Chapter 13
thirteen
“Where are we going?” I ask Liam as he drives through the streets of the city toward the port. Not long after Marianne huffed her way into the back for inventory, Liam walked through the door with a wide grin stretched across his face.
“You’ll see.” He smiles over at me as he pulls into a large barren parking lot strategically dotted with orange traffic cones. It looks like a course, but I can’t make out what each station is for.
Liam parks his black Porsche Panamera in front of a painted-on white line, similar to a racer’s starting line, and kills the engine. “Coe on.” He motions for me to get out, and I easily obey, excitement thrumming in my veins as I take everything in.
“Each set of cones is designed to guide you through different situations you may encounter on the street,” he tells me, his hands slipping casually into his jacket pockets.
He looks completely at ease, like he’s done this a time or two.
Or four, since that is how many siblings I now have that have reached driving age.
“It’s designed to not only teach you the rules of the road but also how to evade, how to lose a tail, and a few other maneuvers we will do as you become more confident behind the wheel. ”
I stare out at the course, dumbfounded. “You’re teaching me how to drive?”
“Neil mentioned that you were never taught.” Liam looks down at me. There is no pity in his gaze, just a warm kindness and a lingering sadness. “Every father should have the opportunity to teach their children to drive. You’re my daughter, Ava, and I am honored to have this chance.”
Well, balls.
What does a girl to say to that?
Nothing. Because I have no words. Instead, I smile up at him, nodding my head with tears dancing in my eyes as he hands me the keys and motions his head toward the driver’s side.
An embarrassing squeal leaves me as I practically fly to the other side of the car, eagerly encasing myself inside the powerful machine.
“All right now, lass,” Liam’s deep tone is intense as he buckles himself into the seat next to me. “There are a few things we need to go over before you can hit the course.”
I nod my head. Smart idea. I am aware of where the brake and gas pedal are, but that is about the extent of my knowledge. At least he won’t be giving me an in-depth history lesson on cars like Seamus had with knives or Kiernan did with guns.
“Now, the first car was made in 1886 by a man named…”
I can’t help the frustrated groan that leaves my lips and when I look over at Liam, he is beaming at me, his eyes twinkling with mischief as he takes in my expression, which no says, are you fucking serious, dude?
“Oh, Seamus was right,” he chuckles. “If looks could kill, lass, I’d be burning in my seat right now.”
Shaking my head, I roll my eyes heavenward before taking a deep breath and relaxing into my seat. He continues chuckling under his breath at his little joke while he explains each button, switch, signal, and pedal.
I listen with rapt attention, taking in his calm, assuring tone as he teaches me. He is patient, more so than either Kiernan or Seamus, and answers my questions without making me feel useless or stupid.
The only thing missing is the one person besides my mother that I want to share this experience with, and if that doesn’t tell me how bleak my life is, I don’t know what would.
“Can I ask you something about my mother?”
The comforting silence of the ride back to the bar is blissful. We spent hours on the course as he ran me through drill after drill. I am by no means Richard Petty, but I can at least perform the basic functions of driving.
For the most part.
A few cones might have been sacrificed for the greater good.
I turn my gaze reluctantly away from the orange and pink that streaks across the sky as the sun settles itself behind the tall steel trappings of the city.
Liam keeps his eyes on the road, his face calm.
The only thing giving away his discomfort at the mention of my mother is the white across the back of his knuckles as he grips the steering wheel tighter.
“Of course.” The words are tight, his jaw clenched.
“The police report states that you were out of town the week of her disappearance,” I begin, twisting my fingers in my lap nervously. “Where did you go?”
Liam signs, running his free hand through his graying hair.
“Your mother and I were one of the lucky ones,” he starts.
“A betrothed couple actually in love with one another. The contracts were already signed. It was all set that as soon as we finished college, we’d be married.
That week, your mother’s father, your grandfather, wanted me to investigate a business offer in Portland. ”
“What kind of business?”
“Ground transportation company called Lion’s Share,” he tells me without hesitation. “If we bought the company, it would provide another way to transport our merchandise across the nation and Mexico without raising suspicion.”
“Because the trucking company itself was legit?”
Liam nods. “Yes. It isn’t uncommon for mafia families to buy established legit companies to move their illegal products. But it also provides an income that is legal.”
“That’s why Matthias target Ward Enterprises, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” he acknowledges, a stunned look crossing his face. “The difference is that Matthias didn’t buy out the company. He bought out Ward’s debt instead, because as a newer power in the city, at the time, it would have been more suspicious.”
“Whereas quietly buying Ward’s debt let Matthias stay in the shadows,” I ponder thoughtfully. “And then any kind of heat would come down on Elias and not him.”
“Exactly.” Liam smiles. “It was smart on Matthias’s part, but there is always a small caveat when you don’t fully own and operate the business.”
“Elias got greedy.” Everyone knew that. “He didn’t want to keep giving up part of his profit, so he tried to cut Matthisa out by stealing his shipments and reselling them. He probably thought he could blame the thefts on another gang.”
“You’re pretty perceptive.”
I smile sheepishly at his compliment. “I pay attention. People talk when they think you are too stupid to listen. Or when they believe they have a firm hold on you.”
“Well, they’re the stupid if they didn’t see the snake hidden in the grass.
” He says it with a proud smile on his face that being called a snake didn’t irritate me.
It is true. Elias never saw me coming when we hit the port.
Never bothered to consider what I might do with the information he so freely talked about in front of me.
“Who told you she ran away?”
“Ava.” Liam purses his lips together at the sudden change.
“Was it Marianne. She lied,” I point out desperately. “I have proof that my mother was kidnapped a full week before she filed the police report and—”
“Enough, Avaleigh.” His booming fills the small space as he parks the Porsche in the back parking lot of the bar where the employees keep their cars. I flinch at the use of my full name. “I will not have you throwing accusations at people. She is my wife, and you will therefore resp—”
“Respect her?” I sneer at him. “You people are all the same. Respect is earned, not freely given. I’ve lived my whole life having ‘respect’ beaten into me. There is only one person I respect, and he—”
“Isn’t here, is he?” Liam interrupts coldly. “Barely looked at you when he left. Didn’t bother to ask if you wanted to come with him. He left you here, face that. You may respect him, but he doesn’t respect you.”
“Neither do you,” I hiss, unbuckling my seatbelt. “I’m telling you that something is off with Marianne. Whether she was involved with my mother’s kidnapping or not, she is hiding something.”
“You don’t know anything, little girl,” he seethes.
His emerald eyes bore into mine, a mirror image.
“I went into that police station every day waiting to hear something. Waiting to either identify her body or welcome her into my arms. Nothing. And then she suddenly shows up months later, and you expect me to believe she was kidnapped?”
“She was,” I protest, my voice pitching in desperation as I plead with him to believe me. “Neil even told you. His parents helped her escape.”
“She left a fucking note!” he roars. “Two weeks after Katherine miraculously appeared back in my life, I woke up one morning to find her gone and a note left on the bedside table. She didn’t want to be with me. She didn’t want this life.”
“Then why didn’t she go back home?” I push. “Why run away to Portland and change her name? Why hide me? None of it makes any sense, and Marianne—”
“Enough about my wife.”
He leans forward like he is going to slap me, and instinctively, I shove myself against the passenger door, covering my face with my hands and clenching my eyes tightly shut.
Silence.
The blow doesn’t come.
Cracking an eye open, I peek between the slits of my fingers to find him staring at me, eyes wide, mouth slightly open as he takes in my defensive position. He mumbles something under his breath before hastily exiting the car, slamming the door behind him.
I wait.
One moment.
Then another, before following behind him, being sure to keep my distance.
The alleyway behind the bar is quiet, the streetlamps just beginning to flicker on as darkness descends.
I follow him through the large metal door, through the kitchen, and into the bar, where I watch him stalk angrily up the stairs without a backward glance.
So much for that relationship.
I am pretty sure I bombed that worse than my tenth-grade calculus test.
Wonderful.
“I take it driving lessons didn’t go so well?” a voice asks from beside me.
“The driving lessons went great,” I mutter petulantly. “Then I had to go and open my big mouth.”
“You always did have a hard time keeping shit to yourself.”
“Fuck off, Neil,” I growl. “I am still mad at you.”