Chapter 17
Sasha
“Liam O’Leary,” I said after following Alexsey into O’Leary’s lair.
The crowd of customers, all surly-looking blokes who’d seen better days stiffened, but they no longer reacted as violently as they’d done before. With Halle now a part of our family, the girl once married to Liam’s brother, they knew better than to start some shit.
It wouldn’t end well for anyone.
What they didn’t know because we hadn’t broadcast the news was that Liam and his entire Irish syndicate were in a limited alliance with us.
We wouldn’t invade their turf and they certainly didn’t have the muscle to invade ours.
We simply used Liam for the kind of information that wouldn’t be eagerly provided by certain factions of people living in Las Vegas.
Even though our reputation for turning legit had been around for a long time, we certainly hadn’t made many friends over the years. The former generation of brutal leaders had set our future in stone.
Liam had been given advance notice of our arrival and the reason for our meeting. While the hard clenching of his jaw indicated he’d much rather be spending time at his proctologist’s office, he was calm and collected. Even prepared for what we were asking him to do.
The thought in my head was still doubting the sudden compassion I’d felt earlier.
All the while, Lainey’s voice continued to pound inside my head. I was a good man. According to her, a marshmallow inside. I wouldn’t go that far.
Our mystery guest would face lingering pain for a long time.
We’d left our men outside. We had no fear of what Liam would do. We had him by the balls after his involvement with the Greek mafia less than a year before. He was alive because of us.
He also had his niece to think about, Halle’s little girl who he adored.
Not that we’d consider ourselves one big happy family, however blended we’d become.
We’d never fully trust the Irish even if Liam and his clan were on short leashes.
However, as a gesture of good faith, not only had we encouraged the continued economic growth and expansion of what would soon be a strong Irish neighborhood, but we’d also provided needed capital for new projects.
He had a half dozen reasons to be grateful.
Liam nodded toward his small office in the back of the bar. We followed him inside, waiting as he shut the door.
“I heard about the attack, Sasha. I’m sorry,” he said by way of opening the discussion.
“Thank you. Now we need your help in discovering the person responsible.”
He stared at us disbelievingly.
“I don’t know how I can help you. I haven’t heard anything about the O’Shaughnessys since we last talked. And you would know about any Russians trying to steal your limelight. The few Greeks who remained after you killed the Papadakis family fled like rabbits.”
“You’re going to be our eyes and ears, Liam. I assure you that the vermin will stick his ugly head from his protective hole. He won’t do so around us or to anyone considered our partners.” Mikhail simply stated the words. There was no emotion, no anger.
We’d purposely kept our alliance quiet. Not only would it place Liam’s family and those of his loyal men in danger, it also didn’t allow for secrets to be spilled.
“You know I have a family. Right?” he asked. It was rare that he was nervous about anything.
“And you know we will protect them. We’re bringing you a present to help you discover who’s targeted us,” Mikhail answered.
“What did you hear about the party, Liam?” I asked quietly.
We’d purposely avoided talking to the press and had explicitly instructed the police to keep certain details quiet.
What had been on the news was bad enough, but at least the guest list had been kept quiet.
A few had outed themselves, the ones who’d fired off pictures of Lainey and me on their social media platforms. The only reason anyone would know it was a birthday party massacre had been their posts.
I doubted he’d seen them. He wasn’t much of an internet guy.
“Not much. A family celebration.”
“True,” I answered. “It was Nina’s seventh birthday. It was also the anniversary of the night I pulled my wife off life support.”
Liam’s eyes opened wide. He hadn’t been privy to my private pain. We’d never be that close no matter Halle’s connection to him.
“Wow, man. I’m sorry. I had no idea.”
“No, you didn’t,” I said as I walked closer.
“Why don’t I give you some details, so you better understand.
That party was special to Nina. She’d been looking forward to it for weeks.
While I’ve made it special in the past, I’d always been hesitant about allowing her friends to come over. Too risky.”
“Understandable.”
“Sadly, this is one party she won’t forget. Granted, her favorite singer Lainey Rose agreed to perform. She was delighted. So were her friends. So was Emily, who is also a huge fan.”
Liam paled. I didn’t like the guy, but his love of Emily had warmed even Alexsey’s heart.
“You know what she means to me,” Alexsey piped in.
“Man. I just didn’t know. Halle didn’t tell me,” he said, shifting his gaze back and forth between us.
“There’s more. The gunman posed as caterers. They managed to infiltrate themselves into my house and my life. They opened fire on a group of innocent women and children, guests who have nothing to do with our life. They did so as a distraction while they went after what they really wanted.”
“What’s that?” I could tell by the look in his eyes he knew where this was headed.
“Nina and Emily. Best friends. Our children. We’re grateful Mikhail’s son wasn’t brought to the party as well. But Fallon is pregnant. So I assume you can see how pissed off we might be as to how this happened and who orchestrated the attack.”
He acted as if I’d hit him. “Is she…”
“Emily is fine, but only thanks to Lainey Rose, who has skills that far exceed her musical abilities. I had my eye off the ball because I trusted that my home was safe. I was wrong. Imagine what they’ll try next.”
“Fuck, Sasha. I am sorry.”
“Then help us.”
Liam was known to be a gruff asshole and there was no love lost between us, but he nodded and clapped my shoulder. “You have my word I’ll scour the sewer systems.”
Mikhail laughed. “We’ll bring you your first rat.”
“Aye. My boys will have fun with him.” Now he was getting into the spirit.
I grabbed the photograph I’d folded and slipped into my jacket. “Does he look familiar?”
Liam took it from my hand. “Vaguely. Was he a part of the attack on your home?”
“No, on the corporate house we own for entertainers in residence. Lainey Rose was staying there. This guy is a pro. He broke in, ripped the place apart, and shared his views on Ms. Rose, calling her a bitch.”
“How are they connected?”
“That’s what we need to know, Liam,” Alexsey answered. “From what we can tell, Sasha is the main target, but we could be wrong. If the O’Shaughnessys have anything to do with this, we need to know quickly.”
“What if they don’t?”
“Then we will know for certain it’s time to go to war. With members of our own family.”
Lainey
How many times was I going to pace the floor of the hotel suite? I was going out of my mind since Sasha had been gone for several hours. He’d said very little about where he was going, but I knew the first stop had been to interrogate the man I’d nearly beaten to death.
Nina was at least content with drawing. We’d ordered room service, enjoying a nice lunch together where I’d tried not to act as if I was concerned at all.
She hadn’t asked where her father was. My guess was the little girl was used to her father being gone for long periods given his job title and responsibilities.
For me the waiting game was excruciating.
I wouldn’t say patience was a virtue and seeing the ongoing coverage on the party continued to grate my nerves.
Thankfully, the reporters hadn’t been allowed on the property nor had the police commented on the dead bodies strewn around the property.
At least that would protect little ears should Nina hear anything.
I checked my phone for the umpteenth time. So far, I hadn’t been pestered by Scott or the record company. Maybe because it was Sunday. Still, it felt as if a black cloud was hanging over my head. Frustrated, I headed to the small kitchen, grabbing a glass and the already opened bottle of wine.
It was almost four in the afternoon. That was late enough, wasn’t it? With my glass full, I settled in the living room, absently searching through my social media. News had gotten out about my private concert. There were even a few pictures where guests had tagged me.
That was cool.
I continued flipping until one picture caught my eye. The one when Nina and I had tackled Sasha. All three of us were laughing. It was adorable, causing a deep ache to form. The next one was just of the two of us and there was no doubt by the look on our faces that we were…
“Oh, shit.”
I’d been tagged in the photograph and it had been shared… How many times? Over twenty-two thousand times. Oh, this wasn’t good. The caption was even worse.
Has singing sensation Lainey Rose found true love in the arms of a Russian Bratva prince?
My God. I was shocked my phone wasn’t blowing up.
A loud groan escaped before I had a chance to curtail it.
Wine. I definitely needed more wine. I took a huge gulp, my pulse completely off the charts.
I wasn’t embarrassed in the least. Why would someone use that caption?
Well, since it had been someone at the party who’d started the string of shares, no wonder.
They’d been involved in a freaking massacre.
But he wasn’t that way. He was brilliant and handsome. He was kind and generous. He was an amazing father and an incredible lover and…
“Are you in love with my daddy?”