Cary got to her before Grimm did and put his body in front of hers like I had for Finn. Grimm was halfway across the bitumen when he realized Cary had taken the job of protecting her. The anger that swept over his face was immediate and fierce, but he kept himself composed and focused his Glock on one of the Oaths.
Cillian and Fallon rushed around a few blokes to get beside me, and I didn’t know if it was because they thought I needed guarding or because it was an automatic reaction for them. The boss’s life was the most important. To my relief, though, Cillian stuck his hand into his suit jacket and tugged out another Glock, shoving it at me.
I raised the gun toward Bluey, who hadn’t moved an inch to get his own weapon. A smirk curved the corner of his lips. His deep red hair had more grays at the temples than I remembered, but he was still the same bastard.
He raised his hands toward me. “Please, sir, don’t shoot. I’m unarmed.” His voice went childish and he let out a playful, fake scream. “You’re scaring me.”
Mercy grunted. “You’re a fuckwit, Bluey. The biggest cum bucket in this city.”
“What he said,” I drawled, but my mouth twitched into a grin. “I should shoot you between the eyes.”
“I’m too pretty for that.” Bluey sent me a wink. “How about we put these guns away, fellas? We don’t want the cops up our arses, even if some of us enjoy it.” He snickered at his own joke, and I rolled my eyes.
I aimed my gun toward the ground and so did everyone else, the tension evaporating as quickly as it ignited. I waved my hand at Finn. “He’s mine. That’s all you need to know.”
Bluey raised his eyebrows but didn’t say anything more, much to my relief, since another barb of pain attacked my insides and made my stomach clench. I wasn’t in the mood to kill one of our allies for saying something shitty about Finn.
“So, wanna tell me what the fuck happened? Was it those Italian bastards?” Bluey asked.
“Isn’t it always?” Mercy returned his gun to the back of his pants, and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes again. He was an idiot, but my best mate. “We’ve got some Americans from the Company here helping out. The motherfucking Italians hired someone to steal their passports, and they were going to sell them, but as soon as Scrum was contacted, he got onto Mercy, who intercepted the courier. Federico Padulano, the old man, wasn’t very happy about that. Which brings us to now.”
Bluey whistled. “Fucking Padulano. I don’t know who’s a bigger pain in the arse, his band of merry fuckers or the Redbacks.”
The Feral Redbacks MC was another club in Townsville, and while our city wasn’t big enough for one gang, let alone two, they were both here and battling for territory. The Oaths had been around for longer, and with the Redbacks offering their guns to the Italians, it was obvious who our allies were always going to be. The Oaths did their part, though, as much as I hated to say it. When they got their hands dirty, it kept ours clean, and they were compensated for their troubles.
“Why didn’t you call us?” Bluey ran a hand through his hair and peeked a look over my shoulder. I tensed when Finn shifted to my side, but I kept calm. Finn was right—he was a Killough man. Even though he was mine now, I had to trust he could take care of himself. If Bluey made one wrong move, he wouldn’t make it back to my jellyfish. I’d slit his throat first.
“Because you make a mess of things,” I said, and he laughed loudly in response.
“Fuck, ain’t that right?” He wiped tears of amusement from his eyes. “How about you let us handle this? You posh Irish don’t know how to make a statement.”
“I take insult to that.” I wrapped my arm around Finn’s shoulders, ignoring another, lesser bout of agony that ripped up my spine. Each spike was getting less painful.
Bluey shrugged. “Not my fucking problem your hole’s clenched so tightly, is it?” The corner of his mouth quirked. If he wasn’t such a dickhead, he might be attractive. Not as beautiful as my Lolly, though.
Mercy sidled in closer to me. “As much as I hate the cheeky cunts, Ledge, they do a good job at sending a message, and you’re not the healthiest right now with your precious jellyfish stinging you.” He stared pointedly at the welts on my right hand, and I flipped him off. “We’ll have plenty of other chances to send Padulano a personal fuck you, and trust me, if anyone wants to fuck their shit up, it’s me. Right now, we need to use these blokes to our advantage.”
I gritted my teeth and glanced at Finn, who stood straight and ready for action. I rubbed my temples. I hadn’t brought the Company men here to sit about and do nothing. They had the expertise my men and the Oaths didn’t.
I held up my finger to Bluey. “What do you want in return?”
Bluey grinned. Sneaky bastard. “Ten percent more product goes directly to us to sell in the next delivery, and all of it at thirty percent less than the last asking price.”
“You’re busting my balls here, Bluey.”
He spread his arms. “We’re keeping your hands clean, Legend. I don’t know why you brought these fancy boys from America.”
“We probably know a lot more than ye,” Cillian snapped, clearly insulted and irritated by Bluey’s words.
I smirked. “We have a deal,ifyou take these fancy boys with you.”
Bluey’s smile slipped off his face. “What?”
“You heard me.” I shrugged. “Killough sent them here to do work, and I trust them more than you. If something happens, they’ll let me know.”
He touched a hand to his chest. “You’re breaking my black heart.”
“Your heart’s not black because you don’t have one,” I said, earning a sharp laugh from him.
