It took four washers for her to fit all of the clothes in. Katie looked around the nearly empty Laundromat and was thankful no one else seemed to do laundry on a Friday afternoon. It became clear when she'd left the apartment with two bags full that the McManuses never did laundry unless they had too. Smiling, she shook her head. After seeing their gratitude, she knew it was one thing she'd be willingly stuck doing for as long as she was around them. Leaning against the washer, she checked the time on her cell phone again. 2:10. Although she'd been told no time, she was sure she still had awhile to wait.

She'd seen the Laundromat from the car as they parked and had managed to convince them to let her at least get started while they did whatever it was they were going to do. They'd been secretive again, but since she'd not actually seen any weapons she had no idea what they could possibly be doing. Instead of answering her questions, they simply pointed across the street and told her to wait there; they'd be back in a while. A while. They hadn't even given her a fucking timeline. She was to wait for them. And that was all.

Katie could feel herself getting angry and sighed. She had no right. This was something they'd been doing long before she'd meet them and would continue to do. If she hadn't been stupid enough to become a target, she wouldn't have been put in this position.

"Fuck this." She rubbed a hand across her forehead and checked the clock again. 2:14. Glancing around, she saw a bored looking teenager reading a magazine at the desk area. "Hey, is there some place I can get a Pepsi or something?"

The girl looked up at her, surprised to find that there was still someone in the building. "Uh, sure. There's a little convenience store halfway down the block."

Katie smiled at her. "Can you keep an eye on my other bag up there? I'll be right back."

She grabbed the big tote bag and headed out the front. It felt good to be able to go buy a drink without checking with anybody. Not that either Connor or Murphy had been trying to imprison her. At least not on purpose.

Something caught the corner of her eye and she looked back casually. Two men stood just a few feet away and were staring at the building across from the Laundromat. The same building the McManuses had gone into. Katie quickly turned her attention to pretending to look for something in her bag as one of them starting talking.

"They're in there. Leon said to wait until they come out."

"It looks like a fuckin' apartment building. Maybe they live there."

"I don't think anyone lives there. It's fucking run down."

"Well, they are fuckin' Irish. Maybe that's the best they can afford."

Katie's fingers closed over her phone as her heart raced. Were they talking about the Saints? Pulling out her phone, she peered at it. Who else could they be talking about? She had to do something. Forcing a fake smile on, she put the phone to her ear.

"Hey, baby. Where are ya?" She cooed into her phone and flipped back her hair with her other hand. She had to get into the building. But she had to do it without tipping the two men off.

"Nope, I'm just doing some shopping. You know me. There are still a few stores left I haven't hit." Katie laughed flirtatiously and moved past the two men. She waited only a second before crossing the street against the light. There wasn't time to be a good pedestrian.

Keeping up the appearance of her conversation, she moved down the block and turned into the alley. It was only once she was around the corner that she allowed her hands to start trembling. Those guys had been mobsters, that much she'd figured out. She'd learned to sense them a mile away. It was overly tempting to peek back around the corner to make sure she hadn't been obvious. But she knew if she did that she'd risk being seen again

"Fuck." She muttered and scanned the shadowed alley. A broken down door was only a few feet away. It was locked, but the wood was so rotten she barely had to push to get it open. Real safe building here. Narrowing her eyes, she paused to let herself adjust to the darkness as the smell of mold and dust hit her. Where the fuck were they in the building?

Stepping forward slowly, Katie was careful to make as little noise as possible. She considered reaching for the switchblade at her ankle, but remembered Connor's warning to not pull it out unless there was a reason to use it. There wasn't a reason, yet.

Holding her cell phone up, she flipped it open again. 2:21. Biting her lip, she quickly decided against calling one of them. She didn't want to bring any more attention to them than necessary. Or to herself for that matter. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the blue light from her phone caught a piece of metal high on the door to her right. Stepping closer, the dull gold numbers stood out. 29-A. No, she needed 23-B! That number had meant something! She had to be close.

She found the door six more down and across the hall from where she'd started. Her heart beat faster as she realized she had no idea what she was going to do. Did she go in? What if this wasn't the right apartment? Shaking her head, she took a deep breath. She'd come done all of this to find them and warn them. There was no other choice but to go through with it.

Reaching out the door, Katie was not really surprised to find the door was unlocked. It felt surreal to her as she turned the knob and silently moved inside. The doorway was cut off from the rest of the room by a dividing wall, so her entrance could have gone unnoticed. The apartment was dark and silent save for the soft mumblings of another language coming from the other room.

Forcing herself to take another deep breath, she stepped forward to peek around the corner into the other room. She bit back a gasp as her eyes fully adjusted to the even dimmer light. Murphy and Connor were each kneeling by a separate body, muttered words she couldn't understand. The blood wasn't like she'd imagined it would be. Small circle bursts of red spotted the walls and chairs. Near each man was a glossy pool of darker red blood spreading out on two sides. Her eyes wandered to the third body and she had just noticed the absence of Da when she heard the hammer of a gun being pulled back only inches from her head. She froze.

Katie only realized she'd made a sound with both Murphy and Connor looked up quickly.

"Katie!" Murphy gasped. Connor spoke up at the same time.

"What the fuck are ye doing here?"

She just stared, barely hearing the gun's hammer being released and lowered from the side of her head. Da's voice floated to her ears, but she found she couldn't follow what he was saying. Her eyes were on the gun in his hand; the same gun that had just been held to her head. The gun was holstered as she watched, but she still didn't react until his rough palm gripped her chin.

"Katie." He only said her name once more but she immediately turned her attention to him. Da held her gaze for a moment. "Take a deep breath now, lass."

She found herself complying without a second thought and felt her heart slow down enough that she could feel the separate beats of it. Her reason for being there came back to her and she stepped back quickly, surprising Da. "You guys need to get out of here soon and separately."

Both Murph and Connor moved toward them, standing on either side of Da. All three of them wore confused expressions. Katie took another deep breath.

"Two men, two mobsters are outside watching you. They are waiting to do…to do, I don't know what to you. But you all need to get out of here quickly."

"What did they look like?"

"One is tall and stockier. The other is a little smaller. But I don't think they are alone."

"We can't just take 'em out on a fuckin' busy street." Murphy muttered. Da kept watching Katie but nodded.

"Ye found us to warn us then?"

She nodded.

"How did ye find us?" Connor asked this time. She gave him a small smile.

"I'm just that good." Laughing, she smiled fully. "Okay, so I heard the apartment number this morning."

Da nodded briskly at this and put his hand under her elbow, steering her to the door. "Go on back to the Laundromat. Be careful about it. Have yer phone out and ready to use if ye need it. One of us will be there to get ye soon."

Nodding, she opened the door again. She looked at each of them in turn. "There's a back door that I don't think they're watching. That's how I got in. But they can see you once you leave the alley." She bit her lip. "Be careful!"

Turning, she hurried back down the hallway and out the rotted door. Pausing slightly, she looked down either side of the alley. She shook her head and went the other way, opposite of how she'd gotten there. As she walked, she reached into her bag and pulled a spare hair thing. Pulling back her hair, she then put her sunglasses on. Looking down at herself, she stopped, took off her coat and stuffed it into the bag. It was a little cold for having no coat, but her light yellow jacket was too recognizable. Especially if these two were connected to those who had been followed her the last time. Now the only thing that was completely noticeable about her was the bag. She could only hope the two men didn't notice her bag.

She was folding the clothes out of the dryer by the time that Murphy finally walked into the Laundromat. It took her a moment to recognize him and she struggled not to laugh. He had pulled on an ugly multi-colored sweater over his dark grey t-shirt. Covering his dark hair was a Red Sox hat that completely clashed with the colors of the sweater. He just raised an eyebrow at her scrutiny.

"Man, I guess I've got to teach you how to dress."

He just laughed softly and walked over closer to her. He put a warm hand on her shoulder and leaning down to whisper in her ear.

"Anyone bother ye?"

She shook her head no. "But they're still out there." The humor she felt was gone as she glanced over her shoulder again. She could still see the two dark jackets from where she stood. Murphy shrugged.

"Yeah, they kinda stick out."

"Everyone else get out okay?"

He nodded. "As far as I know. I was the last one out. Da and Connor'll meet us at the apartment."

She just pursed her lips and continued folding laundry. Reaching over, Murphy pulled a few shirts out and started folding some himself. She couldn't help but smile.

"I thought you hated doing laundry."

"No. Connor hates doing laundry. I don't necessarily hate it, I just avoid it. Besides, we should get out of here as soon as we can."

She mated the last few socks as he pulled down the duffle bag from on top the dryer and started filling it. Everything that didn't fit was put into Katie's tote bag. She noticed with silent humor that he'd left her underwear for her to put in the bag. All guys really were alike.

They left the Laundromat silently, Murphy actually acting like a gentlemen and opening the door for her. He automatically headed in the opposite direction of the men. Katie followed close behind him. They were both silent for a few moments.

"So what's next?" She finally asked. He glanced down at her, distracted. Acting like he was checking the street signs, he turned to the side and glanced behind them. Nodding slowly, he turned back and pointed to the side street.

"Well, now we meander. We're being fuckin' followed."

Katie moved to look but he put his arm around her to stop her.

"Don't look. Just act normal."

"Fuck, what is normal?"

He grinned. "Good question. Who do ye want to be?"

"Miss America." She waved her arms dramatically.

"Aye, but maybe we should be something they'll likely believe."

She gave him a shocked look before laughing. Reaching over, she smacked him lightly on the chest. "Gee, thanks, Murph. You sure know how to compliment a girl."

Laughing softly, he just shifted his arm so it was more naturally across her shoulders. Katie automatically slipped her arm around his waist. He nodded with a grin.

"Now that's more what I was referring to."

Looking up at him, she raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"If they think we're a…well, together maybe they'll leave us alone quicker. What's the likelihood that one of the Saints would have a girlfriend?"

Katie was silent for a moment before smiling again. "Okay, but I think we should make it more obvious."

"How?" He looked at her quickly out of the corner of his eye. She tired but failed at suppressing a loud laugh. Murphy turned his head fully to look at her this time as she covered her mouth with her hand. "What?"

"Nothing. You just looked so frightened there for a moment." Katie grinned. "Don't worry, I'm not going to violate you on the street or anything. How are you at acting?"

"Uh, don't really know. Why?"

"Just work with me." She winked at him before pulling away looking irritated. "Mark, you told your mother what?"

He stopped and turned to her with a frown, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Answer me!" She demanded.

Murphy's eyes widened and Katie could tell that he was trying to come up with an answer. She waited only a second before saving him the trouble.

"You are such a mama's boy. I can't believe you told her she could help name the baby!"

"Well, at least then I won't have a son named Chadwick." He answered after a very short hesitation. She felt her jaw drop slightly. He'd somehow managed to completely respond without any hint of an Irish accent.

"Good God, that was a freaking joke!" She choked out in response. He fought a grin.

"So your sense of humor is as bad as your baby-naming skills."

Katie stared at him for a moment before forcing herself to start to cry. It took immense concentration to continue when she saw the concerned look on his face. Even Murphy was buying the act. He slipped his arm around her again and brought her into his embrace.

"Shh, now Katie." His accent was back but his voice was too low to matter. She felt him move slightly back and forth, as if he was checking out the area. "Let's go get something ta eat. There's a café right here."

She nodded against his chest and pulled away to allow herself to be led into the café. Waiting until they were inside and seated, she finally grinned fully at him and wiped her eyes. He just shook his head with a smile.

"You're fuckin' convincing."

"Thanks. I can't believe you can drop your accent like that!"

He laughed softly. "You'd be surprised how often that's come in handy."

"I imagine. So did they get to see the show?"

"Yeah, they were still there, but they did look pissed off."

"Almost as if they'd followed the wrong people?"

"That's what I'm hoping." He glanced over her shoulder to see out the window. "I can't imagine they'd hang around."

"But…?"

"We should probably stay here for a little while at least."

Katie looked at the menu and realized she was starved. "I think I could suffer through a little while."

He nodded in agreement. The waitress came and took their orders. Both of them remained silent until after they'd gotten their food. After taking a few bites, Murphy looked up at her.

"So what would ye be doing if ye hadn't tried to become a mafia princess?"

Katie laughed. "I wasn't trying to become a mafia princess."

"Ye know what I mean."

"I don't know. Something with my degree probably."

"Such as?"

"Ah…I either wanted to be a therapist or a social worker. Specifically to work with kids whose parents or family members were victims of violence."

"Like you?" His voice was soft, making Katie look up at him. His attention had returned to his food. She sighed.

"No, not really like me. I was lucky. I had Brett and Peter. We made it together. There are kids out there who have it much, much worse."

"Aye, there are."

She was quiet for a second. "I think if there is one even that dramatically affects your life, you tend to either hide from it in your career choice or you are drawn to it in your career choice. While what happened to me and my brothers was tough, we were teenagers…which made it easier and we were close, even before it happened."

"Yet, you and yer brother sought vengeance." Murphy finally looked up at her. She nodded slowly.

"Yeah, Brett had a tougher time of all of it. One day he was 18 and a fresh high school graduate. The next he was fighting to keep us together and taking care of two younger siblings. He was angry and no one could blame him. He barely waited a year before he started working his way into the lower ranks of the mob."

"What about you?"

"I never wanted to, not until he was killed."

"What happened?"

"I don't really know, Murph. Once again, my brother sought to protect me. Peter never would give me the details."

"Do ye really want to know?"

"I think I need to know."

They were silent for another moment before she looked up at him again. "How about you? What did you do before all of this?"

Murphy grinned at that. "We worked lots of odd jobs. The last one was at a meat-packing plant here in Boston."

"Well, what did you want to do?"

He just shrugged. "Never really had a plan past getting here. Neither of us really wanted to go back to school. Not that we could fuckin' afford it anyhow."

Katie shook her head with a grin. "So what? No dreams or career aspirations?"

"Aye, we had some."

She waited for him to continue. "Which were?"

Chuckling softly, Murphy shrugged again. "I did want to be a cop for awhile."

"That's kind of funny, actually."

"Yeah, I don't see that dream coming true. Connor and I also attempted to start a band when we were 13."

"Can either of you sing or play an instrument?"

"Nope, we had no fuckin' hope there."

"Okay, so if you could have done anything, what would it have been?"

"Connor's is easy. I think deep down he still wishes he could be a fuckin' cowboy."

"Well, that explains his obsession with Westerns. So what, you wanted to Rambo or James Bond?"

He grinned. "Neither. Though, I did go through a Sherlock Holmes phase."

Katie stared at him a second before laughing.

"What?" He tilted his head and raised an eyebrow. She just laughed harder.

"I was picturing you in tweed with a magnifying glass."

"Christ, I hate tweed. It's fuckin' scratchy. Ma made us wear matching tweed suits once for a funeral."

Katie pushed her plate away from her with a sigh. "Okay, Sherlock. Think it's safe to leave?"

Murphy glanced out the window for a second before nodding. "Aye, I think we're okay."

"How far are we from home anyhow?"

"Really only a ten minute walk. We just drove in case something happened."

He grabbed the ticket out of her hand and walked up to the cashier to pay. Katie rolled her eyes and followed.

"I could pay for my own, you know."

"I know." Murphy just grinned back at her. He got his change, pocketed it and led her to the door. "But I was trained to never let a girl pay."

"Ah," she grinned. "More of that Irish upbringing. See now why you guys just are not a threatening bunch?"

"From what little you fuckin' know."

"Yeah, as if there's a whole side I haven't seen of you yet."

"Ye say that ever after what you've see today?"

Katie wrinkled her forehead slightly as she looked up at him. "I knew what you guys did already."

"Then why the fuck did you freeze up like that?" His question was quiet and his eyes were focused straight ahead. She bit her lip slightly.

"Murph, it's not what you think."

"Then what is it?"

"I've seen blood before. Fuck, I've even see dead bodies before. That stuff doesn't fucking bother me."

He pulled on her arm to make her stop and turned to face her. She found that she couldn't look him in the eye. "Then what is it, Katie?"

She sighed. "I don't like guns." Shaking her arm loose, she started walking again. He took a few big steps to catch up.

"Okay, so ye don't like guns." He said slowly. "So guns scare you, don't they?"

"Yeah, it did fucking scare me to have one put to my head. I know Da didn't know it was me, but that's why I fucking froze, okay?"

Murphy nodded. "Okay." They were quiet again for another block before Katie looked up at him again.

"So, if you could start a new career tomorrow, what would it be?"

He laughed. "We're back to this again, are we?"

Katie just nodded.

"Well, Connor and I have always wanted ta open a bar."

"God, I can actually see that happening."

"Yeah, it'd be a fun thing ta do. But it's not something we could do at the moment."

"No, that whole moving thing might interrupt that." She laughed. He just smiled and shook his head. "You two plan on really sticking together, don't you?"

"Aye, we do. Why?"

"Well, you just keep saying 'we'."

"I can't imagine wanting ta do something without him."

"Awww…how cute."

He choked on a laugh. "What?"

"Brotherly love." She grinned. He just shook his head again.

"Let's go. They'll be waiting for us."

Katie looked up and realized they were to the apartment building. "Wow, that was a fast walk."

"Yeah, we weren't too far, really."

Murphy held open the door for her again and followed her into the building.

Connor tapped a frustrated beat with his left hand as he channel surfed with his right. The apartment was quiet but for the sound of each channel as it was cut off by the next. Dropping the remote, he continued to tap the rhythm as he picked up his cell phone with the other. 4:13. Where the fuck where they?

He tensed when he heard soft laughter and only relaxed slightly when he heard the key slid in the lock. Katie opened the door and flashed him a smile before moving aside to let Murphy in. All of Connor's worry worked itself into a burst of anger.

"Where the fuck have you two been?" His voice was louder than he intended but he continued to glare at them. They both looked at him surprised.

"Connor, we-" Katie started but he cut her off.

"Do you know how long I've been waiting for ye?"

Murphy held up a hand. "We were fuckin' followed. We couldn't exactly lead them straight here."

"But why didn't ye at least call?"

"Why didn't you?"

Katie looked back and forth between their faces. "Where's Da? Did he get home alright?"

Connor spared her a look and a nod before staring back at his brother. Murphy continued to calmly hold his gaze. She just shook her head before stepping between them.

"Look, Connor, we're sorry. I didn't think about it and Murphy was more worried about making sure we didn't get caught. If I'd realized how worried you'd be, I really would have called."

He nodded again. "Fine, Katie."

She could tell he was still pissed. Sighing loudly, she waved her hands. "Whatever, Connor. I'm gonna go put my laundry away. You two have fun with your staring contest."

He nodded a third time but didn't look at her. Murphy sighed and raised an eyebrow as she left the room.

"So what's the punishment, Da?"

Connor made a face. "Oh don't even fuckin' start with me. Ye got so distracted with her that ye didn't even think about anything else."

"No, Conn, I got distracted by the fact that despite this stupid fuckin' sweater and hat combo, we still got followed. That means they know us well enough by face to suspect me."

"Or her."

"Yeah, or her. But I did find out why she freaked out today."

Connor leaned back then and grabbed the remote with his right hand. Murphy moved to sit in Da's chair.

"Turns out, our Katie has a fear of guns."

"What?" Connor looked at him surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah, really."

"She landed with the wrong group of people."

"Aye, I wonder just how she made it with the mob."

"Maybe she didn't have to deal with them too often. Some of those underlings are more likely to use fists than guns. Less of a legal charge if they got caught."

"Maybe."

They heard the key in the lock again and both of them looked up as Da walked in. He gave them both a quick nod and Murphy moved out of his chair. It was only after Da was seated that he spoke.

"Well, we've got a new place."

"Really, that soon?" Murphy grinned at him.

"Aye. Pack your things tonight, boys." Da leaned back in his chair and put the smoking pipe to his mouth. Connor nodded.

"I figured we'd move this soon. Where to?"

"Smecker found us a place not too far from where you boys used ta live. Might not be as nice, but it's safe."

Katie had heard Da come in and watched from the doorway, unsure she should intrude on what was obviously another family discussion. Da puffed on his pipe again before speaking.

"We'll also be taking a break for now."

"A break?"

"Aye, Murphy, a break."

"Why now? We just fuckin' got here. We've barely begun."

"And we've already been found. We're being watched. We'll be taking a break."

Murphy stood and paced slightly before turning back to where Da sat.

"No, we can't."

"Murph…" Connor's voice was a warning.

"Fuck! No, I want to keep going."

"What's the harm in a break, Murph?"

"If we stop now, more people will die. Each fuckin' day those murderers have a chance to take a life they will." He stopped and looked at Connor. "We need to keep going for the innocents. We need to keep going for Rocco."

"Christ, Murphy, you shedding blood isn't going to bring him back!"

"He didn't want us to stop. I'm not fucking stopping until-"

"Until what? Until someone else is dead? Until you are dead? I don't want to live that way forever. It's not for me."

"If we stop now, we'll never get started again. They've always been fuckin' watching us. We're too fuckin' good to get caught!"

"So far. It's that overconfidence that could led to us rotting in jail or worse." Da spoke up. Connor got to his feet and grabbed his coat. He pushed past Murphy without a word. It was only when he got to the door that he looked back.

"I don't care if we don't fuckin' start again. At least then we won't have this God damn argument again."

Connor slammed the door was he left followed shortly by Murphy who headed in the opposite direction. Katie sighed and moved to sit on the couch near Da. He smiled her way.

"Don't worry, lass. They've been fighting like that for years. Their ma'd give me an earful every time I called home to check on'em."

"They just seem so angry."

"Aye, and they'll either go a'drinking or a'fighting to get it out of their system. They'll be friends before they sleep tonight, I promise you that."

Katie smiled and closed her eyes as she leaned back into the couch.

"You'd better go get your things together too, my dear. If I know me boys, they'll be ready to leave right away in the morning."

"That early, huh?"

At that, he just nodded and she took it as her call to leave. She wandered down to her room and threw herself onto the bed. God, she hadn't witnessed an emotional fight like that in years.

Three hours later she laid in the darkness of her room, completely unable to sleep. Neither of the boys had come back yet. She'd put off her packing until the morning, unable to concentrate and not quite needing something to distract her. Relief hit her as she heard the footsteps coming down the hall and she knew it was Murphy before he even spoke.

"Now do we have to go through this every night?" His voice was low but she could tell he was smiling.

"Murph. I could say the same damn thing, you know." Katie sat up quickly and kept her eyes on his silhouette in the doorway. "I'm glad you're home."

"Good, now come sleep in my bed."

She laughed, a little shocked. Moving out of her bed, she stood in front of him and crossed her arms over her chest. "It takes a little more than pleading, Murph."

"You know what I fuckin' mean. I'll take the floor."

"I'm fine here with my lump-less bed."

He leaned down and put his shoulder into her stomach, lifting her off her feet and onto his shoulder. "If you won't go willingly, I'll take you myself."

She squirmed and laughed, beating his back with her hands.

"Dammit, Murphy. Put me down!"

"Nope, this is for your own good."

She aimed a few kicks and grinned when she felt him gasp

"Jesus woman, that was close."

"Put me down!"

He shook his head and turned towards the door. Knowing this was her last chance she wiggled harder and kicked a few more times. He flipped around and lost his balance, falling onto her bed. She hit the bed with a groan and laughed as he pretended to collapse on her, pressing her further into her bed. When she looked up, his face was only inches from hers and the laughing words died in her throat. He leaned in and kissed her before she could lean towards him herself. The kiss was soft, almost just a whisper. She stared up at him and saw the same shock in his eyes.

"Murph?" Connor's voice called as he headed down the hall. Murphy broke their eye contact and stood up quickly. He walked out the door without giving her a second look. Katie lifted a hand to her mouth and sat up quickly.

"Hey." She could hear Murphy's quiet voice in the hallway. There was a moment's pause.

"Where'd you go?"

"A bar. You?"

"A walk. McGinty's?"

"Never. It'd be suicide to go in there without ya. But there was this girl…"

Murphy laughed softly and Katie could tell they'd moved towards their bedroom.

"Connor, there's always a girl."

She stayed where she was as she heard their door close softly. Her heart was still racing and she forced herself to take a deep breath. Laying back on her bed, she hugged her arms to her body and shook her head. What the fuck had just happened? Rubbing her face over her hands, she knew that between her nightmares and her dreams, there was no way in hell she was getting any sleep that night.