Page 9 of Bargain with the Irish Devil

Dominic’s eyes meet mine. He nods, getting the message. “I need to call in.”

The minute the door is closed behind him, Seamus reaches for my arm. “Please, I didn’t know. I swear it. Yeah, he was Serbian, but he had a good job reference and…”

“What aren’t you telling me, Seamus?” I look down at his hand gripping my arm tight.

“I didn’t know. But Coleen did. She disappeared after he did.” Shaking his head sadly, his eyes fall from mine. “She’s a good girl, Declan, I swear it. It’s since her mam died…”

I work to take a deep breath. Coleenwasa good girl. But since her mother died almost two years ago, she’s run wild without Seamus able to control her. She came to me a year ago asking to become a working girl in my stable of women. I refused because she was high and hooked on coke. The women who worked for me weren’tallowed to use. Some pot or ecstasy was fine, but anything harder was a no.

“Her cell phone number, Seamus. Give it to me.”

“You’ll watch out for her. You won’t let the Italians hurt her.” He’s pleading.

Sighing, I meet his eyes and lie to him the way he needs me to. “All they want is the guy who blew up Outfit business, that’s all. Coleen will be fine. She’ll come home with her tail between her legs, and hopefully, this will straighten her out.”

“Here’s her number. And she mentioned a place outside of the city, St. Charles.” Seamus exhales, his whole body deflating.

I take the information. “Jamie, see Seamus home.”

“It’s all right, Declan. No need.”

“Ah, now, Seamus. You’ve had a hard time of it. Let him see you home.”

Nodding, Seamus gives me a weak smile. “Thank you, Declan. I’m sorry, I just…”

“No problem at all, my friend.”

As Jamie follows him out of the room, his eyes meet mine in question. I nod.

Sighing heavily, he follows Seamus out of the room.

The door doesn’t close behind them before Sabatini is back.

An eyebrow is up in question.

I relay what Seamus told me and hand over the girl’s cell phone number. Somehow, they’ll be able to ping the girl’s cell phone andfind her with it.

“Thank you. Do you want me to handle Seamus?” He offers.

“No need. Jamie’s not happy about it, but it will be taken care of. If you can notify the crematorium, he’ll be on his way before long.”

He sighs. “I know he was a long time?—”

Cutting him off, I shake my head. “Wasis the operative word. He knew better than to rent to a Serbian or an MC. It’s been a commandment for decades. Seamus has grown weaker than his daughter. I don’t buy he didn’t know something was up with the man. Do with her what you want. She knew the man was trouble.”

“You’re sure?”

I’ve long appreciated my pubs and the building for the working women were in territory controlled by Dominic Sabatini and his father, Tony. There were a few others in the Outfit who weren’t bad. But there were far more who were complete fuckers.

Us Irish lost control of our territory before I was born. We became limited to doing our gambling and loan shark business in our pubs, with a percentage paid to Tony and Dominic for operating in their territory.

While things could have been contentious and business only, Tony and Dominic made things more than civil. Hell, most days, I’d refer to them as friends more than associates—depending on who I was speaking with.

I nod. The Sabatini’s have no taste for killing women, the same as me and my crew. Murder isn’t as common a solution in our business as the movies tell. It’s a fine line of keeping people in check. Too much death might scare them into behaving, or it can cause resentment and fear to the point people attempt to rise up against it.

“With Seamus dead, there’s only her older sister who is trying to do right, working as a nurse. If the girl is hauled back to the city, her sister will be pulled under into her shit. Better the mess is cleaned up completely.” I’m reminded of Miranda and her brother. Fuck me, just thinking about Miranda has my cock stirring.

“Thanks for helping me with Seamus.”

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