Page 46 of Redemption

Axel

I can’t shake the feelingthat’s crawling around inside my chest. I’ve been itching inside to crawl out of my skin the second we left the girls at home tonight. Something isn’t sitting right with me. I have a bad feeling when we leave here shit is going to be much different and I’m not sure if it’ll be for the better or worse.

Neither Asher nor Zane has said a word from the second we pulled into the driveway to the time we walk up to the lighted walkway and to the front door. They’re both lost in their heads—for different reasons.

“Keep your shit together until we get out of here, Ax.” Asher orders under his breath as he lifts his hand to knock.

“No promises.” I keep my eyes straight ahead, burning a hole through the white wooden door.

Zane stiffens next to me and I brace knowing he’s about to jump my shit as well, but before he can even open his mouth, the door opens.

A huge bald fucker with a Glasgow smile scarring over his cheeks glares at us. He’s a couple of inches shorter and has an SMG slung over his shoulder that I’m sure makes him think he’s got the biggest dick in the room and that makes my fingers itch to grab the 9mm I have strapped to my back..

Without a word, he steps back and lets us inside. The second my feet hit the hardwood flooring I’m swallowed up by the massive interior. Everything is an Ivory color with green accents inside. Very modern and simple. Nothing at all I would expect from an Irish mobster, but what the fuck do I know about decorating and shit?

A boy, who looks like his balls have barely dropped, comes around the corner wearing a black fedora. The blue of his eyes light up against his baby face the second he sees us.

“You’re here. Name’s Teegan.” His eyes bounce between the three of us as he waits us out.

“Axel.” I point to my brothers and do the introductions because I know they won’t. “That’s Asher and the one with the hair is Zane.” A sharp pain, no doubt from Zane’s elbow hits me in the lower back, but I ignore it. At least I know Zane is listening.

With a slight tilt of the head, he waves us inside. “Follow me.” He takes off down the hall knowing damn well that we’re going to follow. I just hope we haven’t entered the lion’s den for a slaughter.

I stare at the back of his buzzed head that’s peeking out from underneath his hat the entire flight of stairs, until we’re standing at an oversized door. One thing I’ll say about Finn is that he’s consistent. The house is done up in the same green and Ivory color stuff all throughout.

It’s so quiet when we enter the room you could hear a pin drop. The three of us walk in with our eyes open and our mouths shut. We’re not taking any chances of being taken by surprise.

My eyes do a quick glance at our surroundings, stopping on the younger guy that’s sitting on a nearby sofa. He’s the mirror image of the one we’ve been following, only difference is he’s wearing a black fedora with a red feather on it. I do a double take a few times. Twins. Of-fucking-course. There’s not even a mole or a fucking freckle to tell them apart.

“Took you long enough, fecker.” The one on the sofa snickers at Teegan.

“Feck off, Keegan.”

“Lads.” That one word cuts through the air in warning and that’s all Finn needs to bring them in line.

“Sorry, Dad.” Keegan dips his head towards the floor and sags back against the sofa, as the one that I know is Teegan stands next to Finn’s desk like a guard dog. Well, more like a guard puppy.

While he reprimands his sons, we move closer, directly into his line of sight. I use his distraction as an opportunity to size him up. He’s polished. Dressed from head to toe in a black suit that still has creases from being pressed. His salt and pepper hair is combed back in a neat style. There are a few similar characteristics to the boys in front of us, but he is more of an older version of his daughter. She’s definitely better looking.

“Thank ye fer coming. I—”

A soft knock on the door cuts him off mid-sentence and the one he referred to as Keegan opens the door.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bother you. I thought you were done for the night. I can come back later.” Her voice carries through the room on a soft breeze and I feel Zane tense beside me. He better keep his shit together because the last thing we need is for Finn to find out what he did last night.

“Nonsense, a stóirín.” Finn waves her forward. “Ye’re never a bother. I always have time for me favorite daughter.” I’m pretty sure that last bit is said mostly as a warning to us. Little does he know it’s too little too late for that.

Kennedy’s heels echo against the wooden flooring. Each step she takes is like a hammer dropping down, reminding us that we’re on borrowed time. In a matter of seconds, she could blow all this shit sky high. Asher stands still as a statue projecting an air of indifference, but I can feel his temper brewing under the surface. Where I’m a loose cannon, he’s more like a cobra taking it all in and striking when you least expect it.

My attention switches to Kennedy. A black pencil skirt wraps around her like a second skin as her green satin top is tucked in, making her look every bit the naughty librarian I pegged her as the night before. Her steps never falter as she comes around the desk.

Blue eyes, similar to Finn’s, widen behind the thick black rims of her glasses the second she sees us. A shade of light pink tints the pale skin of her cheeks as a flicker of emotions flash across her face before settling into a blank stare making me feel like a dick for what we had Zane do. She composes herself just as fast and focuses all her attention on Finn. Like father like daughter.

“I need you to sign these so that I can send the reports to the bank first thing in the morning.” There’s no missing the slight waver in her voice. Her hands tremble at her sides as she waits for him to sign the documents and I’m not sure if she’s going to burst into tears or throw up.

“Shit,” I mumble under my breath. Things have just gotten a bit more complicated for all of us. My gaze flicks to Zane and he’s gone stone cold, with his blank stare focused solely on her.

“Are ye feeling all right, Ken?” Finn’s dark eyebrows pinch together as he studies her.

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