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“Oh, boy,” Stephen said from behind me.
Wincing, Mike slowly lowered his gaze to my blood-covered shirt. Then he threw a challenging look toward Viper before pulling me into his arms. “Why didn’t you tell me what the hell was going on, you little jerk?” As he cupped the back of my head, I sensed he was having a conversation with Viper without the use of words.
“I didn’t want you to worry about me.” I held him close, something I hadn’t done in a long time. I did love my brother. Just the thought of something happening to either one of the men I cared about was a heavy burden to bear.
When I pushed away, he shook his head. I sensed continued anger, frustration at what had obviously happened between his buddy and his little sister, but I refused to get into an argument.
“I’m your brother, kiddo. I’m always going to worry about you. I’m just gladDannyworries about you as well.” He finally gave Viper a nod of respect, but I had a feeling it would be short lived. “He’s the kind of man you want on your side.”
The sarcasm remained. I was about ready to say something when two unknown men entered the room. I backed away by several feet, noticing Viper greeted them with a nod and nothing more. Both men were huge, their dark eyes studying me intently before turning their attention to Danny. It was obvious how much respect they had for the Consigliere.
“Boss. The exterior is clear. It doesn’t appear anyone followed you.”
Danny exhaled. “Thanks, Gio. Ralph. Stay outside until Francesco and the others arrive. That should be any time.”
“Why the fuck didn’t Francesco answer his goddamn phone?” the bruiser named Gio asked.
“According to Francesco, they had turbulence during a portion of the flight. A storm knocked out the connection for almost thirty minutes.”
“Bullshit,” Gio snapped. “I mean no disrespect, but Max provides the kind of equipment that can withstand a fuckin’ hurricane.”
I could tell Mike was intrigued about the conversation. He was also disgusted, crossing his arms and glaring from one man to the other.
Stephen sat on the edge of the desk, obviously amused at the exchange. “Do I need to task a couple of our team to clean up a mess?”
Ralph snorted before heading out of the room following Viper’s orders. The fact there were two burly guards added to the group didn’t trouble me nearly as much as the assault rifle Ralph carried. I couldn’t seem to stop shaking.
As Viper headed toward the bar, I became more concerned about his wound. He’d lost a significant amount of blood.
“No. I honestly don’t care if the cops find the dead bodies at this point. It’s too risky going back. Let’s just stay focused,” Viper answered, his voice strained. “I may want to move us to the compound.”
He had a compound?
“What else don’t I know about you?” Stephen half laughed.
“Don’t ask about what you don’t want to know.” Danny poured a half glass of whiskey, tossing back every drop then wincing as he returned the glass to the surface.
“That’s it,” I told him, but it was also meant for everyone else in the room. “I’m going to take a look at your wound, Danny. You can handle mob business later. I assume you have a first aid kit inside this house somewhere?”
Stephen chuckled. “I can see why you like her.”
Mike exhaled, the sound exaggerated. I glared at him until he looked away. I was exhausted from the game he was playing.
Danny gave Stephen a nasty look, the man ultimately throwing up his hands. “I have everything you need, Madisen.”
“Which means this has happened before.” I’d noticed scars on his chest and back. What I wondered about were the emotional ones, those that had managed to change him so dramatically.
His eyes twinkled when he glanced in my direction. “Stephen. Check the audio for my boy Sean. I want to see if he made contact with O’Rourke.”
Gio walked closer. “You’re checking on Killian?”
Who was Killian?
“One of his men is in town. Too many coincidences happening at one time. The alliance the Irish mob has with Max was a tentative one at best. You know that better than anyone,” Danny insisted.
“Yeah, I didn’t think leaving the kingpin alive was the best thing a year ago.”
Danny snorted. “Maybe not. But I’m not jumping to conclusions. We deal with Torino first.”
