Entangled Read online

  I dial Mitch, Marc, and Dean’s numbers making it a conference call. “This better be an emergency,” Dean says first, followed by grunts of agreement from both other men.

  “Chance called said he found Kean and Jewel. I’m heading for the location he gave me right before the shots rang out ending the call,” I mutter, exiting the house and heading for my truck. I’d normally take my car, but right now, I don’t know if we’ll need the bed for carrying Chance to the hospital or his body to the morgue. Either way, a bed is easier to clean than the back seat of a car.

  “Fuck,” Dean snarls.

  “What’s the location?” Marc demands.

  I give them the location as I get into the driver’s seat and put the key in the ignition.

  “I’ll meet you there. Don’t do anything stupid,” Mitch sneers.

  I don’t respond as I start the truck. Instead, I disconnect the call, put the truck in reverse, and hit the gas. In the street, I switch gears and put the pedal to the floor. There’s no time to wait around. If I get there before anyone else, I have my gun, and I know what to do with it.

  Kean and Jewel will get what’s coming to them. I’m sure Marc’s already on the phone with Kit-Kat calling her in about Jewel. Kit-Kat’s been more than ready to get her hands on the skanky, psychotic woman.

  As for Kean, I know both Dean and Mitch want the fucker for themselves; however, he’s mine. I’ll be the one to end the motherfucker. He’s been a burden in my soul that I’m more than ready to have relieved from my body.

  I’d never told Dean, Mitch, or anyone else, why I’ve been determined that we find this asshole. Why I wanted him more than anything. That’s because I keep that secret close to home. The fucker is the man who got my mom pregnant. Raped her when he’d not gotten what he’d wanted. Made my mother suffer for months on end at his hand before finally throwing her away. My grandfather sent her to the States to live freely. She was supposed to marry another man when she turned eighteen, but he’d gotten her out of the contract. He did have a stipulation, I’m thankful I didn’t have to go through with. That is, if she had a girl, the child would marry Doran O’Farrell’s son. Since she had a boy, I was to marry the man’s daughter. However, Doran O’Farrell didn’t have a daughter. I lucked out and can marry who I wish.

  And now that we’ve found Kean, I can finally give my mother the peace she needs and deserves.

  Justice will be given by my hand as I pull the trigger.

  Chapter 11

  Enya

  My thoughts of confusion are overrun by worry as I think about Kenyon. He’d left in a hurry after waking me to ask if I’d watch over Ryland. I didn’t fall back to sleep. There was no point in it. Instead, I’d put on one of his shirts, brushed my hair, and went downstairs to find coffee. With it being so early, I need it.

  Especially after last night.

  I didn’t expect it to go the way it did, but I have to admit him being compassionate is like another string of my heart being pulled.

  How is it even possible for a person’s heart to be involved so quickly with someone? I barely know Kenyon though, at the same time, I feel as if I know all there is to know about him.

  “Your heart will always show you the way when it comes to love. Only your mind will make the decision of whether or not that love is worth it in the end.” My mom’s words ring in my head. She’d said those exact words to me when she spoke of my biological father. I didn’t even know my mom could love someone like she did him. Or well, that’s what I gathered from the way she spoke of him.

  I just wish I knew the whole story. Why she’d not told him about Ensley and me or why she’d married my stepfather. She didn’t love him, and eventually, he’d worn her down to become a shell of a woman before she died of breast cancer.

  Sighing, I shake thoughts of my mom away. There’s no reason to start thinking of her. Instead, I move to the coffee pot, get it brewing, and go back upstairs to check on Ryland. I find him lying peacefully on his back, kicking his legs.

  He’s adorable, and I wonder, not for the first time, where his mother is.

  “Hey, Ry,” I murmur sweetly while lifting him out of the crib.

  He coos and smiles while I move him over to the changing table. I clean him up, change his clothes, and lift him back into my arms. Carrying him downstairs, I place him in his swing while I make him a bottle. He starts to get fussy as I pour a cup of coffee. I take both mug and bottle back to where he’s sitting in his swing. Placing them on the coffee table, I pull Ryland out of the swing and take the bottle in hand as I sit in the corner of the couch.

  I don’t know how much time passes, but it doesn’t matter. I enjoy holding Ryland while he sucks down his bottle. Finished, I burp him, thankful he doesn’t spit up on me.

  Grabbing my coffee, I’m careful not to spill any while I continue to snuggle with Ryland. He falls back to sleep in my arms, and I simply hold him against my chest while he naps. Snagging the remote, I turn the TV on to the news. I’m not big on politics, but I do like to stay up to date with what’s going on in our community.

  Two hours pass and Lillian finally comes in. “What are you doing down here? I figured you would be getting ready to head to the bookstore.”

  “Kenyon got a call earlier and had to leave. He asked me to watch over Ryland until you came in,” I say, looking down at the little boy.

  “You’re gonna spoil him,” Lillian states with a grin.

  “He deserves to be spoiled,” I utter.

  “Aw, is Enya falling for a little baby boy?” Lillian giggles and walks to the kitchen, where she makes herself a coffee.

  I look over the back of the couch to her as I respond, “Something like that.”

  “What do you mean something like that?” Lillian asks, still grinning like a fool as she joins me on the couch.

  “I mean, I’m falling for a man I barely know. One I feel more connected to than I’ve ever felt with a person,” I admit.

  “And what’s the problem? I would give anything to find a woman who I could feel a connection to,” Lillian states sincerely. After her breakup she’s not dated anyone since, and I feel bad for what she went through. Then again, her ex was a complete bitch for the way she treated my friend, and Lillian deserves so much more than to be cheated on and ridiculed constantly.

  Sighing, I look down to Ryland sleeping with his mouth slightly parted. “The problem is, I don’t want my stepfather to find me and hurt this little one or his father. You know what I told you about him, what he’s like. I can’t endure the thought of something happening to either of them. It hurts just thinking about it.”

  “Enya, trust Kenyon. You don’t have to worry about your stepfather anymore,” Lillian says with so much conviction I feel the need to believe her.

  “I’ll try,” I whisper, hoping I’m making the right decision in trusting in Kenyon.

  “Good. You deserve love and so does Kenyon. He’s a good man and does what he has to, to protect his,” Lillian declares.

  “What does he do?” I ask.

  “He works security for Dean O’Connell and all of his businesses.”

  So that’s how Bridget and Alison knew Ryland the other day at the bookstore. Interesting. I’d heard rumors about their husbands being mafia, but it isn’t any of my business. The way I see it, after growing up with the stepfather from hell, long as whatever a person does for a living doesn’t hurt me in the end, I’m fine. If Kenyon works for Dean O’Connell, then he’s most likely working in the same field. So if being with Kenyon means washing blood stains out of clothes every night and means he’s home safe, then I’ll do it. The heart wants what it wants, and mine feels so entangled already with his, it’s unreal.

  Chapter 12

  Kenyon

  The entire ride to the location Chance gave me, my gut felt tight. Not only am I already in a fighting mood because of mine and Enya’s conversation, I’m also ready to end Kean’s life.

  Dean, Mitch, and Marc meet me not
far from the cabin where Chance’s Camaro is parked. Getting out of my truck, I look up at the place. Music is blaring from inside. Scanning the area, I look for Chance, not seeing him anywhere.

  Where is he?

  Scanning the area around us, I spot him face down on the ground not far away. “Fuck,” I snarl, taking off in his direction. I drop to the ground and roll Chance to his back, quickly checking for a pulse.

  “Marc, you call in back up?” Dean asks, joining me on the ground next to Chance.

  “He’s got a pulse,” I mutter right after Dean speaks.

  “Yeah, Beau and Iasan should be here any minute,” Marc announces.

  Nodding, I stand and state, “Come on, let’s get him loaded into the back of the truck. Beau can use it to take Chance to the hospital.”

  Marc and I work together to carry Chance to my truck, while Mitch puts the tailgate down. He and Dean help lift Chance into the back. Beau and Iasan pull up as I shut the tailgate and look to Beau. “Keys are in the ignition. Get him to the hospital,” I order. Dean and Mitch hop out of the back.

  Beau gives a jerk of his chin and heads for the driver’s door, hops in, barely waiting for Iasan to get in the passenger seat.

  Turning to the cabin, I stare at it. “Kean and Jewel are in there,” I mutter.

  “Then I say we finish this shit with them once and for all,” Dean snarls. I’m sure he’s thinking of the night he married his wife and ended up with a knife in his gut.

  “I want to be the one to put a bullet in his head,” I announce vehemently.

  “You want to kill the man who put a knife in me and threatened my wife?” Dean sneers.

  “I do, because he’s done far worse to my family, and I want vengeance for them,” I growl through clenched teeth at what I’m about to say. “He’s the man who raped and got my mother pregnant with me. For her, I want to kill him.”

  “Then you can have the last shot, but I’ll have my own. I knew the fucker was related to you. You look like Kayne. Tomás told me after I was released from the hospital when Kean tried to gut me,” Dean mutters.

  I grind my teeth at the thought of looking like that sick fucker. Kayne had been just as bad, if not worse, than his father. Thankfully Dean’s cousin, Jordan’s ol’ man from the Devil’s Riot put an end to him.

  Nodding, the four of us head for the cabin. Kicking the door in, I step through the threshold before Dean or Mitch. They might like to get their hands dirty, but my job is to make sure neither gets killed.

  The stench that assaults my senses makes me want to vomit. Worse, the sight in front of me. Jewel is on her knees in front of Kean sucking his cock. From the angle she’s kneeling, you can see the dildos filling her up.

  “Fuckin’ gross,” Marc shudders.

  “You’re tellin’ me,” I grumble.

  From the looks of things, I realize these two fuckers are out of it. Coke, weed, and syringes litter the coffee table. Kean and Jewel are so high they don’t even know we’re in the cabin with them.

  “Let’s get this over with. Mitch, call Kit-Kat. Tell her to get her ass here. She’ll want to be here for Jewel. She’s been itching to get her hands on the cunt,” Dean orders.

  “Already texted her,” Mitch mutters.

  Marc steps forward, reaches out, and grips Jewel by the back of her hair, wrenching her away from Kean, releasing her as she falls to the side with a scream.

  “That’s more like it,” I mutter when Kean’s eyes finally focus on all of us.

  “You know what, Kenyon? Have at it. I don’t want to deal with this bullshit,” Dean says from the doorway.

  I tilt my head back enough to look at my boss and grin. “If you want to head out, I’ll be a while.”

  Nodding, Dean announces he’s going to the hospital to check on Chance.

  “Once I finish here, I’ll be there,” I tell him and focus back on Kean.

  The man tries to stand only to stumble back into his seat.

  “By all means, stay seated, you fuckhead,” I snarl, lifting my foot and slamming it into his chest, forcing him and the chair he’s sitting in backward.

  Kean yells when his head hits the floor.

  Jewel screams again when Kit-Kat comes sauntering into the cabin.

  “It’s a good thing I’d been at Sinner’s Cove when Mitch texted me. I wouldn’t want to miss out on the party,” she muses, stepping forward and placing her heel in Jewel’s stomach. Jewel squeals like a pig clawing at the denim-clad pants Kit-Kat’s wearing.

  “You have your fun. I’m ending this fucker. We gotta get to the hospital,” I state and turn back to focus on Kean, blocking out the sounds of Jewel’s screams of terror as Kit-Kat goes to work.

  Pulling out my gun from the back of my jeans, I point it in Kean’s face. I move until I’m standing right by his head, pointing the gun down at him. “I hope you rot in hell, you piece of shit,” I spit out and pull the trigger, blowing Kean’s face off of him.

  Stepping back, I take a deep breath and walk out of the cabin, not paying any mind to what Kit-Kat does to Jewel. That’s for her to handle.

  Now I need to go check on Chance then go see Enya. I want to make sure she’s okay, considering she planned to go to work this morning.

  Things didn’t go so well at the hospital, and I’m more than ready to leave. The only good thing is that Chance was going to be okay. The bad part had been trying to figure out who tried to kill him.

  “We need to make sure the girls stay safe until we know who did this. If someone is willing to go after Chance, then they could easily have gone after one of the women,” Mitch states quietly, so no one else overhears our conversation.

  I have to agree with him there. “Keep your eyes open. When you two aren’t with your wives, I’d make sure someone we can trust is on them.”

  “What about Ryland?” Marc asks.

  “I’ll speak with Lillian. Tell her not to go anywhere with him unless I know about it. I’ve already told her about her and her friends going out, that she needs a man on them. She’ll understand,” I state.

  “And Lillian’s friend Enya?” Marc asks.

  “Are you talking about Enya from the bookstore?” Dean adds his own question.

  “Yeah, I’ve started seeing her. Why?”

  “Nothing wrong there. Bridget likes her. Said Liam loves going there for story time and that Enya spoils our son when there,” Dean says with a shit-eating grin.

  “Good to know because Enya is mine.”

  “In more ways than you know,” Marc mutters.

  “What do you mean?” Mitch frowns.

  “Have you two talked much?” Marc asks, eyes trained on me.

  “Some, why?”

  “Do you know who her mother is? Or her father?” I’m starting to get annoyed by the questions.

  “We’re not discussing that fuckin’ stepfather of hers because when I get my hands on him, I’m going to make him beg for death,” I snarl.

  “No, not her stepfather. I’m talking about Doran O’Farrell.” At Marc’s announcement, it’s as if a pin could be heard dropping to the floor.

  What the fuck?

  “O’Farrell doesn’t have a daughter,” Dean says, furrowing his brow.

  “Enya is his daughter, according to birth records. I’m surprised he doesn’t know about her.” Marc shrugs

  “She has a twin that looks like her,” I mutter.

  “Yeah, and she’s nothing but a bitch from what I’ve found. Anyways, the mother is dead, died years ago. The daughters lived with the stepfather then left and came here. I’m still looking into the stepfather, so I don’t know much about him yet. My focus was finding out about Enya and Zoe since they’re friends with Lillian.”

  I knew he’d look into her.

  Fuck me. If she is Doran O’Farrell’s daughter, that means . . . fuck. I’m with the woman I was supposed to marry if he’d had a daughter.

  Shit.

  How the fuck did this happen?

  Not
that I’m complaining. Enya’s my future. Only now, I’m going to have to deal with O’Farrell at some point, and I’m not ready for that yet.

  I don’t even know if Enya could deal with that after last night.

  Chapter 13

  Enya

  For the past two months, it’s been somewhat intense between Kenyon and me. Not only did he all but move me out of the apartment above the bookstore into his house, he’s been super protective.

  Kenyon didn’t tell me what happened that day he left so early in the morning and I haven’t asked. Instead, we’ve been busy getting to know each other both in and out of bed. The man can rock my world with just a simple touch or heated look.

  The other night, Lillian and Zoe dragged me out for girls’ night. Kenyon took one look at my dress, and the next thing I knew, he’s showing up at the club I’d first met him at. That night had been a blast as he danced with me. For the first time, I had more fun than I can remember.

  Since the day Kenyon and I started us, I haven’t seen my sister or heard from her. I spoke with Kenyon about my fear of something possibly having happened to her. He said not to worry about her but to ease my fears, he’d talk to one of the guys he works with, have him look into Ensley.

  For the most part, everything has been really awesome between Kenyon and me. I love spending time with him and Ryland. Lillian brings him to the bookstore more often, and I’ve even set a place for him to nap in my apartment upstairs so he can sleep while here. The fact that Lillian has someone with her when she comes in has been noted.

  Kenyon has been bringing me to and from work every day. I tried once to go on my own, and he flipped. Said he likes taking me to work. It reassured him I’d gotten there safely. I’m not stupid. I knew something was bothering him so I didn’t push. I figured that if it involved me in any way, he’d tell me.

  This morning, I have inventory coming in and didn’t want to bother Kenyon. Not when he’s sleeping so peacefully after getting in later than normal. He woke me up long enough to take me quickly and fall right back to sleep.