Chapter 15 Sully
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
SULLY
Ipacked on autopilot, grabbing a suit and everything needed and adding it all to a garment bag.
My toiletry bag hadn’t been unpacked from visiting Roisin’s yet, so I threw that in and tossed in sleeping pants and a casual outfit.
I always kept things to a minimum but decided to add a second suit in case something happened and I had to stay.
I was in a foul mood. The office had been crazy, even Lloyd was struggling to keep up with the constant interruptions.
I hadn’t managed to read everything I needed to in order to catch up on the case, but I would do so at the airport and on the plane.
I would have time once I got to the hotel as well.
I went into my home office to grab some cash from the safe hidden in the bookshelves since I hadn’t had a chance to go to the bank, and I wanted some for tips and small necessities. My phone rang while I was there, and I saw Niall’s name. I hit speaker, setting the phone on the shelf.
“Hey.”
“Sully.” Niall’s voice greeted me. “How are ya?”
I leaned against the desk, facing the bookshelves. “Fecking great. You?”
He laughed. “You sound like thunder.”
“I’m getting ready to catch a flight to Dublin.”
“Weren’t you just there, literally yesterday?”
“Indeed, I was. But the firm needs me back there to cover for another solicitor who is ill.”
“Ah. How did you find Mum?”
“Grand. Hearty, healthy. Full of stories to tell Autumn that made us all look bad.”
His chuckle was deep. “No doubt. She does the same with Anna and Una.”
“How are your womenfolk?”
“Great. Doing well.”
“I assume there is a reason for the call, not to simply say hello,” I stated dryly. A noise caught my ear, but hearing nothing else, I ignored it. No doubt it came from outside.
“Alan Blane.”
I tensed. “What of the fecker?” I growled. “Did you find him?”
“Yeah, we found of him. That’s not his real name.
It’s one of many aliases he goes by. He’s done this before, Sully.
He’s a serial stalker. He moves on, finds a new victim through work colleagues or people he befriends.
We found three other names associated with him, and his real name is Calvin Dickens.
He has a long rap sheet.” He paused. “He’s dangerous. ”
“Motherfecker,” I swore. “Tell me.”
“Two other women filed complaints, and he disappeared. The third, not so lucky. He went after her. Took her and held her hostage. She escaped, but barely. He’s a fecking nutjob. His last name says it all.”
I lowered my head, shaking it as images of Autumn caught by him rolled through my mind.
“Now, the good news is we have no sightings of him. None. He may have walked away, but—”
I interrupted him. “Or he may be waiting. She’s coming back in two weeks to close out her life there. I need the syndicate on board. We need to find him and take care of him.”
“We’re trying. Calling in some favors. The others are on alert.” He paused. “What do you want done if we find him?”
“Eliminate the problem.”
“Do you want to do it?”
“Feck yes. I’d like to remove his hands for touching her.
Torture him for scaring her. Make him pay for what he’s done to others.
But I canna. I need to stay here. But I need it done.
I need him wiped off the earth so he can’t hurt her or anyone else.
I’ll owe the syndicate whatever needed to get it done. ”
Another sound hit me, and I whirled around. Autumn stood in the doorway, her hand covering her mouth. Her eyes were wide with shock, her face ashen.
Everything I didn’t want to happen had just happened. Autumn overheard me, and now she knew. I’d spilled my own secret without meaning to, and now I had to try to explain.
If she would let me.
“I have to go,” I said calmly to Niall. “Autumn is home.”
He swore under his breath. “And she heard.”
I didn’t take my eyes off her. “Yes.”
“If she needs to talk to Anna or Una, give her their numbers.”
“Thanks.”
“We’ll handle the problem on our end. If not, she’ll be protected when she’s here.”
I hung up, staring at Autumn. “I wasn’t expecting you.”
“My meeting was canceled. I came home to surprise you and see you off.” She swallowed, her voice trembling. “I guess I’m the one surprised.”
I began to move toward her, and she backed up, looking terrified.
“No, mo fhiadh beag. I know what you just heard alarmed and confused you, but don’t be afraid of me. I would never hurt you. Ever.”
“But you would hurt someone else.”
“If they were a threat to you, absolutely.”
She swallowed again, a sign of her anxiety. “What is the syndicate?”
She had been standing there longer than I’d known.
“Will you let me explain?”
“Can you?” she asked. “Can you explain this so I understand who the man in front of me is? The one telling his cousin to eliminate the problem? I know you weren’t telling him to go to the police.”
“Yes, I can. If you’ll listen.”
She furrowed her brow in worry, then nodded.
“All right.”
I followed her to the living room. She sat on the edge of the sofa, her fingers gripping her knees in agitation. I wanted to reach out and hold her hands, tell her everything would be fine, but I knew she didn’t want my touch at the moment.
She surprised me with a question. “Are your cousins mafia?”
I blinked. “Sorry?”
“There are rumors. I’ve heard them. That the hotel and casino are cover-ups for the mafia. I ignored them until now.”
“No,” I assured her. “Not mafia. The casino and hotel are legitimate businesses. They make Finn and Niall a great deal of money. They have many legitimate ventures.” I paused. “I oversee a lot of their financial plans. Advise them. They, ah, send a lot of monies to other places.”
“You launder their money,” she said, sounding shocked.
“No. The funds I have access to are clean.”
“What is the syndicate?”
I glanced at my watch. I had a lot to explain and not a lot of time.
“The syndicate is a group of powerful people that works at keeping the cities they are responsible for going forward in a positive manner. Each has a territory. Some, like Finn’s, are well run, the people safe, the areas clean and protected. Others, not so much.”
“Toronto?” she asked.
“Yes. Many major cities have a form of behind-the-scenes groups.”
“And how are they funded?”
“I cannot speak for all of them. Finn and Niall do have some, ah, less-than-legal operations. But fewer of them all the time. A great deal of their resources are funneled back into the communities they protect with the investments they make. Finn runs a tight organization. He strives for peace. But there is danger. His wife was kidnapped by a rogue group, and he rescued her with the help of other syndicate members. Niall rescued Anna during the raid, and that is how they met. The syndicate doesn’t believe in many of the old ways.
Selling of women and children. Flooding the streets with drugs.
The mentality of control with murder and threats.
The idea you are in until you die. But diplomacy and secrecy still are key.
The group exists very much in the shadows and is very powerful. ”
“But they still kill. I just heard you order Alan dead.”
“I am not an active member of the syndicate, Autumn. I can’t order anything. Finn is a leader. Niall is his second. They have ties back in Ireland and here. I do stand for Finn when needed. But only as his representative.”
“That’s why your name frightened that man.”
“Yes. My name is known.” I drew in a long breath. “In your case, I’m calling in favors with Niall and Finn to find Alan, yes. And if involving the syndicate helps them find him, so be it.”
“And having him murdered.”
“I see it as protecting you and other women. He’s a serial stalker.
The police won’t do anything. They never will.
This is when the syndicate steps in. They find the problem and eliminate it when needed.
If you had any idea how many people they have helped—rescued from lives of horror.
The kids they have put through school. Families they have assisted.
Communities they have rebuilt. They do more good than harm. That is always the last resort.”
She stared at me, her indecision and worry warring in her eyes.
“I want Alan stopped. He needs to be stopped. I don’t ever want you to worry.”
“Does Roisin know?”
“Yes.”
“Bonnie?”
“What do you think?”
Her eyes flitted around the room, searching—for what, I wasn’t sure. Then they settled back on me.
“Have you ever killed someone, Sully?”
“A long time ago. We grew up in a different world from yours. I know it’s hard to understand, but our reality isn’t simply black-and-white.
There is gray, and I’m part of that. The day I had to end a life, I saved an entire family.
I’m not proud of it, but I don’t regret it.
” I paused. “And I’d do it again to save someone I love. Especially you.”
“I knew this was too good to be true,” she whispered. “That there would be something to end this.”
Horrified, I was on my knees in front of her, holding her cold, trembling hands. “No, Autumn, No. I’m still me, mo fhiadh beag. The man who loves you. I would never hurt you. I would die to protect you.”
“I’m so confused.”
“I know. I didn’t want you to find out like this. I wanted to sit down and tell you.”
“Why didn’t you?”
I smiled ruefully, tucking a strand of her silken hair behind her ear.
“Because I was afraid of exactly this—losing you. Afraid you would walk away when you saw all of me.” I met her teary eyes.
“I’m just a man, Autumn. Flawed. I’ve made choices I’m not proud of, but I strive every day to be better.
The part you fear now is a very small piece of me but one I have had to use to survive at times.
But it doesn’t change who I am. I’ve never felt about someone the way I do you. ”
“What if I can’t—” She broke off, a sob choking her.