How Did You Survive Without Us? by Ki Brightly

The Charming Yet Clueless Professor
Dr. Vail Mifflin loves the history of organized crime. Teaching and writing about the adventures of mobsters are his life’s work. To Vail, the stories he tells are just that—fun accounts he doesn’t think of as real. When Dr. Mifflin gets too close to the modern-day mob truth while researching a book he’s writing, his life begins to fall apart.

The Irish Mob Killers
Rowen, Cillian, Aspen, and Fallon work for the Killough Company, the Irish mob that controls the Eastern Seaboard of the US. They go to one of Dr. Mifflin’s lectures to hear a few stories about the old-timers. That day, the men save Dr. Mifflin from an Italian mafioso, who didn’t like the things Dr. Mifflin lectured about. With this one unintended kind act, these killers become entangled in Vail’s life.

Death and Danger in Unexpected Places
As the band of killers get to know Vail, they realize that instead of focusing on the history of the mob, he’s trying to write an up-to-date account. Normally they would murder a man who planned to divulge their secrets, but it’s clear Vail doesn’t truly understand the danger he’s in. Their only choice to keep him alive is to protect him and convince him to stop. Vail struggles with ADHD and is reluctant to let go of his career, the one thing he feels he is good at. Unfortunately word is already out that Vail knows things he shouldn’t, and keeping him safe won’t be simple.

How Did You Survive Without Us? ends on a small cliffhanger for Vail, but the next book is already written, so you won’t have to wait to find out what happens next!