A Quartet of Desire

Chapter 1: And So It Begins

*Ryan's POV*

"Everything seems in order, let's just call it good and head down to grab some drinks early today."

Sean looked at me as if I'd lost my damn mind. "No fucking way. If we start cutting out early it'll set a precedent. The team will either start doing it themselves, or they'll stop taking us seriously."

Although I knew he was right, I still hated the thought of going through all the mundane routines. No one had messed with our shipments or crew for years. All our businesses were profiting well, and everything was running smoothly.

Then again, maybe it was all too smoothly.

Dad always told us to never let our guard down, but it was easier said than done when it came to a well-running organization. Sean had more patience than I did when it came to making sure all the finer details were ironed out, but I was able to see the big picture and ensure that all the parts were going in the right direction for the right endgame. That's what made us such a great team.

Having a twin was like having a built-in best friend who encompassed all the parts of you that were missing. We yin-and-yanged well together, and I believed it was what made us so successful. Of course, there were times we bickered,especially when it came to which of us were the better looking of the two.Clearly, my light blonde hair and emerald green eyes were far superior to Sean'sdirty blonde and forest green eyes.

"Justin and Maria are coming down for Thanksgiving next week," I told Sean as we continued through the inspection of the warehouse.

"I suppose that's good. It sounds like she's coming to terms with their situation," he replied.

I nodded my head in agreement. "Yeah, Mam said that he officially proposed to her on her birthday. I guess she's actually excited for it."

"Good," Sean said, not glancing up from the paperwork on the clipboard in front of him. "At least one of us will have a comfortable and peaceful future."

There was no malice or jealously behind his words. Rather, they were a statement of fact and slight relief. Justin never truly fit in, even when we were kids. Then again, it must've been hard for him to grow up with older brothers who had already formed a friendship and bond that he could never fully understand or penetrate . Either way, we still loved the kid and were both glad that he and Maria worked things out.

When we first went up to meet her, neither Sean nor I imagined it would go so smoothly. Well, maybe smoothly wasn't the right word. Maria surprised us both though, from the moment we first met her and consistently throughout the five days we had spent with them up in Wisconsin. She was a good fit for Justin and would make a pleasant addition to our family. Unlike our fiancées, Maria was easy to get along with and made her future husband happy.

"We're missing a case."

"What?" I asked, Sean's statement pulling me from my moment of aloofness.

His forest green eyes glared at me, frustrated that I'd been slacking so much during the day. "I said, we're missing a case of the small arms. All of our larger, more notable weapons are here, but a smaller case is missing."

"Shit, where the fuck is it? Do you think that it was just misplaced?"

Sean shook his head. "Dominick has never misplaced anything. We've been working with the Boston crew for decades. This isn't right."

I nodded my head. "Alright, I'll call Dominick, and you can start working through the crew here to figure out what happened to it."

"Deal," Sean agreed, cracking his knuckles.