2008

The motorcycle moved down the road while Murphy watched the road and Louisa held onto his waist. The sunlight sparked off their black helmets as he carefully steered the motorcycle from one lane to the other and Louisa looked over his right shoulder.

"Hey, Murphy," she said over the built-in microphone in her helmet.

"Aye?" he asked.

"I got a call from the agency about the Paris photoshoot in July. They changed it to June. Is that ok?"

"You'll have t'talk t'our jailer about that."

"Will you stop calling her that?"

"Well, she is," he said when she felt him move and she let go of his waist. She watched him slowly stand up and she resisted the urge to smack his bottom. "Enjoyin' th'view?"

"You have no idea."

He softly laughed as he sat down as she slid her arms around his waist and the motorcycle headed down the road.

The motorcycle headed up the driveway as he turned the engine off and Louisa removed the helmet. She shook out her hair then she helped Murphy take the helmet off and he brushed the hair out of his eyes. She liked him with longer hair and he leaned down to put the helmets on the ground. He carefully stood to turn around to face her then he sat back down. He leaned in to kiss her lips and she wrapped her arms around his neck. Her fingers moved through his hair while he deepened the kiss and she slid her arms around his neck.

"Welcome home!" made them move back while they looked at Margaret standing on the sidewalk and she softly laughed. Shaking his head, he helped Louisa off the motorcycle then he went to get the cover and he slid the cover over the motorcycle. Louisa picked up the helmets when she handed him his helmet and they headed up the sidewalk. "Enjoy your ride?"

"Aye, we did," Murphy said.

"Well, let's go inside."

He placed his arm around Louisa's waist as they headed up the sidewalk and Margaret opened the door.

"Oh, my agent called," Louisa said while Murphy took her helmet and he placed the helmets on the shelf near the door. "They're changing the date for the Paris photoshoot."

"When do they want you to go to Paris?" Margaret asked as she closed then locked the door and she set the alarm system.

"June."

"I believe that is doable."

"Will I be able t'go with her?" Murphy asked, helping Louisa take her leather jacket off.

"As I told you before, no, you can't go."

Louisa saw the anger in his eyes as she shook her head and Murphy sighed.

"Where's Connor?" Murphy asked as he changed the subject and he placed Louisa's leather jacket as well as his own leather jacket in the closet and Margaret closed the closet door.

"He is in the gym," Margaret said then she walked away.

"Wanna go get summat t'eat?" Murphy asked, looking at Louisa.

"We just ate," Louisa teased and he arched his eyebrows up in mock shock. He softly laughed when he suddenly lifted her off her feet and he draped her over his right shoulder. She lightly kicked her feet as he headed across the room while holding onto her then he walked down the hallway. He put her onto her feet in front of the door to the gym while she sighed, rolled her eyes and he looked into the room.

Connor had become slightly obsessed with learning martial arts and how to better defend himself. Margaret had been able to get him an instructor and Connor practiced three times a week. His instructor was a medium size young Asian woman with long black hair and dark eyes and she had her hair pulled back in a ponytail. They wearing proper workout clothes as they sparred and Connor landed hard onto the mat.

"Are you alright, Connor-san?" Min Lu asked, helping him to his feet.

"Aye," Connor said with a nod.

"Then we will call it a day," she said and they bowed to each other. She went to pick up the towel off the bench as she placed the towel over her shoulders then she headed for the door. She made a bow to Murphy and Louisa as she walked by them and they went inside the gym.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Murphy asked.

"That isn't th'first time she slammed me to th'mat," Connor said then he wiped his face with the towel. "You should give it a try."

"I can fight jus' fine."

"Prove it," Connor challenged, placing the towel on the bench. Sighing, Murphy sat on the bench when he removed his boots then he placed the boots on the floor. He stood as they walked onto the mat and Louisa sat on the bench. Connor faced Murphy when Connor bowed and Murphy frowned.

"You're supposed to bow. It shows respect," Louisa said. Nodding, Murphy bowed then he went into a defense stance. Connor quickly scanned Murphy with his eyes then he swung his right arm, but Murphy blocked him. Murphy swung his left arm when Connor grabbed onto Murphy's arm, positioned himself to flip Murphy over his right shoulder then he flipped Murphy onto the mat. Murphy grunted while looking up at Connor then Murphy got up, scanned Connor with his eyes and he swung his right arm. Connor blocked him as he tried to kick his twin, but Murphy got out of the way, dropped down onto his right knee and he swept Connor's legs with his left leg. Connor fell to the mat while Murphy got to his feet and he held his right hand out to his twin. Connor reached up as he grabbed both of Murphy's hands and he placed his right foot against Murphy's stomach. Grunting, Connor flipped Murphy over him as Murphy landed onto his back on the mat and Connor smiled.

"Enough!" made them look at the doorway while Margaret stood in the doorway and she had her arms crossed over her chest. "Are you two trying to injure yourselves?!"

"This is nothin'," Connor said while getting to his feet and he helped Murphy to stand up.

"Aye, we used t'really go at it when we were younger," Murphy said.

"Why am I not surprised?" she sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Did you need us fer summat?" Connor asked while he walked to her. She looked at his sweat soaked hair, the sweat moving over the toned muscles of his arms, down his neck and shimmering on his chest and the rise and fall of his chest. He noticed the blush moving across her cheeks and he gave her a sly grin.

Over the last year, the two of them had become close, but neither of them wanted to be the first to admit the attraction between them was something more than friendship.

"Yes, I need to introduce the newest member of the Saints," Margaret said and they gave her a confused look.

"The newest member of th'Saints?" Connor and Murphy asked at the same time.

"Did I stutter?" she asked as Margaret stood back and Romeo appeared in the doorway.

"Romeo!" Louisa said as she got off the bench and he laughed as she ran to him, wrapped him in her arms and he hugged her. Connor and Murphy looked at each other then they looked at Margaret and she gave them a smug look.

"But… But he's in a coma!" Connor said.

"Aye, an' th'doctors weren't sure he'd wake up," Murphy said.

"Yeah, that's what they told me after I woke up," Romeo said as he slid his left arm around Louisa's shoulders.

"When did you wake up?" Connor asked.

"It was the same day you escaped from Hoag Maximum Security Prison," Margaret said.

"But that was a year ago," Louisa said.

"It took us that long to find him."

Murphy felt anger and confusion coming from Connor as Connor left the gym and Margaret followed him. He headed for the sliding door to the deck as he opened the sliding door then the screen door and he walked out onto the deck. He started pacing as he softly spoke in Russian and Margaret softly closed the screen door after she walked out onto the deck. He saw her when he walked to her, pointed his right index finger at her as his mouth opened to say something then he closed his mouth. He tossed his forearms up in frustration when he started pacing again and she watched him.

"Connor….," she started, but she paused from the cold stare he was giving her.

"I blamed myself," he said and she frowned. "Every. Damn. Day. I blamed myself for what happened t'him. I would lie there every night an' listened to th'sound of that fuckin' heart monitor. I prayed fer him t'wake up. Know why!? I didn't wanna lose another friend! Then you show up an' nearly kill all of us!"

"No one got hurt. The explosives…"

"I don't care! You let us believe he was still in a coma in some prison somewhere or he was dead!"

"I told you it took us a long time to find him."

"It didn't take you that long t'find us!"

"That's true, but…"

"Tell me summat! Why?!"

"Why what?"

"Why is he here?!"

"I told you. He's the newest member of the Saints."

"He already was a Saint!"

"Connor, please calm down!"

"How do we even know that he really is Romeo!?

"If you don't believe me then go ask him something only Romeo would know!"

"You could've coached him!"

She went to stand face-to-face with him as his eyes turned a dark gray color and she pointed to the sliding door. He walked to the sliding door as he opened the sliding door and she followed him inside, closing the sliding door behind them. They walked down the hallway when they went back into the gym and Connor saw Romeo sitting on the bench and Murphy was standing near the mat while he held onto Louisa.

"Are we cool?" Romeo said as he stood.

"No, we're not cool. How do we know you're really Romeo?" Connor asked.

"Go ahead. Ask me anything. Where am I from? I was born and raised in Boston. Who raised me? My Uncle Caesar. What did I do at his restaurant? I was a dishwasher. Where did you, Murphy and I meet? It was on a boat sailing to Boston. How did we meet? I found the two of you in a storage area and you nearly killed me when I figured out you were the Saints. Where did we live when we got to Boston? We lived in the storage room above McGinty's. Who ran McGinty's? Doc. What did I ask when I first met Lou? I asked if she was a guy because I didn't know her name was short for Louisa. Want me to keep going?"

Connor and Murphy had a silent conversation while Louisa looked at Romeo then she walked to him and he saw the doubt in her eyes.

"What sound scares me?" she asked in a soft voice. Romeo had learned about her being sensitive to the sound of gunfire when he and Connor were watching an action movie in the bar after Doc had closed the bar for the night and he had to crawl under the pool table to calm her down.

Romeo thought for a few seconds when Romeo leaned closer and she felt his breath in her right ear.

"Gunfire," he whispered.

"When you three went to confront the Roman, you promised to look after them. But, if anything went wrong, you would come get me and you'd use a codeword to let me know it was you."

"Yeah, I did."

"What was the codeword?"

"Ding-dong," he whispered. She blinked her eyes a few times when she hugged him again and he smiled. He moved back as Connor and Murphy frowned and he saw the look in their eyes. He started sniffing as tears rolled down his cheeks and Louisa gave the twins an angry look.

"Now look at what you've done," she said.

"Is he…? Is he crying?" Margaret asked.

"You didn't know he does that?" Murphy asked.

"No."

"That's because it takes a lot to make me cry," Romeo said as he wiped his eyes on the back of his left hand. "Shit."

Connor and Murphy looked at each other when they nodded their heads, walked to Romeo and they hugged him. Romeo started crying harder as Murphy softly laughed and Connor rolled his eyes. After he calmed down, Romeo moved back and he sniffed. Murphy handed him the clean handkerchief he took out of his jeans pocket and Romeo took the handkerchief. He used the handkerchief to blow his nose when he sighed and Connor tilted his head to one side.

"She said you woke up after we escaped," Connor said.

"Yeah. Though the doc told me they had to restart my heart. Guess whatever they did to break you out scared the shit out of me," Romeo said.

"Aye, explosions will do that," Murphy said. He explained while Romeo's eyes slightly bugged out then Romeo sighed, shaking his head.

"Anyway, they transferred me to a local hospital and I stayed there for a month. After that, they transferred me to another prison. Didn't stay there long. I felt like some foster kid because I kept going from one place to the other."

"Why did they keep moving you?" Louisa asked.

"I have no fucking clue."

"When did she show up?" Murphy asked.

"It was a month ago. I don't get visitors. So, imagine my surprise when I go into the visitation room and there she is."

"Did she tell you what she wanted?" Connor asked.

"She said she wanted to know about the Saints, but I told her to fuck off. That I didn't know who the hell she was talking about. She left then she came back the next day. She kept doing this for two weeks."

"I'm very stubborn," Margaret said.

"So am I. Finally, she brought this doctor and he examined me. He took some blood. And I had my finger prints taken. They left."

"Then what?" Murphy asked.

"She came back with these two big guys and the warden. I was to go with her. I told them to fuck off. That's when the big guys came at me."

"That's not a good idea," Connor said.

"No kidding."

"Did you fight them?" Louisa asked.

"Hell yeah."

"I never saw anyone move so fast," Margaret said.

"You should see him fight with his arms tied behind his back," Murphy said.

"One of the guys did grab my arms and pulled them behind my back. I used him to push up and I kicked the other guy in the nuts," Romeo said with a pleased look.

"That is when I drew my weapon and told him to stop struggling or I would shoot off his," Margaret said and Romeo nodded.

"What did she offer you fer helpin' us?" Connor asked.

"His freedom and his arrest record will vanish."

"Pretty sweet, hunh?!" Romeo asked.

"After he agreed to our terms, I brought him here."

"Wherever here is."

"We're in Costa Rica," Louisa said and his eyes slightly bugged out.

"Damn!"

"Now that we have settled that," Margaret said as she looked at Murphy and Louisa. "Mind showing him around?"

"Aye," Murphy said with a nod and he, Louisa and Romeo left the room. Margaret watched Connor as he walked to the attack dummy when he growled, balled his hand into a fist and he started punching the attack dummy. Sighing, she left the gym and Connor stopped, placing his forehead against the attack dummy's forehead.

The soft breeze moved the metal bars of the windchimes outside the window to Murphy and Louisa's bedroom and her head rested against his left shoulder. She moved her finger over the bullet wound on his right shoulder as she walked her fingers down his chest and he made a jagged sigh. She knew every scar on his body had a story and some of those stories frightened her. Her finger moved over the lettering of the tattoo of Norman's name and she looked up. She could barely see his face as Murphy smiled and his eyelids were half-open.

"I never asked, but what did you say when one of your girlfriends ask about this?" she asked.

"I tell them it's my da's name," he said with a sleepy voice.

"But his name was Noah."

"Aye, but, at th'time, I didn't know that."

He yawned as his eyelids closed and she placed her hand over the tattoo before she closed her eyes and they drifted off to sleep.

The house was still while Connor laid on his back and he looked at the ceiling. He replayed his conversation with Margaret as he sighed and he rubbed his face with his hands. Moving the blankets back, he got out of bed when he left the room and he headed down the hallway. He paused at the door to the bedroom Margaret had given Romeo and Connor quietly opened the door. He could just see Romeo sleeping with the covers draped over his lower back and Connor closed the door. He kept going down the hallway when he entered the living room and he looked at the framed photographs on the wall. Louisa had the photographs from her apartment in Ireland sent to the house and her father had sent the large photograph of her, Connor, Murphy and Norman.

Connor walked to the large frame as he looked at the photograph and he felt a lump in his throat.

"Who are they?" made him spin around as he grabbed onto Margaret's upper arms and she placed her hands against his chest. "Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

He let go of her as he looked at the photograph and she noticed the sad look on his face.

"That's me," he said as he pointed to the boy on the left. She barely saw him smiling and his hair was sticking up on his head.

"What is wrong with your hair?"

"I had it spiked an' th'tips were dyed blue."

"Who's this?" she asked, pointing to Louisa.

"That's Lou. She had this pink stripe going from th'top of her head t'her fringe."

"And this?" she asked, pointing to Murphy.

"That's Murphy."

"And this?" she asked, pointing to Norman.

"That's Lou's twin brudder, Norman."

"Oh, right. He was the one who was killed."

"Aye," he said with a nod of his head. "Lou's da took th'photo jus' before they had t'go back t'New York."

"You all look so happy."

"We were," he said then he became silent and she waited for him to say something. He walked to the other frames when he looked at the framed photograph of a man with long hair and a full beard sitting on a horse and he was looking down at the saddle.

"Who is this?" she asked, standing next to him.

"That's me when we were in exile."

"You look so… You look so miserable."

"I was."

She heard the pain in his voice when she moved to the photograph of Louisa's back and she tilted he head to one side.

"That's Lou."

"I didn't know she had a tattoo."

"Murphy did it."

"It's amazing."

Connor turned her toward him as they locked eyes and he sighed.

"Don't," she said with a shake of her head. He took her hands as he wrapped their fingers together and she noticed the shy look on his face.

"You not tellin' us Romeo was alive hurt. I thought we trusted each other," he said and she felt like he punched her in the stomach.

"I do trust you."

"Then why did you lie?"

"Stupid as it sounds, I had to. It's a part of my job. I give the people who work for me just enough information for them to get the job done or, in your case, to keep them placid. If you and Murphy knew about Romeo being alive and where he was, you would have gone after him, broke him out of prison and who knows if you would have come back."

"We would've come back fer Lou."

"No, I'm sure she would have gone with you."

"Aye. You're right."

He saw the conflicting look on her face as she lowered her head and he lifted her chin to look him in the eyes. She could just see his eyes returning to a normal icy blue as he leaned closer and his lips grazed her. She nodded as he kissed her and she slid her arms around his waist. She felt a warm tingling move through her as he pulled her against him, moved his head back and he smiled.

"Damn," she thought.

"G'night, Maggie," he said as he let go and she watched him walking into the darkness. She looked at the photograph of him sitting on the horse and she placed the tips of the fingers of her right hand on the glass.

"Goodnight," she said, silently vowing to never see that miserable look on his face ever again.