Chapter 20
CHAPTER TWENTY
Ezekiel
“Enjoy your meal,” The manager leaves a pricey bottle of whiskey on the house on our table. “If you need anything else, we’re at your full disposal.”
“Thank you,” I nod, opening the bottle and pouring a glass for myself before handing the bottle to Elijah.
We’re seated at a table at the back of the steakhouse, where the lights are low and I have a clean view of the glass doors and the street outside.
It’s one of my favorite restaurants in town and my brothers and I often come here on special occasions.
Tonight is not a special occasion, but Elijah suggested to have dinner here, after he took care of some business in the area.
“Someone seems to be going out of their way to make our family look responsible for trafficking the girls,” Cain says bluntly as he takes a large bite of his steak.
“He’s got a point,” Elijah waves his hand in the air dramatically. “Right now from the outside looking in, we’re the bad guys covering up something dirty.”
“That’s why we need to put an end to this once and for all,” I nod, bringing my glass of whiskey to my lips, savoring the familiar smell.
“If we could just find anything that points us towards the Devlins…” Cain takes another bite of the steak.
“But we haven’t,” Elijah points out. “Not even one tiny breadcrumb pointing towards them.”
“And that’s exactly why I think they are involved,” I place my glass down, finally starting to cut into the steak. “Everything makes them almost too clean. And in my experience, that suggests the opposite is true.”
“Agree,” Cain nods, placing his knife and fork down and taking the napkin from the table. He cleans his mouth and reaches out for his glass of whiskey. “No one can convince me otherwise.”
“Unfortunately, we can’t act on it based on logic and gut feeling,” Elijah continues.
“We can’t,” I agree. “And what’s been the most frustrating is not being able to confirm that someone from the inside has been helping them.”
“You really think someone from the Eden is involved?” Cain asks.
“Don’t you?” I raise an eyebrow. “It’s impossible to get in and out of the club without help. We just need to find out who it is.”
“Maybe one of the new girls could be involved?” Elijah asks, his eyes narrowing.
“I don’t think so,” I shake my head. “Whoever it is, they’ve been around long before Riley and Mia arrived. We hired them after the girls started disappearing.”
“That makes sense,” Elijah agrees. “I would not let my guard down around any of the employees.”
“I’m with Elijah on this one,” Cain takes another bite of his steak, completely unbothered by the stressful topic we’re discussing. Nothing can get between Cain and his meal.
When we are almost done with our food, the manager comes by our table with a polite smile. “Can I bring you anything else? Dessert perhaps?”
“I’ll have my usual,” Cain responds. “Your famous lemon pie.”
“Me too, please,” Elijah smiles back at the manager.
“And you, Sir?” The manager turns to look at me.
“Nothing for me,” The thought of Riley dipping her fries in milkshake suddenly pops into my mind and I take a large sip of whiskey, trying to bury the thought.
After my brothers finish their meal, we part ways and I make a quick stop at the Eden, which is closed tonight, to pick up some of the paperwork that I still need to finish. It’s been a long day and I’ve been busy with things that prevented me from finishing all of my work.
I unlock the back door and let myself in.
I hear a voice and footsteps coming from somewhere inside the club.
Isn’t the place supposed to be empty?
The corridor is not lit and instead of turning the lights on, I chose to follow the voice in the dark, my hand going to the small of my back, my fingers wrapping around the cold grip of my Glock. That’s when I see a dark figure trying to break the lock to my office.
I pull my gun immediately and shoot without a warning. The bullet misses, hitting the door frame. “Fuck!”
The man runs away and I sprint after him, as the chase continues through the labyrinth of the Eden’s backstage corridors. He’s fast, taking the sharp turns with the familiarity of someone who’s studied the blueprints of this place.
He bursts through the double doors leading out onto the main floor and I track the silhouette of his jacket as he clears the VIP booths. I raise my gun again, steadying my target.
This time I’m not going to miss.
“Mr. Kavanagh?” The voice is a sharp, sudden friction against my ears.
When I look to the left, I see Mia standing near the edge of the bar, holding a pair of white headphones in one hand. Her eyes are wide with absolute terror as she looks at the gun in my hands.
Before I can say anything, I notice another shadow jumping from behind the bar, aiming his gun at Mia.
Every protective instinct in my blood takes over and I don’t take my time to think about it as I run towards her, diving sideways, my weight colliding with Mia’s small frame as I throw her behind the heavy hardwood structure of the bar just as a second round splinters the wood right above our heads.
Then I feel the hit of a violent, white-hot iron rod driving straight into my shoulder. The force of the impact spins me around, my back hitting the floorboards hard. I can taste the copper flooding my mouth.
“Damn it!”
“Mr. Kavanagh!” I hear Mia shriek, but everything has become a blur.
I have to force my eyes open, and my vision clears just enough to see one of the guys disappearing through the front exit doors. But the second one, the one who shot me, is raising his weapon to finish the job.
With a painful roar, I lift my right arm, ignoring the agony in my shoulder, and pull the trigger three times in a rapid succession. The bullets hit him square in the chest, his lifeless body dropping to the floor like a sack of stones.
“Oh my God, oh my God,” I notice Mia trembling, her arms wrapped around herself as if she’s trying to calm herself down. Even in the low light, I can see how terrified she is. “You’re bleeding, Mr. Kavanagh, you’re bleeding really badly.”
I look down. “It’s not that bad,” I force a smile, hoping to help her calm down. But the front of my shirt is completely soaked and the pain isn’t getting any better, telling me I need to get it treated immediately.
“This can’t be happening, Riley is going to kill me!” She cries. “You got shot because of me.”
“No!” My voice is firm as I speak. “Listen to me! None of this happened because of you. Those people would have hurt anyone who was in their way.”
“But you’re bleeding…” Mia sighs. “You have to go to the hospital, Mr. Kavanagh.”
Before I can answer, we’re interrupted by the loud sirens approaching us at an incredible speed. “Damn it! Someone must have reported the shooting. This is the last thing the club needs.”
“You can’t be here when they arrive!” Mia is suddenly determined. “The least I can do after you took a bullet for me is help you out of this mess. Literally…” Her eyes drop again to the wound and she covers her mouth as if she’s going to be sick.
“It’s better for you to leave,” I try to push myself up, but my legs are suddenly heavy.
“No,” she shakes her head, insisting. “If I stay, your name will be cleared. I’ll say I came for my headphones, which is the truth, and I ran into these two guys who had broken in.
They turned on each other and one of them shot the other before running.
I didn’t see their faces and have no idea who they are. ”
“Are you sure? Once you lie to the police, there is no going back from there. You can still leave.”
“I’m sure,” she reaches down, her small hands gripping my uninjured arm, helping me leverage my weight against the bar. “Now go!”
I swallow the blood in my mouth, nodding once. I hold her gaze, ensuring she understands the weight of the situation.
“Go!” Mia insists, pushing me towards the corridor leading to the back door.
“Thank you.”