Page 60 of Taken By the Mobster

Once the car was out of sight, she turned away from the window and limped back to the bed. The pain from her injuries was awful, but not nearly as bad as the pain in her heart. She crawled into the bed, pulled the blankets over her head, and cried herself to sleep.

Chapter 28

Declan

“Do you think this is a good idea?” Conor asked as they watched the house across the street.

“No,” Declan said. “But I don’t think we have a choice.”

Conor scratched his nose and looked at Declan out of the corner of his eye. “Are you going to tell Liv?”

“Eventually,” Declan replied. “I think she’ll understand why I did it and hopefully, it will mend the rift between her and her father.”

“Or she’ll get angry at you for that,” Conor said with a snort. “I don’t think any of us want to see Liv O’Reilly pissed off.”

Declan chuckled. “I know I don’t.” He tapped Conor on the leg. “There’s Shane.”

Shane stopped at the corner, looked both ways, then he hurried across the street, yanked open the door, and climbed in the backseat.

“Sean said yes,” Shane said. “If we need him, he will be there to help.”

“How the hell did you manage that?” Declan asked.

“I told him what Clyde had Walsh do to Liv,” Shane explained. “Then I told him what Clyde did to Olivia when she lived at the Muldoon compound. He was more than happy to cooperate.” Shane checked his watch. “I’m scheduled to meet Muldoon in an hour. Apparently, he is staying at a safe house in Needham. He’s been living there for almost two years.”

Declan glanced at Shane in the rearview mirror. He loved his friend, but sometimes Shane scared him. His ability to get an audience with two of Boston’s most influential and notorious mobsters was a testament to the unspoken power he wielded. His nonchalant attitude regarding what needed to be done to stop Clyde was even more frightening. He was soulless.

“What is it, Deck?” Shane asked.

“Nothing,” Declan said. “I’m amazed at what you can do. And glad you’re on my side.”

“You should be,” Shane said. “You don’t want me as an enemy.” Shane glowered at Declan for a moment before he burst out laughing. “Take me to Needham, driver.”

Declan shook his head and laughed. “Anything for you, Shane.”

Muldoon’s safe house was a two-story Cape Cod in a quiet neighborhood in Needham. From the outside, no one would have guessed that one of Boston’s most notorious mobsters was staying there. Unless you noticed the cameras outside the house or the men walking around every fifteen minutes.

From where Declan sat, the house appeared quiet, but appearances could be deceiving. Shane had gone in an hour earlier. Twenty minutes later, he sent one of his men out to get Conor. Declan was told to wait in the car. Shane refused to let him go inside until he spoke to Donovan Muldoon.

A black Escalade arrived fifteen minutes after Conor went inside. It parked across the street from Muldoon’s temporary residence. The passenger side window rolled down, and Grady McCarthy stuck his head out.

Grady was Sean O’Reilly’s second in command. Not a man to be reckoned with, that was for sure. Declan had been unlucky enough to have a run-in or two with the man when he was in his early twenties. One of those had been after Olivia had vanished from his life. It had been enough to chase away any ideas of rescuing Olivia from her cruel father that Declan might have had.

Back then, Grady was in his early thirties, ambitious and trying to make a name for himself with the O’Reilly family. Now he was in his mid-forties with prematurely gray hair and a neatly trimmed beard. Tattoos covered his arms, and he had a fierce countenance that terrified even the most hardened criminal. He had gained Sean O’Reilly’s trust and positioned himself as his right-hand man. If he were here, Clyde Braniff would suffer.

“Good,” Declan muttered to himself.

Declan hadn’t wanted to involve Olivia’s family, but Shane convinced him that Clyde left him no choice. Besides, it wouldn’t hurt to have the O’Reillys on his side. Especially if he and Olivia planned to make a life together. Maybe this would prove to Sean O’Reilly that Declan deserved to be with Olivia.

The front door opened; Conor stepped out and gestured to Declan to come inside.

Declan checked his weapon, tucked it into the holster under his arm, got out of the car, and hurried up the stairs to the huge double doors leading inside. Just before he went in, he turned to look back at McCarthy. They held eye contact for a few seconds, then Grady nodded. Declan returned the nod, then he followed Conor inside.

They walked past the stairs and down a short hallway to a large wood paneled office at the back of the house. Conor stopped him with a hand to the chest before they entered.

“Are you sure about this, Deck?” Conor asked.

“Yeah, I’m sure,” Declan replied. “You know as well as I do none of us are safe until we take care of Clyde. If Clyde somehow runs the Muldoon family, he will do everything in his power to destroy us. I won’t let that happen.” Declan put a hand on his friend’s shoulder and squeezed. “Donovan needs to know what his nephew is up to, what he’s trying to do. It’s the only way to stop Clyde.”

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