Page 20 of Firefly (Redemption 2)

That force between us set into a thick, reinforced wall as I watched him go. As I understood exactly what he’d given us up for.

The mob would’ve been bad enough. But Texas? Knowing about it and allowing it to continue when he could’ve put an end to it?

It was unforgivable.

There was no saving us. Not anymore. Not from the resentment that now burned deep within me.

I flicked my gaze to Beck when I turned to go back to my room, but he was staring at a spot on the floor and didn’t bother with any excuses as I went.

Nearly an hour later, Beck came into the room with a tentative knock, his face wary as he looked at where I sat on the window seat, staring out at the property, seeing nothing.

Holding up a bag, he attempted a grin. “Conor brought these a while ago, but I wasn’t sure if you were ready to see me.”

“You knew.”

“About Texas?” he asked, then dipped his head in confirmation. “Yeah, Lil. I knew.”

“Does everyone?”

“No. Your dad’s advisor is the only other person who knows.”

I nodded for a few seconds then shook my head. “If it’s been going on so long, why is Mickey keeping it a secret? Why have the two of you been keeping it from me?”

Beck seemed to search for the right words for a while before he huffed and walked deeper into the room to sit on the bed. “I think you already know why, Lil. Mickey can shut a lot of people up about his business, and the guys in Texas can too. But the more people who know, the more risks they all take, so it’s not good to go around letting words fly about other people’s business. And for Mickey . . . this is big money. This is cocaine for the entire southern part of Texas. He doesn’t want to fuck it up.”

That sounded mostly right. Mickey liked to have control of people and places, and liked to make sure money was constantly flowing in.

But Mickey wasn’t humble about anything in his life. He didn’t know how to remain tightlipped about money and power. Especially about jobs as big as this.

I waited for more, but when there was none I asked, “And you?”

He let out a slow breath, his eyes finally meeting mine. “Because it’s a burden knowing what we do.”

“It doesn’t have to be. It could’ve been ended years ago.” A hard laugh forced from my chest. “Kieran could’ve ended it years ago.”

Instead of arguing, Beck just sat there for a while staring blankly ahead. Finally, he lifted his shoulders in a brief shrug. “Maybe there’s a lot more going on than you realize. Maybe there’re things involved that Kieran’s trying to protect you from, and he can’t protect you if he kills dozens of men in Texas.”

“Then he should tell me what’s happening. He should’ve told me all of it when he found out.” I gestured out the window like he’d be standing there then pressed my hand to my chest. “He used to tell me everything, Beck.”

“You used to tell him everything too,” he countered gently, the slight challenge in his tone emphasized with a lift of a brow. “But you don’t tell him about whatever has you waking up some nights, screaming. You don’t tell him about the shit the men say to you when they see you.”

Beck’s grin when Kieran entered the meeting that afternoon flashed through my mind. My eyes widened as suspicion hit me swift and deep.

“You told Kieran about Bailey, didn’t you?”

His mouth twisted into a wry smirk before falling. “Someone had to.”

“You didn’t . . .” My stomach twisted at the thought of what Kieran might have done after the meeting. “Beck, I told you to stay out of it.”

“L

il, something had to be done. You’re not standing up for yourself, and you won’t let us. Kieran had to get the guys in line.”

“Not by hurting or killing them.”

Beck rolled his eyes. “He didn’t, I was there the whole time. Kieran knows things that Bailey doesn’t want getting out. That was enough to make Bailey nearly piss himself and swear to never look in your direction again.”

As much as I couldn’t stand Bailey or his son, I was glad that for once, Kieran had kept the beast in check. The men already knew what he could do—knew how lethal he was. He didn’t need to make enemies within Holloway by killing off members because they’d said something to me.

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