Page 121 of Break Me
“Likely.”
Mikhail’s answer brought an idea to my head. “I have a suggestion of how we can handle them and it’s something they wouldn’t expect. If we handle it right, we’ll throw their plans into the trash. Either that, or the group playing a vicious game of poker with them will be forced into the open.”
The Pakhan grinned, turning his full attention toward me. “Since it would appear they’re about to play a game of Russian roulette, I’m all ears.”
Before I had a chance to say anything, not only did my phone ring, but I also received a text at the same time. Hissing, I grabbed my cellphone, ready to blast whoever was calling.
Until I noticed it was Mario. He wouldn’t call unless there was an issue with Halle. My instincts were flashing a red alert. That’s because in the back of my mind, I knew we’d just run out of time.
“Mario. What’s wrong?”
“You’re not going to like this, boss, but Ms. O’Leary has disappeared.”
CHAPTER 27
Halle
I didn’t look too bad if I said so myself.
While I certainly wasn’t a hat person, the little twist of fate had allowed me to walk right by the two brutes keeping guard without them taking a second look. It hadn’t hurt that I’d switched clothes with my sister. Although the jeans were a tiny bit too large, the well-dressed soldiers hadn’t noticed.
Neither had the reporters outside the building.
God. When would they quit and leave me alone?
In borrowing my sister’s car, I was assured anonymity at least until I reached O’Leary’s. Liam was always at the bar. I’d almost never caught him at home. I was honestly beginning to wonder how he’d managed to stay married all these years.
His wife was a nice person, although she’d never really liked me. Neither had Liam’s father. He’d kept to himself, allowing Liam to run the show. If what I was thinking was found true, I’d tellLiam’s wife the best thing she could do was to leave the man before she and her kids were placed in harm’s way as I’d been. I’d let her know her husband was knee deep in a gambling debt.
And extortion. That’s what he’d done with the insurance money. I’d made a couple of calls, putting pressure on the attorney to provide me with actual details. Of course, he’d ignored them, forcing me to leave voicemails without going into any detail. If what I was thinking was true, my visit wouldn’t be a complete surprise, but Liam wouldn’t know the extent of my inquiry.
Or the extreme anger furrowing inside.
Liam had strung me along and had lied to me. He’d known how hard I was trying to make ends meet and he’d still stolen my money. Why would he do this? I might not be able to get the money back, but I would get a damn answer.
Sean had been invited to a few poker games. He’d attended a couple, but he’d told me the stakes were low. He’d even returned home with winnings, but the dollar amount had enabled us to purchase a car seat with change left over. Maybe he’d been covering for his brother. Family did come first and since the patriarch hadn’t approved of the marriage, I’d thought myself lucky that Liam had both continued to talk with me and had given me a job. If for no other reason than Emily’s sake.
I still couldn’t fathom that Sean had been involved with selling drugs. That just didn’t make sense. Yet it would be reckless of me not to consider all possibilities. Did I want to ruin his reputation? Would that make me happier? Of course not, but I did deserve to know whether his death had been an accident.
Thoughts of my daughter lingered in my mind. She had a right to have a normal life.
With my parents both deceased, at least she’d had other family to count on for birthdays and holidays. Only not one O’Leary had made time for her.
Now I was forced to face what I’d already suspected. The few niceties had been all about keeping me on a short leash so the insurance and settlement money could be acquired and stolen.
Goddamn it, I was so angry I didn’t care about what he said to me. I was going to confront him so he knew I would be taking him to court.
As I climbed from Kristine’s Toyota, I glanced across the street at the bar. It was barely two in the afternoon, yet the place was full of customers. I eyed the street and sighed. While Las Vegas didn’t have a specific geographic area indicating a heavy Irish population, two streets consisting of almost twenty blocks housed more Irish pubs and businesses than anywhere else.
The dense population had increased during the last five years with a huge change in business hands in the last year. I’d noticed that myself as well as hearing chatter from the bar patrons.
And they were all looking at the O’Leary family as unofficial leaders of some solidarity movement. The first time I’d heard the term, I’d laughed. At that point, I’d known a hell of a lot about a good number of them by the shit they tossed around in the bar after a few shots of whiskey. But the chatter had continued and I’d realized the O’Learys were dangerous.
Whatever was going on, Liam was very unhappy I’d stumbled into the situation. What had finally prompted me to find the courage to confront him was that I hadn’t received a call from him. Not one. Not asking why I hadn’t shown up for work or if I was okay after the ordeal I’d been through. Even worse, therewas no way he hadn’t seen the news about Emily’s abduction. The news had leaked so damn fast every single television station in town had carried it as if I was a famous celebrity.
He hadn’t called just to see if his own niece was okay whether physically, mentally, or emotionally.
That had told me everything I needed to know. I wanted nothing to do with the family. I could get my money back somehow. Some way. Yet, I needed distance. And I didn’t care if they liked that I was spending time with Alexsey.
