Dublin Devil (Emerald Isle Mafia #2)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

Piper

T his is my big night, and it’s going perfectly. After nineteen years of being babied and treated like I have nothing to offer the family business, tonight I’m finally making inroads and proving to my father and my brothers that I deserve a place at the table.

My rightful place.

I’m a McGuire, the youngest of seven, and the only daughter of the biggest crime family in Dublin. I’m just as savvy and strategic as my brothers, and tonight I’m showing them I’m an asset to the McGuire empire.

Sitting in the private dining room of the NYX Hotel Dublin Christchurch, I put on my best smile as I shift my napkin from my lap and lay it on the table. “It’s been a wonderful evening, gentlemen: great food, engaging conversation, and now, I’m sure you’ll find the executive suite my father booked for you just as pleasing.”

Vladmir Volkov, the younger of the two Russian Bratva representatives I’m schmoozing this evening, is the cousin of the big boss, Anton Volkov. He’s the man to impress in St. Petersburg and told Da that if Vladmir is happy with what he sees here in Dublin, he’ll consider establishing a business arrangement with my family.

Vladmir runs fat fingers through his chaotic beard. “Everything is wonderful, Miss McGuire. Your father is wise man. Giving you to us. Good for business.”

I chuckle. “I’m glad you enjoyed my company. Come, I’ll show you to your suite.”

The other man, Arkady Sidorov, grunts his approval and buttons his suit jacket when he stands. He carries the same jacked-up, muscled frame as his partner, but with a much stronger stalker vibe.

He has eyed me up and down all night like I was his dinner instead of the four-hundred-dollar wagyu steak he ordered and inhaled.

But I grew up around dangerous men, so, while they intimidate me a little—the Bratva are violent and deadly—it doesn’t stop me from doing my job.

All evening, I’ve smiled and played the part of the perfect hostess—the task my father assigned to me.

The hotel lobby is busy, the murmur of voices carrying from the reception desk and seating areas all the way to the restaurant entrance.

I gesture to the main doors as we walk toward the hotel lobby. “If you gentlemen would like to try your hand at roulette or blackjack, I can arrange a private table for you at the casino down the block. A quick taxi ride and you’ll be all set.”

Arkady purses his lips. “Nyet. Up to room.”

“Of course. I’m sure you’re tired after your travels. This way.” My Louboutin heels clack out a steady rhythm on the polished marble tiles as I lead them to the bank of elevators.

Da has them set up in one of the top-floor suites overlooking the River Liffey. He mentioned that he’s arranged female entertainment for them this evening as well. Men like this expect those kinds of business gestures as complimentary perks.

That’s beyond my scope of the business, but I know my brothers often discuss the new girls they’ve got in town and what they’ll be able to charge for them.

I don’t judge.

A woman’s body is a woman’s choice.

When the elevator door closes behind us, I tap the key card to the sensor and push the button for the top floor. In the reflection of the mirrored walls, Arkady is checking me out. I discretely tug the hem of my short skirt down my thighs.

Da instructed me to wear something sexy to schmooze his Russian guests while I soften them up for the pending gun deal. He hated what I picked out and made me change three times until I put on this red sheath dress.

It’s more wild night at the club than dinner with business partners, but he’s the boss and I wasn’t about to argue.

So, for the last three hours, I’ve made nice and done everything I could to put our family in a favorable light. I glossed over the recent trouble with the rival mafia family on the north side of the river, downplayed the trouble the Quinns are causing us, and even held it together when they brought up how our enemies recently killed my brother, Declan.

Apparently, the Bratva are very interested in how my father intends to respond to the killing of my brother. The Quinn’s enforcer killed Declan over the betrayal of a woman they were both sleeping with.

I didn’t have the answer, but assured him that the McGuires command everything south of the River Liffey with an iron fist. Retaliation will be brutal.

Personally, I’d like to know what will be done to the woman, because Siobhan Daley caused that situation by being a lying, spying bitch.

I don’t get to ask such things—not yet, anyway.

But if tonight ends on a high note, like I think it will, Da and my brothers will take me more seriously.

The elevator doors open on the top floor, and I lead the way up the corridor.

Escorting these two to their suite is my grand finale. Then, I’ll report back to my father that I nailed it and that Sidorov and Volkov are both happy and well fed.

I can’t wait.

The carpet is soft beneath my heels, and our procession is quiet as we move past the doors to the three other suites on the floor.

Behind me, Arkady says something to Vladmir in Russian and the two laugh gregariously. I’m not as na?ve as they might think. I know he likely commented on my ass in this dress or something, but it doesn’t matter. Once I get them in their suite and settled, I’m off the clock.

I’m half expecting to find Da’s female entertainment in the suite when we step inside, but no, it’s empty.

I’m not sure when they’re set to arrive, but I don’t want to bring it up in case something unexpected happened and it might make Da look bad.

“Welcome to your home away from home, gentlemen.” I lead them through a grand foyer and past the round glass table with a giant display of orchids. “Anything you order up to the room is covered, and over on the bar, you’ll find a case of vodka Da brought in direct from Moscow.”

“Wonderful,” Vladmir says, heading straight for the bar. “A toast to Irish business.”

I chuckle. “Just one. I had enough wine at dinner that I’ll likely have a headache tomorrow already. But I’ll toast to Irish business.”

Arkady and I join Vladmir by the bar and I accept the splash of vodka in the bottom of a crystal tumbler. Holding it up to toast, I give my last effort at making this negotiation a success. “To a long and profitable arrangement between our organization and yours.”

I swallow the vodka without choking, but it’s a close call. The burn of it going down my throat is awful, and I blink quickly to get it down.

“Good.” Vladmir tips his glass back and refills it. “To lovely McGuire daughter and business deals.”

Arkady holds out his glass for a refill and throws that one back just as quickly. There’s no world in which I could drink with two Russian Bratva and come out of it unscathed. I saw how much they can eat. I don’t even want to imagine how much they can drink.

“And this is where I say goodnight, gentlemen. It’s been a pleasure meeting both of you, and I hope you enjoy your stay in Dublin. My father will be in touch with you in the morning.”

“What about our lady for staying night?” Arkady asks.

I set my empty tumbler on the bar and take my phone out of my purse. “Da mentioned he arranged for some female company for you. I’ll call him and find out about that right away. You two relax and enjoy your vodka. I’m sure someone will be here shortly.”

With another painted-on smile, I give them a nod goodbye and walk briskly toward the door. They’re following me, looking annoyed, but if the Russians end up angry about there being no prostitutes here, that’s not on me.

I’ve done my part.

I stop at the table in the foyer and set their room cards on the glass surface. “You’re all set.”

The few steps to the door seem like a mile, at least until the cool metal of the door handle is in my palm. Pushing down, I release the door and pull to swing it open.

A meaty hand brushes past my head and slams it shut. The boom of my exit being denied has my heart hammering as I turn to face an angry Arkady. “No. Not all set.”

Vladimir is there too. He’s taken off his jacket and is unbuttoning his shirt. “No. Mattie says daughter for the night. His treat.”

“As your hostess and dinner companion.” I shift away from Arkady so that I have the foyer wall at my back. “I’m not your sexual companion for the night. Da has girls for that. They’re obviously just running late.” I lift my phone and hit my contact list to call Da. “Let me find out when they’ll be arriving.”

Vladmir grabs my phone and drops it in the vase for the orchids. “No call whores. Father promised me good girl. Virgin daughter is mine.”

My face goes numb as all the blood rushes out of my head. My father wouldn’t have said that.

“You misunderstood. I, uh…the language barrier confused you. He meant for dinner. I was your hostess for the evening.”

Arkady grabs me, his fingers digging into my arm as he spins me and pulls me against his chest. Gorilla arms wrap around me from behind and pin my arms at my sides. “No misunderstand. He signed contract. We fuck you as part of deal and Vlad keep you for back home in Russia.”

I kick backward, hoping my heels will stab him in the shins, but I only manage to lose my shoes.

“Settle, little wolf. I show you.” Vladmir pulls a folded document out of his inside pocket and points to a section on the second page above my father’s signature.

It’s a contract binding me to an arranged marriage with Vladmir Volkov. And it’s signed by my father.

He’s lost his mind.

My stomach rolls and there’s a good chance I’m about to throw up on my pervy Russian fiancé. I can’t believe my father would do this to me.

He said he finally saw me as an asset to the family business. I thought he meant he saw my value as a contributor—he meant my value as a commodity.

Tears burn behind my eyes. I looked up to him. I waited for a chance to show him what I could do. What kind of man does this to his daughter? Does my mother know I’m part of the gun deal?

I don’t want to fail my family, but I’m not marrying Vladmir, and I’m not having sex with two Russian brutes.

“Guns or no guns, I’m not for sale. My father should never have promised me as part of the deal. You need to let me go right now.”

Vladimir chuckles, a cruel smile twisting his ugly face. “No play game. You are mine. I have papers. Come, we have father’s vodka to celebrate.”

Vladmir moves to go back into the suite and Arkady tightens his iron grip on me to drag me back as well. He has my arms bound, but not my feet.

I lift my hips, plant my feet against the wall and push backward with all my strength. He grunts as we go over backward and curses in Russian when we crash through the glass table and onto the floor.

The table and the vase shatter. Then the two of us are twisting on the marble floor, wrestling in broken glass and orchids.

And my phone .

I grab my cell in one hand and a large shard of the vase in the other. Wheeling back, I use all the strength I can and ram it into Arkady’s thigh. With any luck, I hit his femoral artery.

He curses and kicks me into the back of the door. The hit dazes me. It may have even knocked me out because the next thing I know, Vladmir is helping Arkady up and they turn toward me.

I scramble to my feet, my legs shaky and my vision blinking in and out. With a hand on the wall, I run for the stairwell, my sights locked on the metal door.

“Come back, little wolf.” Vladmir shouts from behind me and I throw a quick glance back to find him chasing me down.

Arkady is leaning on the doorway to the suite, a growing patch of blood staining his right pant leg.

Good. I hope he bleeds out.

“You are mine,” Vlad shouts at me. “I have papers.”

“Fuck your papers.” I burst through the metal door to the stairwell and grab the rail, racing down as fast as my bare feet can take me.

Vladmir is right behind me, and I know I’ll never make it down three more flights without him catching me, so I grab the door to the fourth floor and change course.

I could bang on doors and yell for help. He wouldn’t make a scene with other guests, would he? I’m about to find out. There’s a group of people waiting for the lift, and I squeeze in the moment the doors open.

The tourists look alarmed when they see me, but I don’t have time to worry about it. “Get in! Get in! Hurry.”

Pressed at the back of the elevator car, I stare at the corridor and hold my breath as the guests get in and press the button for the lobby.

Vladimir doesn’t appear. Instead of that making things better, it just freaks me out more.

Maybe he doesn’t want to make a scene.

I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirrors, and it’s not good. Between the fall, the glass, and getting kicked into the door, I look as beaten up as I feel.

“Are you okay, miss?” a guy asks me. “Do you need us to call someone for you? The police? Or a friend or someone?”

I hold up my phone. “I’ll call my brother. Thanks though.”

With the people in the elevator politely trying not to stare, I hold it together the best I can. When the doors open on the main floor, I scan the lobby as the elevator unloads, and then I head for the nearest exit.

The night air is cool, cooler still because of my wet dress and the warm blood gracing my skin from several lacerations. I run down the sidewalk a little, staring out at the lights shining on the surface of the river.

Numb and not knowing what to do, I lift my phone to call my brother Ryan.

My phone is dead. Right. It took a swim in the orchid vase. A taxi then. I’ll grab a taxi…

I realize my mistake the moment I hear the thundering footfalls of angry men approaching. In a state of sheer panic and shock, I lingered outside the hotel for too long.

Vladimir and Arkady are racing down the sidewalk and are almost upon me. I run as fast as I can for several blocks, not knowing where to go.

I can’t go home. My father expected me to obey his wishes. He gave me to the Russians.

Da is a brutal man when people within the organization don’t do as he orders. I thought I was immune to his cruelty, but I’m not.

I’m not safe and won’t be safe as long as I’m in Da’s territory. I need to leave the city and give him time to calm down.

I’ll make him understand somehow. Mam will understand. She’ll know what to do?—

The hit comes hard from behind. I’m knocked forward and the concrete of the sidewalk rushes up to meet my face. My collision to the ground is indescribable. The world goes black…and fuzzy.

I’m dazed.

The first kick catches me in the side. I scream and curl up like a shrimp. The second connects with my shoulder and rolls me onto my back. Arkady leans in and grabs me, hauling me to my feet.

I spin, trying to claw his beady eyes out with my fingernails, but he outweighs me by a hundred pounds.

He punches me in the face and my head snaps back as pain explodes in my right eye. I can’t breathe. The pain is so intense it’s like I’m drowning in it.

Vladimir catches up and joins the beat-up-Piper party. He reaches across his body and backhand slaps me. Then again with his open palm. Then the backhand. My head cranks to the side, the Volkov family ring he bragged about at dinner cutting my flesh with each assault.

Dizzy and disoriented, I throw up. Wagyu chunks fly and Vladmir steps back, cursing in Russian. When the second round of vomiting starts, I turn my head and spew at Arkady.

He has the self-preservation to shove me away, and the moment I’m free, I run.

The hotel is only a city block inland from the River Liffey and now that I see the bridge spanning the waterway, I know where I’m headed.

My only chance of surviving these two is to leave my father’s territory and hope they know enough about the Quinns to not follow me.

My lungs burn for oxygen as I run across the bridge. Too dizzy, I pay little attention to the horns honking at me to get off the road and out of the way.

The Russians shout behind me.

More horns honk and a couple of vehicles swerve and barely miss me. Brakes screech and I scream as I cut through traffic to get to the other side.

A siren sounds in the distance, but I don’t think it’s for me. And if it is, that’s fine too.

I’ve done nothing wrong.

I did everything right and yet, here I am.

I cast a frenzied glance over my shoulder to see if they’re still after me. I don’t see them, but I can’t see much. Between my vision fritzing in and out and the blood-matted hair in my eyes, they could still be there.

My footing is sloppy by the time I make it to the north end of the bridge and cross the road to the sidewalk. A long row of shops on the far side might offer me some shelter.

It’s late and raining and there are no pedestrians.

No one out for a stroll.

No one to help me.

With my strength flagging, I collapse. My body is shaking uncontrollably, and my legs will no longer hold me. I give up and give in.

I lay there on the damp pavement, listening through the rush of my pulse in my ears as my consciousness fades. If the Russians find me…will they kill me or drag me back to the hotel?

I don’t have the energy to care.