Saving Kenna Read online

  You met Kenna and Sloan in Indulging in Irelyn and Being Zolt. Now, read their story.

  I knew from the first moment I saw her, Kenna Campbell would be my undoing. I’ve done my best to stay away from her, but I fail at every turn. Now, she’s been taken from me, and I’ll stop at nothing to get her back.

  Irish born, Sloan Sullivan is a man with a past he can’t escape. Everything about him, from his identify to his profession, is a lie.

  Until he met Kenna, he didn’t think twice about his fraudulent life. Now, his past is threatening his future and preventing him from saving the woman he loves.

  I’ve loved Sloan from the moment I saw him. Though he pushes me away at every turn, I never leave.

  Kenna Campbell fell in love with Sloan Sullivan when she was sixteen. Throughout the years, she’s stayed true to him even when it hurt her to do so.

  In a heartbreaking turn of events, Kenna falls prey to Marcus Xavier's evil game. Though she’s physically survived the brutality she suffered at the hands of two men, her emotional and mental scars refuse to heal, and she wonders if she’s broken beyond repair.

  Is love enough to keep these two together, or will the monsters from both their pasts destroy them forever?

  Saving Kenna

  Copyright © 2014 by D.L. Raver

  Cover Design: D.L. Raver & Michelle Johnson

  Editing: Jennifer Severino

  Proofreading: Emmy Hamilton

  All rights reserved.

  Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher

  of this book.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products, bands, and/or restaurants referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the

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  Dedication

  For my husband who never fails to support me.

  For Jennifer, thanks for becoming part of my team.

  Indulging Series

  Cast of Characters

  Sloan Sullivan (aka Kevin O’Shea)

  Irelyn and Chris’ cousin

  Paddy O’Shea’s nephew

  Works for the Wilkes as their chauffeur and security person

  Kenna Campbell

  Irelyn Wilkes Hamil best friend

  In love with Sloan Sullivan

  At the end of Indulging in Irelyn, she was kidnapped by Marcus Xavier, Irelyn Wilkes’ ex-boyfriend with the intentions of auctioning her virginity.

  Irelyn Wilkes Hamil (Indulging in Irelyn & Being Zolt)

  Married to Zolt Hamil

  Kenna’s best friend

  At the end of Indulging in Irelyn, she was taken by her ex-boyfriend Marcus Xavier with the intentions of auctioning her as a sex slave to the highest bidder

  Zolt and Irelyn’s story is told six years later in Indulging in Irelyn and Being Zolt.

  Zolt Hamil (Indulging in Irelyn & Being Zolt)

  Married to Irelyn Wilkes

  Former NFL Quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals who suffered a career-ending injury due to a bounty program which was bankrolled by Marcus Xavier.

  Six years later, Zolt, after becoming a lawyer, moves back to Arizona where he meets up with the woman (Irelyn) he believed to be a hallucination brought on by his painful injury. Their story is told in Indulging in Irelyn and Being Zolt.

  Marcus Xavier (Indulging in Irelyn & Being Zolt)

  Good friend to Chris Wilkes, Irelyn Wilkes’ brother

  Ex-boyfriend to Irelyn Wilkes

  Paid Joe Franklin as part of a bounty program to take out Zolt Hamil’s leg six year ago.

  Chris Wilkes

  Irelyn Wilkes’ murdered brother

  Rick (T-bone) Stanley (Indulging in Irelyn & Being Zolt)

  T-bone Stanley was on Zolt Hamil’s offensive line when he played for the Arizona Cardinals and was there the day Zolt had his career-ending injury

  Currently, he runs a security company that Zolt hires to find out what happened to Chris Wilkes

  Jacob Wilkes (Indulging in Irelyn & Being Zolt)

  Irelyn and Chris Wilkes’ father

  Emmeline O’Shea Wilkes’ husband

  Founding partner at the law firm that hired Zolt Hamil and where his daughter Irelyn worked

  Emmeline O’Shea Wilkes (Indulging in Irelyn & Being Zolt)

  Married to Jacob Wilkes

  Chris and Irelyn Wilkes’ mother

  Sloan Sullivan’s (Kevin O’Shea) cousin

  Brody Hamil (Indulging in Irelyn & Being Zolt)

  Zolt Hamil’s brother

  Sports Psychologist and MD

  Brody’s story will be told in Breaking Brody

  Cory Campbell

  Kenna’s brother

  Engaged to Rachel Strauss, Kenna’s friend

  Peter Campbell

  Kenna’s father

  Founding partner in the same law firm with Jacob Wilkes and Thomas Strauss

  Celia Campbell

  Kenna and Cory’s mother

  Kieran McCarthy

  Runs the Ceilte, the top secret organization Sloan Sullivan works for

  Paddy O’Shea

  Emmeline O’Shea Wilkes’ father

  Chris and Irelyn Wilke’s grandfather

  Sloan Sullivan’s (Kevin O’Shea) uncle

  Joe Franklin

  Executed the career-ending hit on Zolt Hamil during the NFC Championships.

  Was paid by Marcus Xavier to be the hit man for the bounty program

  Currently works for Marcus Xavier as one of his goons

  Prologue

  Sloan

  Two Years Ago

  Scottsdale, Arizona

  I HELD THE green gem in my hand, having a hard time believing what the elderly man before me claimed.

  “Are you sure? It looks like a plain, green crystal.” Even as I said the words¸ I knew them to be untrue. I felt a sort of power coming from the walnut-sized stone. I clenched my fingers around it to stop myself from throwing it and running from the room.

  “Aye, Kevin, it is true. This is Cliodhna’s Emerald.” His certainty of tone thickened his accent.

  “That’s nothing but a whisper of a legend. Besides, I don’t believe in mystical bullshit.” I tried to hand the Emerald back to him, but he refused to take it, dropping his hands to his sides.

  “I am no longer its caretaker, and in fact, I was never was, but I kept it anyway. I turn that duty over to you, the eldest born of the O’Shea line. It is your birthright Kevin, just as it was your father’s before you.” Paddy smiled at me, a gentle, almost fatherly smile. But on the other side of his warmth, I saw relief.

  “Why now, Paddy? I’ve been here for a few years. Not once have you approached me or shown any indication that you knew who I was.” I put the Emerald back in the leather pouch Paddy had taken it from and set it on the coffee table in the old
man’s study. “Now, you summon me to your house, call me by my given name, and hand me an emerald you claim was the reason for my father’s death? Well, I don’t want it, and I don’t buy it.”

  “I knew exactly who you were the moment I saw you. How could I not? You are the best mix of my brother, Sean and your mother, Sarah. You have his black hair and her intense gunmetal grey eyes. And, there’s no denying that you have the O’Shea stature—tall and broad shouldered. You look exactly as I’ve imagined you’d look. A handsome devil to be sure.”

  I studied the man before me, looking for any signs of deception, and found none. Though age had taken its toll, I could still see the O’Shea stature he’d just referred to. Toe to toe, Paddy O’Shea stood only a head shorter than my six foot four height. He had been, and still was, a man who commanded respect. Thoughts of my father reminded me that he, too, had been a tall man.

  “My time is at hand, Kevin,” he continued. “It is now your turn to keep watch over it. And your father didn’t die for the Emerald, my boy. He died for the freedom he thought it represented. That has always been the problem with the holders of the Emerald—they will do anything to keep it in their possession.”

  “If this stone is so important, why isn’t its legend as famous as the Blarney Stone?”

  “It has always been the secret no one talks about because the holders seek to keep it for themselves.”

  “What are you saying, Paddy?” I pinched the bridge of my nose, searching for the patience to humor him. “Are you telling me this stone is what drove Michael Collins to become an activist and lead the Irish Republican Army almost a hundred years ago?”

  I pointed at the leather pouch on the table. “That an uncut emerald is the reason IRA came into being?”

  “That is exactly what I’m saying, son. Because he held the Emerald, Michael believed his path sanctioned by a power greater than himself. Unfortunately, hundreds of people died as a result, indulging your father and yourself.”

  “I don’t buy it. The goddess Cliodhna is a myth, and I’ve never put much stock into the myth of the Blarney Stone either. Seriously, that’s the biggest load of shit I’ve ever heard. And how the hell did Da end up with it?”

  “How Sean came by it, I do not know. According to my research, the Emerald is to be given to the eldest son in the family. I can only assume our Da was given the Emerald by Michael, and then he passed it to Sean.”

  “How do you know for sure Michael Collins actually had it?”

  “Word of mouth speaks of stories involving Michael’s obsession with a mighty artifact. While not named, I believe it was, in fact, Cliodhna’s Emerald.”

  I rubbed my temples to thwart the growing headache.

  “Whether the origin of the Emerald is true is of little consequence. You can never discount the power a belief can have.” His lips thinned with this statement, and I could see his frustration matched my own.

  “I’m sorry, but I don’t see how this has anything to do with me.” I ran my hands through my hair in frustration. This was not the way my first conversation with my uncle had occurred in my head.

  So much for a tearful greeting, I thought ruefully.

  “Liam Cleary isn’t dead, Kevin.” Paddy took a long pull off his whiskey, and I could see his hand shake. I had been surprised to see him bring out the bottle of fine Irish whiskey, knowing he despised alcohol, but maybe he needed the drink as much as I did. Certainly, this entire thing had to be freaking him out as much as it did me.

  “Don’t call me Kevin. And how do you know Liam is still alive?” Liam Cleary was responsible for the explosion that killed my father and leveled our ancestral home. To know he still lived made me want to hit something.

  “Rumor has it he’s been hiding out in Africa for years, presumably to escape Kieran.”

  “Wait, what? Kieran McCarthy? What the hell does he have to do with this?”

  “He wants the Emerald for himself, of course, and he believes Liam had, or still does, have it. I’ve done my best to perpetuate this belief, but it’s only a matter of time before he figures out the truth.”

  “I’ve stayed hidden for over twenty years, and now I have to worry about this? Fucking perfect.” My jaw tightened with stress, and I suddenly wished I had eyes in the back of my head so I could watch my sorry ass.

  “Kieran will be furious when he finds out the holder has been under his nose for the last eight years.” He waved his glass in my direction.

  “What do you mean, Paddy?” My attention suddenly snapped into focus. Nobody knew about the Ceilte or its members because we didn’t exist.

  “I know about the Ceilte, and I know about your involvement.” He narrowed his eyes right back at me as he voiced my thoughts.

  “Really, old man? How can you possibly know about something that doesn’t exist?” I asked as calmly as I could. I didn’t want to explode all over my uncle, but I felt manipulated and handled, and it pissed me off.

  “Growing up,” Paddy said, walking toward the couch with his tumbler of whiskey in hand. “I was the invisible, sickly younger brother of Sean O’Shea. Because I stayed in the shadows I was forgotten, written off as inconsequential. But I always watched and listened. I made secret connections that are still active to this day. I also made it my business to know the players behind the scenes. The existence of the Ceilte was whispered among the members of the IRA for years. But they were a wild card, keeping their existence on a need to know basis.” He took another sip of whiskey before continuing.

  I shook my head in awe of my uncle’s knowledge. The Ceilte were, and always had been, secret in all things. We were invisible because it was the only way we could take care of the more unpleasant things in the world that required a vigilante style of justice.

  “Because I was removed from the situation, I saw what the leaders of the IRA couldn’t. Kieran and Darius—who have always been the leaders of the Ceilte as far as I know—had and have agendas that only they are privy to. If they became involved you could only hope their agenda fell in step with your own,” Paddy continued.

  “And you think the IRA was one of their agendas?”

  He nodded. “For that particular moment in time, aye.”

  “For what purpose?” I pinched the bridge of my nose and thought about the missions I’d participated in for the Ceilte. Kieran’s face flashed in my mind, and I almost choked on my own saliva. “Wait just one bloody moment. Are you telling me Kieran and Darius were around during the IRA’s most active days? That’s impossible. I’m in my late twenties and I know they’re not much older than me.”

  “There are many things in this world which are and shouldn’t be. Many unexplainable things we simply accept because it’s easier than understanding the truth.” He set his tumbler on his table and clasped his hands in front of him.

  “You’ve obviously lost your marbles, Paddy. There’s no way Kieran was around over forty years ago. No way!”

  “Of course not, Sloan. Just like the stone in that leather pouch is just another uncut emerald.”

  “Whatever.”

  “Whatever the truth is, the history and what the members of the IRA believed, as well as Sean’s role in it, remains unchanged.” Paddy shrugged.

  “They had gone mad with the need for a freedom they would never gain. Picking up my family and leaving my beloved Ireland behind broke my heart. But as Emmeline approached her late teens, I could see no other course. I didn’t want her involved in the madness; I couldn’t take the chance with her future, and I don’t regret the decision I made. Our time here in Scottsdale has been near perfect. Fiona and I raised our daughter here and we were very happy.”

  He sniffed a few times, and I could see tears shimmer in his eyes as he thought of his deceased wife and my aunt, Fiona. The pictures I’d seen of her showed a great beauty. Her daughter, Emmeline O’Shea Wilkes, looked just like her, as did Emmeline’s daughter, Irelyn. All three of them were blonde beauties.

  “Then why did you return t
o Belfast?” I asked, dropping all thoughts of the family I dangerously interacted with. “It wasn’t to see your brother. Da never spoke of you. Hell, I didn’t even know you existed until I did research on the O’Shea family line when my memory returned.”

  “Just because I had left Belfast, didn’t mean I didn’t still have my ear to the ground. I could feel the tension rising, so I returned. It is only through providence I wasn’t in the house when the bomb exploded. I arrived just after and found you unconscious but still alive. I pulled you out just as the house burst into flames. And I watched as a burning beam fell on Liam, blocking my way to my brother. I had only a split second to save you.” Paddy picked up his whiskey and drained it. I could see in his strained expression the memories of that night still haunted him.

  “I believe Liam is responsible for the bombing but ended caught up in his own trap.” He returned the glass to the table and stared at me with intense green eyes.

  I balked a little at his penetrating stare. “And the Emerald? How did you come by it?”

  Paddy shrugged. “I found it in your pocket.”

  “What? I don’t remember ever seeing this before. How the hell would I have gotten it?”

  “Sean, I suspect. Anyway, Liam had one intention that night. That intention is in the leather pouch on the table. I’m sure of it. The question is why does Kieran wants the Emerald and to what lengths will he go to get it?”

  My head spun with all this information. I didn’t like the course of this conversation, and sure as hell didn’t want to have something Kieran wanted. I hated that this was now my problem.

  As if reading my mind, Paddy addressed my unspoken ponderings.

  “What year did the IRA begin to fall apart?”

  I shrugged, not really caring. “The year Da died.”

  “According to the rumors, that is the year many believed the Emerald to be lost forever.”