Page 18 of Risky Fight

“So, since you haven’t made a payment, and you don’t seem to have any intention of doing so, I have had to secure some insurance against the money you owe.” I stop pacing and stand in front of them, “I collected your sister last night, and she will be staying with me as insurance, until you pay up. For now, she is being cared for — but lads, if you don’t pay up fast, that will change. She will be uncomfortable, and I can’t promise I won’t have to find a creative way for her to earn back the money you owe me.”

They fall silent and still as they look at me with wide eyes, they had to have known eventually someone would go after Lou. That she would be in danger because of their stupidity. How could they be so careless with her life, putting her in harm’s way?

“You should be ashamed of yourselves for not taking care of her. You’re not men, you’re just two giant disappointments. Your parents must be turning in their graves right now.” I have no desire to hear anything they might want to say, so I walk away leaving them gagged and bound.

I have an appointment with an accountant about some unpaid taxes. We need to come to an arrangement. Will is a numbers guy, a money-man, I’m hedging my bets that he can be bought.

***

After my first visit to the accountant, and him just about pissing in his pants, I never thought I would see him again. He was a bit belligerent at first, calling me names and demanding I let his girl go. She is my girl, not his. William soon understood that and quivered in his cheap pleather shoes.

“If you shut the fuck up and just act like she moved on,” I explain, “then I will write you a check and we have no problem between us. If you mouth off, go to the cops or make any other stupid but bold moves, no one will ever find your body.” I make my position clear, “Lou stays with me until the boys pay up. She is mine. In fact, she always has been mine. There’s a reason she sneaks out your bed in the middle of the night, even she knows she doesn’t belong there.” I smirk when I see how my words offend him.

“You can’t do this, it’s illegal,” he stutters, and stumbles over his words. “I can’t just let you take her.”

“I hear that sharks can devour a human corpse in minutes. You know my family has boats,” I say looking down on him, “maybe I should test that fact with an experiment.” William looks around but no one is here to save him, we are alone. “Take the money and forget about Lou.”

He sheepishly takes the check from my hand and looks at it. I have paid enough hush money to keep people quiet the past five years to know how to shut someone up.

“This is wrong,” he says, as if he has a moral compass. “So fucking wrong.”

“Murder is wrong, but I won’t hesitate to kill you. I like being wrong, it sort of runs in my family.” We have a reputation and I know it precedes me here, William is a neighborhood lad and he knows better than to cross a mob family. “Do we have an understanding?” I confirm, and he nods his head. Looking down like he is ashamed.

Now he is standing on my dock, with the O’Neill boys, and I am afraid I might be feeding some of the fish and game soon. He can’t come along today and change his mind, that is not how being paid off works.

“Gentlemen,” I greet them with about as much enthusiasm as I would my dentist on a root canal visit, “what can I do for you? I thought we were all on the same page.”

“We are,” Will says immediately defensive, “the boys, Lou’s brothers, have a proposal they would like to discuss with you, a settlement agreement of sorts.” Oh, that’s cute, he is here like a lawyer, only he’s not, he is an accountant.

“They have the money to pay me?” I fold my arms knowing they do not.

“No,” he looks at them, then back at me, “this is more of a trade.” Now I am intrigued.

“What do these two bottom feeders have that I could possibly want?” I ask him, since they bought along a little middleman. Again, he looks at Malcolm, who nods his head.

“Louise,” he says, “at one time their family name had some weight and they will give you their sister to be your wife, in an arranged marriage, in exchange for the slate being cleaned.” I’m almost impressed they came up with this plan, but I am also mildly interested in taking them up on it. If she is married to me, in an arranged wedding that both our families approve, she won’t have a choice.

Lou will hate it, and probably hate me more for it.

“I will have to discuss the matter with my father, as you owe him not me,” I say, “but if he approves, I would be willing to entertain such a compromise.” They look relieved, the fucking cowardly assholes. She deserves better than the family she got, maybe being part of mine is a good idea. “Give me a few days,” I say, “and no fucking funny business until then, she stays where she is.”

If Mr. Will has any plans to rescue her from this arrangement he’d be stupid to try. I doubt he’s got the backbone, or the skills to even try.

Chapter11 - Lou

I had these delusions Will would storm the house and come save me from my captor, even though I don’t want to be saved. At least, I don’t think I want to be saved. But no one came, and things around the house became awkwardly quiet after the night of the TV interview, Roark is like a ghost in the darkness. He is gone before the sun rises and only comes back late into the night.

My brothers have clearly not paid what they owe, nor are they brave or dumb enough to try and rescue me. I’m stuck here in this weird situation, I keep waiting for him so say something to me. To talk to me, but there’s nothing but angry silence between us.

“It’s the weekend, you know,” Nolan remarks at the breakfast table, I am starting to like him. Maybe because there is literally no one else to talk to here.

“It is Saturday,” I agree with him while cutting his sandwich into exact triangles so as not to anger the tiny Roark inside him.

“Roark is going to take me to go swimming at Pop’s house, and I am going to sleep over with him.” He wriggles with excitement, going out wasn’t mentioned to me at all. But I get the silent treatment, so unless Nolan tells me something, I wouldn’t know. The longer I am here like this, the more bitter and angry I get. He should have stayed gone, I was almost fucking happy with him gone.

“That sounds like fun, do you have your swimsuit?” I ask him, I am still walking around in Roark’s underwear and shirts. I think he’s enjoying me having nothing else to wear. Nolan nods, his mouth full with a giant bite of sandwich.

“Are you coming?” he asks me, as if it is completely normal.

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