Page 48 of Hateful Union

“Yeah, fucking taken. As in kidnapped,” I clip out. Trying and fucking failing to keep my cool.

“No, boss, surely if they were, we’d have heard. There would have been a war and there hasn’t,” he keeps his voice low, trying to make sure that the girls don’t overhear. “Which one of them?”

“Raylee.”

His eyes widen and mouth parts. “What?” he whispers. “She was kidnapped?”

“Yeah, fourteen and snatched off the street while on her way home from school. The men that took her told her that she was there as ransom.” I swallow back the acid that’s been crawling up my throat. “That motherfucker didn’t pay the ransom, she was there for eight fucking days, Chris. Eight.”

Silence descends between us as we’re both lost in deep thought. Images of a frightened Raylee bombard my mind. That’ll never happen again. I’ll make fucking sure of it. I’ll take anyone out who even tries hurting her, that includes that bastard of a father of hers.

“Mayer,” Christian says after a few minutes. “He’s the one that saved her.”

I nod, “Yeah, now you know how fucking badly I fucked up with her. Thankfully, she realises that what happened was a messed up situation and it could have ended badly for a hell of a lot more than just Mayer.”

It doesn't mean I don’t feel fucking shit about it. She lost someone she loved and that pain that she feels, she feels it deeply and that cuts me to the fucking bone.

“What are you going to do?”

I clench my jaw, fuck, what do I do? That’s the question of the day.

“It’s time to call in reinforcements.” That means my da and Danny. My brother, because his wife is a hacker and can get me information quicker than anyone else I know.

“Which means that your entire family will be descending to Spain in a matter of days,” Chris comments with a smile.

I shake my head. “Nope, they’re not coming out here. My focus can’t be spread right now, I need all our attention on keeping Raylee safe and figuring out what the fuck is going on.”

He nods. “She’s going to be safe,” he vows. “There’s no way that anyone is stupid enough to go up against you. That’s suicide.”

My reputation isn’t like my father’s, he’s laid back and keeps himself to himself, a silent figure unless you cross him and then you’ll never live to tell anyone. Me? Well I had to make a statement when I moved here, my name was on everyone’s tongues when I started making my moves. I didn’t take any shit from anyone and I had no qualms in taking people out if needed. When I took over, I did it hard and fast, I made it clear, you either got in line, or you were an enemy. Having done it the way I did, I earned a hell of a lot of loyal supporters who saw that what I was doing wasn’t just taking over, but making things better.

The Silvers along with the other two families had the running of Spain. The Molina’s and the Harris’. I dismantled both their organizations within two years. They were running protection on businesses—extortionate prices at that. Those that couldn’t pay, they ended up bleeding and having broken bones. That’s not the way to run shit. You take care of the businesses on your turf, doing so instils loyalty and that means extra eyes and ears around the place.

“That may be so, but this is Harry fucking Silver we’re talking about. The man doesn’t give a fucking shit about anyone but himself.” I ball my fists up, my anger crashing through me. The fact that I’m not going to kill that bastard isn’t helping my deposition.

“Right. You call your da, I’ll call Declan and we’ll go from there.” He gets to his feet, his cell phone in his hand. He glances down at me, then to the door, and then back at me again. “Things have heated up another notch. We thought it would be bad if it got out about what your woman was doing before.” He shakes his head, his eyes tight and brimming with anger. “Knowing that bastard did nothing while his daughter was in the hands of the enemy, fuck knows what he’s going to do now.”

And that’s what’s causing the acid to burn in my gut. “Call Declan,” I instruct. Needing any information that Declan can give us. He’s a cop, a dirty one at that, he’s also on the Silvers’ payroll, thanks to us putting him there six months ago. He called last week letting me know that he’s moved further up their ranks and is now getting closer to the main dirty cop that Harry Silver and Ashton Banks use. Once we have that, we’ll be able to close further in on the Silvers.

He nods and walks back into the villa. I reach for my cell that’s lying on the table beside me, it’s just after 9am here, meaning that it’ll be eight in the morning in Ireland. I don’t even hesitate in calling my da.

“Mal…” His voice sleepy but alert. “Everything okay?”

“You got a few minutes to talk?”

“Yeah, two secs,” he replies and then I hear him speaking softly away from the phone. “Stay in bed,mo ghrá, it’s Mal, I’ll be back in a minute.”

Oh fuck me. Da’s with his woman. Damn, I’ve never heard him so soft with anyone but Holly and the girls.

“Right, I’m here,” he says after a couple of moments.

“Mo ghrá?” I question with a smile. I’ve never heard him call Ma anything but her name, but he’s calling his womanmy love. He’s so fucking gone.

“Shut it,” he grouses.

“Da, I’m messing. I’m fucking happy for you.” It’s finally good to see him this way. Ma was a nightmare and I know my da, there’s no way he’d get stung by shacking up with another bitch.

“Thanks, now, what’s up?”

---