Page 20 of Her Michigan Mob Boss

“Okay.”

“Good girl.” Ciaran dropped a kiss on the top of my head and left.

I ate a few more French fries before deciding I’d had enough. I’d never been to a spa before, but I doubted it was a good idea to get a massage or whatever if my stomach was too full.

Offering my thanks to Mara, who stood behind the counter talking to an older gentleman, I headed outside. A man got out of the SUV. He wasn’t as tall as the other members of Ciaran’s security team I’d met so far, but his muscles were on full display beneath a black t-shirt. He had several tattoos of skulls, guns, and crossed swords. It painted a violent picture, and I wondered how safe I really was around him.

When he smiled, his face softened, and I felt a little more comfortable.

“Hey, Annie, I’m Jace. I’ll be chaperoning you this afternoon.”

“Sorry you got stuck with babysitting duty.”

“Ah!” He waved off my concerns with a flick of the wrist. “Anything for family.”

“You’re related to Ciaran?”

“One of many, many cousins.” Jace grinned broadly as he opened the back door of the car. “Hop in and I’ll tell you all Ciaran’s deepest, darkest secrets.”

Returning his smile, I got into the back seat of the car. It looked like this afternoon was going to be fun.

ChapterEight

Ciaran

As Max had pointed out a hundred times since I leftMara’swith him, there was no real need for me to be here. My men were capable of interrogating a traitor without me, especially as my brother Sean, the most bloodthirsty member of our organization, was with them. Though I would have preferred to spend the afternoon with Annie, I couldn’t leave this to others. I had to be the one to end this treacherous bastard’s life.

Ricky Lawson had been with my family for years, working under my grandfather and then my father before me. When I took over five years ago, I didn’t expect him to cause any issues. He’d already proved his loyalty many times. He’d sworn to follow me as faithfully as he had my father, and I believed him. Perhaps it was because I’d looked up to him as a kid that I didn’t consider him when we knew we had a traitor in our ranks. I’d been blinded by the image of an honorable man who probably never really existed.

Hearing from Max that Ricky was the one selling information to the Clearys was like a dagger to the heart. When our weapons shipments had failed to reach their destinations, he’d advised me to look among our newer recruits for a rat. It hadn’t even crossed my mind that he, himself, was responsible for the trouble we were having. But I knew Max wouldn’t have brought him in for questioning if he wasn’t certain he was our rat.

With lorries getting hijacked on an almost weekly basis, our partners were starting to worry we were no longer reliable. I needed confirmation of who was behind it. My primary suspect was Danny Mulhearn. Though Jimmy Cleary was technically still in charge of the family that bore his name, rumor had it he’d backed away from the business now he was receiving chemotherapy for prostate cancer. Hopefully, Ricky could tell us who was calling the shots.

Following Max through the warehouse we used to store electronics and other goods sold through some of our legitimate businesses, I headed for the room at the back where we interrogated prisoners. Barely bigger than a prison cell, it had a stale, unpleasant smell that no amount of bleach could mask. With the windows boarded up, the only light came from a single fluorescent strip light that cast a harsh white glow over the center of the room. Two of my men were in the room, my brother Sean and his usual partner in crime, Marcus. They were the family’s chief enforcers, both tall, muscular and tattooed over every available inch of skin. Alone, each man was enough to give someone nightmares. Together, they looked as if they could bring down Armageddon.

Ricky was in the center of the room. He hung by the wrists from manacles attached to a hook on the ceiling. From the look of him, he wouldn’t last much longer. Sean and Marcus had clearly had their fun already. Their victim’s head hung low, but I could see he’d been badly beaten. His torso was bare, revealing dozens of slash marks. Blood pooled at his feet, so much of it I was surprised he was still alive. But he was still breathing. His pained groans filled the air.

I glanced at the floor and suppressed a shudder. Though I wasn’t squeamish, I didn’t rejoice in seeing the evidence of a man’s torture, either.

“At least tell me you got what we needed from him before you cut out his tongue,” I said wryly.

“Of course.” Sean motioned for Marcus to give us the room, and the other man left immediately. My brother stepped forward and gave me a hug I could have done without since his clothing was soaked in blood, and I was wearing a white shirt. He didn’t seem to notice the red streaks he left all over me. “Have I ever let you down?”

No, he hadn’t. Both he and our brother Will had been my strongest supporters since our father’s death propelled me into leadership of our organization when I was twenty-four. They’d stood shoulder to shoulder with me through every challenge I’ve faced. While Will preferred to oversee our legitimate businesses, using his charm to facilitate deals, Sean thrived in the thick of the action, buying and selling weapons and keeping our men in line. His thirst for violence was unmatched among our men, but he was also a decent strategist.

“So, what did he tell you?”

“His boy’s an addict. He got into debt with one of Cleary’s dealers, a bottom-feeder called John Canavan. Ricky tried to pay off the debt, but they wouldn’t take cash.”

“They preferred information?” Max guessed.

“Yeah. He gave them dates and times of shipments, told them the routes.”

Anger swelled in my chest. One of our drivers had been shot a couple of weeks back when his truck was hijacked. He was still in hospital and would need extensive rehab when he got out. He was an older guy with a wife and kids. I intended to track down everyone involved in his shooting and make them pay.

“He kept babbling that he had no choice.” Sean spat on the floor, his disgust palpable.

“Bullshit!” Max scoffed. “He could have spoken to me, to Ciaran.”

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