Chapter 32 #3
“Pretty sure I’m going to be the only one killing someone, Mr. Sullivan,” I reply. “You can make sure no one bothers us while we have a chat with my father.”
I can see the dots connecting in Mr. Sullivan’s mind as he blinks slowly. It’s kind of impressive. “Ah, fuck me. Why did he do it?”
“Money. Apparently I’m worth a lot of money.”
“No. You’re not for fucking sale, Alisa. Not ever. I can’t believe I didn’t see it. That man sits on a council with me and he never showed an ounce of remorse or guilt.”
“It’s hard to show either if you can’t feel those emotions,” Lars says.
“He never wants to talk about her,” Caleb adds. “When Quinn came back to Minneapolis, Dad got really weird. People asked him pointed questions about you, Alisa, and he’d brush them off. To him, you were gone forever.”
“Caleb,” Hollis hisses.
“It’s fine,” I mutter. I can feel my knees threatening to buckle and I force them to stay strong. “Dad was right. I was gone, and dead girls can’t tell any tales.”
“I don’t see a dead girl,” Mr. Sullivan says. “I see—”
“Shh. Don’t be nice to me,” I blurt out. “I’m holding on by a thread over here.”
“You need sugar,” Lars decides, ushering me to a chair. He cuts a normal sized square into four pieces and puts it on a plate in front of me while Mr. Sullivan begins to pick up chairs.
“Did it get a little emotionally charged in here?” he asks.
Hollis ignores him even as she snags a tissue for herself and he nods as she answers him without words.
I bite into a fourth of a lemon square, chewing slowly as the sweetness dissolves on my tongue. By the time I’m on my second, everyone is sitting around the table and Hollis joins me in eating dessert.
“Your brothers never let me cry without lemon squares,” she mumbles around a bite.
I can’t help but giggle and Caleb relaxes slightly.
“If you ever wonder what the fuck you’re protecting some days, Cian, it’s that.”
“I agree,” he says. “Alisa, call me Cian. Since you’re calling the shots, it simply makes the most sense to me.”
“The lock at the back door to the house doesn’t turn all the way,” Lars says.
“People rarely use it, which means he never fixed it. We’re going in that way.
We need to leave soon to avoid the night guard.
The plan is to tie him up, walk out the door, and bring him to the Driver’s farm.
His family has been letting us borrow their barn.
We’ll grind Dad up and feed him to Carl’s pigs once we’re done. ”
“I’ll volunteer my guys for clean up duty,” Cian says.
“Hayes is gonna love that,” Caleb mutters. I don’t know who any of these people are, and since I have lemon squares, I don’t really care. “You don’t look so pale anymore, Alisa.”
“I hate that this happens,” I sigh.
“Emotional drop is normal,” Cian says. “In case you were trying to beat yourself up over it.”
My lips curve up as he shrugs, a twinkle in his eyes that shows he was trying to get me to smile. My phone vibrates on the table, and Lyle’s name appears on the screen. As I hit accept, I also put the call on speaker.
“I’m alive,” I answer.
“I’m glad to hear that, but we may need to work on how you answer the phone, Little Fighter,” he replies. “We’re parked on the street and noticed there’s someone waiting outside of the bar. Do we need to worry about that?”
“No. Ah, this is Cian Sullivan, and that’s my driver.”
“I’ve heard of you,” Lyle says. The words aren’t weighted or sarcastic, they simply are. “Hollis has mentioned you before.”
“I hope she’s been kind,” Cian chuckles. “You won’t have to worry about me at all. My men keep their mouths shut and so do I. I protect many secrets, and this will simply be another.”
“I appreciate that. We aren’t necessarily keeping her a secret, there are simply too many people who would be interested in her.”
“We have a problem in Minneapolis where people forget that children are to be cherished. I recently reconnected with my daughter, and I couldn’t be more proud of her. Aisling is amazing.”
“I know that name,” I whisper.
“She runs Omega’s Haven, but she was also at Slick Dreams when the raid happened,” Cian explains. “I really am just an old man who is very curious. We’ll be helping you today with Theo, Lyle.”
“It should be a good ole fashioned smash and grab,” Lyle chuckles.
“What did you say you did for a living again?” Cian asks.
Hollis smothers a smile with her glass of water, while Lars rolls his eyes.
“He talks like a fucking criminal, doesn’t he?”
“Lalalala. I do no such thing,” Lyle says. “Should we come in, or we all headed out?”
“Out,” Caleb says. “Lars—”
“I already have a care package sitting in the cafe freezer,” he grunts. “I need to send my little sister home with treats.”
“I’ll drive with my brothers and Hollis,” I tell Lyle. “I love you.”
“We love you,” comes chorusing over the line, making me blush before Lyle hangs up.
“Who is your pack?” Cian asks curiously.
“Pack Mayor.”
“Are you serious?” he groans. “How did you end up with the equivalent of the Savannah mob?”
“They’re fancy and shit,” Hollis teases him. “The Five Packs are not the mob.”
Damn straight they’re not.