Author: Alli

Rating: M

Characters/Pairings: Kevin/OC, the other brothers, Nicky, Joey…mentions of Tommy/Jenny

Timeline: Starts with "In Each One A Savior" and proceeds from there.

Summary: Nicky decided it was time to target the weakest Donnelly. He was gonna prey on Kevin's two greatest weaknesses in life: his luck and his girl.

Author's Notes: Italics are Joey's narration/what happens when he's telling the story.

Okay, so ya know how Nicky found out about the Donnellys running Louie's book? Yeah, that's about where we left off. Well on that day Nicky decided it was time he targeted the weakest Donnelly. Unfortunately for Cottero, he underestimated Kevin, which is something that happens a lot in Hell's Kitchen. He thought he was gonna be able to prey on Kevin's two weaknesses in life: his luck and his girl.

"Wait a minute Joey, since when does Kevin have a girlfriend?" The detective dropped the folder he had been looking through on the table.

"You mean to tell me you don't know about Shannon?" His response was blank stares.

"Aw Christ…I forgot to mention her didn't I? Well anytime I mentioned Kevin, insert this girl into the picture too. Except of course when Kevin was dumping bodies or beatin on people…"

"Joey, get on with it."

"Right…so Nicky decided he was gonna fix things in his favor, so he started sending messages to Louie's cell making losing bets cause he know that Kevin would wanna collect…"

"We've heard this before! Quit wasting our time."

"Now who's telling the story here, boys? If you wanna know what happened you're gonna listen to me. Now...where was I…"

Kevin sat in a nameless bar, after a while they all started to look the same. He knew he shouldn't be doing this, he shouldn't have Louie's cell, and he certainly shouldn't be making arrangements with a guy he didn't know. Still he sat there, nursing his beer, thinking about the day. Things seemed like they were looking up, the Firecracker was doing well, Jimmy was happy for the first time since the accident…even Tommy wasn't as moody as he normally was. Then they all went and stole the door from that crack dealing old bitch…it gave the brothers something to do…it brought em together. It didn't last though, and Kevin should've known that. Jimmy decided to extend his business to extortion and offering "protection" for those who paid up. This wouldn't have been a problem though, until he went after the Reilly's. Kevin sighed and ran his hand through his mop of curls. Everybody scattered once Jimmy and Tommy stopped trying to beat each other senseless, and he ended up in this dive bar waiting to collect from a gambler who was worse than he was.

It was getting late, and Cloudy still wasn't there. For what seemed like the tenth time that night, Kevin checked the clock. He paid for another beer, deciding if Cloudy didn't show up soon he'd call it a night.

"Kevin Donnelly…you're just the guy I've been looking for." Nicky Cottero's raspy voice jarred him from his thoughts.

"Me? You're not looking for me."

"Oh yeah, I am. Actually I need a favor; I'm a little short this week, so I need you to spot me another day."

Kevin shook his head, this could not mean what he thought it did. "I don't get it…"

"For the grand I owe ya." Nicky was enjoying this.

"You're cloudy?"

"Actually, I'm a lot clearer now." He smirked. "So we'll square up tomorrow."

Kevin clapped his hand to his face and rubbed his eyes. He was screwed, no he was beyond that. He was fucked. He took another swig of his beer before standing up and starting the walk home. He knew that he should call Tommy, but there was no telling where he was at this point. Jimmy, he could call his big brother, but experience taught Kevin that Jimmy was probably getting high right now. Instead of following the instinct to get help, he buried the feeling and the events of the evening, and briskly walked to his apartment. Given the times, it wasn't safe for a Donnelly to be walking the streets alone in the middle of the night. Especially a Donnelly who still had outstanding debts to settle.

Now Shannon was waiting at home for Kevin like she always did. Yeah they shared an apartment, something Mrs. D wasn't too happy about, but she liked Shannon…said she kept Kevin outta trouble. Shannon's the type of girl every guy wants to find but rarely does. She's about an 7 on your typical 1-10 scale, but her personality pushes her over the top. Growing up she was the youngest of 5, the only girl. Now normally that turns a girl into a princess, but not Shannon. She was the first girl at her high school to try out for the football team—she made it too. But she got thrown off the team for kicking the shit outta the waterboy who decided to play grab ass. She was about 5'7, naturally blonde, though she purposely dyed it red on a regular basis… a real looker. Most importantly though, the only guy she ever loved was Kevin. Jimmy always told Kevin that the only thing his luck ever brought him was Shannon..

Kevin slid his key into the lock and turned it. The wooden door creaked open, and he hoped he didn't wake Shannon. After closing and locking the door behind him, he looked around the small apartment. The bedroom door was closed, which meant Shannon didn't wait up for him. There were only two times in the history of their relationship that she didn't stay up worrying about him, and both times involved bitter memories. He sighed, dropped his coat over the arm of the couch, and went into the bedroom. She was asleep, curled up beneath several warm blankets. Kevin shivered, realizing just how cold the room was. For some reason Shannon always liked having the air cranked up when she slept…she liked burying herself in blankets. Kevin was the opposite, given the fact that he rarely slept in anything more than his boxers.

He undressed as quickly and quietly as possible and slipped into bed. The alarm clock beside him glared the time in angry red numbers: 3:38 AM. He rolled over to face Shannon and gathered her closer to him. Her head rested on his chest, his hand splayed across the small of her back.

"It's late Kev." She spoke, breaking the silence and Kevin's belief that she was asleep.

"I know baby, go back to sleep."

She smelled the alcohol on his breath and knew that he probably had a rough night. Of course most of his nights were rough lately…days too actually. It was the fourth night in a row that he came home at some ungodly hour smelling like beer. He used to call, but that stopped when his reasons for being out so late became darker. She traced odd combinations of lines and circles on his chest with her index finger; he sighed.

"I can't sleep and you know it. What happened tonight?"

"Shan, you know I don't like telling you about this stuff. Just relax and try to sleep…we'll talk in the morning, okay?" He rubbed her back and kissed her forehead.

"It is the morning." She replied matter-of-factly.

"Sha—" He was tired, more than just physically, she could hear it in his voice.

She silenced him with a kiss, not wanting to fight, but instead just feel him. His hand that had been resting on her shoulder gently tickled its way up her neck, stopping to cup her face. He tasted like cheap beer, which didn't come as much of a surprise. He rolled over so he was pinning her to the mattress, his hand wound in her hair, pulling her head back. Her neck arched, giving him full access to continue his sweet torture. She was tingling; her skin was flushed, as Kevin worked his way down her neck with a perfect combination of nibbles and kisses. Shannon's hands roamed up and down his back, there wasn't much else she could do when Kevin decided he was gonna take care of her, and she had a feeling it was one of those nights.