Page 68 of Mob Saint

Seamus shoves Jimmy out of the office. Before the bonesman can say shit, Seamus drives his fist into Jimmy’s temple. He crumples like a cliché from a TV show. I close the door and hand the gun back to Seamus. He looks like some cowboy gunslinger with two weapons in his hands.

“I don’t give a fuck who the next person is to knock on that door. I’ll shoot your fucking mother if we get interrupted before you answer my question. Who, Gareth?” Seamus stalks forward until he’s directly in front of the desk.

“I don’t know.”

Seamus’s long reach allows him to put one barrel to Gareth’s forehead and one to his heart. “Try again.”

“Seriously. I don’t know. If I didn’t know my dad was dead because I saw his body, I’d think he’d risen from the dead to fuck me over. It wouldn’t surprise me if he could. But someone’s been threatening Tiernan and extorting me since just before the accident.”

“Threatening me?”

“Yeah.” He runs his hand through his hair before he remembers there are two guns touching him. It’s a nervous habit.

“I might not kill you in front of Tiernan, but you’re sorely tempting me to shoot you in the dick in front of her. Explain.”

I may think Seamus is prone to exaggeration about my looks, but nothing about anything that’s happened since we walked in here makes me think he’s exaggerating.

“Four months before the accident, Dad demanded I get a detail on you, Tiernan. He wanted you followed everywhere. He knew you were mostly with Aaron or at work, but he wanted someone watching you at every call and any time you weren’t at home. He tapped your landline, but you never used it.”

“It was only there in case of emergency and our cells weren’t working.”

“I know. I told him that, but he insisted. He tapped your cell, and Aaron found out. It was two-and-a-half months into Dad’s surveillance. He lost his shit on me, assuming I ordered it. I didn’t, even though I made it happen. Aaron suspected something was going on, but he didn’t know what.”

“I was six months pregnant. That’s when Aaron became almost unbearable to live with. He was so demanding of my time I thought I would suffocate in that house.”

“He was protecting you.”

“No, he wasn’t. Not really. He never shared any of his suspicions with me. He let me—his pregnant wife—leave the house not knowing people were watching me, listening to me. He left me alone in the house when I was least able to defend myself. He might have had good intentions, but he wasn’t protecting me.”

“I disagree.” Gareth shakes his head. “But, anyway, he lost his shit with me. Then he lost his shit with Dad about three weeks before the accident. He threatened to move away with you and make you both disappear. He knew people outside our organization that could make it happen. Dad knew he wasn’t faking. Aaron was a liability.”

“What about me? What the hell did I do wrong? What did my baby do?”

I’m the one being pushed too far hearing this story. I don’t think I can do it. I’m shaking and wishing Seamus didn’t have both hands full. I need him.

He must sense it because he shoots Gareth a look more menacing than any I’ve seen yet. One more threatening than I thought possible. He puts the safety back on both guns and tucks them down the back of his pants. He steps back from the desk and reaches out his left hand to me. I rush forward, and he engulfs me.

“Shh, cailín. I’m here, and I’m not letting go. You’re safe with me. Shh.”

I nod my head against his chest, but I feel—I don’t know how to describe it. It’s a jumble of rage, agonizing grief, fear, and whatever else. I feel like I want to vomit, but I also want to tear this room apart. I want to throw anything in my reach while I cry. It’s too much. It’s all too fucking much.

Chapter Sixteen

Seamus

Tiera’s trembling so much it’s frightening me. I glance at Gareth, who’s gone even whiter than Gretchen when I told her the truth. It wasn’t a threat. It was a promise.

It’s clear Tiera’s behavior shocks Gareth. He’s never seen her this way, and I’m certain he was around her for the funeral— funerals? —I won’t ask Tiera. I scoop her into my arms, and Gareth’s eyes widen.

Motherfucker. Does he think I’ve been faking my feelings for Tiera so far? Is he shocked I can lift her? He knows how strong I am, so it would only reflect what he thinks about her. I walk to the sofa and am careful as I sit. I cradle her in my arms and keep cooing to her. Today’s been emotionally tough on me. I can’t imagine how Tiera’s managing not to fall apart. She’s stronger than anyone gives her credit for. She’s calming in my arms, which calms me.

“Should I get her some water? Some whiskey?”

Gareth doesn’t know what to do. He sounds as genuinely shaken as he looks. Tiera shakes her head and curls into me as though even a drink would take her away from me. That it would threaten her. He moves around his desk but gets no closer than that.

“Tiernan?”

“Leave me alone, Gareth.”

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