Page 67 of Heated Rivals
“Opium.” The man shrugged. “They got riled up halfway through, so we did what we had to do. Shouldn’t be permanent damage.”
Questions pressed him. How long had they been in a forced opium-induced haze? When was the last time they ate? Drank? This man didn’t care, and James wouldn’t win himself any points for acting too concerned. He’d already decided that this wouldn’t be the last batch of women he purchased, and he needed the seller to bewilling to work with him again. That meant not rocking the boat.Yet. As the last girl—twenty total—walked past him, he nodded. “Pleasure doing business with you.”
“Likewise.”
He waited for the men to climb aboard the boat and cast off before he made his way back to the van. The women huddled in the back, piled in like sardines. He started to reach for some kind of comforting bullshit to say, but they shrank from him as a single unit when his shadow darkened the door.Fuck. There wasn’t a damn thing he could say that they’d believe, and trying would only scare the shit out of them. He slammed the door shut. Lisa Marie would know the right way to go about this.
Carrigan would know what to do with them. She’s the one who had that idea for the nonprofit. I bet she’s got more ideas. He pushed the thought away. There hadn’t been time to figure out what the fuck he was going to do when it came to her. Letting her go wasn’t an option, not when he knew she cared about him. She wouldn’t have acted the way she did before if that wasn’t true.Keep your head in the game, Halloran. Now isn’t the time to get distracted.
He turned, and caught sight of the shiny barrel of the gun his brother held. James froze.That little motherfucker. “Ricky.”
“Sorry about this.” His brother laughed. “Actually, no I’m not. You’re a pussy, just like our old man always said you were. So I’m taking the Hallorans.”
Jesus Christ. He eyed the gun. His brother had made sure he was out of easy reach so he’d be able to pull the trigger before James could get to him. Smart. His own gun was in a holster around his ankle, also outof easy reach. Less smart. Damn it, he should have expected this. “Why don’t we talk about this?”
“There’s nothing to talk about.” Ricky’s eyes were too wide. “You didn’t really think I’d let you lock me up for a fucking week, did you? You’re shit, and everyone but you sees it.I’mthe one who deserves to run the Hallorans.” He motioned with the gun. “Get in the back.”
Like fuck was he going to get in the van and let his little brother drive him to somewhere more private, or whatever the hell he had in mind.If I hadn’t been obsessing about Carrigan…James shook his head. “Not going to happen.”
“What’s going on here?”
James didn’t take his attention off his little brother as Michael approached. “Just a little familial disagreement.” With the other man, they’d be two on one against Ricky. He glanced at his second in command. “Ricky’s feeling a little overtired.”
“I have a fucking gun! You should be pissing your pants! Not making goddamn motherfucking jokes!” He waved the pistol. He never saw Michael move, slamming his own gun across the back of his head and dropping him.
James sighed. “He’s a problem.”
“He’s not the only one.”
He glanced up. It took his mind far too long to process the change in Michael. The man stood straight and held his gun pointedat James. He slowly held up his hands, trying to calculate his chances of dropping to the ground and getting his gun from his ankle before Michael shot him. They weren’t great. “Think about this.”
“I don’t have a choice.” Michael motioned him away from the van. “If it’s any consolation, after the last few weeks, I wouldn’thave chosen this.”
“Well, shit, Michael. Since you’re obviously not going to let sentiment stop you from shooting me in the fucking back, it’s not much of a consolation at all.” He moved slowly. “I hope they’re paying you well, whoever the fuck they are, because you’re going to die for them.” He wasn’t going down without a fight. He had too goddamn much to live for.Carrigan. He loved the woman and if he died, she’d end up married to that Russian and fading away as the years passed. James couldn’t stand the thought of the wildness that he loved so much in her dying any more than he could stand the thought of another man’s ring on her finger.
He watched Michael closely. “Want to tell me who bought you off? I’ll have to send them something nice as a thank-you gift.”
The man’s hand shook, and he brought his second one up to the grip of the gun to steady it. “I tried to change my mind, James. I told that Russian bastard I couldn’t do it. But it’s you or me now. No one crosses Dmitri Romanov.”
Dmitri Romanov. There was that fucking name again.
Where’s Carrigan now? Is she with him?There were no innocents in their lifestyles, but there was also a huge gap between the families in Boston and the kind of shady shit Romanov was pulling right now, turning his best man against him. Carrigan had never been one to color inside the lines—it was only a matter of time before she did something to piss Romanov off. And then…
I’ve got to live so I can get her out of there.
“I’m not usually down with killing fools, but for you, Michael, I’ll make an exception.”
“I wouldn’t.” The apology was gone from Michael’s voice. “He sent me to make sure this goesoff without a hitch. Even if you take me out, it won’t do a damn bit of good.”
Goddamnit. James looked around, but all he could see was shadows. “Where?”
“Like I’m telling you that.” A pop of gunfire sounded in the distance. Michael half turned. “What the—?”
Jamesmoved. He tackled the other man, shoving his arms over his head as they went down. He was vaguely aware of more gunfire in the distance, but he was too busy trying not to get shot by the little weasel to worry about it. After he got over his initial surprise at the attack, Michael fought like a man possessed. He let go of the gun and punched James in the side, stealing his breath, and then went for his eyes.
There was no finesse. James grabbed his throat and slammed his head back into the ground, but it only stunned Michael for a second and then he was attacking again, rolling James beneath him and rearing back to get some force into his hits. A sizzling sound broke through, and he suddenly started spasming, his eyes rolling back in his head. He slumped to the side, revealing a woman standing behind him.
Carrigan.
