Page 141 of Every Broken Piece
He looks me up and down before centering that cold stare on me again. “Ronan O’Malley.”
Before I sanctioned the press conference, I did my research. I know Ronan O’Malley is the second in command of the family. His brother, Declan, the head.
“You summonsed me,” Ronan says with zero expression or inflection.
Summonsed makes him sound like a Genie in a bottle. Or a demon.
“Did I?”
He’s dark in more than looks. I feel it inside him too, yet he doesn’t frighten me because we’re a lot alike. Fearless in business. Confident. Willing to protect those we love. I've never met the man but I'm putting Tess's life in his hands. I hope to hell my instincts are solid on this.
“You don’t fool me, Gabriel. You knew exactly what you were doing.” He spreads his arms out. I catch a glimpse of a thick gold watch and more tattoos. “I’m here, just like you wanted.”
“I wasn’t exactly expecting a member of the family to show up.”
He blinks but otherwise shows no other reaction. “You’re ballsy, Strong. I like that. But you should’ve thought this through before you pulled the O’Malley’s into your shit.”
“My girl is missing. Your guy took her. I did what I needed to save her.”
“Myguy?”
I want to wipe that smirk off his face, but I need him right now.
“Ryan Carter. He took her.”
He pulls in a deep breath, his jaw flexing. “Carter.” He makes it sound like he’s never heard the name and that pisses me off.
I step in close until we’re within striking distance of each other. “Last month he attacked Tess James in a bar in Cincinnati because her mother owes him, or rather she owes the O’Malley’s, money. My guess is he was acting on O’Malley orders.”
“Was. But no longer.”
“Was. Is. I could give a shit less. I have no problem connecting the O’Malley name with Tess’s disappearance if it brings her back to me.”
Ronan slowly unwinds his arms, then his legs before straightening until we’re standing almost chest to chest. He’s got an inch and about fifty pounds on me, but I don’t back down as dead eyes consider me for a long time.
“Have you had breakfast, O’Malley?”
Ah. Surprise flickers and is gone almost instantly.
“I haven’t.”
I pull my car keys out of my pocket. “I haven’t eaten since lunch yesterday. I’m starving and I need coffee. Hop in and we can talk.”
Something shifts in his expression. Curiosity maybe. Maybe something more deadly. But he walks around the back of my car and slides into the passenger seat, motioning to someone in the driver’s seat of his car to follow.
“You try anything and you’re dead,” he says so matter of bluntly that my lips twitch in a grin.
“Wouldn’t think of it,” I say.
I try not to ponder how wild it is that I’m driving a member of one of the most powerful crime families to a diner to eat bacon and eggs.
On the way I tell him about Sandra Jansen, Tess’s childhood, the drugs, and Carter’s attack. I know I’m breaking Tess’s confidence, but if it gets her back, I’ll gladly suffer her wrath. O’Malley remains silent and unmoving as he lounges loosely in my passenger seat, remaining diligent while watching Denver slide by.
“We told Carter to walk away from that,” he finally says when I pull into the parking lot of the closest diner. “Twenty grand isn’t worth it, especially after the heat he caught from his last encounter with her.”
I throw my car in park more forcefully than necessary and stare out the windshield. “He beat her, Mr. O’Malley. He nearly broke her wrist, bruised her ribs, gave her a concussion so bad she doesn’t remember any of it. He left her terrified of her own shadow and unable to even brush her teeth because the smell of her toothpaste reminds her of him. That’s more than anencounter.”
He inclines his head. “You’re right. But what he did wasn’t sanctioned by us. We called him back to Chicago and told him to forget about the money. It’s small change and not worth the cops asking questions we don’t want to answer. If it were my woman, I’d be burning down the city looking for him too.” He almost grins. Almost. “Or holding a press conference. And call me Ronan. I hate that Mr. O’Malley shit.”
