Chapter 26
Cara
And what I wanted, which is exactly what he offered, even if I refused to ask for it.
Thank goodness he did it himself.
I could’ve taken things even further right then and there, but I have to play this game smart. Not only am I deceiving Dmitri, but I’m also deceiving my father now too. I’m on my own side right now, but no one else can know that.
Unable to help myself, I pull out the bands of cash from my purse once I walk around the corner and head down an empty sidewalk.
Dmitri is a lot of things, but he isn’t a liar or cheap, so I’m sure he paid me correctly.
I just want to see for myself how much I made in the span of half an hour.
The orgasm alone almost made it worth it.
“One thousand…two thousand,” I murmur to myself as I carefully flip through the bands, excitement fluttering in my stomach. At this rate, it won’t be long before I have enough money to leave this city, to start over.
Before I can finish counting, tires squeal behind me, making me whirl around just as a black sedan comes to a stop next to me. I catch a glimpse of my shocked expression in the reflection of the heavily tinted side windows before both doors on the right side are thrown open.
“Oh, sh—”
Two men grab me by my arms and toss me into the backseat. Clutching the cash in my fist, I hit the seat on my side before scrambling upright just as one of the men gets into the backseat with me and slams the door shut behind him.
Once the other man is in the passenger’s seat, the car tears off down the street, making my head slam back against the seat from the force. I turn to the man next to me, my eyes widening. “Brendan? What the hell are you doing here?”
The asshole rips the bands of cash from my hand, then tugs my purse from my shoulder. “What’s all this? Where did you get this much cash, girly?”
“Answer my question first,” I bite out as I glance toward the front seat where I recognize Daniel and Neal. More of my father’s men.
As part of the Irish mob, they’ve been in my life since I was a teenager. In a way, they’re family, but there’s never been much warmth between us.
“I don’t think you want us to tell your father that you’re not cooperating,” Daniel says from the driver’s seat as he takes a right, driving farther away from the direction of my apartment. We’re not even going in the direction of my father’s house.
My heart races as I look back at Brendan, seeing the look of warning written all over his face. He’s not playing. My father put them up to this, to intimidating me.
“I just left work. That’s where I got the money from,” I reply in an even voice before reaching for the cash.
Brendan jerks his hands away from mine, keeping the money out of reach. “What is this? Around Ten K? Fifteen? You get paid in cash?”
“I get paid under the table. It’s safer for my boss,” I lie, my voice sharpening in frustration as I make another grab for my money. “Give it back!”
Brendan tosses the cash into Neal’s lap. “Count that.”
“Looks like bands of a thousand,” Neal says in a gruff voice as he runs his thumb along the corner of the organized bills. “Fifteen thousand dollars in total.”
Brendan whistles. “What is that for? Two weeks of work? A week?”
More like fifteen minutes.
I keep my mouth shut about that, though, still tasting Dmitri on my tongue even though that happened hours ago.
“It’s mine. I earned it,” I tell him. “I’m doing exactly what Sean asked.”
Brendan grabs my arm as he leans closer to me, making the air leave my lungs. “You’re not doing it fast enough. He needs you to work faster.”
“He’s told me that a million times over the phone,” I grit out, wincing as his grip tightens until it aches.
“Consider this visit extra motivation,” Brendan replies.
I grab his wrist, sinking my nails into his skin. It doesn’t break his grip, but he’ll have something to remember me by later. “I don’t need motivation. I’m getting it done. It’ll be all over soon.”
And I’ll be gone like a shadow in the night. Never to be seen again.
There’s a gnawing ache in my stomach at the thought of never seeing Dmitri again. But it has to be this way.
“Your father has been more than patient with you, girlie. You’re making us sit around with our thumbs up our asses because you want to play secretary!” Brendan snaps.
“Do you know what going undercover means? I have to be a completely different person and gain his trust if I’m going to pull this off,” I argue.
“You don’t have to gain his trust. If you’re smart enough, you can just trick him,” Brendan hisses at me, his body nearly crashing into mine as Daniel whips a hard left turn.
I glance past Brendan’s head to look out of the window, seeing that we’re on the outskirts of the city in a rundown area of abandoned buildings and trash-filled, empty lots. “Where are you taking me?”
“Nowhere,” Neal replies just as he slams on the brakes, the car coming to a stop. He turns around to look at me with a cold expression on his face. “Get out.”
My eyes widen. “What? I don’t even know where we are!”
“Well, while you figure that out and find your way home, you can think about what we told you,” Brendan says before opening his door and slipping out.
A second later, he reaches in and grasps my arm, dragging me out of the car without giving me a chance to even get my feet underneath me. I lunge for my purse and hit the asphalt hard, skin scraping before I get to my feet.
“What the hell?” I shout as I rip my arm away, bewilderment flaring up within me.
Brendan turns to face me as the other two remain in the car. “You’re running out of time, and I don’t think you want to see what happens if you don’t deliver.”
“Dmitri postponed the wedding. I have more time than you think,” I grit out, my fingers curling into fists. There’s no way that I could win a fight against all three of them. I’m so fucking furious that Sean sent his men to threaten me.
Brendan shakes his head, his dark curls becoming even more disheveled. “Doesn’t matter. Get it done.”
As I watch him turn away from me to get back into the car, my rage burns hotter, searing through my entire body. I have tried so hard to appease my father and the rest of the family.
But nothing works.
I will never be anything to them. I was a disappointment the moment everyone found out that Sean O’Malley had a daughter instead of a son.
“Hey! Stop! You can’t just leave me out here!” I snap as I grab Brendan’s arm.
“Thanks for the cash.” Brendan thrusts his arm out, slamming his elbow into my stomach to knock me backward.
I lose my balance and fall onto my ass with a pained huff, the air leaving my lungs. Pain radiates through my body as I stare up at him in shock and anger.
Brendan glares down at me. “Don’t be stupid, kid. That’s how people get killed.”
All I can do then is watch him get in the car before Daniel speeds away, leaving me in a part of town that I don’t need to be alone in, taking my money that was supposed to be for a fresh start.
This doesn’t only feel like a warning. This feels like a punishment.
If I don’t get out, this will be my life.
I quickly glance around, seeing only a few people lingering around the area. When one of them looks my way, uneasiness creeps up the back of my neck. I need to get out of here.
For some reason, calling Dmitri crosses my mind. He’d come, but he would be suspicious of the circumstances. And that would ruin everything.
I’m on my own.
I put my back to the man eyeing me and hurry down the sidewalk in the direction I think is my apartment. I was so distracted by fighting with Brendan and the others that I didn’t even take note of how long we were driving for.
It might take me a whole hour to make it back to my apartment on foot, in painful heels.
A fiery, bitter feeling spreads through me as I pick up my pace, pushing past the strain in my muscles.
This is such bullshit. I’ve busted my ass to make this plan work, and just as I’m on the cusp of victory, my father threatens me?
I won’t forget this, and taking my cash won’t stop me from getting the hell away from him.
I just need to make the money back and ensure that my father’s men don’t know that I have more. They’ll keep taking from me until I have nothing left.
No family. No friends. No place to live. No job.
That’s about to be my life once everything is said and done, but I would rather suffer through all of that instead of continuing to be threatened and pressured to the point of losing sleep.
By the time I make it back to my apartment, sweat glistens on my forehead, I can’t feel my toes, and my calves ache from my speed walking. I clench my teeth as I shove open the door to my unit and storm inside, a furious exhale puffing out of my nose.
No more playing fair. No more giving anyone the benefit of the doubt or a sliver of mercy.
It’s time to pull some drastic moves because Brendan was right about one thing. I’ll give him that.
I’m running out of time.
No one is coming to save me.
I’ll have to do it myself.