Chapter 16

I hate having to leave Harper on her own, but when she said the cops arresting us could have been to get us out of the way, straight away my mind went to Nora. She would find it amusing to have us taken in by the fucking police, plus have the balls to do it. It also means she knows more than what she first let on. Nora is a lone wolf and hates working in a team—she is a fucking liability, and she knows it.

"What do you think Nora is up to?" Van asks.

I sigh—that I don't know. Nora has a hooker handcuffed in my spare bedroom, and Connor should be on his way over, so the only piece missing right now is Liam.

"Do you think Liam would work with the cops?" I ask, and the car falls silent. My first instinct is no. Why would one of our own turn like that, especially someone as high in the ranks as Liam? Unless they have something on him, then it's possible he would to save his own ass, but he knows we have fall guys for that type of thing.

Pulling into the driveway, I'm on high alert, even though everything seems normal. Darragh pulls the car as close to the house as possible, and Masters and Kayne pull up tight behind us. They get out first and Kayne takes the lead while Masters falls behind, watching our backs.

We step into the foyer and freeze at the sight which greets us.

"It's about fucking time," Nora sings. She has stripped down to her underwear and is covered in blood, holding a fucking hunting knife.

We all lower our own weapons, but none of us put them away.

"Looks like you started the party without us," Cian jokes, stepping forward and onto the plastic sheeting Nora has placed on the ground. The foyer is the largest open area of the house that is tiled.

"While I did all the hard work, I needed to keep the pigs busy. Old Uncle Liam here was in a piggy safe house, and I needed to lessen the number of cops who would be in the area. I would have told you what I was doing, but you're all pussy whipped."

Darragh snorts. "They're the ones whipped, not me."

Nora laughs hysterically. "Lie to yourself all you want, but you might be the worst of them all, the one in denial."

Darragh scoffs, but he doesn't argue with her again. "Care to explain why two of the higher-ranking family members are tied to chairs and bleeding onto the tiles where my children play?"

"That is easy. If you didn't have your heads so far up the hooker's pussy, you would have seen it all plain as day. These two fucked up. My inside man tells me Liam has flipped on us," she seethes and plunges the knife into Liam's leg to emphasize her point. His screams are muffled behind the gag in his mouth, but the groaned-out sounds fill the air as Nora dances around him before he appears to pass out.

"This one," she says, removing the knife and holding the blood-soaked tip to Connor's chin. "He has also been feeding the cops information. Nothing major, but enough to have them looking in places they shouldn't. Your guns, the stash house, the bar, so I removed the evidence. You're welcome, by the way. It's just a shame the girl made it out—she's a liability."

"All of that was you?" I ask. "Why wouldn't you tell me?"

Her manic laughter rings through the foyer. "No offense, but you couldn't keep my father safe, so I wouldn't trust you with my own life. I followed their moves, every single one. And I had to fuck that cop one too many times to get this all set up, so a thank you would be nice."

"There is a problem with your plan," Van says, and Nora looks at him with a raised brow. "If they die now, where do you think the cops are going to look first?"

"That's easy, and it's why good old Connor doesn't have a scratch on him. Unfortunately, I will have to kill the hooker, but we are about to move things over to Liam's. It all makes sense, really."

"And why the fuck would I kill my best friend of forty years?" Connor snaps. I hadn't realized he wasn't gagged like Liam.

"Oh, that's the straightforward part," she says, getting down on Connor's level and resting her hands on his knees. "You did a great job of keeping your private life separate from this life, but Liam found out. He must have, otherwise the coincidence is too delicious. The hooker upstairs is someone you know well, and to think I found her at your best friend's house, dressed like the whore she is and laid out in his bed." Connor's eyes go wide. "Did you ever tell them your ex-wife is a cop? She had a daughter when you got married, didn't she? Though she's technically not yours, I still don't think you would want your best friend fucking your ex-wife's daughter."

With a single shot to the head, Connor is gone and Cian steps forward. "Your dramatics are a little much. Let's wake this motherfucker up and get on with it."

Nora pouts. "You always ruin my fun."

"Go and fucking shower, and bag your underwear when you're done. Thanks to you, I need the clean-up crew in here before the cops come looking for Liam," I chastise her. She always has been a big pain in the ass.

"Fine, but they won't look at you. It's the reason I had you all arrested, so you and your cock warmer were not suspects. Though now that the number one suspect is dead, I wouldn't draw this out too long in case they ask questions."

Nora moves down the hall to our laundry room, which has a shower for times like this.

Liam stirs and Cian steps forward further. "Wakey, wakey, Uncle. Today is the day you will meet your maker."

"Cian, thank god, the bitch has gone crazy," he mumbles from underneath his gag.

I laugh, and Liam looks over at me as I step onto the tarp. "Nora is certifiably crazy, but the problem is she found you at a safe house. Were you going to testify against me, your own nephew? Tut-tut, Uncle, you should know well enough by now everything I do cannot be traced back to me. Do you think my father taught me nothing? But don't worry, we'll make this quick—it's the least we can do for family," I say, squatting down in front of him and lowering his gag. "Just tell me what you told them."

"I won't tell you a fucking thing," he spits.

I smile up at him as I dig my thumb into the open wound on his leg—fuck, I hate blood. "Have a change of mind?"

His scream slices at my eardrums, ending in a manic laugh. "They know everything."

"Fuck," Darragh says from behind me. "I can't go to jail right now."

Cian scoffs. "We're not going to jail, dumbass. That's why our lawyer is a shark. He has fall guys ready at a moment's notice."

I smile up at Liam. "Sometimes we don't play all the cards. People need money and they will serve time for it. Would you believe we no longer clean our own money?"

Liam now laughs. "That might be so, but you still have the stash house and the docks. How long do you think it is before they raid them, especially once they realize I'm missing?"

Pushing up to my feet, I reply, "Just long enough for me to do something about it."

The docks are no problem, as we have a protocol in place in the event of a raid—each of the six families does. Now is the time to implement it. We have other ways to bring in product, or hide it. And whatever the families bring in, I get paid.

"You three can have at him. I have to make a call."

I leave them to deal with Liam, knowing he won't be breathing by the time they are done. My own blood wanted to turn his back on me.

I dial Venom, and he picks up on the first ring. "I hope this is fucking important," he snaps.

"We need to call a meeting, organize it for today. I don't give a fuck if it's short notice, it's that or the Feds will start making arrests."

"Fuck! On it," he says, ending the call. He will text with a time.

Next, I text the stash house phone. There's a protocol in place to move the money if there is heat on us and now is the time. By the time I get back inside, Liam is dead, and he and Connor are lying side by side.

"I called in clean-up, and they will take these two straight to the funeral home."

"Good, let's go see the girl and then we need to meet with the other families. We need to ensure the docks are clean, then everyone can figure out what they plan to do while we lie low."

My phone buzzes and I read a message from Venom stating the meeting time. We have an hour.

All four of us strip down naked and leave our clothes on the tarp. Nora chooses that moment to walk back in, wrapped in a towel.

"For fuck's sake, why me? Why do I have to see all your cocks? I mean, I'm not opposed to seeing Van's and Darragh's—we're not technically blood—but you two cup your cocks or something."

Cian snorts. "Why? You're just jealous no man will live up to your expectations after seeing what your family is packing."

She scoffs. "Do you think your little pocket pussy will lend me some of her clothes? I didn't bring backup."

"Stop being a bitch. Her name is Harper," I snap.

"No thanks," she quips, leading the way upstairs as I follow. "Did you want me to slit the hooker's throat? I can take her home and make it look like an accident."

Van laughs, and yells as the rest of them walk to the laundry, "Yeah, because people accidentally slit their throats all the time."

"We have it covered. Just get dressed and go do whatever you normally do during the day."

"Well, normally I lead my stalker on a wild goose chase. Then I go home and listen to murder podcasts, to remind myself what I should never do because those idiots always get caught, though they give me some good ideas."

"Back up a second," I say as we reach Harper's room. I press my thumb to the scanner and the door clicks open. "Your stalker?"

Nora crosses the room. "What about him? It's a fun game of cat and mouse we play. It's harmless fun."

She steps into the closet and throws the towel outside. "You can use that, as I really don't want to see your cock anymore."

I pick up the towel and wrap it around my waist. "How is having a stalker harmless? What if he sees something he shouldn't?"

Nora pops her head out of the closet. "Then I kill him, duh. Don't worry about me, cousin, I have it under control."

I wait while she gets dressed, not trusting her enough to leave her unattended in Harper's room. She comes out dressed in a see-through fucking corset and a tight pair of leather pants.

"Your toy has good taste. Fuck, I look hot."

I shake my head. "Just go, pretend this didn't happen, and have fun playing with your stalker. If shit gets out of hand, can you at least promise to tell me?"

Nora nods. "Sure thing."

She struts out of the room, and I follow behind her, pulling the door closed. I head to my own room, glad I avoided touching anything downstairs, as it means I can shower in my en suite quickly rather than using the laundry. Once I'm dressed, I head over to the guest room, where the hooker is now awake and trembling.

"I won't hurt you. We found you at my uncle's house and I just want to talk. Then I will take you wherever you need to go." I sit on the edge of the bed, and she nods. "Will you tell me what happened?"

She nods again. "I see Liam once a week. He got a phone call while I was there, and it sounded like he was having an argument with someone. Liam told me to wait, and he would be back." She hiccups, tears running down her face, smearing her mascara. "He locked me inside and the doors wouldn't open—not until that woman came. She attacked me and forced something down my throat, and that's all I remember until I woke up here."

I nod, accepting her explanation. "I need to know how much it will cost me to keep your mouth shut. That all you know is Liam left the house, and so did you."

My phone vibrates, and I check it, seeing Harper's face on the screen. I answer her call. "Hey, Angel. Is everything okay?"

"Everything is fine. I was checking in to make sure you're all okay. Your cousin scares me."

I laugh because Nora is something else, that's for sure. She gets it from her father. "She is gone, though I owe you a pair of leather pants."

I don't mention the corset, because if any man looked at her wearing it, they would die. "Okay, though I'm sure the other fifty pairs you bought me will suffice."

"Help!" the damn hooker screams.

"Have you not let the poor girl go yet? Please tell me you're not going to kill her."

Looking down at the girl with a frown, I reply, "I don't want to kill her—she's only young. I was going to pay her off, but by crying for help, it tells me she might run back to her cop mother. Then I really would have to kill her."

The girl clamps her mouth shut.

"Give her the phone," Harper says with a sigh.

"Excuse me?"

She chuckles. "You heard me, I speak whore, remember? Just give her the fucking phone or you will not get laid anytime soon."

I sigh and hold the phone out to the girl. "My woman wants to talk to you."

"Hello," she whispers. "Money G . . . He will kill me . . . You could do that? Okay."

She hands the phone back to me. "What did you just do? And who the fuck is Money G?" I ask, and Harper laughs.

"I fixed your problem. You'll need to pay her pimp a visit at some stage, but you need to bring her to me, please. If she passes an STI test, she is coming to work for me."

Now I laugh. "You realize her mother is a cop, right?"

"You realize her mother is a cop, yet she is still a prostitute. Just bring her down. I will do all the paperwork, and if she doesn't pass, then you can deal with her."

"Fine," I grind out while looking at the girl. "But if she fucks up, I will put a bullet in her skull."

"Well, be quick. If you're a good boy, I might suck your cock before you leave."

"I'll have to take a rain check. We have to meet with all the heads of the families. My uncle royally screwed us. Make sure everything is legal and above board, they might be back to see you."

"You know I will. See you soon."

"Fuck, Harper, I think it's stuck in my ass."

My skin crawls at the male voice that floats from the background. "If you touch his ass?—"

"I have to go," she interjects. "Dylan thinks he has a sex toy stuck in his ass." With that, she ends the call.

How the fuck do you only think you might have a sex toy stuck in your ass?

Darragh pushes the door open. "What's the plan? Do we kill her?"

I shake my head. "Harper is taking point on this one." Darragh stays silent but raises a brow at me. "Don't start. Just get her up—we need to leave."

"I wasn't going to. If anyone is equipped to deal with the prostitute, it's Harper."

I shake my head, fairly sure he even meant it as a compliment. I really don't get what is going on between them, but Darragh knows now if he touches Harper against her will, I will kill him, family or not.