Chapter 1
Ronan
“I’m telling you,it needs to go down here,” was the first thing I heard a heavy voice say as I walked down the narrow hallway leading to what I knew was the kitchen near the back of the house. Baby, the Rottweiler, had met me at the door, but hadn’t barked when I’d knocked and when I’d finally opened it after there was no answer, the big dog had wiggled his butt in excitement and then had begun sniffing my pockets, presumably for the hot dogs he so loved and that visitors often made a habit of sneaking him.
“No, they’ll take him down for sure if it happens here…he’s got no advantage.”
The first voice had been Memphis’s, the second Hawke’s. I had no clue what they were arguing about, but it was clearly some kind of mission, which was odd considering Hawke had left the team months earlier and even now was in the process of going legit by signing on with Dominic Barretti’s security firm.
“This is fucking insane,” I heard Mav grumble and I didn’t miss the edge of tension in his voice. He was the reason I’d stopped by on the way home from the hospital. His text had been brief and vague.
My place as soon as you can.
I’d called Mav just to make sure it wasn’t some kind ofemergency, but his clipped tone when he’d told me it wasn’t and just to get there as soon as I could had been enough for me to beg off my last meeting of the day with the Chief of Trauma Surgery at Seattle Med, the hospital I was going to be working at, once I completed the recertification process. I wasn’t worried that my new boss would be pissed about the whole thing because he’d made it more than clear that he was excited to have me joining the staff, and he hadn’t bothered to hide the fact that it was how I’d saved young Brennan Devereaux’s life that had played a big role in fast tracking the entire process for me.
I didn’t announce my presence as I entered the kitchen and surprisingly, not one of the three men who I considered some of the most lethal killers I’d ever met, noticed me. Memphis and Hawke were bent over a huge piece of paper spread out on the kitchen table and Mav was pacing back and forth in front of the patio doors that led out onto a small porch. The rental house that Mav and Eli had selected wasn’t very big, but I could tell they’d been working to make it their own. I could still smell the fresh paint from the newly finished walls and I could see that many of the out of date appliances that had come with the place had been replaced with gleaming black ones that contrasted nicely with the white cabinets and dark gray countertop.
“I think this whole thing is going to hinge on misdirection,” another voice said and I realized it was Mace’s voice coming over the speaker of a cell phone sitting on the kitchen table.
“And we need to make sure he isn’t outnumbered…anything more than three to one and he’s fucked,” Memphis pointed out.
Hawke shook his head. “Nope, I’d say two to one…these guys are good.”
“Everything okay in here?” I asked as I studied the stiffness in Mav’s normally relaxed frame. Memphis and Hawke barely spared me a glance as they waved me over.
“Ronan, good…come check this out and tell us what you think. We’re thinking about a blitz approach,” Hawke said calmly as his finger roamed over the paper in front of him.
“Thisis how they help,” Mav snapped as he whirled around and motioned to the two men.
I’d never seen Mav so agitated and a sliver of worry went through me. “What’s going on? Is Eli okay?” I automatically asked because that was the only thing I could think of that would have the normally cool-as-stone Mav so upset.
“It was supposed to be simple. In and out,” he muttered before crossing his arms, almost like he was trying to soothe himself. “Then these morons show up…”
I glanced at Memphis and Hawke who had finally turned around to look at me. “He was going to just walk in there blind, Ronan,” Hawke said, a wan smile gracing his lips. I didn’t miss the hint of amusement in his eyes and I instantly relaxed. I still didn’t have a clue what was going on, but it clearly wasn’t a life or death situation.
“What’s the mission?” I finally said as I shrugged my coat off. It was late November in Seattle which meant on and off cold rain and drizzle on most days.
It was Hawke who answered by reaching behind him for something on the table. I couldn’t help but smile when I saw the small black velvet box, the top flipped open to reveal a shiny white gold ring with a black inlay. I had no doubt who it was for, but one glance at Mav who was still fidgeting as he stared at the ring and I forced the smile away.
“May I?” I asked Mav as Hawke handed me the box.
Mav’s dark green eyes flipped up to meet mine and he finally nodded jerkily. I carefully removed the ring from its velvet bed and held it up so I could get a better look. The piece of jewelry was stunning and I could tell that Mav had dropped a pretty penny for it. Some writing on the inside of the ring caught my eye.
A lifetime of firsts.
Emotion welled up in my chest because I knew exactly what the words meant…Eli had given Mav so many firsts…love, family, a home.
“It’s beautiful,” I murmured and then returned my gaze to Mav. “He’ll love it,” I reassured him.
Mav relaxed marginally and nodded. I didn’t need any more than that so I gently put the ring back and then handed the box to him. “So what is all this?” I asked as I motioned to Memphis and Hawke.
“He asked us to help him come up with a plan to pop the question.”
I glanced at Mav and said, “Mav, you know he’ll say yes…he doesn’t need some elaborate plan.”
“Uh, Ronan,” I heard Mace say from the phone. “The question’s not for Eli.”
Memphis grabbed the phone and held it, presumably so Mace wouldn’t miss any of the conversation. “He needs to ask a certain someone for permission,” Memphis said quietly, though I didn’t miss the smirk that stole across his features. All three men were having entirely too much fun at Mav’s expense.
