Chapter 21
Lina
Chapter Twenty-One
“Nikki, what the hell are you doing? Go back.”
Ewan’s been pissing vinegar since he called me the first time. He relented and called to check on me, even though he was the one who got shot. I guess being near death makes him want to make amends. Is there a twelve-step program for recovering douchebags?
I shouldn’t think that about my brother. There are more days than not when he doesn’t feel like a sibling. He’s more like a stranger or someone I don’t have more than a passing relationship with. Other days, he’s someone I barely stop short of loathing. When I answered the phone, that’s where I was at. This is one of the rare moments when he’s being my brother and not a manipulative fuck.
“You shouldn’t have told me where she is if you didn’t want me to do something about it.”
“I wanted you to tell the O’Rourkes.”
“Unless it’s Sean’s mom or aunts, no one will make her talk because none of them will lay a hand on her. They won’t torture her, but I will.”
It was no easy feat to slip off Breda and Rowan’s property. They have armed guards patrolling it the same way all the O’Rourkes do. There’s a wall that runs around the perimeter that’s ten feet tall. It’s not concertina or chicken wire at the top, but it may as well be. There are spikes that are barely more than two inches apart. They stand at least six inches tall. No one is coming over that easily. They could make it, but not before guards spotted them.
I came outside to take this second call from Ewan because I didn’t want anyone around me if I lost my temper. I was sorely tempted the first time he called. He wanted me to go back to Montreal. He was prepared to send his jet for me. He wanted to tell my grandfather what’s happening and convince him to make me leave. For once, it wasn’t to coerce me into doing something else he wanted. He genuinely wants me safe. He told me he thinks it’s the bratva that targeted him and Sean, and if that’s the case, they’re the most likely to make me collateral damage.
I ended that call because Breda came to check on me. She had a cup of tea for each of us. We sat together on Sean’s old bed. She said nothing. She was just companionable silence. No platitudes. No explaining things I already know. No encouraging me to talk about my feelings. Eventually, I leaned against her, and she wrapped her arm around me. I felt badly for a moment, putting the weight of how I feel on her shoulders when she’s scared for her son. But when I reached across her lap and took her hand, she gave it a squeeze and held on to it tightly. It was a moment of shared fear and sense of uselessness.
When Ewan called again an hour-and-a-half later, I was downstairs with everyone else. We’ve been on the phone now for twenty minutes. I wandered the front garden for a while, not really paying attention to what Ewan was saying, since he was repeating himself from our first call. When Siobhan and Tate arrived, I heard the Elton John version of that oldies tune, “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.”
My rage flooded me. It was a sign. I needed out, and I needed to go immediately while I had the chance. I crept around the back of the guard shack right by the gate. I kept to the shadows and slipped out while the guard spoke to Tate. It was like good fortune shone upon me. I’m still on foot, but I’m about to hail a cab and head back to Sean’s for my car.
“Ewan, enough. Either give me her address or don’t, but I know you have it.”
“No. I’m not helping you with this. I’m going to call Dillan.”
“Do that, and the first thing out of my mouth when Sean gets home is the key to my encryption.”
I refuse to imagine anything besides Sean coming home. Finding Lucy isn’t about finding Sean. I pray it helps, but I trust his family to find him. This is answers. This is retribution.
“Really? You’re going to be spiteful right now?”
“I’m going to do whatever the hell it takes to find out what else these pieces of shit planned for Sean. And might I remind you that the bratva is pitting you against each other. If I find out what they’re going to do to Sean, I’ll probably find out what they’re going to do to you. I’d tell you that.”
“She won’t know anything. They probably paid her or threatened her, and she played her part.”
I know that. I don’t expect Lucy to know shit. But I’m not confessing to Ewan before I commit the crime. Lucy isn’t going to live.
“If she’s not a threat, then why shouldn’t I talk to her? The O’Rourkes won’t interrogate her like I can.”
Ewan and I both know that’s bullshit. They can interrogate even better than me. But they won’t hurt her for the information. I will. And that brings us right back around to what I was thinking about earlier.
“Ewan, get me the info or get off the phone, so I can find it.”
“Fine. Hang on.”
I raise my arm and get a cab driver’s attention.
“I got a cab. I need to know where I’m going.” I changed my mind about getting my car. This is faster.
He rattles off an address, and I know where it is. It’s not too far from my college campus. Higher rent area than I expected a stripper to afford. Shane filled me in a little more about Lucy, but barely anything at all. Just that she was a dancer at a couple of their clubs, and she always stayed out of Sean’s way—and Shane’s since she usually couldn’t tell them apart at a distance—whenever one of them was there. She fucked Sean for more than a year and couldn’t tell him apart from Shane. I already can, and I haven’t known either of them that long. It’s more than the freckle.
I know how Sean stands. It’s not the same as Shane. It’s subtle, but Shane rests his weight forward on his feet, like he’s ready to pounce. Sean rests his weight evenly, like he’s going to take a stand. Sean tends to put both hands in his pockets, whereas Shane only puts his right hand in his. Shane is content to only feel one of his knives when he thinks he might need them. Sean likes to have both in his hand, ready to draw.
When Sean laughs, his right eye narrows slightly more than the left. It’s the reverse on Shane. They are mirrors of each other, so that makes sense to me. Shane’s quicker to smile, but Sean will smile longer. I think these are traits their family recognizes whether they’ve considered them or not. They stand out to me because I’m still getting to know them. But once I realized these few things, it made it impossible to confuse one for the other.
“Thank you.” I pay the driver and slip out. I didn’t want this ride recorded in my app.
“This is a mistake, Nik.”
Ewan’s been prattling off and on the entire ride from Queens to Manhattan. We haven’t argued because he doesn’t want the driver to hear us any more than I do. But he repeats himself about getting my grandfather involved. He’s even threatened to get my mom involved. That got him a response in French he learned when we were kids. I knew a few swear words he didn’t.
“Ewan, you can stay on the phone with me if you want. I’m putting my phone in my pocket, though.”
“You better not fucking hang up, Nicolina. I will call Sean’s entire family if I hear you make one sound of distress.”
“I know. Now shut up. I just got into her building.”
I notice the cameras in the lobby, so I keep my face turned away from them. There’s a guy at the desk, so I scan the names on the mailboxes across from him. Then I hold up my keys.
“Hi. Tara Millingham sent me over to grab some documents she left in her place this morning. She told me where they’ll be, so I’m just going to pop up and down. If I don’t hurry to get back to the office, I’m screwed.”
I’m assuming Tara works in an office. There’s a flyer sticking out of the box that has T. & L. Millingham written on it. The flyer’s addressed to her. It’s for a corporate retreat. I don’t slow as I go past the desk, making a beeline for the elevators like I belong there. I spotted their names because it was right next to L. Leonard. Lucy.
I get on the elevator with no problems. I slide my phone out halfway and wake the screen. The call is still active. I scan the hallway as I get off and notice there are no security cameras. I hike my dress up enough to pull my gun from the holster. I considered taking it off at Breda and Rowan’s. I’m glad I kept it strapped to me. I find her door and knock. It’s not loud and demanding. I’m not pounding on it. But it is purposeful.
I take the safety off, keeping the gun next to my right thigh as I angle myself more to the left side of the doorway. It’ll be harder for a bullet to hit me, but it’ll also put Lucy right in front of me and indefensible if I shoot. I have my head turned just enough, so she can see my profile but not my full face if she looks through the spyhole. I hear the latch move and the bolt turn. When the door opens, I tilt my head enough to see the woman who answered clearly. It’s her.
My left hand goes for her throat as I raise the gun. I shoulder the door open wider as I push her backwards into the apartment. I kick the door shut. I move the gun to her forehead as I release her throat and reach back to lock the door. I shouldn’t without knowing we’re alone. But I’m not giving her an opportunity to escape. My hand wraps back around her throat and squeezes as hard as I can. She tries to pry my hand loose. She kicks and flails. She can’t headbutt me because the pistol is still pressed to her forehead.
I let go and shove her backwards. “I can squeeze the life out of you if I want to make it agonizingly slow. Or I can put a bullet through your pretty face. Either way, I won’t hesitate to kill you if I don’t get what I want. You know who I am. You’re scared, but you’re not confused.”
“You’re Sean’s new sub.”
“I am not. I’m Sean’s girlfriend.”
“He doesn’t date.”
“We aren’t dating. We don’t need to go out on agreed upon days at agreed upon times. We’re together too much to need that. We go to breakfast because we wake up together. We have dinner together because we go to bed together. We hang out with his family because he’s made me one of them.”
We’ll see if that’s true if I survive this.
“He commanded you. He fucked you. He walked away from you. For once, two out of three ain’t bad. He’s coming home to me.”
“He’s already dead.”
“Nope. Try again.” I pray she isn’t right.
“He will be soon enough.”
“Nope. His family’s on their way.” To hell? Maybe one day. But not on their way to Sean yet.
“Bullshit.”
“If it is, it doesn’t matter either way. I have a gun to your forehead. You’re going to answer my questions.”
“You won’t shoot me.”
“Won’t I?”
I pull the gun from her forehead, shoot her right foot, and put it back to her forehead before she probably even felt me move it the first time. My grandfather gave me this before I moved to New York for college. He insisted the silencer remain on it anytime it wasn’t in the case. It’s an awkward size, but if I’m in a situation where I need the silencer, I’m probably in a situation where there won’t be time to put one on. In this case, I’m glad I came prepared.
She falls backwards onto the sofa and opens her mouth. I squeeze her throat as I rest my weight on one knee beside her.
“Scream, and I’ll put this down your throat and blow the back of your head off whether or not you give me information.”
“Fuck you.”
“I’d rather not. Sean refuses to share me.”
“He and I were monogamous, too.”
“Yeah. And you fucked for fourteen months. He let you go to his studio. He met you at his BDSM club, then shared a fuck pad with you when he let you come over. But you’ve never been to any of his homes. You’ve never been in any of his beds. I live with him already. Why? Because he wants me all day and all night. There’s no turning off his desire for me.”
I’m baiting her. I know my brother can hear this, and I don’t give a shit if he gets insights into my sex life. Maybe he’ll let Colt know I wasn’t a prude. He just couldn’t get me off.
“What do you want?”
“Answers.”
She’s not cooperating, but neither does she want to keep hearing me throw Sean’s feelings for me in her face. She must know I’m telling the truth. That begs the question how does she know about us?
“Who told you about us?”
“No one. I saw you together.”
“Stalking Sean?”
“No. I was on a run, and I saw the two of you having breakfast in a restaurant I pass. I happened to look in and saw him kiss you.”
“And that pissed you off.”
“I couldn’t give a shit about you with him. You won’t last. Look at you and look at me. He saw me three times a week for more than a year.”
“That’s four days a week he didn’t see you. There was never a week where he saw you every day. We’ve been inseparable. Hard for him to go back to you when he refuses to let go of me. He adamantly refuses to consider bringing another woman into our sex life. I’m not worried that I’m not permanent. Why’d you get involved with someone kidnapping him?”
“Because they asked me to.”
“Asked or told.”
“Asked, and I said yes.”
“If you’re so confident he’d come back to you on his own, why would you endanger him? Why would you help someone hurt him? Why would you make him hate you? There’s no way he’s going to want to be anywhere near you, let alone screw you.”
“He doesn’t know I had anything to do with it.”
“It was a good thing you were pretty if you were really that stupid.” Past tense because she’s not coming out of this alive with that attitude. “Why?”
“Because he shouldn’t have ended things. I was going to be there to help him recover from this.”
“But you already knew about me. Am I next?”
“You should be. But he’ll pick me over you, so I’m not worried.”
She doesn’t get it. She’s lost in some warped sense of her relationship with Sean. He’s had time to go back to her. Shane said it’s been over for months. Sean hasn’t been with her since he ended it. At least, that’s what he’s led Shane to believe. I don’t think he’d lie to his twin about this. I don’t think he’d lie to Finn either.
“Who asked you?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“I would. That’s why I asked. You’re making me impatient.”
I lower the gun long enough to shoot her foot again.
“Wait!” She wails as tears stream down her face from the pain. It must hurt an awful lot. All the sarcasm in the world intended.
“Who asked you?”
“This guy.”
“If you aren’t going to be useful.” I put the gun to her forehead and push.
She whimpers. Maybe now she understands I’m serious. Apparently, two bullets in the foot didn’t convince her.
“This guy came into a club while I was working.” She’s panting every few words. She better not fucking pass out. “He knew I’d been working for the O’Rourkes for a while. Said he’d seen me at a couple of their strip clubs. He got me chatting, and before I realized what I was saying, I admitted I’d been Sean’s sub.”
The defiance has evaporated. Now there’s fear, and it’s not directed toward me.
“What did he look like?”
“Big. Just like all the other guys.”
“Accent?”
“Yeah.”
“New York?”
“No.” So not Cosa Nostra.
“Boston?”
“No.” Thank God for small mercies.
“Spanish?”
“No.” So not Cartel.
“Russian?”
“No. I know the bratva men. I’ve worked for them too. It wasn’t one of them.”
“French?”
“Maybe. But not like I’ve heard in movies.”
They say that Québécois is more sing-songy than other French dialects or accents. I don’t know about that. But I infuse it into my accent as I continue in English.
“Did the person sound like this?”
“Yes.”
I want to close my eyes and scream. This cannot be true.
“Did you hear the person speak French?”
“No. They called someone right after I agreed to help, but they spoke English.”
My phone presses against my leg as I kneel on my dress.
“Did the guy you met sound even more like this?” I exaggerate the accent I have when I speak French.
“Yes! How’d you know?”
Motherfucker. I tried to teach Ewan and Colt French when we were kids. They learned a little, but they never cared that much. They used to tease me about how Canadian French didn’t sound like what they heard in movies. No shit. Not the same French. Ewan and Colt would mimic me, then try to sound like Parisians. They got pretty good at it.
“Did you meet this someone they called?”
“Yeah. Once.”
“Man or woman? Could you hear any of their conversation? Did they have an accent?”
“Yeah. A man. Definitely had an accent.”
“What kind?”
“English from like England.”
Who the fuck is that? Who does Ewan know that would get involved in this?
“What’d they say?”
“The first guy I met confirmed I would lead the second guy through the back alley and into the strip club. That’s all I had to do. I had to distract Sean long enough for the English sounding guy to get in and look around. Then I had to leave fast once he gave me the signal he was in place. I don’t know anything that happened after that.”
“What did the English sounding one say?”
“Not much. He just agreed.”
“How’d the call end?”
“The man I met said he wanted it done soon, or it would get messy if he had to do it himself.”
“How much’d you get paid?”
I try not to speak through my teeth, but my jaw wants to clench.
“Ten grand.”
“You got the money already?”
“Yeah. Five upfront. Five was waiting for me here.”
“In your place?” I sound skeptical.
“Yes.”
I grin. “You gave them a way into your place?”
“No. It was just waiting here.”
“And that didn’t freak you out?”
“Of course it did. Why do you think I’m packing?”
She jerks her hand in the bedroom’s direction. I’m not taking my eyes off her long enough to check. Her phone rings in her pocket.
“Pull it out.”
She eases it, not trusting me. Smart. I wouldn’t trust me either.
“Answer it.”
The area code is Boston.
“Hello.”
“All?.” Fucking shit French accent.
“What do you want?”
“Did you get your money?” It’s supposed to be just enough to flavor his English like my French accent sometimes slips into my English one. Rarely is it the other way around. I grew up speaking both from the moment I could talk. I would interchange them.
“Yeah. Do you want anything else?”
“I hear you like it rough.”
“You want to fuck?”
“If you have time.” I know that smug laugh. He’s only half teasing.
“He—”
I stick the barrel between her lips. It was obvious she was about to say help. I shake my head. I’d already let go of her throat because the angle was awkward, but I wrap my hand around it again.
“Lucy?”
The accent slips a little. I pull the gun from her mouth, my glare warning her.
“Yeah.”
“What was that? Who are you with?”
I put the gun to her throat. I keep picking different spots, so she doesn’t know for sure whether I will or won’t. If I keep it in one place too long, she’ll figure if I was going to shoot her, I would have already. She’d be wrong. But it would give her a false sense of security, then she might do something that fucks up me learning what the fuck is going on.
“No one. I almost dropped the phone. I’m putting away dishes.”
She lies with ease. Not a surprise. If she hadn’t gotten this call, I wouldn’t have entirely believed her about the accent. I would have had to check. Now I don’t have to.
“Is Sean all right?” She watches me.
“Maybe for another hour or two. My guy’s going to be sure he winds up where he belongs.”
I knew he wasn’t working alone. Fuck nut can’t even do this without needing someone to hold his hand.
“You got someone else involved?” Lucy’s fear just amped up. Who does she think it was?
“Just the guy you recommended. He was happy to do it. If he’s caught, he knows I’ll kill his family if he tells the truth. He’ll pin all of this on the?—”
“Good for you. I can’t believe you convinced him.” Lucy cuts him off.
Who’s she protecting? She’s the one who brought the guy with the English accent into this. Not the other way around. Or is there a third person?
I shake my head. She knows that wasn’t a good idea. There’s noise at the door. She shifts to look past me, but I don’t turn. I grab the phone and put it to my ear.
“This shit isn’t over.” I hang up before the piece of shit says anything else.
Lucy tries to push me and bolt for the door as it crashes open. I know who it is. At least, I’m pretty fucking certain. I shift, so Lucy can’t get past me. She opens her mouth to scream again, and the gun slips past her teeth.
“Sean, I will kill her. Back off until I’m done.”
“Cailín—”
“Not yet.”
I want to turn and run into his arms, but this isn’t done yet. I pull my phone from my pocket and tap the screen. The call’s still connected. I unlock it with my thumb and hold it up to my ear.
“Did you motherfucking know?”
“No, Nik. I swear. I’ll kill him myself. This is shit only you can fix.”
“You think I want to. I don’t. You’re on your own, big brother, and so is he.”
I hang up and pull the gun from Lucy’s mouth.
“Who was he going to say before you cut him off?” I’m not ready to name names yet in front of Sean and his family.
“Sean, she’s crazy. She broke in here and is holding me hostage. Help me.”
I hear Sean approach, and for a moment, I think he’s going to stop me. He’s going to choose her.
“Help yourself.” I speak before Sean can. “Who was his guy? Who’d he get to help him?”
“Mikhail someone or other.”
“Bratva? With an English accent?” I don’t dare glance at Sean, but I want to.
“Yeah. I guess. But this guy’s been an independent contractor kinda deal.”
“There’s no ‘I guess’. There’s no someone or other. You tripped up with your lies. You’d met him more than once. You definitely heard him speak more than once. You recommended him. What’s his name?”
She hesitates. I point the gun down and shoot her other foot. She howls.
“You were never going to walk out of here. Who took Sean?”
“Lina, I already know.”
I ignore Sean. “Answer me, Lucy. Look at me, not Sean. Answer me. I will make this quick if you do. If you don’t, you’ll wish you were a man, and an O’Rourke got to you first.”
“Mikhail Apagov.”
“Was this the bratva? Did a Kutsenko order this?”
“No. Mikhail and I—we have a history. I get him odd jobs sometimes. This was one of them.”
“You just lied about a man with an English accent, didn’t you? It was Russian.”
“Yeah.”
I cock an eyebrow before my gaze really sweeps the place. I spot a couple of things that confirm what I suspect.
“He pays for this place, doesn’t he?”
She darts a glance at Sean. And the guilt… Oh, the motherfucking guilt.
“You were fucking Mikhail while you were with Sean. It was supposed to be monogamous. You betrayed him even back then. You aren’t loyal to Mikhail because you just gave up his name. You weren’t loyal to Sean when I’m certain you swore you weren’t taking anyone else up your ass. What about our little friend on the phone? What’s your connection to him?”
“I told you. He came into the club and approached me. We talked, and I let it slip about being with Sean.”
“When was this?”
“A few weeks ago. He was in town for a few days.”
“Why’d you agree?”
Sean hasn’t stopped me interrogating her, so this is information he either doesn’t know yet, or he wants confirming. He hasn’t made me lower the gun, which I really thought he would. Not just for Lucy’s sake, but to keep me from putting someone’s death on my conscience. I will sleep just fine tonight.
“Because I knew he was with you!”
The venom in her voice would be shocking if I didn’t already know the answer.
“Anything you want to know from her, Sean?”
“No.”
“Anyone else?” I speak to the guys behind me. My guess is they’re all here, but I don’t know.”
“No.” There are a couple voices behind me, but I don’t know who’s who.
I step closer, and Sean tries to intervene now. I wrap my hand around Lucy’s throat. I know Sean already saw the bruises there. You can’t miss them. I squeeze as tightly as I can, and her mouth opens in panic. Once more, I stick the gun in there, but I angle it up this time. I ease the hold on her neck.
“Look at him.”
She turns pleading eyes on Sean. He does nothing.
“Look at me.”
She whimpers as her gaze meets mine.
“He chose me.”
I squeeze the trigger.