Blackness Takes Over & Blackness Awaits (62 page)

“And don’t you forget it. I run this shit,” Karl snarks and we all break into muscle cramp inducing laughter.

As we calm down Cally, Sully, Kavy, Aidan and Kieran take up chairs in a circle around my bed, joining Karl and Kel. I feel a talk coming.

“Kellan O’Shea was your friend?” I ask Kieran starting to put pieces together.

“Yeah. You met him once at that barbecue you guys had after graduation,” Kieran explains quietly. I got someone killed and I don’t even remember the guy’s face.

“I’m really sorry, Kieran. I’ll get in touch with his family as soon as I can. Did he have a wife or children?” I ask in a whisper.

“He had a woman and a daughter. Baby’s young…six months or something.”

“Don’t you dare, Kiddo,” Kel warns. “You are not allowed to start takin’ blame for shit that had nothing to do with you.”

“Are you fuckin’ kiddin’ me Kel? He’s dead because of me. There’s a baby that’ll never know her daddy because of me. A woman that’ll never be in her man’s arms again because of me!” I bellow.

“Shannon,” Kieran commands my attention from the other side of the bed. “O’Shea went into that night knowin’ what we were gonna encounter. We all did. He was there because he met you once and knew you were worth the risk. He fuckin’ told me he knew you were worth the risk. When I called him and asked for some weapons to help me and the guys out he said he was in when I told him it was for you. He knew what Mancini’s men were capable of and didn’t bat an eye. That decision was his and his alone. It’s a shame his woman and daughter won’t have him but he wasn’t a guy that was gonna see eighty anyway. He went out with his boots on doin’ something good for once in his life. You carry no guilt for that. None!” Kieran’s voice carries such finality to it that I can’t find the words to argue.

I turn my gaze to Cally. “You set up a trust fund for his family, Cally. You make certain they want for nothing. They live in a good house in a good neighborhood with a good car. The widow doesn’t have to work unless she wants to. That baby goes to whatever school and university she wants to.”

“Definitely worth the risk,” Kieran murmurs quietly. I turn my gaze back to him. I was right, Kieran would do anything for me.

“Now I’m realizing I don’t know how this whole mission ‘rescue Kid’ went down. I’m ready for that story. I have the feelin’ it’s gonna piss me off so give it to me now while my pain meds are in full effect,” I order steeling myself against what I’m figuring is a story about my boys risking everything to find me.

Kavy starts the story from the moment I was taken until they got to Chicago. Sully fills in the pieces in Chicago until the FBI were called in. Kel fills in the pieces while he was with Kieran and Cally fills in the pieces where they tricked Taylor. Kieran gives me the rundown of the ambush and nobody talks about what happened in the house.

“Somebody tell me what happened in the house and after please,” I ask exhausted by the bevy of emotions I’ve gone through up to this point. The men I love are officially insane. Lucky doesn’t begin to describe what I am in this life to have them. Aidan clears his throat.

“Well you know what happened with you, Taylor and Cooper,” Aidan says with grains of fury in his voice. “Kellerman was in the hall and tried to get to you but ended up takin’ a bullet to the leg, nicked his femoral artery, as Cooper got two shots off. One hit Taylor the other got Kellerman. The rest of us came down just after and found all of you. All four of you were down. Ryan and Adam tended to Kellerman while Kav and I came to you.” There’s a long pause and all the faces in the room are solemn.

“I started workin’ on you and Kav got me some FBI agents to transport you from the house. Apparently, Sully Senior had put a tracker on my SUV knowin’ we were up to somethin’. When he realized we had left he notified the FBI and a medevac team. Saved your life havin’ them there that quick. I lost you five times,” Aidan’s voice breaks. He brought me back to life five times. Five times. My breath hitches as does the rest of the room’s as I’m certain they didn’t know that either. Kel’s hand is shaking in mine, but I keep my eyes trained on the shimmering blues of Aidan.

“Five fuckin’ times,” he says through quiet tears. “I begged you to come back to me the last time. I begged and pleaded for you to just fight one more time for me. Once more in this unfair goddamn life to please just fight. Just one more fight. I was losing and needed my sister to win for me.” I feel one hot tear roll down my cheek as I watch my baby brother struggle through the memory of begging me to live. “You’re the best piece of me. My life doesn’t work without you in it. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t save you. I tried so fuckin’ hard, but I couldn’t do it. I had to make you fight.” His tears are flowing with force now, as are mine.

I have no words, no thoughts, nothing to express the emotions flowing through me. I sit straight up in my bed and extend my arms out to him. I need to be in his arms now.

In a flash Aidan launches into my arms pulling me down to the bed and crushing me into his chest. A shaky sob breaks from his throat and I squeeze him tighter trying to show him how much I love him and how thankful I am that he brought me back to life, made me fight.

The room around us is silent a long while as Aidan calms back down and his tears abate. I hold him as firmly as my weak arms will allow until his grip on me begins to relax.

“Thank you for savin’ my life. Thank you for makin’ me fight. Thank you for not givin’ up on me. Thank you for lovin’ me. I love you baby brother,” I murmur into his chest. I tip my head up to look into his red and swollen bright blue eyes.

“I love you too,” Aidan whispers pressing a long gentle kiss into my forehead.

“This is worse than the fuckin’ funeral,” Kieran says in a rough huff sniffing back what sounds like tears.

“No shit,” Karl remarks in the same sniffy tone as Kieran. “If I’d known we were havin’ a cryin’ circle I woulda grabbed a box of Kleenex on my way in. Is my mascara runnin’ Kieran?” That gets a nice cleansing laugh from the room. God I love Karl! He’s not wearing any damn mascara by the way.

“Kellerman I’m not sure how you’re sleepin’ in this bed with her at night,” Aidan says peeling himself away from me. “I’m sore after ten minutes.”

“Felt good bein’ in her arms those ten minutes though, didn’t it?” Kel asks a smirk playing on his lips.

“Nothing better in the world, man,” Aidan agrees as he reclaims his chair at the end of my bed.

I look around the room and as suspected there’s not a dry eye in the place. What I hadn’t noticed was the rest of the family had come in at some point during this. My fathers, mothers, and the rest of my brothers are all standing looking at me with love and adoration. There’s no pity from what they learned earlier about the almost rapist. They’re just happy I’m alive.

“All right now that everyone’s in here and everything’s out on the table I want to say thank you to each and every one of you. You all did so much to find me and save me that thank you doesn’t do it justice. But it’s all I have. So thank you. I love you. No more fuckin’ cryin’!” I beam. After a brief moment of smiles and snickers the tension leaves the room.

The boys get up and mill around getting ready to set up for Christmas Eve dinner. Kel keeps his perch at my side. I doubt he’ll ever feel comfortable leaving me again and I’m okay with that. Maggie and Mary take seats across from him and offer him glowing smiles before looking at me.

“I talked to the Nazi, Sheryl,” Maggie informs me with a roll of her chocolate eyes behind her glasses. “She told me that you can eat what you feel comfortable with.” She looks at me with a hopeful gaze.

“Got some pumpkin pie?” I ask sweetly. Her face beams as she runs from the room no doubt to bring me an entire pie to eat.

The boys start setting up card tables in my room to make one very long table. They lay table cloths over the tops and set the table with pretty Christmasy plastic plates and dinnerware. The parents start carrying in copious amounts of food. Maybe I will eat something. Once the table is filled with food and family, I release a huge sigh of relief. Kel looks up at me from his chair at my bedside. He won’t even leave me to go sit at the damn table.

“Happy?” he asks hopefully.

“Yes.”

Shannon

I wake just as the sun peaks over the horizon. It’s Christmas morning. Usually, I’d be making a fuss running around cooking and stuffing stockings, but I’m here in bed with Kel feeling happier than I’ve felt in weeks.

“Dylan,” I hear a shrill voice call. I turn my head toward the voice to find a petite blonde standing in my door shaking with fury glistening in her steely blue eyes. Her hair is a mess, face drawn and pale. She looks sick.

“Kel,” I say nudging him awake.

“Mmm,” he replies hoarsely without making a move to get up.

“Kel you need to wake up,” I command while sitting the back of the bed up. The crazy chick is making her way into my room and she looks possessed. I really wish I had my gun.

“Dylan!” she shrieks at the top of her lungs. Kel and all three guys spring straight up in their beds. If this wasn’t so fucking weird I’d be laughing.

“Cassie?” Kel asks rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

“What the fuck?” Kavy calls from his doll bed. He’s not wearing clothes, underwear maybe. My boys are all sitting up assessing the situation and trying to see if the chick looming at my bedside is a threat to me. I’m trying to figure that out myself.

“You didn’t call. And now I find you here, in bed with
this
while I’m carrying your child. You’re such a fucking prick!” She squeals and swings her arm clumsily to smack Kel. I quickly intercept her wrist before she makes contact and pull it down to the bed.

“Keep your fuckin’ hands to yourself,” I growl. Sully is now standing behind her shirtless and panting.

“Cassie, you put your hands anywhere near Shannon again, I’ll personally put you outta here on your ass,” Kel threatens in an ominous tone. I release her wrist and she glares at me. Bring it on bitch!

“You’re threatening me? I’m the mother of your child,” she says stomping her feet like a toddler. She’ll make an outstanding parent.

“This bitch is insane,” Sully snorts from behind her. Kel shakes his head and stands up from the bed approaching Cassie. Sully flops in a chair next to where she’s standing, waiting for what her next move is.

“Are you gonna let him talk to me like that?” she huffs at Kel.

“He’s a big boy. I think he can manage his words on his own. What’re you doin’ here?” Kel prowls toward her. He’s pissed, but he’s trying to pull it together.

“I fly here all night, on the most God awful private jet I’ve ever been on, to get to you on Christmas morning and find you in bed with this slut and then you allow this heathen to speak to me like I’m trash? Who are you? Where’s the Dylan I fell in love with?” Kel is seething, but Kavy is up out of bed and ready to pounce. I see Kel give the go ahead nod as he takes a seat on my bed to watch him work.

“Hey Tinker Bell,” Kavy coos sarcastically tapping her on the shoulder. She turns and stumbles at the glory that is Aaron Kavanagh standing before her in only his tight boxer briefs. This should be fun. “You say somethin’ like that to or about Kid again, I’m gonna help her outta that bed and watch her kick the shit outta you. I don’t know who the fuck you think you are but you are not welcome here. You think you’re carryin’ Kellerman’s baby well good for you. That,” Kavy points at me and her gaze follows but quickly returns to Kavy, “is his woman. She is number one in his life. Not you. You never fuckin’ will be. That kid you’re carryin’ turns out to be his you still won’t be shit.” I’m not sure if she’s going to cry or explode based on the scarlet color of her face.

“Who the fuck are you?” she yells. “Is this really the company you keep now?” she turns her back to me as she asks Kel. “If these are the people you’re spending time with maybe I should consider keepin’ the baby away from you. Maybe I’ll just go back to Seattle and call my attorney and get that process started now before this filth can corrupt my child. I mean seriously Dylan, she was kidnapped from her home and this one,” she indicates to Kavy with her head, “is threatening to have her assault me while I’m pregnant. I suggest you put some clothes on and get on the plane with me home so that you can maintain a relationship with our child. If you stay here with this trash you won’t ever see this baby.” Wrong fucking choice.

I sit up on the edge of my bed, throw my legs over the side and hop to my feet. Adrenaline is coursing through me so I feel no pain and there is no waver in my step. This chick is short and I’m towering behind her back. Sully, Cally (who’s now on his feet at my side), Kavy and Kel are all gawking at me dumbfounded.

“Listen to me and listen good,” I command sharply at her back causing her to spin away from Kel to face me. “You’re gonna submit to a maternal blood screen so we can find out if that baby is Kel’s. If the child turns out to be his I am gonna fight with everything I’ve got to have custody removed from you. See while you may think I’m trash, I know you are. I had you looked into and I know that while you’ve been pregnant you’ve smoked weed, drank alcohol and snorted coke.” Her face has paled ten shades since I began, but I’m not finished.