make an escape, but he was a man who had killed once already to keep the dream alive. Crazy and determined…a dangerous combination.

  He reached for his phone. I should have known. He wouldn’t do it himself; he’d bring someone in to do the dirty work. I couldn’t believe I was actually listening to him make the call to place a hit on me. Where the hell was the goddamn cavalry? But no one was watching for Uncle Tim.

  “He’s calling for a hit,” Mic said. We’d just stepped into the surveillance van outside of Thea’s building.

  Anton was pacing, the man was barely keeping his shit together. “Son of a bitch. That motherfucker Federico lied to me.” He reached for his phone.

  It was smart of Federico to give up Hartnett to keep Gallagher protected because there was just enough truth in his lie to make it believable. On paper, Hartnett and Gallagher were very similar and with Hartnett playing dirty…yeah sending us in that direction was definitely smart.

  “Lucien. Federico lied. You still got your guys on him? Yeah. He’s calling in a marker. Yeah, take him out. I’ll explain later. Thanks man.”

  Anton snapped his phone shut. “Lucien’s got Federico’s phones tapped and his place under surveillance. A precautionary measure given the chat we had with him. He’ll take out the hit man Federico calls. But that fuck needs to go down too.”

  “We’ll get him, but let’s focus on Gallagher,” Cam said.

  “Razor, you’re going in. Gallagher doesn’t know you but Thea will know we’re here.”

  “On it.”

  “We need to bring the cops in on this.” Cam was thinking long term on nailing Tim, and he wasn’t wrong, but my focus was getting Thea out of there.

  “They come in now, they tip him off that we’re on to him. You back a man like that into a corner and it doesn’t end well,” Guy said.

  “I agree. Razor will secure the scene, I’ll go in through the bedroom”

  “We’ll go through the bedroom.” I knew that tone, Anton wasn’t going to be swayed, I didn’t argue. I like the odds better with him. “We go through, get Thea out and it’s all over. The cops can then stroll in and make the collar.”

  “As soon as she’s clear, you call.” Cam was all cop right now.

  “Done.”

  I reached for the door of the van, but Cam stopped me. “Protect her.” There was the brother.

  “With my life.”

  My heart dropped at the knock at the door. The man I had called uncle for as long as I could remember had planted himself in front of the door. He knew I was planning an escape and he wasn’t going to let that happen. Bile rushed up my throat, fear making me sick to my stomach as the door was yanked open. For a few seconds I stared mutely convinced I wasn’t seeing what I was seeing. Then he spoke. “You rang.”

  Razor walked into my apartment, stopped and gave me a blatant once over before he winked. “Didn’t know there was a bonus to this job.”

  Tim moved fast, grabbing Razor by the collar. “Hands off. Understood?”

  The expression that followed made Razor look like what he was pretending, a killer. “Tap her, but don’t tap her. I get it.”

  “No guns. It has to look like an accident.”

  “Got it. That’ll cost you extra.”

  “Just get it done. Tonight.”

  Tim turned to me. “Hired help is not what it used to be. I am so sorry it came to this. It’s not personal.”

  “It feels fucking personal.”

  He walked over to me and snapped off the necklace from around my neck. “I’ll get Rosalie and Cam through this, just like I did with your dad.”

  “You won’t get away with this.”

  “I already have.”

  He started for the door, but stopped. “How did you get here so fast?”

  My eyes flew to Razor who was as cool as ice, but Tim didn’t wait for an answer and moved with surprising speed to haul me against him. A gun appeared, digging into my back.”

  “Your weapons on the table.”

  I brought my foot down hard on his before throwing my head back. He released me and I ran right before I heard the shot just as someone fell on top of me, taking me down in a bone-crushing hit. Another shot, then voices coming from down the hall. I tried to move, but whoever was on top of me wasn’t moving. I thought it was Tim then realized it was p
robably Razor and he wasn’t moving. The shuffling of feet, the weight at my back lifted and then I was being lifted and pressed against a chest. Cam.

  “Razor.”

  “I’m here, babe.”

  “But, who was…” I pulled from Cam and turned to see Damian on the floor, Mic and someone I didn’t recognize working on him. There was blood, so much blood.

  “We need an ambulance right the fuck now.”

  My head spun right before everything went black.

  Damian had taken a bullet intended for me, threw himself in the path of it to protect me. He had come out of surgery, but he had lost a lot of blood and had slipped into a coma. I sat at his bedside, his big hand in mine. I couldn’t lose him. I couldn’t live in a world without him. I pressed my face to his chest and prayed. Prayed for him to come back to me.

  The box of letters that I had written to him sat on my lap. The doctors said he could hear me, that hearing my voice was important, so I sat in that hospital room and read the words my younger self had written, words that still rang true. And when I had read them all, I read them again.

  It had been two days. Mom tried to get me to go home, but I didn’t want Damian to wake and me not be there. The gang was in the waiting room. They took turns bringing food. I couldn’t eat, hadn’t in two days. I stayed right at his side, willing him to wake up.

  “I’m putting snakes in your bed if you don’t wake up—lots of snakes slithering around your legs and over your face. I’ll even feed them right on your stomach. Don’t test me, Damian. I’ll do it.”

  He was so still except for the even rise and fall of his chest. “There was nothing in Dad’s box to implicate Uncle Tim. His own guilt tripped him up. He had had Dad killed before he made the connection, but Dobbs is testifying against him, the recording of him hiring the hit on me, his attempt on you. He’s going away for a long time, not even he can get himself out of it. And all his cases are being overturned. Jacob Hunter was re-arrested and is facing another trial.” I stroked his arm and touched his face. “There was something in Dad’s box and it was addressed to you. It was my grandmother’s wedding ring. Daddy knew, I think he knew something was going to happen to him. He sent Cam his files and me the key. But Daddy’s last gift to me wasn’t the key, it was you.” I dropped my head because the tears I had been trying so hard to hold back rolled down my cheeks. “You promised me a lifetime.”

  His hand moved in mine. My eyes flew to his face to see those pale eyes staring back. His voice was so soft but I heard every word, they burned themselves onto my heart. “We’ll start with that.”

  Friends and family came in waves the day following Damian waking up, but now it was just the two of us and with the scare behind us, fear gave way to fury. He almost died and he was the one constantly telling me I did stupid things.

  “What were you thinking?”

  Even laid up in a hospital bed, the man looked formidable. In response to my question, he raised an eyebrow.

  “Putting yourself in the path of a bullet. What the hell, Damian? What if he killed you?”

  “Better me than you.”

  “No. It’s not better, not at all.”

  “It’s over, no point on harping.”

  “You’re lying in a hospital bed with tubes and wires. I’ll fucking harp.”

  “You would have been in a wooden box.”

  “You could have been.”

  “But I’m not.”’

  “It was reckless.”

  “Come here.”

  “No.”

  He started to remove the wires from his arm. I ran to him. “What—”

  Even recovering from major surgery the man could move, pulling me on top of him, pressing my body into his. “I’ve waited a long time for you and now that I finally have you I will move Heaven and Earth to keep you right where I’ve always wanted you, at my side. I will walk in the rain so you stay dry, I will forgo food so you can eat, I will take the pain so you won’t feel any and I will absolutely step in front of danger to keep you safe.”

  Tears rolled down my cheeks and he wiped them away. “I’ve waited a long time for you too, so let’s get an umbrella big enough for two, let’s plant a garden so we always have food, let’s share the pain because we have each other to seek comfort in and let’s just avoid danger because living a life without you would be worse than death.”

  He touched my cheek and smiled. “You make some good points.”

  “Please smile more often.”

  He kissed me instead.

  “You do realize you just spoke like a hundred words in a row. I think that’s a record.”

  His hand moved down my back to my ass where he lightly swatted me. “Behave.”

  Everything below my waist throbbed. “That’s not the way to encourage me to behave.”

  “When I get you home…”

  “Where is home?” I loved New York, but I missed the cottage.

  His answer settled happily in my chest. “Wherever you are.”

  It was loud and crowded. The smell of whiskey and rashers filled the tight space. Damian was right at my side, his arm around my waist, his fingers digging into my hip to keep me pressed tight against his side. His soft white shirt felt really nice against my overheated cheek.

  Cam’s voice carried over the other noises in the pub. “To Thea and Damian. Fucking finally.”

  “Cameron Edward Ahern. What kind of language is that to use on your sister’s wedding day?”

  Damian and I got married. He slipped my grandmother’s ring onto my finger and promised to smile more, to laugh more. He promised to have my back when the zombie apocalypse came and would keep me stocked in coffee and sugar. And he promised to love me in this life and the next. I promised to not be reckless, to attempt to control my temper. I promised to never lose my sense of humor and to keep us stocked in cookies. And I promised to love him in this life and the next.

  Mom was still on a rant, had been since learning of our plans for our wedding. “I still don’t understand why we’re having the reception at a bar.”

  Damian pulled me even closer. I glanced up to see him looking back. And then Damian Tate curled his spine and kissed his wife in front of everyone at McGinty’s.

  “He’s running late, but he’ll be here soon. He said not to wait.”

  “We’ll wait. We only get together once a month, we’ll all eat together.”

  Mrs. Cooke was sitting at the table in Mom’s kitchen rolling out dough for cookies. She had made the move to Mom’s permanent. I liked that they had each other, that Mom’s house became the hub of the neighborhood and that every night of the week there were people coming and going. Damian bought Mrs. Cooke’s house to set up HQ for his security firm, which was financially solvent because their ops had high price tags due to the complexity of them. And there was a need because his team was expanding. He kept her place exactly as she had it and she was able to visit whenever she wanted. She had started baking again. Confessed to us she had stopped because baking had been one of the ways she had shown her love to Mitchell and when he died it hurt too much. I understood that, boy did I understand that. But now that she was among her new family, she was whipping something up every other day.

  Ryder strolled into the kitchen, Kimber right on her heels. “Table is set.”

  “Derrick and Uncle Guy are making drinks. Does anyone want one?”

  “Martini for me,” Mom said.

  “A pink squirrel.” Mrs. Cooke had a fondness for all the excessively sweet drinks, but I think she had more fun surprising us with her drink selections.

  “Thea?”

  “Nothing for me.”

  I got a look from both Ryder and Kimber, suspicion. I had news. At first I just suspected, but it was confirmed. I wouldn’t share until I told Damian. I was a little nervous because though I knew he wanted kids, we hadn’t discussed when. It was a little late now.

  Anton entered from the back door. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. Ca
m came in right after him. “The firewood is stacked. You got the chimney cleaned, right?”

  “Yes, Cam.”

  “If you run out of wood, let me know. I’ll have more dropped off.”

  Mom rolled her eyes. “It’s like I’ve never lived on my own before.”

  Anton unrolled his sleeves as he stepped up next to Mom and pressed a kiss on her cheek. “Not at all. It’s just love, Rosalie.”

  Anton had been distracted since it all went down and I knew he had a score to settle with Federico. It scared me, that part of his life, but he had to do what he had to do and I just hoped I could help him when the time came, just like had helped me.

  Mom’s eyes turned bright. I had two brothers and she had three sons, but that list was growing. Razor, yoga man and Mic had been brought into the fold and with Damian’s security team all moving closer to headquarters—Damian claimed it was logistically a good idea, but I knew it was because they were his family in a badass, mercenary kind of way—our makeshift family continued to grow.

  Bullet came darting into the kitchen, Matthew right behind him. They both had recently resigned their commissions and were the newest members of Damian’s team. As was his way, Bullet dropped on his butt right next to Mom and me, too disciplined to beg for food but ever hopeful.

  “He’s ridiculous. Six months out of the army and he has completely forgotten his manners,” Matthew teased but there was nothing but love in his tone. “Are you still thinking about getting a puppy?” he asked me.

  I adored Bullet. We never had pets growing up, but I wanted a dog…so did Damian. “Absolutely.”

  “When you’re ready, we’ll talk.”

  “I’m so ready.”

  “Alright. After dinner.”

  “Sounds good.”

  “I need to take this boy for a walk before dinner. We’ll be back.”

  “Dinner will be ready in about a half an hour,” Mom said.

  “I’ll come with you,” Anton offered.

  “Me too,” Cam and Anton followed Matthew and Bullet outside.