Thank fuck. Thank fuck. Thank fuck.

“That’s enough, boys. It’s time for you to leave.” He pointed his rifle between Tommy and the guy who was bent over Kayla.

Blood was dripping onto the floor. From my face, from my leg, and from Kayla’s stomach. The guy who had his dick out of his pants turned around, and red footprints from Kayla’s blood were left behind.

Tommy looked at my gramps’s neighbor. “Get out of here, Frank. It’s not your business.”

Frank was a tough guy. Big. No-nonsense. He didn’t take shit from anyone.

He looked at Tommy and shrugged. “Just thought you should know, I called your old man. He’s on his way to get you. I also called Killian. He’s on his way to kill you. So you have a couple of options to choose from. No skin off my back whichever you decide.”

With that he turned and walked out.

Tommy bobbed his chin for the door. “Leave him and his whore girlfriend. Let’s get out of here—Declan’s in the car waiting.”

They let go of me and I lunged for Tommy.

He held up the knife. “Touch me and you’re dead.”

“Fuck you,” I spat once I’d pulled the towel from my mouth.

He smile was evil. “I’d watch my back if I were you, because the next time I see you around my town with another skank disgracing my sister’s name, it won’t end up as pretty as this did.”

My fists clenched at my sides and I started for him.

He held up the knife and pointed it toward Kayla. “I’m not fucking around with you.” He limped backwards out the door, slamming it as soon as he crossed the threshold.

I wanted to go after him, but Kayla was still bound and hysterical. I untied her and immediately pulled my bloody shirt off to slide it over her trembling body. I didn’t want to leave her and I didn’t want to move her.

She flung her arms around me and clung to me as we both spilled the blood that Tommy had shed.

Her cuts were superficial, but the emotional damage was anything but.

To her and me.

The day that Emily died will always remain a permanent point of reference for me. My life ever since has been “after” . . . but the run-in with Tommy was a day I’ll never forget, and it, too, became an “after.” Both marked an alternate path my life would take. Both had an impact on me. Yet that day with Tommy made me a different person.

We hadn’t called the police. Things weren’t handled that way and besides, Patrick had the Dorchester cops in his pocket. Rather, he and my grandfather roughed it out. The problem was, Patrick was already unofficially running things, so the punishment didn’t match the crime. My gramps had one foot out the door and didn’t have much of a choice but to agree to the terms. Patrick had sanctioned what Tommy had done as due retribution. As if he wouldn’t. My gramps allowed the incident to pass, but ordered no further engagement with me by either Patrick or Tommy, on any level. I also was forbidden from going anywhere near Tommy and he was forbidden from coming anywhere near me. Neither of us violated the order. We both knew better. I hadn’t been in the same room with him or Patrick since that night.

But that was about to change.

The thought of him had me seeing red. I pounded my fist so hard against the bathroom mirror that it cracked down the middle. Blood seeped between my fingers. I didn’t give a shit.

Tommy was going to be trouble with his second-in-command status. Sure, he was older now, but he was still a cokehead. What made it worse was that he was a cokehead with power. With troops. With eyes everywhere. And to boot, he was more ruthless than those before him had been. Women were his favorite targets. He was a motherfucker, a ticking time bomb, and a cold-hearted killer.

The truth was, now that my gramps had left the ranks, there was no way Tommy was going to stick to the treaty made years ago.

It was just a matter of time.

This situation might speed it up, but either way, he would be coming for me.

I’d be ready this time.

I looked at my scar one last time.

His time would come, but until then . . . he couldn’t see me with Elle.

Ever.

ELLE

“McPherson?” she gasped.

I nodded around a sip from my water bottle.

“You’re certain his last name is McPherson?” she asked again, spearing the credit card receipt that the last customer had just signed.

“Yes, Peyton,” I said exasperatedly and set my bottle down.

Cracking open a roll of quarters, she kept going. “As in Killian McPherson?”

I brought my voice down. “I’m not sure. Who is he that the name has you fifty shades of crazy?”

It was the first break we’d had all day. It was close to three and the boutique’s grand opening had been unbelievable. Sales were more than I had ever expected for my first day and the traffic in and out was insane.

Peyton closed the cash register drawer and whipped around. “Didn’t read up on Boston before you moved here?”

I blinked. “No.”

Peyton grimaced. “Oh, right, your sister. Sorry.”

“Focus, Peyton. Who is Killian McPherson?”

Her face resumed its normal charm. “Killian, the Killer, McPherson was the original leader of the Blue Hill Gang.”

My brows popped. “Okay. Are we talking motorcycle club or street gang?”

“Neither. They’re the Irish Mafia,” she whispered.

“What type of material is this?” a woman holding a set of sheets in her hands asked.

My mind was spinning. The Mafia. My sister had been involved with the Mafia. Logan was related to someone who was once in charge of underworld organized crime. Was Logan part of it too? Is that why he was so concerned about what could happen?

“It’s Egyptian cotton,” Peyton told the customer, and I was relieved. I wasn’t certain I could talk right now, my throat was so tight.

“The fabric feels so coarse,” the woman commented.

“The material softens with each wash. And it resists any type of pilling. The sheets are very durable, and extremely breathable. I highly recommend them. Egyptian cotton is known for its ability to create extra-long fibers so they not only feel luxurious on your skin, but they can last for decades.”

My mind was thinking back to episodes of The Sopranos, made men, earners. I just couldn’t see Logan being a part of anything like that. He was cultured, not brutish, although he was brooding. No—still, I didn’t see it. He had to be more like his other grandfather, the one from New York City that he had told me about. Yes, that made sense.

Having talked myself off of the ledge, mention of his name had me thinking about him in other ways. His rough fingers digging into my skin, his soft lips on mine, his hard body pressed to mine. Even if he was a killer’s grandson, that didn’t mean anything. We couldn’t control who we were related to—I knew that all too well.

Voices brought me back.

What the hell was wrong with me? I should stay away from him.

Peyton glared at me while she talked. Although I was only half listening, I was still impressed. She had done her homework. “Isn’t that correct, Elle?” she said, narrowing her eyes at me.

“Yes, it is,” I smiled sweetly, having no idea what I was agreeing to.

“I’ll take them. Do they come in lavender?” the woman asked.

Peyton glanced toward me with a little kinder expression this time. “I’m certain we can order that color for you. Right now we only have them in gray, cream, and light blue.”

“Oh, I didn’t see the light blue,” the woman said.

Peyton rounded the table. “It’s right here.”

“Very nice. I’ll take them.” The woman was practically giddy.

I rang her up and then handed her the beautifully wrapped package, tied with our signature red ribbon and adorned with a red bow.