Safeguarded
Author
Piper Sullivan
Reads
15.3K
Chapters
17
Fiona is supposed to be safe in his hands—hidden away, watched over, and kept far from the danger stalking her. He is the man trusted to protect her, loyal to the friend who asked for his help. But Fiona isn’t the girl he remembers. She is grown, bold, and determined to close the distance he tries so hard to keep. One look, one touch, and every rule he built begins to wobble. He wants to resist, yet her warmth keeps tugging him closer. As enemies close in and secrets rise between them, he struggles with a truth he never expected: the greatest risk may be the way she makes him feel, and the way he hopes she feels in return.
Chapter 1: Keep Her Alive
KEANE
“Those assholes set me up, Keane. You were right; I never should have trusted the Red Shamrocks.” I watched my friend and leader pace frantically from side to side, his shock of black hair standing on edge. “Now I’ve got the Feds on my ass, chomping at the bit to finally have something on the mighty Seamus O’Malley.”
I sat back in my chair, a glass of Jameson in my hand as my oldest friend’s world crumbled around him. “Do we have proof, or do you need me to get it?” I couldn’t deny that I’d love nothing more than to take a few of those Red ’Rock bastards to the basement of some building set for demolition and make them cry for their mamas.
My role in Seamus’s organization, Cearul, was part confidant, part advisor, and part hatchet man. The latter part of my job I enjoyed the most.
“No.” Seamus stopped pacing and set dark-blue eyes on me. “What I need from you is more important than those fuckers. Besides”—he smiled and poured himself a healthy amount of whiskey—“I plan to deal with them myself.”
I didn’t know how I felt about Seamus going about this on his own. He was more than capable of handling the wet work if he needed to, but he didn’t need to. “What do you need me to do, Boss?”
“I need you to take care of Fiona. Keep her safe because Callahan and his thugs will use her to get to me, and I can’t let that happen.”
Ah, shit. Fiona O’Malley. A gorgeous redhead with the kind of curves that made men forget to be gentlemen. The kind of mouth that begged to be kissed. And she was Seamus’s daughter.
Completely fucking off limits. Had been since the day I met her, but back then she’d been a kid. Now that she was a grown woman with curves, lips, and tits, it was much harder. Hell, everything was much harder when she was around.
“You got it.” I stood. “Where is she?”
Seamus checked his watch. “She should be on her way home from class now.”
Yeah, she was also twenty-one fucking years old and nearly done with college. I was an old man as far as she was concerned, but I wanted her. Fuck, I wanted her bad.
“Right. And where will you be?”
“I’ll figure it out, Keane. You just keep my Fiona alive.” Guzzling his drink and slamming the glass down, he frowned. “I never wanted any of this shit to touch her. Naive, I know, but I thought I could do it. Now I need you to do it, Keane. You’re the only person I can trust to keep her safe.”
Grabbing the black leather coat that was my constant companion against the temperamental Boston weather, I nodded my agreement. “I’ll go get her now. Stay here until I get back with a bag for you.”
“Keane, goddammit, I don’t—”
“I’m not asking, Boss. You’re my best friend—hell, my only friend—and I’ll make sure you have what you need out there on your own.” I didn’t wait for Seamus to respond because he didn’t need to.
We’d grown up together in this city, run the streets when we should have been in school, learning shit. Instead, we looked out for one another all our lives except for the years Seamus got married and I went into the service.
Hell, I should have seen Fiona as a daughter, but I couldn’t. I didn’t. She wasn’t even my fucking type, all innocent and virginal-looking, but I knew passion hid beneath the surface because it called to me. I couldn’t explain it and I couldn’t act on it, so I’d kept my distance.
Now I couldn’t. Thanks to the Red ’Rocks.
Slamming my foot on the gas and weaving through late-afternoon traffic, I felt an urgency coursing through me to get to Fiona, and I followed it.
Years as an army sniper had told me one thing: never fucking ignore my instincts, and right now they screamed that Fi needed me. Because we’d made the mistake of doing business with the Red Shamrocks, a smaller gang looking to join the Cearul Network, I knew they would attack Fiona first.
My ride came to a screeching halt outside her swanky Beacon Hill apartment building, and my legs ate up the concrete. Inside the lobby, I found the doorman on the floor. I crouched beside him, checking for a pulse. Alive.
Running on instinct and adrenaline, I pulled the emergency lever on the elevator and ducked into the stairwell. If someone was here to harm Fiona, they wouldn’t escape without running into me first.
Scanning the corridor, I noticed one man outside Fiona’s door. A red shamrock was tattooed on his neck. He held a nine-millimeter in his hand, but the man wasn’t ready to use it; his posture was too relaxed and his grip too loose. I crept up on the asshole easily; he should have been keeping better watch. My good luck.
I would have killed the bastard, but I didn’t have time for a body dump, so I wrapped an arm around his neck and squeezed until his lights went out. I dropped him silently and pulled out my gun before heading inside Fiona’s place.
“Get your paws off me, you goon!” She was a sassy thing, with her father’s mouth. But I could hear the struggle in her voice, the fear, and I moved in to see what I was up against.
“Don’t worry, Red, me and my boys are gonna have our paws all over you. Inside you.” I recognized the gravelly voice as one of Callahan’s men, and I knew his reputation. He’d left more than a few working girls bruised, broken, and unable to work.
I would kill that bastard if he touched Fiona. And I would fucking enjoy it.
“Probably the only way someone like you could get laid. But I guess rape is how you shamrock boys get down. Must be all that prison time,” she taunted.
I had to smile. Despite her sheltered upbringing, Fiona wasn’t like the other mob princesses. She was down-to-earth. Smart. And that smart mouth would get her harmed.
“It ain’t rape if you want it. And Red, I know you’re dripping for me.” He laughed and grabbed her neck, and that’s when I went in for the attack.
“One of you will be dripping, but I doubt it’ll be her.” Two punches to the kidney and he was on the ground, my foot on his neck. He squirmed, and I applied pressure. “You okay, Fi?”
“I am now. Thanks, Keane.” She flashed that wholesome, girl-next-door smile that made me want to kiss her until she was wet and trembling for me.
Instead, I winked. “Anytime. Pack a bag. No questions.”
That lush pink mouth opened then snapped shut at my command.
Obedient, nice. “Get up, asshole.” I had plans for this guy. One last job before I dedicated myself to keeping Fiona safe and sound.
Like I promised.
