by Zara Keane
Malachy sighed. “Don’t jeopardize your friendship with your cousin. You two are as close as brothers.”
“Were—past tense. And the brother analogy doesn’t work on me. Greg and Tom are shits, and Con wasn’t much better.”
“Bad analogy, fine. But you know what I mean. Lar’s your best friend. Don’t throw away a friendship lightly.”
“I have no intention of doing so. He’s the one who lied.”
Malachy’s smile was tired. “By omission and not by choice.”
“I can’t believe you’re defending him.”
“I’m not. I can understand that you feel betrayed, but you need to look at the big picture here. How does this change anything? It doesn’t negate all the good times you two have shared, or all the occasions when you helped each other out.”
“But it makes me question how much any of that was real.”
“You have to decide what matters most—what you found written on a few pieces of paper, or all the years of shared experiences and friendship. And another thing: how do you think Lar would react if your roles were reversed? Do you think he’d understand if you’d taken a deal to get out of prison for a crime you didn’t commit? He was very young when he agreed to take the fall for Greg. He had no idea what he was facing. I’d imagine the realities of prison life wore him down and made him realize that his father and uncle had taken advantage of him. Why should Lar remain loyal?”
Truthfully, Shane had no idea how Lar would react if their positions had been reversed. He suspected his cousin would take his side, but there was no love lost between Lar and Frank. “Thanks for the coffee and conversation. I’ll let you get back to work.”
“Shane…” Malachy began, then appeared to think better of it. “Just promise me you’ll be careful.”
He snuggled the wriggling puppy close and smiled. “I always am.”
Shane left the sacristy and strolled down the church, clutching the dog against his chest. Talking to Malachy had helped, as it always did, but he still had no clear idea of how he should approach Lar. He was halfway down the aisle, brooding over his options, when the church door flew open and Ruthie Reynolds burst inside.
10
“Thank God,” Ruthie said between gasps. “I called by your apartment and your neighbor told me you were here. I tried your phone, but it went to voicemail.”
“I switched it off while I was talking to my uncle.” Shane surveyed her damp hair and rain-splattered clothes. “What’s wrong? Has something happened to Kevin?”
“Yes.” She shivered and hugged herself, whether from cold or fear or both, he couldn’t tell. “I need your help. The Kowalskis have taken him.”
Shane’s blood ran cold. “What’s Kevin done?”
“I’ll explain on the way. You’ve got to come quick.” Her eyes pleaded with him. “I don’t know who else to turn to. I can’t tell my dad or he’d go ballistic. When you didn’t answer your phone, I jumped in Dad’s car to find you.” She bounced from one foot to the other, her gaze sliding to the door.
Shane swore under his breath. When he, Lar, and Dan had negotiated their exit deal from the family “business”, they’d promised Shane’s father they’d stay away from the Kowalskis. Frank didn’t want the Triskelion Team forming an alliance with his rivals, or worse still, pissing them off and bringing trouble to his doorstep. Still, this situation had nothing to do with the Triskelion Team. With a bit of luck—okay, a lot of luck—he and Ruthie could clear up the mess without enraging either Kowalski brother. He took her by the arm and led her outside. “Of course I’ll help you. Where have they taken Kevin?”
“Reuben said they were in their warehouse,” she said as they descended the steps. “Do you know where that is?”
“Yeah. Is that your car?” He indicated the Land Rover parked behind his black BMW.
“It’s Dad’s.”
“We’ll take mine.” Shane pressed his key to unlock the doors. “I know where to go.”
“Thanks, Shane.”
“There’s no need to thank me. You don’t know if I’ll be any help yet.” He opened the passenger door for her and gestured for her to get in. After he’d loaded the puppy into the carrier cage in the back, he went to the driver’s side and slid behind the wheel. Seconds later, they were on the move, heading south toward the industrial estate where the Kowalskis owned several warehouses.
“Want to tell me what’s going on?” Shane asked when they eased to a stop at a set of traffic lights. “Why did the Kowalski brothers take Kevin?”
She sighed. “It’s a long story.”
“Then you’d better start talking. We’ll reach the industrial estate in about ten minutes, depending on traffic.”
“It’s…embarrassing.”
Shane slid her a glance and smiled. “My father runs a strip club-come-brothel—pun intended. You’ll have to try real hard to embarrass me.”
“Kevin owes the Kowalskis money,” she blurted. “Gambling and drugs.”
“Shit.” Given the state Kevin Reynolds had been in last night, Shane wasn’t surprised. “Adam and Reuben aren’t guys you want to owe anything to. How much debt did your brother run up?”
“Twenty-five grand,” Ruthie said, then added, “and that was just the first installment. I have to pay back the second half of his debt before the end of the month.”
“Fifty grand in total?” Shane whistled. “Wow, Ruthie. What a fucking mess.”
Owing any form of debt to the Kowalskis was a risky endeavor, but fifty thousand euros was a hell of a lot to owe to a pair of psychos.
Ruthie’s rigid posture crumpled, and all signs of the plucky bravado she’d displayed earlier evaporated. “Despite our agreement, Reuben called me today, saying he was holding Kevin hostage and wouldn’t release him until I paid him twelve thousand euros.”
Shane drew his brows together. “‘Our agreement?’ This is Kevin’s mess. Let him sort it out.”
“Kevin isn’t in a position to sort out his troubles. We look out for one another in my family. If circumstances were different, he’d do it for me.”
In other words, a sane and sober Kevin might stick up for his little sister. However, given his almost constant state of inebriation, that would never happen. Shane ached for her. Lar’s face loomed before him, a harsh reminder of what it was like to be let down by a family member. Although Ruthie’s situation was different, he recognized the hurt of not being able to rely on the people who should be there for you one hundred percent.
“I don’t understand why Reuben changed the plan,” she said, frowning. “Adam gave me until the end of the month to pay the second installment.”
Shane shot her a glance. “So what’s the deal? How are you planning to come up with twenty-five grand to settle the balance?”
She crossed her arms over her chest, regaining some of her confident poise. “That’s my business.”
“Can’t your dad help? In his line of work, Big Mike must have a fair amount of cash stashed away.”
Ruthie’s eyes widened in alarm and she shook her head. “My father can’t know anything about this, Shane. I’m serious. Promise me you won’t breathe a word to anyone.”
“Why? Your dad is a loan shark, for heaven’s sake. He has to have enough money to pay off Kevin’s debt.”
“My father isn’t as wealthy as people seem to think. He gives small loans. Nothing on the scale of what Kevin owes the Kowalski brothers. Besides, if he knew the Kowalskis were putting the screws into Kevin, he’d lose his shit. Dad doesn’t have the manpower to back him up, and the Kowalskis most assuredly do.” Her voice rose in panic. “They’d kill him. I can’t let that happen. I’ve already lost one parent. I can’t lose Dad.”
“Okay, calm down.” He placed his hand over hers. “I see your point. This is why you came home, right? To help Kevin?”
She nodded and took a shuddery breath. “My brother called me a few months ago when he first had money problems.”
“Where
did you get the money to pay back the first installment? Twenty-five grand is a hell of a lot of money.”
“Like I said, that’s my business.” She bristled visibly at his question.
Shane sighed. “Come on, Ruthie. You can tell me. I’m not going to judge you.”
She paled beneath her tan and opened and shut her mouth wordlessly.
“Surely it can’t be that bad?” he prompted. “Want me to regale you with all the insane things I’ve done over the last few years?”
Ruthie grimaced and slumped into her seat. “I threw a few fights for money.”
“On the MMA circuit?”
“Yeah. I’m not proud of what I did, but I didn’t have the full twenty-five thousand in savings. Nowhere near it, unfortunately.”
“I’m sorry,” he murmured. “I know it must have been hell for you to do that. It’s not fair that you have to take on this burden on your own.”
“Life’s not fair. It is what it is.”
Shane rolled the car to a stop at another set of traffic lights. “What’s the plan? If you don’t have the cash to pay Reuben, how are we going to handle this?”
She averted her gaze and twisted the rings on her fingers. “I need to liquidate a couple of assets. It takes time. Once that’s done, I’ll have the cash to pay them the rest of the money Kevin owes.”
“What happens the next time he runs up debts?” he asked softly. “You can’t keep bailing him out.”
She shook her head. “There can’t be a next time. However I manage it, Kevin is going to get help.”
“That’s why I think you should confide in Big Mike. You need his cooperation to get Kevin the help he needs.”
“Yeah, but I want to do it without mentioning the mess with the Kowalskis.”
Shane sighed. “You’re making a mistake.”
“That’s the story of my life.”
He reached across the car and squeezed her knee. “I admire you, you know.”
She flushed to the roots of her dark hair. “What do you mean?”
“You’re loyal. You don’t even get on with Kevin, yet you dropped everything to come to his rescue.”
“There’s nothing to admire. The fallout if the Kowalskis kill Kevin could wipe out my whole family. I’m not prepared to take that risk.”
“Families, eh?” His laugh was low and bitter. “All that blood-is-thicker-than-water nonsense. It’s the people who care about you and are loyal to you who count, regardless of whether you have shared DNA.”
“True, but it’s hard to shake off old bonds. Kevin and I were close as kids, despite our age difference. Brian was so much older that he didn’t have much interest in me, but Kevin took the time to play with me and read me stories.”
“He was always fond of you, Ruthie. That’s why I kept my distance—or tried to. He was fiercely protective of you.”
In spite of her fear, she grinned. “Goodness knows why. It wasn’t like I had guys queuing up to date me.”
“Only because they were scared shitless of Kevin and your dad.”
She laughed. “I’m not exactly the sort of woman men ask out, even now.”
“You scare them away. You exude a ‘don’t fuck with me’ attitude. That’s why I knew you had to be hustling those eejits at Power’s Pub. You flirted with one of them.”
Ruthie grinned. “Maybe I developed killer flirting skills during my time abroad.”
He shook his head. “Not you. People change, but not that much.”
“A damning conclusion,” she said dryly.
“But accurate in my experience. Sometimes, of course, people turn out not to be what you thought they were, but that’s a different matter entirely.”
She eyed him sharply. “Are you referring to someone in particular?”
Ruthie had always been perceptive. It was one of the traits he admired about her. “Nothing I feel like discussing. Just one of those things.”
“Why can’t life go from A to B without taking a million detours?” she asked with a sigh. “Why does it have to be so complicated?”
He laughed. “If it always went smoothly, life would be very boring.”
“Frankly, boring sounds like bliss to me right now.”
“I just don’t like the idea of you having to deal with this pressure all on your own,” he said, frowning. “It’s not fair.”
“In case you haven’t noticed,” she said dryly, “I’m a grown woman. I can handle tricky situations.”
“Until you can’t,” Shane said.
A pink stain crept up her cheeks. “I appreciate you providing backup for me today.”
“Not a problem, Ruthie. I’m happy to help, but don’t thank me yet. We still have to get past Reuben and his rottweiler bodyguards. Which brother have you been dealing with over the money?”
“Adam mostly, which was why I found it odd that Reuben called me today.”
“Nothing that involves Reuben is good news.” An understatement of epic proportions. “Do you remember my sister, Kaylee?”
Ruthie inclined her head. “Vaguely. She’s a couple of years older than you, isn’t she? She went to my secondary school, but I think she was in her final year when I was in my first, so our paths never crossed.”
“Kaylee is married to Reuben Kowalski.”
“I heard.” She wrinkled her nose as if the idea of marriage to Reuben was as repulsive to her as it was to him. “How does Frank feel about having Reuben as his son-in-law?”
“Not happy, but Kaylee was already pregnant when they got married. Our father gritted his teeth and accepted the situation, even if he’s not exactly thrilled. For Kaylee’s sake, he tries to avoid coming into conflict with the Kowalskis.”
“How do you get on with Reuben?”
“I don’t.” Breaking the prick’s nose frequently featured in his fantasies.
“That’s…succinct.”
“I’ve never liked him,” Shane said with venom. “He treats my sister like shit.”
“Why does she stay with him?”
“I don’t know. Kaylee says she loves him, and they have two small kids. She doesn’t want to break up the family.”
“That’s a crap reason for staying. Is Reuben violent?”
“I’m not sure. He’s definitely emotionally abusive. Since she married him, Kaylee’s become a recluse. Keeps to her house, and we don’t see much of her or the kids.” Shane stopped at another set of traffic lights and turned to her. “Are you sure about this, Ruthie? There’s still time to change your mind and call the police.”
“A Delaney is suggesting I call the police?” She threw back her head and roared with laughter. “Things have changed in Kilpatrick.”
He gave a rueful smile. “I’m no fan of the Guards, but the Kowalskis won’t just hand Kevin over to us. I can’t call my cousins for backup because we have a deal with my father that we stay clear of the Kowalski brothers.” A deal that included all interaction with the Kowalski brothers—friendly or hostile. Frank was more concerned by the potential threat of his son and nephews joining forces with his rivals than of their personal safety. If Frank knew that one of Shane’s regular booty calls was Adam Kowalski’s on-off girlfriend, he’d blow a gasket.
The light changed to green, and Shane hung left and entered an industrial estate dotted with factories and outlets. “The place I think they’re holding Kevin in is that red building on the left.”
Ruthie swung in her seat, straining to get a better look. “How do we do this? We can’t walk up and knock on the door.”
“Do you have a better suggestion? We want to parlay, not break in and spark a gunfight.”
Ruthie patted her jacket pocket. “I have a gun. And I know how to use it.”
Jaysus. The last thing they needed was Ruthie shooting up the place. “No guns,” he said firmly. “Our only chance at getting them to cooperate with us is to show them we’re unarmed. If they see any sign of a weapon on us, they’ll attack. I’m pretty good at martial arts, but
this is real life, not an action film. I can’t beat the crap out of eight equally well-trained fighters.”
“Right about now, shooting the fuckers sounds pretty damn good.” Ruthie’s voice cracked with emotion. “Okay, fine. I’ll leave the gun here. I just hate what the KowaIskis are doing to Kevin. I’m well aware that my brother is a pain, but they took advantage of him. They had to have known that Kevin would never be in a position to pay back the debt on his own.”
“The Kowalskis are in the ‘expansion phase,’” Shane said, making air quotes with his fingers. “Squeezing your father out of a portion of his business is exactly the kind of thing they’d do.”
“That occurred to me. But if they wanted to do that, why not approach Dad directly? Instead, they put the squeeze on Kevin, and he contacted me to bail him out.”
“The Kowalskis don’t do anything without a good reason. I’m betting there’s a puzzle piece we’re missing here.”
“Whatever it is, I still wish I could shoot them. That’d solve the problem.”
“Unfortunately, I doubt it would,” Shane said with a grin. “We have a pesky legal system that doesn’t take kindly to people shooting each other, however much the victim deserved it.”
“It’d make me feel a whole lot better, though.” Ruthie scowled. “Do you seriously want us to knock on the door and talk to them?”
“It’s the smartest move. Reuben is my brother-in-law. I can use that fact to get him to talk to us. And if Adam is there, we might be able to get down to some real negotiations. Adam is less hot-headed than his brother.” Shane drew up outside a high chain-link fence topped with barbed wire and cut the engine. “This is as far as we can go by car without a permit. Ready?”
Ruthie stiffened and said nothing for a moment. Then she nodded and reached for the car door handle. “I can do this.”
11
I can do this. The words echoed in Ruthie’s head. What a joke. Without Shane’s help, she wouldn’t even have known where to find Kevin at such short notice. She could have gotten the info through the agency, but she was reluctant to confide in them about her brother’s situation. That they knew about Kevin’s debts, she had no doubt. They knew everything about her, including why she’d negotiated a specific bonus for this job. Still, she had no intention of appearing vulnerable. She’d complete this assignment and then quit.
