Page 29 of Severed Rivalry
No risk.
No challenge.
Good, not great… simplyeasy.
And there’s something to be said for easy. Not that I grew up with the goal of being the punching bag for Dad’s bad decisions, or the repairer of every breach his ego barrels through, or the Murphy that never stood up.
Dad hates that Liam can’t be controlled. And he’s discovering that Ayla is the same. That leaves me—the only child in the family business despite his vocal disappointments—to carry the torch. The problem is it’s not one I want to bear.
He’s loud. He’s brash. He’s pushy. And no one wants to deal. I’ve buttressed his displeasure from Mom, Liam, and Ayla for so long that either they fail to notice it anymore or they take it for granted.
Or they’re waiting for me to be the manI am for them for myself.
Ayla is going through shit. Same with my brother-in-law whom I could trust to provide solid data. I’ve tried texting and calling both of them yesterday and today.
Liam’s not philosophical like that, so it’s me talking to myself and working it all out in my head or talking to Eleanor as my advisor when I hash these things out. She’s a great listener, but she’s not great at challenging my ideas.
I pull to a stop at a building we own in Lakewood. Dad’s called a meeting for this afternoon. An investor group is making demands that we can’t fulfill. It’s not my call, but even if it were, I’d tell them no. There’s something off about the whole deal. I don’t know why Dad keeps bowing to their requirements.
Either way, we need to discuss it and that’s what this meeting is about. He may have called it, but for me it’s a litmus test. Oranotherlitmus test.
I don’t know why I pretend that if this goes my way or doesn’t, it’s a sign. All signs point to nothing ever changing unless I do. I wish staying wasn’t the path of least resistance.
But Ayla called in a panic and said I needed to come early. None of this adds up.
Me: Hope you have a great day. Sorry I didn’t call last night. I’ll explain tonight.
My quick text to Sariah is interrupted by two things at once. A text from Liam arrives at the same time there’s a tap on my driver’s side window.
Liam: I want to upgrade the security at your place. Things coming in from Ayla and Christian’s to discuss. Let me know when you have time to talk.
Dad leans down, rapping his knuckles on the driver’s side window again. Impatient much? I push open my door, forcing his bulk to take a step back.
He’s tall. He’s big. But no one would accuse him of being in shape. Unless round is a shape. He seems to be of theold belief that weight means the wealth to overindulge.
As with all things, I’m the opposite of Seamus Murphy.
His ruddy face is hard and his eyes are cold when he leans aside just far enough for me to see one of the tenants of the building, a thin, wiry man behind him. He waves a pistol at me in a move-along gesture. His head makes the motion in tandem with his wrist.
If it weren’t for the gun… Well, it doesn’t matter. The man with dark eyes and straight dark hair and patchy facial hair is brandishing the high-capacity military-grade firearm that I know isn’t legal in the state. In fact, I’d hazard a guess that it’s not American made. Not that it makes a lick of difference right now. An illegal weapon in the hands of a foreign national being waved in public usually doesn’t end with a hug and a song.
Fuck my life.
“What the hell is going on? What have you gotten us into?” I ask my dad as we walk, knowing the timing of this conversation is ridiculous.
“Don’t start, Cian.”
“Don’t start? There are men with guns in our building.”
“Businessmen who offered me a business deal—” His words are cut off when the gun butts his ribs with a hard poke.
I march beside him into the shell of a building we’ve been renovating for these “businessmen” and into the wide-open middle room. Concrete subfloors below echo the sounds of our footsteps into the ceiling of exposed metal I-beams and visible ductwork that has yet to be covered. It’s as hollow as my hope is right now.
Two metal folding chairs sit in the middle of the room as masked men with guns stand at the ready. All surround my sister, who’s rooted in place and looks paler than usual.
That hope I mentioned?
It’s oozed out of me like the warmth of my blood.
