Page 5 of Dangerous Silence
“I would not trust them to protect her like I trust you,” Shep said.
I hated this. Hated that I didn’t have a choice. What was I supposed to say? No, take your baby and your perfect,normallife and go back to your dream suburbia, while I kill all of the traitors that you’re too good to kill now?
“The decision has already been made,” Gerard said. Because in our family, you didn’t get a choice if the boss ordered it. I crossed my arms. I knew I couldn’t fight it, but still, this was bullshit.
“If you say ‘no,’ I will find someone else,” Shep said calmly. That made me straighten. That tone of voice, both a warning and a compromise. He was giving me a choice, but one that had consequences. I stared into his gray eyes, trying to read him.
“So you’re saying to marry her.Ifyou die,” I said slowly. “That could be in a few decades.”
“Or that could be tomorrow,” Shep said, reminding me of his lessons. Always have your ends tied up. Don’t be in the position where you leave anyone behind.
The hypocritical bastard.
“Do you need to retire?” I asked. “You’re not that old. You could stay in the shop, taking care of disposal or something.”
“Think of this as a lesson in letting go,” Shep said. “You can’t get too attached to anyone. Not even to your father or to me.” He shook his head, his gaze gentle. “It weakens you. You never know when a person will be gone.”
Gone. Not dead. He was already going soft around her.
“I’m not marrying a baby tomorrow,” I said.
Shep gave a hearty laugh. Gerard chuckled too, and the baby grunted. “I’m not going anywhere anytime soon. Not if I can help it,” Shep said. “Besides, she’ll have plenty of time to marry someone she loves.” He smiled at her, then turned to me. “But if the time comes, promise me you’ll protect her. Keep her alive. Marry her.”
Shep’s words always did something to me. Gerard was hardly ever around. Derek wasn’t even eighteen yet, but he was doing more for the mafia than I had seen our own father do. I respected Derek more than I cared about our father.
But when it came to Shep, I respected him. He had taught me everything, and he had saved my life. I knew that I would have died with blue-stained lips eight years ago if it weren’t for him.
A life for a life. That was the only time you owed someone.
The room reeked of baby powder and piss, all radiating from her. I crossed my arms. I hoped she didn’t smell like that forever.
“Fine,” I said.
CHAPTER 1
present
Axe
“What is his name?” I asked, enunciated each word, making sure he understood me. The man before me was hefty, a few inches taller than me and twice as wide. It had taken help from Ron and Randy to get him strapped to the table, but now that he was completely restrained and spread out, he was helpless. Like the rest.
Sometimes, when it came to situations like this, I liked to inject a serum that would produce paralysis, so that they could feel everything but they couldn’t move. But the serum left them speechless, too. If you wanted answers, you had to act accordingly.
But they were so loud like this.
Two gaping holes were in each cheek, whistling with his breath. His tongue flailed around in the pool of blood in his mouth. He’d probably drown in it if we didn’t move quickly. Shep, though a pillar in his own right, had never been creative like this, which was one of the ways I improved our enforcement.
It was almost a shame not to send him back like this to the Midnight Miles Corporation. If Miles Muro’s men kept disappearing, then he would catch on. But I knew that until then, it was best to keep him in the dark. See how much he was willing to do.
“I didn’t—” he wheezed, his nostrils huffing out, the blood splattering to the side. “I said his name. Please.”
“Cannon?” I asked. “I want a first and last name. Not a nickname.”
“I told you,” the man cried. A tear ran down his cheek, following the path of the last one. “Cannon. His name is Cannon. He goes by Cannon. Please. Don’t kill me.”
“I’m not going to ask again,” I said. “Does your leader, Cannon, have a legal name?”
“I swear to God, man, I don’t know. But I can—”
