Locked Hearts (Chained Hearts Duet 2)

“About?” I ask Roberto.

“Paige. What do you plan to do about her?” he asks.

Francis looks on silently.

“What do you think I should do? She’s your cousin, after all,” I ask Francis.

“Do you believe what she says?” Roberto asks him.

I pin Francis with a look, waiting for him to answer. In our line of work, blood is thick, but loyalty is thicker, and Francis has never given me a reason to not trust him. In fact, he has chosen us over his own blood multiple times.

Loyalty comes first. My men will stay loyal to me, even more loyal than to their wives.

“She’s crazy, we all know that,” Francis states, and Joey nods in agreement. “But if she is having a boy, you know that changes things.”

I scrub my hand down my face.

“A boy?” Joey asks.

We haven’t filled him in. He looks around for confirmation, and Roberto tells him what’s happened. When he’s done, Joey shakes his head. “Can you believe what she says, though? Where is the proof it’s a boy?”

“Ultrasound tomorrow,” I tell him. “To confirm if she’s lying or telling the truth.”

“She’s lying,” Joey says with conviction.

“We will see tomorrow.”

“And Romarc? What’s going on there?” Joey asks. No one has been allowed to update him on anything as he stayed with Sailor. He eyes us before I answer.

“He sent a present to the house.” Jimmy walks in holding a dead snake. It was Paige’s pet.

“Fuck, he’s killing animals now? That’s low.” Joey shakes his head. “You haven’t seen him yet?”

“He’s been good at hiding, but he’s getting antsy. Seems he needs to step up his distribution since somehow it keeps going missing,” Roberto says, throwing a grape into his mouth and smirking.

“You’ve been taking it.” Joey nods, happy with that. “Any of the boys rat him out?”

“None, but he’s good. He sends it down the line, so it passes at least three hands before it gets to the men on the street who sell it. And by the time we get to that distribution step, they have no idea.”

“He’ll slip eventually. Romarc likes to have his name on people’s lips. It’s why he wanted us gone,” Joey says, grinning. “He’s too cocky for his own good.”

“What do you plan to do with him, boss?” Francis asks.

“Maybe the same thing he did to that snake.” I motion to the dead reptile and smile with malicious intent.

“Sounds real fucking good.” Joey nods.

My mother walks in, which in of itself is rare. She never comes over unannounced—it’s not who she is. My father trained her well. But she smiles as she enters my apartment and walks over to Joey, who stayed because he got fucking plastered, and kisses the top of his head. “Missed you, baby.”

She’s never treated us different, even knowing the power I hold. To her, I’m her son and that’s it. We hardly speak of work with her, even though she knows more about what we do than most women.

Our father had her on a tight leash, even hit her a few times, which didn’t sit well with us. But he never stayed around for long. The only time he did was when it was a special occasion, and I think Mamma liked it that way. She didn’t have to deal with him, and she got us from the deal. That’s what she tells us now, no matter how much hate she had for our father. He was just a body who gave her her biggest blessings. Us.

“I made you breakfast.” She pulls her famous cookies out of her bag and places them on the counter. Joey doesn’t waste any time before he dives into them while I sip my coffee.

“Thanks, Mamma,” Joey says and kisses her cheek.

“Tell me, Joey, what do you think of Sailor?” Joey’s eyes flick up over to me. My mother chimes in, “Don’t worry about what Keir has to say.”

I shrug and he opens his mouth before he shuts it again.

My mother’s brows pinch together as she looks at me. “Keir,” she chides, in a tone that only a mother uses.

“What do you think of Sailor, Joey?” I ask him.

“Will you kill me if I tell you?” he asks.

I think about his words and smile. “Not today.”

Joey deflates before he turns to our mother. “She is his kryptonite.”

I puzzle over his answer. “What does that mean?”

“She should be dead,” he says casually.

Well, that is the truth. She should be dead. But she is very much alive and will stay that way, regardless of his or anyone else’s opinion.

“He has never had a problem killing for payment before. He raises that gun of his and shoots, then we clean up the mess.” His eyes find mine. “Yet, you shot her husband, then sent me to watch her for months.” I can tell he’s angry about that, but I don’t care. “So, I think he should have killed her when he had the chance, because now she has a baby with him, that woman has so much control over him she isn’t even aware of it.”