1. The Last Minute Party

EVERLEIGH

The app I use to help me sleep at night was cut off way before I wanted to wake up. Using a white noise app was the only way I could get a full night's sleep without the nightmares returning.

Samson laid with his head on my stomach, his ears perked up and his long bushy tail wagging. I rescued him as much as he rescued me. I was part of the K-9 unit and after I got hurt he was supposed to go to another handler.

He became aggressive and uncontrollable with his new handler and therefore that made him a liability. The head of my unit knew I wasn't coming back, not after I lost Bryan.

So they let us both retire peacefully.

I swung my legs over the side of the bed testing the balance on my right leg. It still gives me problems sometimes, especially first thing in the morning and definitely when it rains. And unfortunately, it has been raining here for almost a week straight and is unseasonably cold in the mornings and blazing hot by noon.

Mother nature needs to get her hormones under control. This is ridiculous!

I made my way slowly to my bedroom door. Yeah, it was gonna be a bad day. My limp is a little more painful today than it has been. Hopefully a long extremely hot shower will help get me on my way to feeling better.

I opened my bedroom door just enough to let Samson out.

He can let himself out of his doggy door.

Down the hall I could hear Gran's alarm go off as well. I knew I had at least a good twenty-five minutes to shower and dress before she was downstairs making breakfast.

Gran made the best breakfasts. Growing up, my whole family lived in a small farming town several hours outside of the city. When Gran's sister, Auntie Sheila, lost her husband eight or so years ago she moved her business here to the heart of the city to be with her.

Three years ago, some unexpected circumstances brought me here to the city as well. So, I moved in with my Gran. She had been trying for years to get me to come and help her in her floral shop.

The building she owned was a little piece of heaven. The bottom floor was our floral shop and above that was our two-story apartment complete with a rooftop garden and a backyard oasis.

It’s such a shame that a monstrosity of a Highrise was built next door. Gran’s shop, Edens Garden, was one of the only historic buildings left in this part of the city.

I turned the shower off and wrapped the towel around myself and walked out of the bathroom and into my closet. The shower did wonders to relieve the aching of my hip.

I shuffled through my closet looking for clothes so I could get my day started. It’s not like I have much more than t-shirts and jeans in my closet and there isn’t much to choose from at that. I have never been much for material possessions.

Deciding on a simple light green shirt and a pair of distressed jean shorts, I quickly got dressed and made my way down the spiral staircase just in time for Gran to take a pan of biscuits out of the oven.

“How did you know this was exactly what I needed today?” I asked as I took a stool at the bar in the open kitchen.

“Oh, a grandmother knows…”

“How bad was it?” I asked. I still have nightmares about my abuse when my hip hurts.

Gran sighed heavily and looked at me with sad eyes. “I think it was one of the worst ones yet. Samson came and got me. We both sat with you for over an hour before it stopped.”

She came around the big butcher block island and wrapped her arms around my shoulders, giving me a quick squeeze. “Now eat up, we have an emergency engagement party coming in soon and we need to get the order in by the end of the day. The party is this weekend.”

We quickly finished our breakfast and cleaned up the kitchen in silence.

Gran left before I did to get the shop opened. Nine o’clock on the dot every morning. We both had a routine that we stuck to religiously when the shop was open for business first thing every morning.

I carefully walk out to the front sidewalk with a broom in my hand. The storm last night really made a mess of the front entrance. I swept up the storm debris, it didn’t take as long as I thought it would, which was good. I still didn’t have the sidewalk sign out yet.

I checked my watch and decided that the front of the store was as good as it was going to get for the time being. I chucked the broom and dustpan back in the storage closet and was on my way back out with the sign when a fancy black SUV pulled into the private parking garage we had around the side of the building.

What the hell?

Gran always moved the delivery van to the front of the shop in the morning to make it easier to get in and out with deliveries.

Since when did we offer VIP treatment?

With the surge in gang violence, and by ‘gang’ I mean mafia involvement in honest businesses, it was only a matter of time before we were forced to submit to whichever asshole decides they want to strong arm a couple of women into paying for their services.

We were supposed to be located in an area known as no man's land. But I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that it was too good to be true. The boundary lines were always shifting.

I made my way to the office where I kept my gun. I still keep all of the necessary licensing to own and carry a gun.

I also have a standing appointment twice a week at the local gun range to keep myself sharp.

I grabbed my gun out of the desk drawer, ran back to the front of the store to lock the door.

I could hear footsteps in the apartment above the shop. I took the back stairs two at a time, no easy feat for my short ass legs.

The voices coming from the kitchen were hushed. It sounded like there were at least two different women and as many men in the room with Gran.

I crept around the corner with my gun drawn and ready.

Except…Instead of me getting the drop on them, they got the drop on me.

The cool metal of the barrel of a gun was pressed directly against the back of my neck. I could feel a large hand reach around and take the gun out of my hands.

He pushed me into the kitchen where two ladies and Gran were seated at the dining table with swatches and pictures spread out. Two other goons were milling around the living space, checking windows and opening all of the doors.

Gran didn’t even look up when she spoke to the asshole with the gun to my head.

“Oisin McAdams, if you wish to live another day, kindly take your hands off of my granddaughter.”

What the fuck? She knows his name.

“My apologies Mrs. Logan. I caught her sneaking up the stairs with a gun. I didn’t realize there was anyone else here.” I caught his slight Irish accent.

Wait…he’s Irish.

I took a closer look at the other men in the room as well as the two sophisticated women.

Well dressed in tailored suits. Each man looked like he could be on the cover of GQ Magazine.

Shit this isn’t good.

The lady who I am assuming is the younger one's mother, turns in her chair.

Double shit…. That’s Aoife Callaghan. Mother to the most ruthless crime family in the city.

And she is in my kitchen.

Oh Gran, what have you gotten us mixed up in…