Page 68 of Forbidden Bond

Dingo opened the door for them, lighting was low, and voices carried from the cavern beyond.

With full confidence, she stormed a path straight into the club. Those voices quieted. The many now-silent men around the room awaited her direction. Hers. They waited for her permission to continue.

Biggs stood up first and rounded the bar to plant his hands on it. “Safe Harbor?”

“Alcohol?” Tulip asked. “It’s the middle of the day.”

More than just a couple of guys laughed. Conventional rules didn’t exist there. Tulip glanced around, maybe self-conscious. Yeah, it was funny, the guys meant no harm, but the point wasn’t to ridicule the reporter.

“Can we have the room, please, guys?”

Without objection, the guys, other than Biggs and her First Team, tramped out through the various doors.

“They just up and leave like that? It doesn’t piss them off you order them around?”

“I didn’t order them, I asked them. Respect begets respect.” In her book, not so much in Conn’s. “And I’ve worked out here before; welcome to my office.” Swinging herself into the VIP booth that jutted into the dance floor, she gestured at the next section. “Sit down, they’ll bring the food here.”

Biggs brought their drinks. “Milady.”

“Thank you. Stick around, we’ll probably want more.”

“As you wish, mistress,” Biggs said and winked.

Idiot, very funny. Playing to the myth could be fun too.

“What is the point of this?” Tulip asked. “Buttering me up? Trying to be my best friend? If you really wanted to show trust, you’d take me upstairs.”

Always looking for the angle. Tulip wasn’t scared to open her mouth. Good quality in an investigative reporter.

“This is not about trust,” she said. “These people, everyone you’ve seen or met connected with the McDades, they’re real people, not characters in any plot or melodrama.”

“And they work for you?”

“They work for the business,” she said. “McDades look after their own. I want you to see what’s good here. We’re not evil. Stag contributes to the neighborhood, provides jobs, fosters community. You never heard of Irish hospitality? We look after our employees, keep people safe.”

“People like Nicole? Is she here?”

She shook her head. “Why are you so interested in her?”

“No one can put the pieces together. There’s one story and another. A woman’s life is at stake.”

“And she’s a McDade, yet you suspect us? Why would we kill one of our own?”

“Her husband’s in prison, he hasn’t divorced her. There must still be feelings there. If it’s one of the other families, what would their motivation be?”

“Maybe that’s your clue, who has motive to want her dead?”

“It’s not possible to figure that out without all the information.”

“No one has all the information.”

“It’s sinister. Whisper and Raze show up, then disappear. Madison Byrne is in town. Word is Score McDade’s on his way too. We’re headed for a full-throttle showdown. Who’ll get caught in the crossfire?”

“You have some interesting sources.”

“You denying it?”

“No.”

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