by Zara Keane
Outside the sanctuary of the car, the rain bucketed down from the heavens, blown sideways by the strong sea wind. Ruthie shivered and hugged her arms around her chest. “You wouldn’t think it was June today,” she said, grateful for a mundane topic to try to take her mind off the encounter ahead. It didn’t work.
Shane opened the back of the car and pulled out a raincoat. “Wear this. It’ll be too big, but at least you’ll be dry.”
“Thanks,” she said, slipping on the coat. “I forgot mine at Dad’s house. When Reuben called, I just…ran.”
“Understandable.” Shane opened the back door to the car and filled the puppy’s food and water bowls. The little dog greeted his new owner with an enthusiastic lick.
Seeing Shane being sweet to the ugly little creature nagged at her conscience even more than his willingness to help her. He was a good guy. He didn’t deserve to be used. He didn’t deserve to be lied to. Throw a fight for money? Hell no. Her skin crawled at the idea of engaging in fight fixing, but the lie served its purpose. Both she and Shane came from families that lived on the wrong side of the law. How else could she explain having access to twenty-five grand at short notice?
And then her thoughts turned to her father, another man who found it easier to communicate with dogs than with people. Much as she loved her brother, Kevin’s welfare wasn’t the only reason she was helping him repay the Kowalskis. If anything happened to Dad, it would destroy her. She’d already lost one parent far too young. She wasn’t ready to lose another.
“The puppy looks happy. Is he settling in at his new home?”
Shane laughed. “Oh, yeah. He’s already eaten my best pair of shoes.”
“Have you decided on a name yet?”
“I’m debating between Data and Flash.” He gave her a rueful grin. “As in flash drive.”
“I like Flash. It suits him.” Ruthie leaned in to pet the dog and he rewarded her with a lick. “Will he be okay out here on his own?”
Shane looked over her shoulder at the warehouses beyond. “He’ll be safer out here than with us. Reuben’s a violent prick, and his posse is of a similar mindset. There’s no telling what he’ll do if he’s in one of his moods, and he’s not going to be pleased you don’t have his money.”
“He had to have known I couldn’t get twelve thousand euros in thirty minutes. He’s yanking my chain. The question is why.” Ruthie scanned her surroundings. Rows of warehouses stretched as far as the eye could see. “Which one belongs to the Kowalskis?”
“They own two at the back of the park. It’s about a five-hundred-meter walk.” After giving the dog a last pat on the back, Shane closed the car door and ushered Ruthie through a crude gap in the fence that had been pulled back in a half-hearted attempt to admit pedestrians.
Ruthie squared her shoulders and jogged to keep up with Shane’s brisk pace. Under the borrowed raincoat, her damp clothes stuck to her skin.
Shane glanced over his shoulder and slowed his pace to let her catch up. “Maybe I should do the talking when we get inside. I’m not as emotionally involved as you are, and Reuben needs to keep on my good side for Kaylee’s sake.”
“No.” She shook her head emphatically. “This is my mess to sort out. I’m sorry to drag you into it.”
“Technically, it’s Kevin’s mess, but okay.” Shane’s long strides covered a lot of ground, and Ruthie struggled to keep up. “Why did the Kowalskis take Kevin if you’d agreed to pay them the rest of the money in a few weeks?”
She scowled. “I don’t know what game they’re playing. If this is their idea of a hostile takeover to force my father out of business, I wish they’d get to the point. I feel like a puppet dangling on a string, only ever getting part of the story before I’m yanked in another direction.”
“That doesn’t sound like their usual MO,” Shane said, frowning. “Adam and Reuben cooperate over certain ‘business ventures,’ but they divide most of their jobs between them. You negotiated the deal with Adam, right?”
Ruthie nodded. “Reuben was present when I delivered the first installment, but Adam was the one in charge.”
“Interesting. I wonder why Reuben called you today instead of his brother.”
“I don’t know, but I guess we’re about to find out.” And she had a feeling she wasn’t going to like the answer.
Shane’s pace slowed. “Listen, I have some savings. If Reuben insists on you paying up today, I can help.”
His words were like a blow to her solar plexus. Guilt burned a hole in her conscience, vicious as alcohol on an open wound. “I can’t ask you to do that.”
“You’re not asking. I’m offering.”
Heat burned her cheeks. “Thanks for driving me here, but I’ll take care of getting the money together.” How was the twelve-thousand-euro question, but she’d figure out a way. She had no choice.
“Ruthie—” he began, but she cut him off.
“I’ll manage. Don’t worry about it. I appreciate the lift, but that’s where your help ends.”
Shane’s mouth pulled up at one side and he shook his head. “You’re the most stubborn person I’ve ever met. I don’t buy your excuse for being in Dublin for a second. You could have transferred the money to the Kowalskis without showing up in person. You’re up to something, and I’m willing to bet it has to do with a scheme to come up with twenty-five thousand euros by the end of June. Whatever it is, don’t do it.”
“For all you know, I could have found a legit way to raise the money.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Have you?”
She dropped her gaze. “It’s legit, all right.”
“But not something you feel comfortable doing,” he guessed, correctly interpreting the expression on her face.
“Please drop the subject, Shane. We need to concentrate on rescuing Kevin. Let me worry about getting the money to pay the Kowalskis.”
He opened his mouth as if to say more but then closed it again. “All right. If you change your mind and want to confide in me, I’m here.”
Her gut twisted painfully. Why did he have to be so damn nice? It made using and losing him all the harder. Ruthie swallowed past the lump in her throat and quickened her pace to a jog. “We’d better hurry. Reuben sounded impatient on the phone. Which warehouse is theirs?”
“They own the green building down on the left, and the red one opposite.”
“Let’s try the red one first.”
The front door of the warehouse was locked and the yard deserted.
“There’s a back entrance,” Shane said. “I’ve been here before.”
Ruthie followed him around to the back of the building. He rapped hard on the door, and the noise echoed inside. A moment later, the sound of scraping metal indicated someone was sliding back the bolts. The door opened a crack to reveal a huge man with a shaven head. “What do you want?” he demanded in a thick Polish accent.
“We’re here to speak to Adam. Or Reuben if Adam’s away.”
The man’s gaze swiveled to the side and he raked Ruthie with his beady eyes. If his sneer was any indication, he wasn’t impressed by what he saw. Well, neither was she. “Wait here,” the man barked before slamming the door behind him.
“Friendly dude,” Ruthie said. “The Kowalskis sure know how to pick them.”
A minute passed before the door opened again. The big man stood aside. “Boss will see you.” He didn’t elaborate as to which of his bosses he was referring to. “Gotta check you for weapons first.”
Shane submitted to a pat-down without complaint. Ruthie cooperated—until the moment his hands strayed over her chest and lingered. Fucking pervert. She glared at the man. “Get your paws off my breasts.”
He drew back his lips in a snarl but released her. “Simmer down, lady. I need to make sure you’re not carrying.”
“We’re not,” Ruthie said. “We told you that already.”
The guy’s beady eyes grew shrewd. “I get told a lot of things. Some of them might even be true.�
�
A thug and a philosopher rolled into one. Who knew?
After the bodyguard was satisfied that neither of them was in a position to shoot up the place, he led them to a door at the far end of the room. He knocked twice and opened the door. “After you,” he said with a smirk, his eyes lingering on her breasts.
Ruthie’s hands balled into fists. One more word from the prick and she’d rearrange his face.
Shane yanked her through the door. “Leave it,” he said in a low rumble that tickled her skin and turned her senses to molten lava. “He’s not worth antagonizing. Focus on freeing Kevin.”
She gritted her teeth and forced her fingers to uncurl. Shane was correct. Of course he was. But men who used their physical strength to harass and intimidate women were her pet peeve. Had the circumstances been different, she’d have challenged that wanker of a bodyguard to a fight. And she’d have made damn sure she won.
On the other side of the metal door was a large room, empty apart from the carefully arranged tableau in the center. Reuben Kowalski sat sprawled on an overly stuffed sofa. The rest of the room was bare, save for a stool on which Kevin perched, his hands tied behind his back and a gag in his mouth, flanked by two of Reuben’s hired thugs. Ruthie’s skin turned to gooseflesh at the sight of the desperate expression in her brother’s eyes.
“Hey, Reuben,” Shane said, his tone casual. “How’s tricks?”
What the fuck was he playing at? Ruthie slid him a dark look, but he answered her glare with a reassuring smile.
Reuben’s toothy grin wasn’t reflected in his ice-blue eyes. Had it not been for his inner sociopath looming close to the surface, he might have been handsome. He had thick collar-length hair with a touch of silver threaded through the black strands; a strong jaw, clean-shaven to reveal the cleft in his chin; and a broad nose that had been straightened since she’d last seen the man.
Kowalski’s hard gaze focused on Shane. “What are you doing here? I don’t recall inviting you.”
“Surely your brother-in-law doesn’t need an invitation?”
Reuben’s nostrils flared. “This is a private meeting. Keep out of it.”
“Your ‘private meeting’ just so happens to be with my friend’s brother.” Shane nodded in Kevin’s direction, then turned his attention to Ruthie. “She’s keen to know why he’s being held against his will.”
Ruthie bristled at not taking the lead in the conversation, but Shane appeared to know how to handle his brother-in-law. Or at least, she hoped he did.
As if reading her thoughts, Reuben stood and stretched, languid as a panther and just as deadly. “I had matters to discuss with Mr. Reynolds. Matters that he hasn’t answered to my satisfaction.”
“How the hell is he supposed to answer if he’s gagged?” Ruthie demanded. “Cut the shite, Kowalski. I’m not due to pay the next installment until the end of the month. What the fuck are you playing at?”
Shane placed a hand on her shoulder and pressed gently, indicating she should simmer down. “We’d like to take Kevin home.”
Reuben threw his head back and laughed, revealing dazzlingly white teeth. “I’m sure you would. However, there’s the small matter of the money he owes me, not to mention the fact that the stupid fuck launched an unprovoked attack on one of the regular punters at my club.”
Ruthie’s heart sank. She gave Shane an anguished look, and then turned to Reuben. “Kevin hasn’t been himself lately.”
The other man snorted. “Kevin is out of control, Ms. Reynolds. But what concerns me more than his behavior is the money he still owes me.”
“She told you she’d pay it by the end of the month,” Shane said, “and she will. Right, Ruthie?”
Ruthie nodded. “I keep my word.”
“I’m sure you do, but the agreement you struck was with my brother Adam, no? For the money Kevin still owes us from the gambling debts he ran up at our casino?”
She blinked, and a sense of icy foreboding crept over her skin. “Well, yes.”
Reuben’s sly smile stretched across his face. “I’m talking about the twelve thousand euros Kevin owes me. Did he not mention that to you?”
Ruthie tasted bile. The sick dread that had crept over her skin now oozed from every pore. In his chair, Kevin squirmed, suddenly finding the dusty floor fascinating. What the fuck had he done this time? The guy was a walking, talking liability.
“What twelve thousand euros, Kevin? You told me the fifty grand was everything you owed.”
Reuben’s laughter echoed off the walls. “Lady, your brother owes money all over Dublin. My brother and I just happen to be the first people to put serious pressure on him to pay us back.”
She sucked in a breath and drew an unsteady hand through her damp hair. She shot her brother a look of pure venom. There was no way in hell she could find an extra twelve thousand by the end of the month, never mind cough it up immediately. Her arrangement with the agency only covered the twenty-five thousand for the second installment.
Shane cleared his throat. “Ruthie has agreed to get Adam his money by the end of this month. How about she pays you at the end of July?” She squawked in protest, but Shane ignored her and added, “With interest, of course.”
Of course. Christ on a bike. How the hell was she supposed to come up with the money? Sell a kidney?
Reuben’s smirk widened. “I have no intention of giving this piece of shit any more time to pay me back. If his sister can come up with twenty-five grand for Adam by the end of the month, I’m sure she’ll figure out a way to make it thirty-seven grand. And I expect a down payment of two thousand now to cover the interest. In cash.” He turned his icy gaze on Ruthie. “Do we have a deal, Ms. Reynolds?”
Her mouth was bone dry. “I can’t—”
“It’s a deal.” Shane’s deep voice interrupted her. “You’ll have the two thousand by this evening, Reuben. The usual place, I presume?”
Ruthie’s jaw tightened. What was Shane doing?
Reuben’s hard stare shifted from her to Shane and back again. With a smirk, he drew a key from his suit pocket. “Catch.” He tossed the key to Shane, who caught it one-handed. “Locker fifty-two at the Kilpatrick bus station. I want the money put there by six o’clock this evening, and not a second later. I’m only letting Reynolds go now as a courtesy to you, Shane. Don’t fuck me around.”
“Got it.” Shane’s jaw jutted, and he jerked his head in Kevin’s direction. “Now untie him.”
Ruthie longed to slap the condescending smirk from Reuben’s face. “If we agree to pay this extra debt, this is where it ends,” she said in a voice that sounded braver than she felt. “And I expect you to give me a list of what exactly Kevin did to run up another twelve thousand euros.”
Reuben erupted with laughter, clearly finding her demand hilarious. “I’m not running a fucking shop here. We don’t furnish our customers with receipts. Your brother’s debt to me is because he failed to hand over all the money he made on a drug deal that I set up. Still want that itemized list?”
Ruthie opened her mouth to deliver a crushing insult, but closed it again when Shane’s hand closed around her arm. “We’re good,” he said to Reuben. “Now let Kevin go, and we’ll be on our way.”
Kowalski gave Ruthie a slow up-and-down and his smirk returned. “Your sister to the rescue again, eh, Reynolds? She’s got more muscle than you. Maybe she’s got more balls.”
Ruthie placed her hands on her hips and glared at the man. “Stop screwing us around, Kowalski. Let Kevin go.”
Reuben nodded to his henchmen, who unbound Kevin’s wrists and ankles and ripped the tape from his mouth. He stared back at them with dull eyes and staggered to his feet.
Ruthie rushed forward. “Lean on me if you need to.”
Her brother shook her off. “I’m all right,” he muttered. “I can walk out of here on my own.”
His tone stung, but she understood his need to show Reuben he wasn’t entirely dependent on his sister. With Ruthie and
Shane bringing up the rear, Kevin limped out of the warehouse. In silence, they trudged back through the industrial estate to the spot where Shane had left his car.
“Will I drop you back to your dad’s house?” Shane asked after he slid behind the wheel.
“Please.” Ruthie fastened her seatbelt and cast a look over her shoulder. Kevin sat on the backseat, looking glum. Beside him, Flash snoozed in his cage, oblivious to the tension around him. She turned back to Shane. “Thanks for coming with me.”
“No problem. You helped me out earlier.”
But not to the tune of two grand. A wave of nausea rolled over her, and Ruthie rolled down the car window for some air. How could she borrow money from a man she was spying on? The mere thought of it turned the air to lead. She dragged in a breath and contemplated her options. Bar robbing a shop between now and six o’clock, she had two choices: confide in her father, or accept Shane’s offer of help.
When Shane pulled up outside the house, Kevin murmured his thanks and got out of the car. His shoulders hunched, he shuffled up the short path to the front door and let himself into the house. Ruthie lingered by the car, the passenger door ajar.
“I know what you’re going to say,” Shane interjected before she could utter a word, “and it’s fine. I have the money. You can pay me back whenever you’re able to.”
She bit her lip. “That might not be for a while.”
“Not a problem.” He smiled at her and his blue eyes twinkled. “We go way back, Ruthie. I trust you. I know you’ll pay me back when you can.”
I trust you… His words burned like corrosive acid. She was the last person he should trust. Her stomach in free fall, she exhaled through her teeth. “Can you hold off for an hour? I need time to think.” Time to hope for a miracle.
Shane reached over to squeeze her hand. “That’s fine. Send me a text when you’ve made up your mind, but don’t leave it too long.”
