Page 89 of Hurts So Good
“Ok. So, the carnival is over. Mia, did Rachel say how much we raised?” Avery asked as she looked over at Mia.
“Yep. A whopping four grand. It’s enough to get Amelia’s down payment for the surgery. We may need to do another fundraiser for the prosthetic and assistance with the recovery part. That’s if she doesn’t need another skin graph surgery for the leg.”
“If I may, which is one of the reasons I had Knight bring me here, we would like to donate to help this little girl. I’d like to get her information and pay for her surgery and everything else she will need. If she needs another surgery, just let Knight know and we will take care of it.”
“We?” Avery and Mia asked at the same time.
“Yes. Myself and all three siblings.” Knight informed Avery, looking down at her, giving her a wink.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Avery was in shock with the information she’d just been given. She was basically overwhelmed with everything she’d heard since her mother had shown up.
“Are you guys sure?” Avery asked tentatively, looking between Knight, Delaney and Donovan.
“Yes! We are more than sure, babe. We aren’t going to go broke. I promise!” Knight advised Avery, kissing her nose.
“Can I ask a question without anyone getting upset?” Avery asked, kind of sinking into herself.
She kind of had a suspicion but didn’t want to assume. She knew that Donovan was important, and that Knight worked with him. She just wasn’t sure in what capacity. The whole scenario that just went down had her wondering again.
“Ask away, Avery.” Donovan assured her with a soft smile.
“Is what my mother said true? Are you part of the Irish Mafia?’
“Yes. Donovan is the head of our organization. He basically runs the state and parts of Boston and a few other cities. I’m his right-hand man slash enforcer. Is that a problem for you?” Knight asked, his voice solid, no hint of emotion.
“No. I had my suspicions but didn’t want to be nosey. Wait. You guys don’t do the whole kidnapping women and selling them kind of thing do you? I mean, personally I don’t see you guys being like that, but I had to ask!” Avery’s eyes went wide as a thought occurred to her as she had started to snuggle back into Knight’s arms.
“No, Avery. I do not believe in that. Nor did our father. It’s a hard line for us. While we do know those that do that, we do not. We do dabble in the criminal aspect of things, which I will not bore you with. But that’s only to keep our ears in the mix of what’s going on down the pipeline. Everything we have is legitimate. I share restaurants with Knight, Delaney and our other brother, Declan. Aside from that, Knight and I are co-owners in a couple of night clubs in this state, Boston and New York.”
“What about the strip club over on Holland?” Mia asked, giving Donovan the stink-eye.
“Yes. We do own a couple of those too in the same areas as the others. We don’t force people to do the things we do. If we have any inkling that someone is in the club against their will or anything fishy going on in any of them, we step in.” Knight stared Avery in the eyes.
She knew he was telling her the truth. She figured the criminal elements were drugs and maybe a few other things. But she knew deep down they wouldn’t hurt someone just for the fun of it. That person would have to make the first move against them.
“Ok. I will get you the information about everything with the surgery. We really appreciate it, Donovan. Emma will be so happy. After everything they have gone through in the last two years, anything will be a blessing for them.”
“What do you mean?” Knight asked, pulling back to look down at Avery.
Avery bit her bottom lip. She didn’t know what she should reveal about Emma and her niece’s situation.
“Amelia is being raised by her aunt, Emma Mitchell. At the time that Emma got Amelia, she was in a pretty bad relationship. She had to quit college and get a job right away. She’s a waitress at one of the local diners. She was fired from one of the good restaurants because of the abusive ex-boyfriend who is still stalking her. She and Amelia have been in and out of shelters for the last six months.”
“What? That’s horrible!” Delaney said out loud, grabbing Donovan’s arm.
“They were living in the home they were gifted by an elderly woman Emma helped take care of. But the ex-boyfriend burned it down six months ago. Police have had no luck finding him.” Mia finished for Avery.
“Yeah. The ex-boyfriend had crushed Amelia’s leg a while back. It hasn’t been healing properly.” Avery smiled weakly at Delaney. “They have no choice now since she suffered third degree burns from the fire on that same leg, trying to escape the fire with Emma.”
“Where does she work?” Delaney asked, her protective mode obviously coming out.
“Doug’s Diner over on Fourth and Powell.”
“What restaurant did she used to work at?” Donovan asked, making Avery look over at him with the sound of his voice.
“She was a bartender at “Irish Grannie’s” Avery answered, looking between the two men in confusion.