Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

Fred

"Okay, Holden, ten stitches have done the job." I nodded curtly. This was the fourth time in two months he'd been in the emergency room for reckless behavior. "After twenty-four to forty-eight hours, wash around the cut with clean water twice a day. Do not use hydrogen peroxide or alcohol like last time. It only slows the healing. You can cover the wound with a thin coating of petroleum jelly and a nonstick bandage. Apply more jelly and replace the bandage daily."

"I know the drill, Doc."

"Do you, Holden? Because I remember explaining to you that one day your daredevil stunts would lead you to the basement and not the emergency room."

The sixteen-year-old grunted. "I'm gonna be famous, Doc, come on."

I sighed as I sat back in my chair, stripped my gloves off, and tossed them into the trash. "Holden, I know your mom works three jobs and isn't home a lot. But I can't continue to ignore the fact that you're getting seriously injured. I'm the chief resident, but I have superiors to answer to."

"You can't call child services, Doc, come on." His once sarcastic, teenage expression morphed into sheer worry.

"Then stop trying to break every bone in your body. This is your last chance." I rolled my seat closer, narrowed my eyes, and pointed right at his face. "And don't think going to a different hospital will mean I won't find out. I have eyes everywhere in Westford."

His shoulders slump. "Yeah, okay, Doc. I'll calm down."

"Thank you. And maybe hug your mother. The poor woman hasn't smiled in years. You're going to put her in an early grave with your antics."

"I will, Doc."

"Sit tight; I'll get the nurse."

I pulled open the curtain and headed over to the nurses' station, where Sherry was entering something into a tablet.

"You need me to call protective services, Dr. Brennan?"

"No, Sherry. He gave me his word he'd cool it. Once his mom arrives, go ahead and discharge him."

She sighed and finally looked at me. "I get that you don't want him to be taken from his mom, and they likely wouldn't with how crowded everything is, but all these chances are one day gonna get him killed."

"Questioning me, Sherry?" I quirked a brow at her. The familiar itch of irritation was crawling its way up my spine. Too many people questioned everything I said and did. The one place where I could be exactly what I wanted and thrive was supposed to be inside the walls of Crestfall Hospital.

"A little, but you're the chief resident and you can do no wrong in Dr. Romali's eyes." Dr. Romali was my attending physician, and I wasn't sure if it was the fact that he knew I was the boss of the Irish mob in these parts, or if he genuinely believed I was a great doctor, but he let me get away with a whole hell of a lot.

"Thanks, Sherry." Without another word, I spun on my heel and moved on to the next patient.

As soon as my shift was over, I showered, changed, and made my way to the parking garage. Being the boss of the Brennan family, it was frowned upon that I drive myself anywhere. My uncle Sean damn near had a heart attack at me telling him I'd be fine on my own. I tried to compromise, but he was relentless. So, after every shift I would go to the parking garage like everyone else. Except, instead of hopping into a regular car alone, I would slip into a heavily secured SUV that had a driver who could kill a man seven different ways without breaking a sweat.

"Evening, Aiden." I smiled as he held the door open for me.

"Good evening, Fred." Aiden wasn't a fan of referring to me by my first name, but I wouldn't budge on that.

I buckled up, rested my head against the back of the seat, and closed my eyes. Eighteen-hour shifts were no joke.

"You have a meeting in four hours." Aiden pulled away from the hospital parking garage, and I peeked at him through droopy eyes.

He was a good-looking man in his thirties. Next to my uncle Sean and my cousin, Aine, I trusted him the most. Hell, if not for Aine, he'd probably be the one to take over the family.

"I'm exhausted; can we reschedule it?"

"Sorry, sir. If we do that it will cause undue stress, and you know it. You wanted to continue your medical studies, and everyone was silent about it. You promised it wouldn't interfere with family business. Don't fall down that hole, because you won't be able to climb out."

He was right…he always was. I had advisors, but Aiden's guidance was the only one I listened to aside from my uncle Sean.

"You're right. But I'm sleeping for three hours and fifty-nine minutes."

Aiden snorted. "Fair enough."

"Make sure Aine and Uncle Sean are at the meeting." My request was met with silence, so I lifted my head and met Aiden's gaze in the mirror. "Problem?"

"Fred…the men don't favor Aine, and the more you force her upon them, the stronger they'll reject her."

Gritting my teeth I answered, "It's been three years since I agreed to take over for this family. You know it was never my dream. You also know Aine is qualified and would run this family better than I ever could. What, because she has tits and a pussy, her brain is less?"

"You know I think Aine is brilliant. That's not what I'm saying. All I'm doing is giving you information. Finn was running his mouth last night at the poker game. Got Rowan and Oscar all riled up about how Aine is in places she isn't supposed to be."

Great . My lieutenants were gossiping about my choices…that couldn't be good.

"They're never going to accept her, are they?" I knew it in my heart. Aine had even confessed as much to me a few weeks ago—how the men wouldn't look at her when she said anything in the meetings, most of them pretending she'd never uttered a word.

"No, Fred. They won't." Aiden was blunt, always had been, and it was a quality I valued greatly.

"Shit. Fine—can you call my uncle Sean and make sure he's there? I'll talk to him about the situation with Aine."

"You got it, sir."

After my father was killed…err…died, I'd refused to move into his mansion. I was raised in that house of horrors, was loved until he found out I was gay, and every day since that discovery had been a nightmare. Going off to Abernathy University was a reprieve I'd desperately grasped. Nightmares always found me, though, and the university was a different kind of terror.

I'd had the mansion torn down and rebuilt it into a haven I could call home. I would have been happy with a cottage, something small that didn't feel ostentatious. Unfortunately, my uncle Sean had made it clear that a cottage would show weakness in the eyes of the family. "The bigger the better," I was instructed.

Aiden pulled into the driveway and upon stepping out of the car, I stared up at the seven-thousand-square-foot monstrosity. It was beautiful, honestly—just too big. I had a part to play and if I didn't play it right, they'd snuff me out without blinking.

"I'm going to go wash up again and pass out, Aiden. Wake me with enough time to look presentable for the meeting."

"No problem. Want them in your study?"

I frowned as I took the steps up to the main entrance. "No, we'll go to the club. I hate when those guys smoke in my house."

"You got it."

I was dead tired. I passed by staff who greeted me, but if I didn't face-plant on my mattress soon, I was going to cry.

As it was, I forwent the shower since I'd gotten one at the hospital, and did exactly as I wanted. Full starfish on the mattress, I was out in seconds.