Blackness Within (29 page)

“Hey,” Kav pouts.

“Give it up, Aaron Kavanagh. You’ll never have me. Now, stop pouting and get back to work. We’ve got a heavy schedule ahead of us,” Karl says, standing up to get back to the stack of briefs on his desk.

“You’re my assistant. Don’t tell me what to do,” Kav grumbles.

“If I didn’t tell you what to do, you’d never do anything.”

“Whatever.”

“Whatever.”

With that, Karl exits the room as I chuckle at the two of them. Since Kid’s on permanent maternity leave, Karl has moved to assisting Kav. I don’t know how they work together because they bicker like an old married couple most of the time. It’s entertaining.

“Anyway,” Kav continues, “you need a fight. You’re all tense and shit. The gym at home can’t take much more of your abuse. Call Kieran and see if he can get you a fight.”

It’s a good idea. I need to do something. I need an outlet and pounding someone’s face in sounds pretty good at this point. I want to pummel Vojtech’s face, but that will have to wait.

I nod and tag my phone.

“Yeah,” Kieran’s whiskey and tar voice answers gruffly as always.

“Hey,” I return.

“What’s good, cuz?”

“Not much. I need a fight.”

There’s a long pause before a sigh from my crime boss cousin.

“Not sure that’s a great idea, Bry.”

“You’re not my dad, Kieran,” I snarl.

“No shit, Sherlock. I’m your fuckin’ family regardless. You’re an attorney, Brian. You really think showin’ up to work bruised and battered is a good idea?”

“Have I ever ended up bruised and battered?” I retort cockily.

“Right,” Kieran grunts, mulling over my request.

“I need this, Kieran,” I mutter, locking eyes with Kav’s blue-greys.

Instead of a smug smile, he nods encouragingly.

“Get your ass here Friday. You fight Saturday night,” he instructs.

“See you then.”

“Later.”

“Thanks, cuz.”

“Don’t make me regret this, Bry. I’ll see you Friday.”

With that, he hangs up on me.

“Gotta get a flight to Chicago,” I inform Kav.

“We’ll fly private,” he states in a way that I know he wants to deal with this.

I nod before saying, “Thanks for makin’ the suggestion. A fight’ll do me good.”

“I’d normally suggest a good roll in the hay, but I know that’s not gonna happen,” he replies with a shrug before climbing to his feet.

“I’ll tell Cal. He’ll wanna come. Finn’s on a case and Aidan’s workin’ this weekend so they’re out. Kid and Kellerman can have the house with the boys.”

“She’ll wanna come,” I say with a raised brow.

“Yeah, well she’s pregnant and Kellerman’s not gonna let that happen. Thank fuck he’s around to wrangle her ass,” he scoffs.

“You ever miss bein’ the ones that had that job?” I ask seriously.

He furrows his brow before barking out a loud laugh.

“Man, you think we’ll ever not do that job? Kellerman’s just got an advantage we never had.”

“True that.”

“I know this is a stupid question, but I gotta ask. You sure Natasha’s the one? I mean you’ve barely spent any time with her. You’ve been jonesin’ for a piece since you saw her and I get that. But you’re waitin’ around for her like she’s it for you. That’s a big commitment to a stranger,” he finishes with concern on his face.

“I know with her like we knew with Kid. That freaked me out and I fucked up. I know it’s a lot with only a tiny amount of time together, but I know, man. She’s it for me. If she’ll give me a chance, I’m in for the long haul,” I assure him.

“I hope you get that chance, brother.”

He means it when he says it. I love the dude. He’s been my best friend along with Cal since we were born. Our parents are tight and I swear we’re even tighter. I wouldn’t have made it through my life without them by my side. They’ve had my back every time I’ve needed it, without me ever having to ask. They’re my family.

“Love you, dude.”

He smirks at me before zinging me.

“Karl’s got dibs on my dick, but you’re second on my list.”

I snort and shake my head, watching him saunter away to go cause trouble. He’s good at that.

“I’m gettin’ mad pussy while we’re here!” Kav announces loudly as we touchdown in Chicago.

“That sane pussy outta your reach?” I snark, climbing to my feet as Tanner, the baby-faced kid that flies us most of the time, lowers the stairs on the jet.

“I prefer crazy pussy. Especially, crazy pussy that I won’t encounter again. A chick that fucks like there’s no tomorrow and can’t stalk me…it’s my dream come true.”

“I’m down for that too,” Cal pipes in.

I’d usually be down for that too, but my dick is experiencing a bout of monogamy with pussy it’s never tasted. It’s a bizarre experience that I’m not giving much thought to. Although, the calluses I’m forming are concerning.

I smile at my friends and descend the stairs to be met with Kieran waiting on the tarmac, looking as imposing as he always does. I’m not surprised to see him. I am shocked as shit to see my two little brothers flanking either side of him with scowls on their faces. Awesome.

“Hey,” I call, trying to sound normal.

“You’re a fuckin’ asshole,” Hugh, the baby of my family, spouts.

“Tell me somethin’ I don’t know.”

“I’m gonna beat your motherfuckin’ ass,” Collin chimes in.

“It’s good to see you too,” I drone sarcastically before stopping in front of them.

“You gonna tell us why the fuck you’re here? Kieran had the decency to tell us you were headin’ our way, but he won’t fill us in,” Collin finishes pointedly.

My brothers are only a year apart and Collin’s a year younger than me. We’re close and we look like triplets. They’re cops just like our father. I didn’t think calling them to tell them I was coming to town to partake in illegal activities was a great idea. Kieran’s a dick.

“I’m here to fight,” I answer their query honestly.

The blank faces I find staring back at me let me know I’ve just stunned the shit out of them. Kav claps me on the back a couple times.

“It’s gonna be a good weekend,” he beams.

“Get your asses back on that plane,” Hugh snarls.

“This is why Kieran was the one that called you. I know you don’t understand and I wouldn’t put you in the position to try,” I say, glaring at my cousin who gazes back at me without concern for my irritation.

“Bry, you can’t be serious. You’re here to fight? How can we be down with that shit?” Collin speaks for both my brothers.

“Like I said. I knew you wouldn’t be so I didn’t call. Go home and forget our idiot cousin told you. I’ll fight. I’ll win. I’ll go back to Kansas City. We can see each other again in a few weeks,” I reply nonchalantly, moving away from them to climb in the idling black SUV behind them.

“Brian!” Hugh bellows.

I stop and pivot to face him as he approaches me.

“If you’re fightin’, we’re there. We don’t need to understand this shit. Okay?”

“I’m fightin’, Hugh. You’re not talkin’ me out of it.”

“Then I’m in your corner, brother.”

He finishes with a manly hug before moving away from me. Collin offers me a chin lift in agreement with our brother and they peel off to climb in Hugh’s truck.

Once their headlights fade, I pounce on Kieran.

“Are you fuckin’ kiddin’ me with this shit? You call my brothers to what? Run me off?”

“I called ’em ’cause you didn’t. They’re your brothers, dick. They’ve got your back and you need people at your back right now. Get your ass in the SUV. I’ve got a house full of kids and a hot wife to get home to,” he instructs.

I do what he says. Kav and Cal follow, whispering between each other as they do.

We get comfortable and mostly shoot the shit and joke around all the way to Kieran’s new pad. He had a small house before he met his wife and started pumping out kids.

He had to move into a bigger place to accommodate his family. It wasn’t a sacrifice.

We pull in his garage and pile out. When we walk in, I’m immediately hit in the gut with a flying child.

Jack, Kieran’s oldest son, grips me like iron before I haul him up my chest. He’s almost nine now and getting too big to hold. I don’t give a shit.

I bury my head in his black curls and take a deep breath. Love this kid.

“Hey, Uncle Brian,” he murmurs in my neck.

“Hey, Jacky boy,” I return with a firm squeeze.

I set him down and am gifted with a beaming smile causing his ice blue eyes to glimmer. I beam one right back.

Of course, Kav has Ashling wrapped in his python arms. She’s three and has all the men in our extended family wrapped around her little finger. I swipe her tiny body away and grin when her arms clinch around my neck. Before I’m done with her, Cal snatches her away and moves into the house away from us.

We follow the sounds of laughter and jubilation as Ash squeals and Jack frolics. I love this house and all the sounds filling it.

The new house is open and wide as we move through it. It’s not unlike our place in Kansas City, if a little smaller. Most houses are.

When we hit the great room, Quinn climbs off the large leather sectional that faces a huge TV, currently playing
Cars
. She floats over to Kieran first for a lip brush before approaching us.

She’s a tiny woman, not an inch over five feet tall. She’s got the same black hair as all the kids and the same husky-like blue eyes. A stunner. In her arms is the newest edition to the Delaney family, baby Ricky. Well, it’s actually Patrick after Quinn’s deceased father. But Kieran’s dad’s name is Carrick and goes by Rick, so the nickname is a nod to both men. It suits the chubby baby. The fourth Delaney, Anna Clare, named after Kieran and Quinn’s mothers, is playing with blocks in the middle of the floor. I swoop down and pick her chunky toddler body up to mine. She blows a big wet raspberry on my cheek before I devour hers.

“Hi, Brian,” Quinn greets me with a sad smile on her pretty face.

“Hey.”

I gently wrap her in my arms, careful not to wake the baby or smash Anna Clare.

Quinn welcomes Kav and Cal the same way before returning to the couch. She’s a crime boss’s wife and she’s outstanding at the job. She understands and accepts what this life is and she makes it the best life it can be for everyone in her family. I’m proud to have her in my family.

Their wedding was small and intimate just a few weeks after Anna Clare was born. I stood at my cousin’s side with a smile tattooed on my face the entire time. He deserves the good he has. He deserves his kids and Quinn. He finally believes that too.

“Let’s get you boys settled in,” Kieran says before leading us to a guest area over his garage after we chat and play with the kids. With three bedrooms, a sitting area and a small kitchen, it feels just like our wings back home.

“Dude, I’m christening that bed,” Kav informs Kieran as we follow him back down to the house.

“You think I didn’t christen every surface of this place when we moved in?” Kieran retorts.

“Good man,” Kav compliments.

“Keep your randoms away from my kids,” Kieran says with warning in his voice.

“I’m super stealthy at that shit. You know how I roll.”

“In dirty pussy?” Kieran asks with a raised brow as we hit the kitchen.

“The dirtier the better.”

Kieran snorts as we congregate around a stone-topped breakfast bar. Kieran passes out whiskey and we settle in.

“You’re fightin’ a guy named Giovanni Trevino. He’s a decent fighter,” Kieran informs me.

“What’s decent mean?” I ask over the edge of my tumbler.

“He’s undefeated so far.”

“How many fights is that?”

“Thirty or so.”

“Right,” I mutter and throw back my drink, relishing the burn.

“You can beat him,” Kieran assures me.

“I know.”

“Brian, I know you’re in a fucked up place, but you gotta fight smart. This isn’t some douche bag off the streets. He’s a fighter.”

“I’m a fighter, Kieran. I’ve got this. You know I’ve got this. I’m not bein’ cocky. I’m good.”

He refills my glass as he studies my face. I allow him to. He needs to get this. My brothers don’t need to, but Kieran does. He needs to know I’m in the right headspace for this. I am. He sees it and nods his approval.

“We’ll work you in the morning a bit. Alex is in town so I’ll have you train with him,” Kieran says throwing his drink back.

Alex Vetrov is Kieran’s fighter. A fighter that started out in the illegal fights Kieran runs and now fights in the UFC. He’s climbing in the ranks and will eventually be a heavy weight champion. It’s only a matter of time for the kid. Getting in a ring with him will be good for me.

“Sounds good.”

“Let’s hit the bars,” Kav jumps in.

“Good idea,” Cal agrees.

“Take the SUV,” Kieran offers.

“Nah, we’ll cab it. Don’t plan on bein’ able to drive home,” Kav says with a shit-eating grin on his face.

“I’m glad I don’t have to do that anymore,” Kieran replies through a smirk, gazing across the room at his family.

“I had a woman like Quinn, I wouldn’t do it anymore either,” Kav lies.

“Right,” Kieran chuckles his response.

“I’m gonna stick around here, guys,” I inform my friends.