Now that my other MC (The Duke and His Swan) is finished, I'll be upping the frequency of updates for this fic to weekly.

Chapter Five

The wagons had already begun to circle when Emma arrived at The Brig. Two henchmen were stationed at the front door, their demeanor a clear sign that the pub was closed for the foreseeable future. Fortunately, Arlo was among those patrolling the back alley, and after she told him August had contacted her, he took her in through the side door where pitiful sounding voices could be heard trying to appease an irate sounding mobster.

"We p-panicked!" Rufio stammered. "After we got back from dropping Nottingham off at Whale's, the man was already dead. You must have given him a worse beating than you thought."

"And it didn't occur to either of you to inform someone?" Killian seethed. "You just took matters into your own hands?"

"We thought-"

"I don't care what you thought!" Killian roared, causing all those within earshot to flinch back. "Let me remind you how this works. I make the demands, you follow them. I don't pay you to think. I pay you to follow orders!"

"Boss," Arlo interrupted, clearing his throat and alerting everyone to Emma's presence.

Aggravation flashed in Killian's eyes and an expression of consternation was quickly schooled from his features. Turning to Hyde he grit out, "Get these two out of my sight. I'll deal with them later."

With a flick of his wrist, he dismissed everyone from his presence and sauntered over to the bar, donning an air of composure and charm as he poured himself a drink. "To what do I owe the pleasure, Swan?"

"We need to talk," she told him, approaching the bar with a raised brow as he poured a second glass and slid it towards her.

"I find when a woman says that I'm rarely in for a pleasant conversation."

Emma opened her mouth to tell him this time would be no different, but her words were cut off by Will who suddenly emerged from the back. "We've got company, Cap."

Killian's phone chimed and he sighed a breath of relief as he read the text. "Spencer came through," he said. "Denied the request for a warrant."

"You knew the police were coming?" Emma asked.

"Aye." His focus was on the front windows where he could just make out the line of police cars pulling into the empty spots through the slits in the not fully closed blinds. "We got a tip from Albert Spencer's office when Humbert applied for a warrant. I assume it was August who notified you?"

"Yeah, he wanted me to warn you."

Killian's eyes withdrew from the window and flicked towards her, a teasingly smug expression quirking at his lips and brow. "And you rushed right over? My hero."

Once again, Emma's retort was prevented, this time by the jingle of the bell hanging over the front door of the pub, signalling the arrival of some of SPD's finest.

"Killian Jones," Detective Humbert announced. "I have some questions for you concerning… Emma?" Graham stopped short and balked when he took notice of her. "What are you doing here?"

With a casual shrug she picked up the glass Killian had offered her and brought it up to her lips while she tried to come up with a plausible reason for her being there. In the time it took for the alcohol to heat the back of her throat with a pleasant burn, she decided something close to the truth would be best. "I'm working a case. Running down some leads that CI you got me in contact with a few weeks ago gave me."

"A case?" Graham repeated. "What sort of case would lead you here? To Killian Jones' pub?"

"The same one you're working," she replied. "Someone cost me a hefty bounty by taking out Flynn, and I want to know who it was."

Graham's head cocked to one side and he crossed his arms over his chest. "And you came looking for answers here?"

"While running down information on Flynn, I learned he used to spend time at The Brig. I thought Jones here might be willing to help a girl out. Point me in the right direction of those who might have wanted him dead."

"Other than himself, you mean?" Graham scoffed. "The guy's a mobster, Emma."

"Allegedly," she sassed over the rim of her glass, a taunting brow creeping up her forehead. "You haven't been able to get anything to stick yet."

Stomping forward, Graham grabbed onto her arm and yanked her off the barstool she'd been perched on, pulling her away from Jones who slammed his glass down on the bar and tried to round it before being stopped by the imposing blockade of officers cutting him off from their superior.

"This isn't something to joke about," Graham clipped through grit teeth. "You don't need to take on cases that require you to interact with the likes of Jones and his ilk. You could end up getting in way over your head. It's my job to take Jones down. I don't want you to associa-"

"Enough," Emma snapped, wrenching her arm out of his grasp. "Look, Graham. I appreciate that you have a job to do, but so do I. And sometimes mine does require me to make nice with people you'd sooner lock up and throw away the key."

"It wouldn't, if you'd accept my offer and come work for me at the precinct."

"Where you can keep me chained to a desk shuffling papers?" she shot back. "Pass."

"Come on, Emma," Graham pleaded. "Wouldn't it make things easier? I know your brother would-"

"Don't," Emma clipped sharply, warning him under her breath. "You swore never to bring him up."

"Fine," Graham relented, knowing he'd touched a nerve. "But at least take my advice on this. Getting into bed with Jones is a bad idea, Emma."

"Oh?" Killian's lilt drawled from where he was still standing among the wall of officers, snapping their attention to his raised brow and salacious expression. "Not sure you're in a position to give such advice, mate. Seeing as how you've never had the pleasure of my bed before."

Graham's jaw clenched and he tapped one of his men on the shoulder, signalling for them to step aside so he could approach Jones. "What can you tell me about Owen Flynn?"

Killian tucked his thumb into his belt and rocked back on his heels. "Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Not without the presence of my lawyer," he said in a perfectly accommodating tone. "Perhaps you'd be good enough to return to the precinct and as soon as I am able to get in touch with my solicitor we can arrange a meeting."

Emma knew as well as Graham did that such a meeting would be pointless. Without a warrant so he could search for a potential crime scene or any witnesses willing to come forward with information about Flynn's last known whereabouts, he had little to go on. The matchbook was circumstantial at best and even if Judge Spencer wasn't being bought off by the Jones family, it wouldn't have been enough to issue a warrant.

"We know Flynn sustained his injuries last night," Graham stated, ignoring Killian's insistence he would not be talking without a lawyer. "Anyone able to vouch for your whereabouts?"

"I can," Emma said, earning her a shocked reaction. "He was here. All night."

"And you know that how?"

"Because I was here with him. I told you. I've been working cases and last night I met with a few of Jones' people who were able to give me some information. I had eyes on Jones all night. He was here."

"And what about Flynn?" Graham pressed. "Was he here, too?"

Emma huffed out an irritated sound and crossed her arms over her chest. "The last time I saw Owen Flynn was a week ago when he gave me the slip and a black eye. If he had been here last night he wouldn't have ended up dead in a dumpster, he'd be in a cell back at the precinct right now because I would have hauled his ass in."

Graham's eyes bounced between hers, looking for any sign she might be lying. Convinced that what she was telling him was true, even if he wasn't overly satisfied with the information, he turned to Killian and flicked one of his business cards out towards him. "Call me when you get a hold of your lawyer. I still have questions."

"Will do, Detective," Killian replied with a simpering smirk, plucking the card from his hand. "Show these gentlemen out, won't you Will?" he called out, then lowered his voice and told his lieutenant, "Then give Swan and me a moment."

"Sure thing, Boss."

Emma watched Graham and his men leave, a tension-filled sigh leaving her lungs in a heavy exhale before a gasp came rushing back in when Killian grabbed her arm and swung her around to face him until their chests were practically touching.

"Graham mentioned your brother," Killian stated in a tight, hushed tone. "Your dossier doesn't mention a brother." His grip tightened, as did the clench of his teeth. "We agreed no secrets, Swan. So, what are you hiding from me?"

Emma bit back the reminder that he alone had made that promise, as well as the sharp accusation of his own duplicity last night. Fear that the truth of her brother might finally be revealed took precedence, and she quickly worked to dissuade him of any concerns or suspicions Graham's words may have ignited within him.

"David isn't my brother," she told him. "He calls himself my foster brother, but his family never technically fostered me. That's why you wouldn't have found any record of them. They took me in when I was fourteen, after I ran off from my last group home." His grip relaxed, allowing her to slip her arm from his grasp, but his gaze kept her rooted to the spot. Swallowing past the hope he wouldn't go digging for more information, she added, "They gave me a home for a while. They were good people. But the husband and wife are dead now, and I haven't seen David in years."

"Good people," he repeated with a hum sounding in the back of his throat. "Is that where you learned how to ride in on your white horse and save people?"

"I'm no saviour."

His brow rose and a sultry smile played at his lips as his tongue ran over them. "You were mine just now."

"Please," she scoffed, rolling her eyes. "He had nothing and we both know it. You didn't need saving…" Fixing him with a stern look, she reminded, "and neither do I."

"I'm sure I don't know what you-"

"Owen Flynn," she cut him off in an accusatory tone. "You're one to talk about not keeping secrets. I'm a big girl, Killian. When are you going to accept that I can take care of myself?"

"I know you can, love."

"Then why-"

"My actions against Flynn had nothing to do with my belief in your abilities, Swan," he informed her, leaning further into her personal space and all but extinguishing any room between them as the muscle above his jaw flickered and his eyes sparked with renewed anger. "As I mentioned last night in regards to Nottingham, it's about sending a message. A reminder that the Jones family takes care of their own. You're one of us whether many are privy to that fact or not. I will not allow any attack against you to stand."

Killian's phone rang out from where he'd left it on the bar, and they both took a step back from one another.

Sighing, Killian swiped a hand through his hair then down his face. "That'll be Liam. I need to take that."

The conversation was far from over, but Emma knew there were more pressing matters for Killian and his brother to tend to.

"Be available later in case we need you," he said, stalking off towards the bar to answer his phone.

With a relenting nod she gathered her things and headed out. Anger and confusion churned inside her as she tried to make sense of everything that had happened over the past several days. No matter how many times she tried to resolve the events that had led up to that morning, one inconsistency plagued her.

Both Keith and Flynn had assaulted her, but Killian hadn't intended to get involved with Keith's punishment until Emma told him the man might have information about their investigation. Why had he been the one to dispense punishment on Flynn but not Nottingham?

Because Keith was going to be dealt with either way, a decision that had been made collectively by the Jones men. Reeling, Emma realized that for Killian, Keith was just business but Flynn had been personal… and she was what had made it personal.

~/~

"Did you find anything?" Killian asked when Robin entered The Brig later that evening.

"Yeah… but you're not gonna like it," Rob said, tossing a file onto the table before sliding into the booth across from his boss.

Flipping open the folder, Killian skimmed over the contents then snapped his head up to meet Robin's expectant gaze. "A fucking fed. Are you kidding me?"

"I wish," Robin replied. "Turns out the brother is Agent David Nolan of the FBI. Works as a training officer at Quantico, where he and our esteemed Detective Humbert met before Humbert washed out."

Pointing to the information he'd been able to gather, Robin filled in some blanks of Swan's history while admitting there was still plenty about that period of the woman's past he knew nothing about.

"She told you they took her in when she was fourteen, after she ran off from her last group home. Looks like she was with them for about a year when they started contacting attorneys specializing in adoption."

Killian's brows pinched together as he followed along. "They were planning to adopt her? Why didn't they go through with it?"

Robin pulled a piece of paper from the pile and set it on top. Killian's eyes fell shut when he saw what it was. A death certificate of one Robert Nolan, presumably the man who would have been Swan's adoptive father, dated the year Emma would have turned sixteen. The year she would meet…

"Looks like that might have been the reason she ended up back on the streets, running with the crowd that ultimately led her to Cassidy."

"And her arrest as a juvenile," Killian added, reflecting back on the information Robin had provided him about the woman when he first wished to make use of her services. "Why wouldn't she have reached out to David or," he looked back over the file and found the name of Mrs. Nolan, "Ruth when she was arrested?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Robin replied with a shrug of his shoulders. "But I can tell you her arrest coincided with David's acceptance into Quantico. Also, it happened over the state line, and because she was a minor her name would have never been released in the papers, so they would have had no way of knowing she'd been arrested or sentenced unless she had contacted them."

"Then just before she was released, Ruth died," Killian exhaled on a pained breath, sliding the second death certificate from the folder. "She said it's been years since she's seen her brother, so she must have reconnected with him at some point after her release."

"I have nothing that helps me narrow down when that might have occurred, but I did find this," Again, he thumbed through the file and pulled out a newspaper clipping from what appeared to be a small local paper up north. A photo of David Nolan and his new bride, Mary Margaret Blanchard, posing with their wedding party was featured along with a write up detailing the nuptials. There, standing amongst the bridesmaids, though she clearly had not been one herself, based on her gown, was Emma, looking slightly out of place with a tight smile on her face and tense set in her posture. "The wedding was about three years ago, so that might have been when she saw him last?"

A thought occurred to Killian, something he hadn't considered until then but wouldn't have put it past the brilliantly clever woman. "She said she hadn't seen him in years. She made no mention of the last time she spoke with him."

"You think she's told him about being… recruited by you, and that's why she didn't want you to know about him? Could she be setting you up?"

Killian's thumb and forefinger toyed with the hairs beneath his bottom lip as he considered Robin's question. "No," he stated with certainty. "There's another reason she's kept her relationship with him secret. It was obviously a sore spot between her and Graham, so I get the impression her avoidance of the topic isn't related to me or her current affiliation with the family."

"What do you want me to do now?" Robin asked.

"Keep digging," Killian replied. "See if you can figure out when they last had contact with each other and…" he pulled his bottom lip between his teeth, working it over as he closed the file and slid it back towards Rob, "keep this between us for now. I shudder to think how Liam will respond when he learns of Swan's connection to the FBI."

"Yeah," Robin snorted. "He's gonna have your arse for this."

"It isn't my arse I'm worried about," Killian quipped, gesturing to the bar for another drink.

Robin's eyes narrowed and he studied Killian with a practiced look for several moments before he shook his head in astonishment. "This woman has really gotten under your skin, huh?"

Tossing back the contents of his newly refilled drink, Killian sucked back a hiss as it burned his throat and quipped, "You've no idea."

"Well, be careful, mate," Robin warned. "What with the police still investigating EWH, and now Flynn's body drawing their attention, not to mention the normal risks that come with business as usual, you can't afford to lose your head over a woman, no matter how beautiful she may be."

Killian shook his head and spun his empty glass in circles over the table. "It isn't just her looks," he protested. "Swan is… bloody brilliant. Amazing. Fierce and smart. Resourceful."

"And capable of breaking a man's fingers with a single snap," Robin tossed out with a smirk.

"It was rather impressive," Killian chortled. "Hot as fuck, too."

"I think..." Robin began with a tone of hesitancy. It had been some time since the two of them had discussed matters of a personal nature and Killian didn't blame the man for being cautious, not wishing to cross a line he may have sensed he was closely approaching. "The two of you have quite a lot in common, and you aren't used to being challenged by a woman you have a… carnal interest in. Nor are you accustomed to those interests shifting into something potentially deeper. To say nothing of the complication that your father or brother could decide at any moment to terminate her role within the family, and then you'd be faced with the unpleasant task of dispensing with the woman you've fallen for."

"It won't come to that," Killian insisted sharply. "Swan won't give my father or Liam any reason for such an order, and even if they did-"

"Careful, mate," Robin hissed. "This is what I'm talking about. Whatever your feelings for this woman, you have to keep them in the proper perspective. You have a job to do, a responsibility to your family and this organization."

"There's no need to lecture me, mate," Killian snarled. "I know better than anyone what my role within this family requires, and I am more than capable of keeping things in check when it comes to my obligations. You don't need to worry about Swan creating any issues between us Jones men. I assure you, I can handle my father and brother."

"Where is he?" Liam's booming command issued from the backroom, causing both Killian and Robin to tense.

Biting back a curse, Killian nodded at the file still lying on the table, and Robin snatched it away before hurriedly exiting the booth. Under his breath, he muttered, "Guess we'll find out if that's true."

Killian watched his mate retreat towards the front door as his brother came barging into the pub from the back, wagging his finger as he approached.

"Enough is enough," Liam stated. "You're going to take care of this woman once and for all before she brings ruin down on all our heads."

"What are you talking about, brother?" Killian inquired, standing from the booth and facing off his elder sibling, matching his imposing stance with one of his own.

"That Swan girl," Liam spat. "I want you to get rid of her. Now. Today."

Killian balked then set his features and composure with an unyielding demeanor. "No."

"No?" Liam parroted back incredulously. "No? Do you have any idea the danger she poses to this family? To this organization? To everything we have built?"

"What danger do you think she poses, exactly?"

"Her brother works for the fucking FBI!" Liam roared, forcing Killian to take a step forward.

"For God sakes, Liam," he whisper-shouted. "Do you want the entire bloody block to know that?"

Liam's reaction matched Killian's from a moment ago, his eyes widening and he flinched back with the realization, "You already knew? Have you known all along? How could you allow such a person to-"

"I only found out moments before you arrived," Killian assured him. "Detective Humbert let slip something about a brother when he came here earlier and I had Robin look into it." Cocking his head to one side, Killian asked, "How did you find out?"

"August," Liam informed him. "Apparently, Humbert is this close to tipping off his old FBI buddy to the disturbingly close association his sister seems to be building with our family."

Killian sighed and swiped a hand down his face. "Bloody hell."

"We cannot continue to allow this woman into our business. For all we know she's feeding information back to her brother, working against us from the inside."

"She isn't," Killian affirmed with a heavy tone of certainty, earning him a scoff and patronizing expression.

"How do you know?"

Swiping his tongue over his lips, Killian swallowed and met his brother's furious gaze. "I just do."

A tense moment passed between them before Liam let out a heavy sigh. "I'm afraid that just isn't good enough, little brother." Lifting his chin, Liam's gaze turned piercing and imperious. "The woman's time is up. Either you see to the matter… or I will."