Page 14 of Ruthless Vengeance

The case appears to be nothing more than a burglary gone wrong. Which would be fine if anything was stolen. At the time, I accepted what the police told me, and the grief smothered any doubts I may have had. But as the cloud lifted and the days wore on, I began to realise that there was something wrong with what they were telling me. The fact no one listened or believed me only fuelled my self-destruction. It wasn’t till much later, after I joined the force, that I learned just how much of a fuck up had been made on my mother’s murder case. And to make things even worse, if at all possible, there was no mention of my missing sister in the official case file at all.

“What do you know about Theo Rogers, Roxy?”

My head snaps up instantly, my thoughts scattering, and I try to read the unwitting question in Kavanagh’s eyes, but he’s giving nothing away. The switch in subject triggers alarm bells. “He’s dead.” I state bluntly. I know a fair amount about Theo, not just from my teen years. Even though I steered clear of anything connected to him in my work, I kept up to date with things. The best way to avoid something is to know exactly what is going on.

Kavanagh gives me an unimpressed glare. “Very childish.”

“It seems to be my middle name lately. What specifically are you looking for?” He continues to stare, and it becomes obvious he’s waiting for me to give him a more helpful answer. “Fine. I know most, if not all of his acquaintances. I know that there were other attempts on his life before he was finally shot. I know that his son is now the head of the family.” Kavanagh arches a brow when I mention Rogers. Seems my revulsion for him bled into my words despite trying to keep any inflection out.

“A detective of your standing and you expect me to believe you know nothing more.” I shrug. “Very well. And what about Rogers, what do you know about him?”

“I do—”

“Let me stop you there, Roxanne. Please don’t insult my intelligence. I know your history. Probably better than you do. Try again.”

“Screw you, Kavanagh. The guy has been making waves in the underworld since he took over. I know helet goof most of Theo’s loyal men and brought in his own. And seeing as you think you know everything, it won’t be a surprise for you to learn that it was Rogers who took out his own father. And in turn was framing Maddox and Zak for Theo’s murder. But now it seems I’m the new fall guy.”

“Very good. But what else?” he pushes.

I know what he’s getting at, poking and prodding me to admit. I don’t understand how he knows, and the possible scenarios for how make me extremely uncomfortable. I rise from the sofa, needing to walk. It’s a dead giveaway for the way talking about the guy makes me feel, and I’m a little surprised it’s having such an effect on me. I’ve spent years training myself to show nothing but indifference anytime his name has been mentioned. It’s one secret from my past that I’ve only shared with two people. Mitch and JJ.

“This is a topic that’s not up for discussion,” I grind out between clenched teeth. Thankfully, the gods are shining on me, and Kavanagh’s phone rings. He stalks from the room as he answers. There’s no way he won’t come back and demand answers when he’s done, but I have a reprieve for now.

I’m left with Ethan Scott the devious fucking solicitor, if he even is one. I walk to the window, and in need of some fresh air, I crack it open a fraction.

Taking in a couple of deep breaths, I look out across the street. People going about their daily business without a damn care in the world. I wish my life was more like that. Don’t I?

I’d be lying if I said I don’t remember a time when my life had been simple. I do. Before James found out I existed, I’d had a happy home. My mum had a good job, we had a beautiful home and Star and I were always clean and fed and well cared for. Things were amazing, but almost in the blink of an eye, James ripped it away from us. Of course, as a child watching the mother that always made sure we were okay first, fed first, never afraid become someone that was only ever interested in quick cash and where her next hit was coming from destroyed me bit by bit. She would forget to wash or eat and drinking only consisted of alcohol. Our once beautiful home became a distant memory, and for a while shelters and cardboard boxes were the roof over our heads.

Things got a little better when we moved into the flat on the estate where I met Maddox and Zak. And for a while, Mum almost got clean. The punters stopped coming round, and the discarded baggies and drug paraphernalia all but disappeared. It didn’t take long for my mum to find a new dealer, new punters and things went back to the way they were before. The only difference this time was that I was ready for it. I was older and more capable of taking care of Star.

Movement behind breaks me out of my thoughts and has me spinning round to find Ethan standing there. I let out an aggravated sigh before turning back to the window.

“You have some questionable clients, Ethan. And morals too.”

“Surely you didn’t think you were the only one with a public persona of righteousness masking your true self.” I scoff. “Most of us are hypocrites, Roxy. Wading through life, judging and criticising others, claiming we would never do that or this, but we are all double-sided coins. We are all capable of evil given the right motivation. Ignoring it won’t make it go away or any less true.”

“Do they teach law like they do politics? What you call the art of rhetoric, I call the art of bullshit. Twisting a few words to justify what you do doesn’t make it right. In fact, it only lessens the value of your reasoning. If you believe in what you do, why hide behind some fucked up social belief of what’s right and wrong? I say own that shit.”

“Sage advice, but I don’t see you doing that right now. As I said, hypocrites.” I spin around ready to—I’m not quite sure what, but all the air is sucked from lungs when I see the person standing in the doorway.

“No! How are…” I don’t get another word out as black descends.

ChapterSeven

Zak

“What the fuck is this?” I demand, spinning the folder round and flipping it open.

Mitch pulls out a stool and sits, rubbing a hand down his face. “This is everything on the Kavanagh’s. I had to grease a few palms to get my hands on this.”

“What’s Maria got to do with it?” Maddox asks before I have the chance. We all turn to face the woman in question.

“I assume this is about Theo’s wife?” Maria asks, and Mitch nods while Maddox and I look to Maria for answers. “When I first met Theo, he was married to woman called Ciara, Don’s mother. She was beautiful inside and out, and Theo adored her. Their marriage wasn’t by accident, but it was one of love thankfully. Ciara and Theo’s marriage cemented an already good working relationship between the Rogers family and that of the Irish.”

“Theo’s wife was a Kavanagh?” Maria nods. “Why didn’t we know about this?” Maddox asks.

Maria tilts her head, sadness flashing in her eyes. “After Ciara died, Theo and Darragh had a big fall out. Each blaming the other for her death, neither listening to the other or anyone else, until eventually the families parted ways. Thankfully, they were smart enough not to start an all-out war, but any business relationship they had was over. Theo ordered that Ciara and the Kavanagh’s never be mentioned again. At least not in his presence.”

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