Page 77 of Blood Money

I nodded. “He killed the eldest sons of the McConnell family boss.”

“Oh my God.”

“The man betrayed the O’Keefes after pretending to be an informant. Disloyalty is the one thing that will get you eliminated faster than anything else in my world. He was helping his family make their power play, which ultimately worked.”

“But now they’re out of power again?”

“Right, and they’re angry, so they are still looking to finalize their revenge on your family.”

“Should Ava leave school? Does she need to hide?”

“I’ve got someone watching her. I don’t want to take her away from her classes unless we have to. So far, no one has approached her. They will most likely dismiss her since she’s a woman. They’ll assume your father would never have set her up as his heir. Therefore, they’ll see killing you as ending his legacy. To them, women are pawns to use to make alliances.”

Liam’s eyes widened. “Are you saying that if my father was alive now and his allies were back in power, he would use my sister like that?”

I knew I needed to tread carefully. “I don’t know. I didn’t know your father.”

“I can’t imagine him doing that. I mean…This whole thing is crazy. Did my mother know all of this?”

“I think we have to assume so. They got together long before the O’Keefes lost power.”

“Would you…Can you find out?”

“I’ll see what I can learn, but are you sure you want to know?”

He drew in a deep breath, then nodded. “Yes. I also want to know more about what happened to John, my dad’s boss—or his pretend boss or whatever?”

“He’s in prison. He made a stupid mistake and got caught running a money laundering scam. But I can find out more about him. I want to know why he never tried to help you and your sister.” The doorbell rang, and Liam jumped. “It’s okay. That’s my associate, Tony. He’s going to hang out here with you while Vito and I go meet with my father.”

Liam grabbed my arm before I could get the door. “Be careful I…I don’t want to lose you.”

I gave his forehead a gentle kiss. “I will, baby. I promise.”

I took a deep breath, then stepped into my father’s office. Vito followed close behind me.

As usual, the lights were off, and my father was as hidden as he could be behind his desk. I knew bright light bothered his eyes and often triggered migraines, but he also liked the dark because he was self-conscious about his scars. I didn’t understand why. They only made him more intimidating, but that topic wasn’t open for discussion, nothing about his near-death experience was. From what I knew of his earlier self, he’d already been closed off before the injuries he suffered. Now, he rarely spoke except when ordering someone around.

“What warrants a visit from both my sons?”

“We’ve got a serious situation,” I said.

“I should hope so since you’re disturbing me with it.”

A shiver ran over me. His voice was so cold, so emotionless. What the fuck was I going to do if I couldn’t convince him to help me?

“You remember Liam O’Shaughnessy, the man who is working at Pound to repay his debt to us?”

“When have I ever forgotten one of our debtors?” His words were like ice.

I inclined my head. “Never.”

“Then assume I have not forgotten Mr. O’Shaughnessy.”

He was really going to make this hard, wasn’t he? I wanted to look over at Vito to see how he was reacting, but I knew it was best to keep my eyes on my father. I also knew I had to state my case in a straightforward manner. If I tried to lie or hide something, things would go worse for me.

“I’ve been seeing Liam, personally, and I placed him under my protection. We’ve just discovered he has connections to the Irish. His father was Sharps O’Malley.”

My father’s expression didn’t change. He also didn’t say anything, so I kept going.

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