I knew they would come, especially after the little surprise I’d left inside the bedroom closet of little Ms. Maribel Laine. Once he got a look at that beat-down prick who tried to steal my money, nothing would stop him from protecting the woman he claimed to love. I exploited his weakness for the tiny brunette, forced him to make a decision in her best interests, and not of his own. As an added bonus, I threatened to sell my newly invited guest to the highest bidder if he didn’t comply. I took one hell of a risk by banking on what I knew about the ex-marine and the man who reared him, Buck Calhoun. It was a test of sorts, not for them, but for the man I chose to represent me in what was to be my stepping stone to greatness. Mecken didn’t disappoint as he and his boys went through these two dumb fucks like a knife through warm butter. They’d defied my orders and jeopardized my entire scheme.
That would have to be dealt with, swiftly.
Now, who first?
I took a seat behind my desk, swirling the last sip of whisky before I poured myself another. The two mindless meatheads stood at attention, pawing at the shaft of the arrows sticking inside their flesh. They knew better than to move a muscle without my say-so. The anticipation and mounting pain were killing them along with my silence. One glance at the computer screen at the weeping female sitting atop the bed in the adjoining room, and my calm began to plummet.
“What were my instructions, Sol?” I drummed my fingers on the desk, deceptive in my composed demeanor. The big man attempted to straighten his sloppy posture and failed, miserably.
“You said…” He coughed, clearing his throat that I’m sure had run dry.
“You said to invite the blond bitch to be your guest at the penthouse.”
“Hmm, yes, but that wasn’t your only directive, now, was it?”
It was a rhetorical question; he and I both knew it. She wasn’t to be harmed in any way, regardless of the reason. He gave his partner the side-eye and decided to go for broke.
“Look, boss.” Sol pointed towards the closed door. “That cunt started screaming for help the minute we walked up. What was I supposed to do, just stand there and reason with a hysterical woman while somebody called the cops? I gave her a knock on the head. What’s the big fucking deal? She’s here, ain’t she? What more could we do?”
Brainless and void of humility.
Splendid.
I momentarily thought of my father, the most brilliant and astute man I knew. An old-school Irishman with balls of steal, single-minded in his determination to secure his family’s place amongst the most powerful men in the underworld. One of the reasons he’d been able to last this long throughout the changing times was a simple yet effective formula: Do what is necessary to protect your own. Growing up, my brothers and I learned that philosophy until we knew it like the back of our hand. It’s what motivated us, drove us, to be better than our enemies. Sol had challenged my orders and defied them. There was only one remedy for that brand of insolence, so when I reached inside my desk drawer, produced my weapon, and screwed on the silencer, my lips barely twitched when I shot him between the eyes and ended his life.
I placed the smoking gun on top of the desk and addressed the other idiot in the room staring shockingly at his friend lying in a pool of his own blood. I grabbed myself a refill of Jameson and savored the burn of that first hefty gulp. I looked at my Rolex and pinched the bridge of my nose. Fatigue threatened to rear its ugly head.
What a fucking night.
“I’ll give you a one-hour head start, Jack. Leave this city and pray we never cross paths again, or I assure you, you’ll end up like your friend there.” I pointed to the lump on the floor entering the first stages of rigor mortis.
“Connor won’t like this, Darragh. He sent us down here to watch your back since Ferdi is out of town. What’s he gonna say when you tell him what happened, huh?”
“You dare speak of my father as if he has anything to do with the way I run my business?”
“I only meant…” he whined.
“I’ll tell you what, Jack. I’m a sensitive guy, and you hurt my feelings.” I grabbed the gun off the desk and pointed at him. “I think you owe me an apology, something I’d consider meaningful and worth your motherfucking life.”
“Wh-what do you want me to say, Darragh? Please, I’m sorry.”
“Say? Nothing,” I growled. “Get down on your knees and suck the cock of your dead homey over there. Do it or die. Your choice. The next time you decide to invoke my father’s name, you’ll remember who’s running this operation and where the fuck your loyalties lie.”
“I can’t…that’s so fucked up, Darragh,” he pleaded.
“Cock in the mouth or bullet to the head. Decide. I don’t have all night.”
Jack wasted no time dropping down on all fours, unzipping his co-worker, and placing his flaccid dick between his lips until it tickled the back of his throat. Bitch ass didn’t even try and put up a fight. Some fucking bodyguard. I’d be better off with a girl scout watching my back than this clown. The incessant slurping sound mixed with his sniveling blubber-filled wails was enough to do my head in. I had to make it stop for my own sanity, but he’d bought this on himself. He worked for the MacCabe family, not just my father. His focus should’ve been with me the second he arrived. Next time, he’ll think twice about his actions, if he lived that long.
“You now have…”—I took another look at my watch—“a fifty-minute head start. I suggest you use it, motherfucker.”
I didn’t bother watching him leave. His laborious gait followed by the slam of the door was enough to convince me he was gone. I placed a call to the cleaner, and within the hour, the trash was removed from my suite as if it had never been. Sol was right about one thing: my father would demand an explanation, one I was fully prepared to give him after business was settled.
And after I collected my money.
The match was scheduled to take place in two days. Until then, I had to ensure that Mecken wouldn’t back out of the arrangement and maintain his focus. It was a risk fraught with danger, yet the reward made it all worthwhile. The blond-haired blue-eyed waitress I watched through my computer screen was a means to an end.
A very beautiful one.
CHAPTER 2
Odie
I HEARD ALL of it.
Every sordid detail right down to the threat of being shipped off to South America if my bestie’s boyfriend didn’t comply with my captor’s demands. The raised voices had thankfully died down over the last few minutes. I struggled to soak up as much as I could while tears of uncertainty flowed freely down my cheeks. I listened to talk of money owed, debt repaid, Boston mob, and a big-time bare-knuckle fight happening sometime over the next few days. Threats of death were made on both sides if I somehow ended up with my head in a cardboard box somewhere in the desert. Right about now, that sounded like a doable alternative. Jesus, my skull was pounding worse than that one time I drank Mad Dog 20/20 behind the high school gymnasium on a dare. If this was purgatory, I was definitely in the bottomless pit of hell.
Please, God, I need my cell phone.
The golf-ball sized knot on the base of my skull pulsated severely with every breath and steady heartbeat from the moment I awoke. Running my hands over my body, I breathed a sigh of relief that I was still fully dressed in my Nipsy’s uniform and absent of any noticeable signs of sexual assault. The feeling was short lived once reality kicked in and I realized I was in a strange place, lying on a strange bed, and my life was circling the drain. I suppose I should’ve felt grateful that I wasn’t being held in a soundproof room. Knowing what or whom I was up against somehow eased my fears of the unknown. The players had flipped their cards face up, revealing their hands, and I was the cheap gold watch placed in the pot as collateral.