by KJ Dahlen
Shayna didn’t have to look at the photo in his hand to know who he was and what he wanted. “I have nothing to say.”
“You do know he’s coming after you whether you talk to us or not,” Bones informed her. “It could help us to protect you and your brother if we knew who we were dealing with.”
~* * * *~
Shayna knew he was speaking the truth but for the last ten years, she’d been brainwashed in protecting her uncle’s identity. It’d been pounded into her head and her body with fists and beatings not to tell anyone anything about how they lived. It was a hard lesson to break, but she did realize she and Danny were on her uncle’s hit list now, whether she talked or not. And she’d be damned if she would let her uncle win this round. “His name is Sean Adrick.”
“And?” Mountain growled.
Shayna swallowed hard. “He’s my uncle and he runs a ring of thieves. Most of them are young kids. He goes from town to town looking for a score big enough to move out to the west coast.”
Deke looked at his dad and then the rest of the men in the room before he asked, “Where did he come from originally?”
“Sean was once a part of much bigger organization called the Trackers. They were in Boston under the protection of two men, my grandfather Axel Adrick and Brody Alkins. They ran the East side of the city, then Axel got caught up in a sting with his oldest son Adron and went to prison for five years. Sean decided to go out on his own. He took me and Danny and left Boston.”
“Did he leave voluntarily or did Brody force him out?” Bones asked.
“Well, let’s just say Brody didn’t try to stop him from leaving.” Shayna scoffed. “The two of them never got along very well. Anyway, Sean left about three years ago and he picked up seven street kids along the way. The one your man saw running away this morning was Benjy. He’s only fifteen but he’s the most dangerous of Sean’s kids.”
“Why would he run straight back to your uncle and report to him when we dragged you into the shop this morning?” Deke asked.
Shayna shook her head. “Benjy wants to be Sean’s number one. He wants to be his right hand kid.”
“And that position is yours, isn’t it?” The man they introduced as Mountain asked.
Shayna shook her head. “Good god, no. It isn’t and I never wanted it. Sean keeps an eye on me because he doesn’t want me to take off on his dumb ass. He keeps Danny in a locked room so I won’t take off on him. What Benjy doesn’t know or care about is that I’d be just happy if Sean would skip town and leave me and Danny alone. Sean knows I know too much about his business to just let me go. He has to keep me or kill me and I have no doubt that Benjy would be happy to do that for him.”
“How does he find these kids?” Bones asked.
“He finds them on the street then he takes them home, giving them a roof over their heads and someone who cares about them or so they think at first. He feeds and shelters them then he begins teaching them how to steal without getting caught. They do the stealing and Sean stays at home.”
“How big is this team he’s got?” Deke questioned.
“He’s got seven kids and me.” She swallowed hard. Then she raised her head and looked Deke in the eye. “I think you should know he was having me case out your place. He wanted me to find a way to rob you. Your shop was his big score for this town.”
“Then why are you telling us?” Bowie asked.
Shayna turned her head and stared at him. Tears welled in her eyes but she wouldn’t let them fall. “I think he’ll move up his timeline now. The robbery was supposed to happen in two days but I think he’ll hit the shop tonight. I don’t want anyone to get hurt and after what he did today, he won’t care if someone gets in his way. He’ll send one team to the shop and one team here. He has to make sure me and Danny are in no position to tattle on him.”
No one said anything for a moment then Bones asked, “Tell me more about this Brody character.”
Shayna shrugged. “Brody is Brody. I never liked him. He creeps me out. He’s running ten kids now and is suspected in several high collar robberies around Boston. The police can’t prove it, otherwise they’d already have him in jail. His crews have been known to hurt people who get in their way. In fact, I, personally think he’s the one who set up my grandfather and sent him and Adrick to jail.” Shaking her head, she added, “Brody wanted the whole city but he knew Axel had a more loyal crew. After Axel and Adron went to jail Brody took on his crew, then ran Sean out of town.”
“Have you been in contact with anyone from Boston since you left?” Bowie wanted to know.
“Me?” She shook her head. “Not really but I know Sean is keeping track of Brody. One of Axel’s crew is keeping him updated on the sly.”
“On the sly?” Mountain asked.
Shayna nodded. “It would have to be on the sly, if Brody ever found out he’d probably kill the kid. Brody doesn’t like conflicting loyalty at all.”
“One of the brothers used to live in Boston,” Deke told her. “I’ll be checking what you’ve told us with him. We also know badges in the city. They would love to hear more about this Brody, I’m sure.”
Shayna was more than skeptical. “I’m not dropping a dime on Brody Alkin. He pays off the local family for protection and if I drop a dime on him, I wouldn’t live to see the sun come up tomorrow morning. No thanks.”
Deke chuckled. “I don’t think you have to worry about Leon and Calderone. In fact, I’m surprised when you say he’s paying them for protection.” Deke looked over at his dad. “I can’t imagine that’s part of their regular routine.”
Shayna shook her head. “Who are Leon and Calderone? Brody pays a man named Ronnie Silver. He’s the big shot in Boston. I’ve only ever seen the man once and no one else knew I was there. I was hiding and spying on my uncles. It was a meeting with Brody and we weren’t supposed to be there at all. Anyway, Sean got word from his snitch that Brody is setting up a huge robbery in two weeks.”
“Do you know who and what’s coming?” Bone’s asked.
Shayna shook her head. “Only that they are planning on hitting someone named Vincinti. Apparently, this Ronnie is looking to take his business and this Vincinti isn’t making it easy on him. He and Brody are looking for a big takedown. At least that’s what I’ve heard. I don’t know who or what these people are.”
Deke clamped his jaw tightly. His eyes narrowed and he looked worried. He snapped a look at his dad and the others... then he excused himself and stepped out of the room.
Shayna looked around at the men standing there. Looking at Bowie she whispered, “What’s going on?”
Mountain shook his head. “Leon and Calderone are the Vincinti’s and they run the mob in Boston not this poser Ronnie Silver. I doubt very much that Leon or Calderone know Ronnie’s shaking down the businesses in their city but they are about to find out.”
Shayna’s eyes widened in horror and her first thought was to run and hide. What’s she’d just done was to insure her own death. Fat tears rolled down her cheeks and she looked over at Danny. He was still asleep and had no idea what she’d done.
“Sweetness, what’s wrong?” Bowie asked as he reached out to her.
Shayna jumped when he touched her and pulled away from him. “Oh my god! I’ve just signed mine and Danny’s death certificates. Don’t you understand that?”
“No, I don’t, not really.” Bowie crossed his arms over his massive chest.
“I said too much.” She felt panicked as her mind raced over where to run and hide her and Danny. “That was one of the rules in the house I used to live at. Axel may not have been much of a grandfather but I was twelve years old when I went to live with him and his two sons. My mother was Axel’s only daughter and she broke away because she didn’t want to steal for her father anymore. She was sixteen when she ran away from home. We lived in Maine. That’s where she met my father and that’s where they died when I was twelve. Danny was only two and we were together when our parents died. Da
nny was so hurt and so little. Axel pretty much ignored him but he saw potential in me and taught me how to steal and how to open any lock. Then Sean got legal custody of Danny. If he knows I snitched...we are both dead.”
“But you don’t have to worry about that anymore,” Bowie tried to tell her.
“You don’t understand,” she argued. “Sean might warn Brody and if your friends do anything to threaten Brody or Ronnie, they will know I spilled the beans and they’ll come after me and Danny.”
“They won’t get near you.” Bowie stared at her.
Shayna shook her head. “You just don’t seem to get it! One of the first lessons they taught me was to keep the secrets of the house. If they caught us snitching, they would beat us. Grandfather always said nobody knew our business because it wasn’t their business to know. It was ours.” She turned her head and stared at her brother. “Danny was so little then he got so hurt in the accident. Grandfather at least cared about him. Uncle Sean never did, except to use him as a pawn to keep me stealing. I got so good at it, I was better than he was.”
Bowie let out a heavy sigh as he sat forward in the chair looking troubled by her story.
Wiping the tears away she went on, “I never should have said anything about Brody or his business dealings and sure as hell, never should have said anything about Ronnie Silver. Neither of those men will let this go. I’ll never see it coming. With Danny, all they have to do is fill his tubes with air and he’ll never know it until it’s too late. With me, I might turn around and there will be a knife in my back or someone will push me down the stairs. That’s how these things work. They sneak in and do what they need to do and escape before you know they were even there. You can’t find all of Brody’s men or kids, no one knows who they are. That’s the reason he does so well. He’s got a secret network.”
“But you got us now,” Bowie told her.
“How do you figure that?” she asked brushing away another tear. “I only met you this morning and I was planning to steal from you or at least allow someone to steal from you. I don’t mean anything to the likes of you guys.”
“But you didn’t steal anything,” Mountain claimed. Looking over at his brother, he chuckled. “I think one of us is going to claim you and that’s something we don’t look away from.”
Shayna snapped her head around and stared at the big man. “What do you mean one of you claimed me?”
“He means you’re mine.” Bowie leaned toward her. “I’m not sure how this happened, really. But you are.” When he got close enough he kissed her.
The moment his lips closed over hers, she felt tingling, and a jolt run through her body. She groaned and pressed her lips into his, a bit harder. It was the most surprising thing in the world. It felt like she was dying, but coming to life too. Her heart pounded in her chest and the room spun a little.
They both seemed to forget the rest of the world as they kissed. The fear entered her body. This man could get hurt if he got involved. His brothers and family too. Shayna broke the kiss off too soon. “Y-you make me want things I-I can’t have. I can’t do this,” she whispered.
He leaned his forehead against hers. “I want this too. I never knew a kiss could blow my whole world away but that kiss? It tasted like no other I’ve ever had and that makes me want more.”
“I can’t,” Shayna whispered. “I told you I broke the rules and they won’t let me leave this place, alive anyway.”
“They won’t touch you or Danny.” Bowie growled, as he looked fierce.
Shayna reached out and cupped his jaw. When he would have spoken again, she lifted her finger and placed it over his lips. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep. I know you’ll try but I don’t want anyone to get hurt because of me. I’m not worth it.”
Bowie pressed his lips into her palm. “You’re worth it to me. I want to explore whatever this is between us. I want a chance for you and your brother to live a better life. I’m not about to lose you to an uncle that doesn’t care, or a man that deserves to be in prison for god knows what crimes he committed already. Oh, and I’m a Morgan. Morgan’s never give up or give in to fear. We can be a stubborn lot, but you’ll get used to us.”
Deke came back from making his phone call and he didn’t look happy. He stared at Shayna. “Leon and Calderone were very happy to get the news that someone in their organization was planning a coup against them. They were also very interested in this Brody person. They know him but I have a feeling they will want to get to know him even better.” He looked at the men and said, “I called Iceman and he was going to call his old MC and see what they knew about this. They have an ear to the street and they might have heard something Leon can use too.”
Bowie got up and turned to face his president. “I’m claiming Shayna and asking for protection for her and Danny. She seems to think her uncle or his crew will come to kill them both.”
Deke nodded. “I think he will too, and I was already going to offer them protection.”
“Why?’ Shayna asked in the following silence while wondering if these men were for real. “Why would you offer me and Danny protection? Don’t you people get it? I was setting you up to be robbed. To STEAL from your business, your club! Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”
Deke shrugged. “But you didn’t now, did you?”
Shayna hung her head. “So I’m a lousy thief.”
Deke barked out a laugh. “Oh, I think you’re the perfect thief.”
Bowie widened his stance and crossed his arms over his chest, growling as he glared at his president.
Deke looked surprised as he stepped back half a step and raised his hands. “No offense man.”
Shayna glanced between the two men and frowned. “Did I miss something here?”
Bowie moved closer to her. “No, you didn’t. Deke knows what he did wrong.”
The other men in the room grinned.
The largest man, Mountain actually snickered as him and Deke met gazes.
The door opened again and the doctor that treated her earlier walked in the room. “I’m sorry Deke but we have to move young Danny. His guardian insisted that he be moved. He complained to the police that his sister tried to kill him today and he wants the boy safe.”
“W-what?” Shayna stammered. She got to her feet and found her legs were weak.
The door opened again and two police officers came in. They went to stand between her and Danny as if they were protecting him from her.
“I didn’t push my brother down the stairs, my uncle did!”
“Lady, I don’t make the rules I just follow what I’m told,” one of the officers said as he handed her the court order.
Shayna glanced at the paper in a daze. She could hardly read the words as tears filled her eyes.
Bowie ripped the paper from her hands and read the charges. He growled as he read the lies her uncle told the judge. He passed the paper to Deke. He turned to the police and asked, “What are you going to do with him?”
The bigger cop shrugged. “I’m under the impression he can’t leave the hospital at the moment, so we’re going to move him to another room. A room she will not be allowed in.” He motioned toward Shayna. “Her uncle didn’t want to press charges against her so we can’t run her in, but she has to stay away from Danny.”
Shayna cried out and wrapped her arms around her waist.
Bowie wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him. “We’ll fix this. I promise you we’ll fix this.”
Shayna was numb. Everywhere she turned, Sean bested her efforts to protect her brother. His lied, cheated and never gave a thought to what he was doing to her. She turned to watch as the police under the direction of the doctor in charge of Danny pushed his bed out of the room. She crumbled when they turned the corner and would have fallen to her knees if Bowie hadn’t had his arms around her.
He sat down on the edge of her bed and pulled her into his lap. “It’ll be ok. We’ll go see the judge in the morning and get him to
retract his order.”
Shayna shook her head. “By morning, Danny will be dead...” she whispered brokenly. “He’s got no one to protect him now.”
“The hell he doesn’t.” Mountain growled. He patted her shoulder awkwardly. “Don’t you worry little sister, we’ll protect him.”
Shayna shook her head as she stared at nothing in particular. “You just don’t get it. Sean isn’t going to stay around here. I ruined his big score. He’s mad and he isn’t going to let me take Danny. He always said he’d kill Danny if I ever fucked him over. Well guess what? He thinks I fucked him over good. He’s gonna make Danny a scapegoat and he’ll go right through you or anyone else standing in his way.” Turning her head into the crook of Bowie’s neck, she sobbed her heart out.
It was the only sound in the room and it broke their hearts. Every single man standing there felt helpless as she sobbed.
Chapter Five
It was late and nobody was around the busy hospital. At least not on the fourth floor there wasn’t. Even the nurses were busy doing the mounds of paperwork for their patients. The door opened slowly and two very young kids slipped onto the floor.
Benjy motioned for the other kid, Orrin to move down the other way while he went up the hall. Benjy was checking in every room for either Danny or Shayna. He had his orders and this was one job he’d been waiting to finally finish. When he’d seen her earlier that day get dragged into the shop, she was supposed to be casing, he knew she would spill the beans about what they were doing.
Sean trusted her, she was his family, but Benjy knew different. Family didn’t mean shit to him and never would. When Sean took him off the streets, Sean became as close to a father figure as he ever wanted. Sean depended on Benjy, to follow his orders and make this right.
Sean had told Benjy to keep an eye on her and that’s what he’d done. He was watching yesterday too. He’d seen how she looked at that guy. He knew that look. He’d seen it often enough before he left home.
When he went back and told Sean about it, Sean knew too what that look meant. Sean set him after Shayna this morning. Told him to watch her carefully and report back if there were any problems.
