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did you know they were part of the Russian outfit?"
"The jewelry," he said softly. "The shoes. The car." With a gesture that Jack nearly missed,
Finn pointed to the end of the street. Because the house sat on a cul-de-sac there was only one way in
and one way out and Besian's men were watching it. "The Albanian crew made a shift change right
before the Russians showed up. I recognize two of them from the night Pops got into that scrape
outside the bar."
Jack surveyed the situation. "Feels wrong to depend on criminals to keep Abby safe."
"We don't pick the men we go to war with, Jack. Besides, the enemy of my enemy, right?"
"That's what worries me most. Besian won't fuck Abby over but the other one?"
"Nikolai Kalasnikov is a dangerous man," Finn agreed. "But he's quiet and he's smart.
Something tells me he'll find a way to use this to his advantage."
"If there's a power play to be made, he'll take it. I worry Abby might get caught in the
crossfire."
"I don t think that's his style. Hell he came to Kelly and gave him Trevor on a silver platter
even when Kelly was training to fight against Sergei. I've seen him with his wife. I've seen the way he
protects his friends and hers. He won't put an innocent woman like Abby in harm's way."
"I hope to hell you're right." Jack tapped his brother's arm. "Go get some rest. Morning will be
here soon enough."
Finn backed away from the window. "I'm taking Mattie with me in the morning. I've been
thinking about offering him a part-time job. This is as good a time as any to make it official. Unless
you feel differently?"
"No. I was actually going to bring it up to you." Glad his brother spotted the same potential in
Mattie, he said, "The kid loves it at the gym. He's great with people. I think he needs the chance to
earn a paycheck separate from his family."
"He told me he wants to move out on his own." Finn kept his voice deliberately low, almost as
if he feared Abby overhearing. "I got the feeling Mattie wants to strike out and make a go of it."
"What did you say?" Jack hoped Finn hadn't put him in an awkward position with Abby.
Knowing how protective she was of Mattie, she would blow a gasket if she suspected they had been
encouraging her brother to move out of her house.
"I told him that was something he needed to discuss with Abby, but he needed a plan before he
made his case. I sat him down and explained what my budget looks like and how many hours I have to
work to pay for food, rent, clothing, utilities and all that. He showed me a brochure for an assisted-
living style complex not far from here where some of his friends live." Finn hesitated. "If the place
checks out, it might be a good first step for him, Jack. Let him get out there in the real world but make
sure there's a safety net to catch him if he stumbles."
Jack rubbed the back of his neck. "Abby won't like it, Finn. She loves him so much, and she
wants to protect him from the shitty people who would do him wrong."
"You tried to protect me once. Kelly, too," Finn added. "You had to let us go out and be men,
Jack. We had to make mistakes and find our way."
"It's different with Mattie."
"Why? Granted, he has some unique challenges ahead of him, but there's no reason he can't at
least try. Abby has always fought so damned hard to make sure Mattie got every opportunity he
deserved. Is she really going to hold him back now?"
Jack's gut roiled. What Finn said was true, but Abby wouldn't see it that way. Not at first,
anyway. Given time to consider it, she would come around but he loathed the idea of being the one to
piss her off. "When this bullshit is done, I'll talk to her."
Finn slapped him on the back. "Good luck, bro."
He chortled. "Thanks."
Alone with his thoughts, Jack made the rounds of the house again, obsessively checking the
windows and doors. The chilling footage of that contract killer entering that bedroom so easily and
completely unnoticed made the fine hairs on the back of his neck stand on edge. He thought about the
phone number left behind for Abby and the warning accompanying it. That was a phone call he
planned to make very soon.
"You want some coffee, boy?"
The sound of Pop's voice instantly set his teeth on edge. He glanced over his shoulder to find
his father silhouetted near the entrance to the living room. "No. I'm good."
"It's going to be a long night. I'll make it anyway."
Jack listened to the old man's slippered feet shuffling away. Though he had turned down the
offer of caffeine, he silently accepted the cup handed to him a short time later. Talking to his father
was the very last thing in the world he wanted to do tonight but the old man didn't seem to get the hint.
Or maybe Pop did but just didn't give a shit.
"Mattie told me about the watch."
Jack's jaw clenched. "You realize you nearly lost it?"
"I got shot."
"You shouldn't have pawned it in the first place."
"Add it to my list of mistakes."
"I'm not sure there's any room left on that list."
Pop didn't have a reply for that one. He quietly drank his coffee and stared out the window.
Eventually, he piped up again. "You sure about this, son?" When Jack didn't answer, the old man
clarified his question. "You and Finn might think you can keep a secret but I'm not deaf yet. I can hear
and I can see."
He gestured to the barely visible cherry of a cigarette peeking out from a tree in his neighbor's
yard. For the last twenty minutes or so, Jack had been watching Kostya watching the house. There
was something so eerie about the other man. Jack wasn't at all the easily intimidated type but Kostya
had the sort of dead-eyed stare that put the fear of God in a man.
As if reading his mind, Pop said, "That one is probably more dangerous than the hitman after
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