Page 50 of The Irish Rogue

“Get some water!” The voice demanded. “I want him awake for this!”

A moment later, cold water was thrown over Sean’s face. Thankfully, he’d been conscious enough to take a deep breath before the water hit him.

“Liam,” he groaned, opening his eyes to confirm that his ass of a half-brother was standing in front of him.

“Ah, the bastard son awakes!” Liam sneered.

Liam was two years younger than Sean, and about six inches shorter. He wasn’t pudgy exactly, but he was soft, and Sean knew the idiot didn’t exercise. Sean could easily take him in a fair fight.

However, the next moment demonstrated that this wouldn’t be a fair fight. His hands were tied behind his back with plastic zip ties. The punch to his gut was a cheap shot, and knocked the breath out of his lungs for several moments.

“Why couldn’t you just leave us the hell alone?” Liam snarled, dangerously close to Sean’s face. “All ye had to do, boyo, was stop messing wi’ us! And we wouldna’ given a piss about where ye go or what ye do with your freaking money!”

Sean focused on breathing through the pain, trying to look around and figure out where he was.

But everything was unfamiliar. His location as well as Liam’s presence– didn’t make sense. Sean lifted his head and glared at his half-brother. “Liam, what the hell are ye talking about?”

Liam’s face revealed his fury. “The brewery, you ass! We needed ‘The Old Goat’ brewery!”

Sean squinted through his non-swollen eye. He also suspected that there was a bit of blood crusted to his forehead, but he ignored the sensation. There were too many other pains to deal with at the moment. “You were that interested in the brewery down in Georgia?” he asked, still not understanding. Perhaps if he had a few painkillers, he might be able to put the pieces of this puzzle together.

“Ta, ye manky prick!”

Sean held himself as still as possible, not wanting another lashing of the pain inside his head. “Why the hell would you be so angry about losing out on buying a brewery?”

Sean and Liam had grown up in the same village, but they’d never socialized together. Liam was the heir to the earldom and Sean was the bastard by-blow. That meant that they weren’t ever going to be friends.

“Why the hell do you care?” Liam snapped, his face a violent shade of red now. “If ye would just stay the hell out o’ my business, then this wouldn’t be an issue, would it?” he snarled. “But no! You keep buying up every damn brewery that comes to the market!”

Sean let his head fall backwards as he tried to make sense of what the idiot “Heir” was talking about. “It’s just my hobby, Liam.”

“Don’t say my name!” he roared and backhanded Sean’s face. “You aren’t worthy of saying my name! You don’t speak to me. You don’t think about me! You don’t get to use your voice in this place! EVER!”

Sean almost laughed at the ridiculous commands, but didn’t think that showing his amusement would be wise. Not quite yet. He tugged and wiggled his fingers, grateful that the ass had secured his hands together instead of tying them separately, then connecting them. Because he’d been unconscious when Liam had secured the plastic cuffs, his hands hadn’t closed tightly. That meant that there was just…enough…room…!

“I noticed that you got your bitch out of the way. And ye’re bastard son too.” Liam moved around Sean, watching him carefully. Sean tightened his fingers around the plastic cuff, not wanting Liam to notice that the cuffs were almost off.

“But don’t worry. I’ll find them soon enough.” He lowered his head, whispering in Sean’s ear. “And I’m going to kill them. Slowly.”

Sean felt the roaring in his ears at the thought of this man hurting either Kennedi or Declan. But he fought for control. Losing control was exactly what Liam wanted. The man was weak and knew that the only way he would win was if the other person had no control.

“So, what are you waiting for?” Sean asked. “And why are you playing with me? Why not just kill me and be done with it?”

“Because you bought the damn brewery!” he roared, throwing his hands in the air.

“I still don’t know why you want that brewery. Why is that particular business so important? You could just buy up another one.”

Liam fisted his hands on his hips, his face revealing his fury. “I would, but every damn time one of those places go on the market, you step in and buy it up, ye effing bastard!”

“So, why don’t you offer a higher amount? Why are you so pissed at me? It’s just business.”

“Is it?” he demanded, bending down to sneer into Sean’s face. “Is itreallyjust business? If it’s just business, why do you buy up every damn brewery that comes available? Is it because that’s the business I’m in?”

Sean considered those words for a moment, then all of the pieces started to come together. “The red dresses,” he muttered. Sean realized he was on the right track when Liam’s features twisted. “Ye aren’t in the brewery business,” he said, amazed that he hadn’t grasped the issue sooner. “You’re in the human trafficking business and…” he paused, his good eye narrowing as he considered what he knew already. “And you need the distribution access from the bottling company as a front for your other distribution needs.”

He paused, watching as Liam pulled back, panting heavily now. “Whisht now!” he ground out, telling Sean to shut up.

Now everything made sense! “You…you’re the one that is in charge of the women in the red dresses. You’re shipping them into the United States, vulnerable women that are just looking for a better life. You convince them that you have a solution for them, force them to dress up in red, and…!” then the final piece of the puzzle fell into place and it stunned him. “Just like my mother dressed in red on the night that our father cheated on your mother.”

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