Page 34 of Taken By the Mobster

Drew shook his head. “What did Declan do?”

“I … He …” Olivia took a deep breath. She lowered her voice to a whisper before she spoke. “I worked at the last bank he robbed. I saw his face, heard his name. He didn’t want me to go to the FBI, so he took me. He didn’t know who I was.”

“But he does now?” Drew asked.

Olivia gnawed on her lower lip and nodded.

“Clyde will kill him if he finds out you’re with Declan. Does my brother know that? Does he understand that?”

“Clyde doesn’t know I’m here,” Olivia insisted. “He has no idea. And yes, I’m sure Declan is aware of the danger.”

Drew pushed himself upright and leaned forward, the intensity of his expression frightening Olivia.

“He will find out,” Drew said. “If he hasn’t already.” He swallowed and grimaced as he sat back against the pillows on the bed. “Not all of Declan’s men are loyal.”

“Does Declan know that?” Olivia asked.

Drew nodded. “Yeah, he knows. It’s just a matter of time before Clyde finds out you’re here.”

“Only Declan and Conor know who I am. And now you,” Olivia said. “Walsh and Murphy don’t know.”

“You can’t be sure of that,” Drew said. He grimaced as he shifted uneasily. “Clyde has a way … a way of knowing things. You know that, though, don’t you?”

Olivia sighed. “Yes, I do. And you’re right. I was cautiously optimistic, and I shouldn’t have been. I haven’t been as careful as I normally would be.”

“You know what Clyde is capable of, don’t you?” Drew asked. “You have to know.”

“I know,” Olivia whispered. She squeezed her hands together in her lap. “I know what he did to Sarah too.”

Drew crossed his arms over his chest. “You know what he did? Exactly what he did?”

Olivia shook her head. “N-no,” she stammered. “I know he killed her.”

“He didn’t just kill her.” Drew closed his eyes and when he spoke, his voice was so low, Olivia struggled to hear him. “Clyde and his men tortured Sarah for hours. Clyde beat her. He … he raped her. He let his men rape her. I could hear her screaming, begging them to stop. When Clyde finished with her and she couldn’t take anymore, he killed her. He snapped her neck. His men dragged her into the room I was in and dumped her on the floor in front of me. He made me watch while they shoved her in a wooden box. It was a reminder of what Clyde could and would do if Declan didn’t cooperate. Then he had his men deliver her to Declan. Clyde laughed when he told me they left the box in the middle of the living room for Declan to find. He laughed. Like it was the funniest thing ever. Clyde told me if Declan didn’t cooperate, I would be next. They backed Declan into a corner. His grief and anger over what happened to Sarah drove him to finish what Clyde made him start. He felt like he had no choice.”

“I overheard Declan tell Clyde it’s been more than a year,” Olivia whispered. “How much longer does Clyde expect Declan to do this?”

Drew shrugged. “Clyde’s greedy. No amount of money or power will ever be enough. He has an endgame, but no one knows what it is. And he knew as long as he had me, Declan would do whatever he wanted. My brother didn’t want to lose anyone else.”

“Why did he kill Sarah instead of you?” Olivia asked.

“Clyde flipped a coin,” Drew said. “He took a goddamn coin out of his pocket and flipped it. Heads, I was dead; tails, it was Sarah. It was tails.”

“What the fuck did you just say?” Declan stood in the doorway, shocked. The dishes on the tray in his hands shook as he trembled.

“Declan, I’m so sorry,” Drew said. “I was going to tell you—.”

“That fucking asshole decided who lived and who died by flipping a coin?” Declan stepped into the room and dropped the tray of food on the end of the bed. “I’m not just going to kill him; I am going to make him fucking suffer. He will beg me to kill him.”

Declan spun around and stumbled out the door. Olivia heard him running down the stairs and then, a minute later, the sound of a door slamming echoed through the house. She got to her feet and moved to the door. It was as if she was walking through a dense fog. She stopped with her hand on the door handle, absentmindedly twisting it back and forth. She contemplated whether she should go after him or wait.

“Go,” Drew said. “He needs someone.”

Olivia looked at Drew over her shoulder. He nodded at her. Decision made, she threw open the door and went down the hall. She didn’t know what she was going to say or do, but that didn’t matter. All that mattered was Declan needed her.

Chapter 17

Declan

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