Redemption (Cavan Gang #2) (12 page)

And, more important, what did he want?

Nerves strummed through her. Why hadn’t she brought her cell phone with her? She’d left it with her purse in the staff room. When she’d arrived for her shift ten minutes ago, Oleg had ordered her to do an inventory. Miller thought it was ridiculous when they were opening in an hour, but, with Sofia off sick, Oleg was in charge.

The Russian bartender set off all her creep alerts, but there wasn’t much she could do. Sofia had a restaurant manager for when she wasn’t here, but his shift didn’t start for another two hours.

He wouldn’t cross Oleg anyway.

Did Oleg have an ulterior motive in sending her back here? Had he set this meeting up?

Why? What the hell did this guy want?

“I’ll stand.”

“Sit.” His gaze morphed from friendly to cold. This man was used to getting his way. Despite the nice clothes and expensive haircut, she could sense he had a rough side.

Miller sat. Self-preservation was high on her priority list right now. Was she a magnet for crazies and no-hopers? At least, her father seemed to have given up. He hadn’t turned up the other night as they’d agreed. Rogan had spent the whole evening at Solnyshko, waiting for him. She’d felt awful about wasting his time, even though he’d assured her there was nowhere else he had to be.

“Who are you? What do you want?”

“My name is Step Callahan. I’m sure MacGuire has mentioned me before.”

Oh shit.
The leader of the Seven Sinners? What did he want with her? Where the hell was Finn when she needed him?

She’d been happy at the change of guard. Colm and Cillian would barely let her out of their sight when they were on duty. Finn had checked out the back room, but then one of the kitchen hands had asked him for help moving some boxes. Crap, was there was a conspiracy happening here?

Maybe she should plead ignorance. He might think she was some dumb bimbo Rogan was just fucking. “Sorry, Rogan hasn’t mentioned you. Are you friends?”

Callahan’s gaze narrowed angrily. Didn’t like hearing that, did he?

“I don’t have time for pleasantries. Your guard will be returning soon.”

“You paid Oleg to let you back here, didn’t you?” The more she kept him talking, the better. Mind you, would Finn have much chance against these two? Especially if Oleg and his friends joined in?

“I’m the leader of the Seven Sinners. Maybe you’ve heard of them?”

Slowly, she nodded.

“Perhaps Rogan doesn’t speak to you. I guess he’s not in the habit of talking to his current piece of ass. Although I had suspected you meant more, considering you live in his house and his guards watch your every movement.”

Piece of ass?

“Usually, he takes his fuck of the day to his apartment in the city. But I guess he wanted you closer at hand.”

Fuck of the day. Oh hell, no.

Miller took a deep breath, calming herself before her temper got the best of her. He was winding her up, hoping she’d lose her temper and say something she would regret.

She was smarter than that.

“I guess we have more important things to talk about.”

He stood, face filled with thunder, about to explode.

“Boss, we’ve got to go soon,” the other man said.

Step glared down at her. “I have some information you would be very interested in.”

“And what would I owe you for this information?”

“Nothing at all. I’m doing this out of the goodness of my heart.”

Right, and she was Superwoman in disguise.

“I’m not interested.” She stood as well, not liking the way he loomed over her. The sooner he left, the sooner she could breathe properly again. Show the slightest bit of fear and he would pounce. Miller had grown good at hiding her true feelings. Some of her father’s associates had been like Callahan. They appeared civil.

But that was all show.

“Your mother was murdered while she was dating Iker Florez, wasn’t she?”

She paused. What the fuck was he getting at? “So what?”

Anger filled his face. She needed to cool things down before he completely blew his stack and took her down in the explosion.

“Yes, she was. Why?”

“Because her murder coincides with the time my father disappeared. They found his body in Lake Medina. You might have seen it on the news.”

“I did. My condolences.”

He shrugged. “My father was an idiot with no vision. He was all brawn and no brains. No wonder he was killed. Doesn’t mean his killers won’t pay.”

“And you think my mother had something to do with that? Did she know your father?”

“Not that I know of. But a number of people stood to gain from my father’s death. Iker Florez was one. He gained territory. Your boyfriend’s father was another. With my father gone, it was easy to push the Seven Sinners out of the city. See where I’m going with this?”

He was clutching at straws.

“You’d need evidence, not supposition to prove that.”

“Yes. That is exactly what I’m after.”

“I still don’t understand what this has to do with my mother.”

“I think Rogan’s father murdered my old man after an incident between our two gangs.”

An incident? He made it sound like they’d had a disagreement, not that a young boy had lost his life.

“And I think Iker Florez helped him. Soon before my father disappeared, Rogan’s father, Iker, and the former leader of the Russians formed an alliance. They drove the Seven Sinners from San Antonio. It’s all too much of a coincidence. Your mother was fucking Florez. She may have known what was going on.”

“She’s dead. She can’t tell you anything.”

“But don’t you think the timing is rather coincidental? They died around the same time in a similar location.”

“How do you know about my mother’s death?”

“I make it my business to know about these things.” That didn’t sound creepy at all.

“Do the police know when your father died?”

“They can’t work out an exact date because he was in the water too long, but he went to a meeting and he never returned. Three days after his disappearance, your mother’s body was found a few miles from Lake Medina. At the time the police believed she had been there a few days.”

“What do you want?”

“If I find any evidence of who murdered your mother, I will be certain to tell you. If you’ll do the same for me.”

“You want me to spy on Rogan for you? He was just a kid.”

“He knows something. Or, if he doesn’t, he suspects. You’re in a position to use your
charms
for information.”

It was obvious he didn’t think much of her. The feeling was mutual.

“You really think I’ll use sex to get information out of Rogan?”

“I guess it depends on how much you want to know the truth.”

Callahan turned and left. His guard gave her a long, assessing look, making her shiver, before following his boss out. These were not guys to mess with.

“Miller?” Finn called out. He rushed inside. “Sorry I was gone so long. I had to help move a few things.”

“We’re leaving.” She folded her arms to hide her shaking hands. She felt bad about leaving Sofia in the lurch. Especially when she was ill. But she wasn’t sticking around here with Oleg. He’d set her up. Why else would he have sent her back here?

“What? Why? Did something happen?” Immediately his face hardened.

“Nothing you need to worry about. But I need to talk to Rogan. Can you take me to him?” She worked hard to keep her voice from displaying how rattled she was.

“I wish I could, but the boss is in the middle of something.”

“Fine. I’ll call him myself from the car.” She brushed past him. It wasn’t Finn’s fault, but her temper was fraying. The fear she’d hidden in front of Callahan morphed into anger.

“I’m leaving. Find someone else to work my shift,” she told Oleg as she passed him in the kitchen. He shot out a hand and grabbed her arm in a crushing grip, bringing tears of pain to her eyes.

“You don’t go anywhere.”

“Let her go!” Finn called out from behind her.

Scuffling filled the room then a pained grunt. She glanced behind her. Two of the kitchen hands holding Finn between them. There was a rip in his shirt and blood on his face.

“Hey! Let him go, assholes!” She pushed at Oleg, but his grip tightened and she cried out.

“Where you think you’re going?”

“I’m out of here and I’m not coming back. At least not while you’re here, asshole. You let him in, didn’t you? What did he pay you? What about the security guard? Did you bribe him to look the other way?”

Oleg grinned nastily. “I don’t know what you talk about.”

“Let me the fuck go!”

“Do you have a fucking death wish?” Finn yelled. “MacGuire is going to murder you for touching his missus.”

Okay, she was going to have to have a word with Finn about what to call her. MacGuire’s missus was not how she wanted to be known.

“I think he be more interested in how his girlfriend have secret meeting with his enemy.”

“You set that up and, when I tell Rogan, he’ll have Anisimov kick your ass out of here,” she told him.

The grip on her arm tightened until her vision blurred. How the hell could he be so strong?

“You think anyone believe you? Some piece of ass? They take my word over yours.”

Rogan would believe her. Rogan would always believe her. Damn it felt good to have someone on her side, backing her up.

What the hell did Sofia see in this jerk?

“But maybe we teach you both a lesson.”

“Let them go, Oleg.”

Miller had been so occupied with Oleg she hadn’t even noticed Sofia entering the kitchen.

“Sofia, go!” Oleg yelled. “This nothing do with you.”

“This is my restaurant. She’s my employee. Let her go. Now.”

Oleg scowled down at her, and Miller shivered at the dark look in his gaze.

“I’ll make sure they don’t talk. Let her go or I’ll tell Sacha about this.”

Surprisingly, Oleg let her go. Then he nodded at his friends who pushed Finn away. He slammed into her. Miller winced as her stomach smashed into the sharp edge of the stainless steel table.

He quickly apologized, but Miller shook her head, eager to get the hell out of there.

Oleg’s friends snickered as Miller and Finn followed Sofia through the kitchen to the employee entrance.

“Go. Now. Before he changes his mind,” Sofia urged.

“Come with us,” Miller replied. “Rogan will keep you safe.”

“I’m safe here. Sacha would never let anyone hurt me.”

“He seems to be doing a great job protecting you from that asshole.”

Sofia winced and placed her hand on her lower back, as though it were paining her. “There are things going on you don’t understand. Please don’t tell Aleksandr.”

Miller peeked up at Finn, who appeared just as incredulous. “We need to go, Miller.”

She nodded. “I know. Sofia, I have to tell Rogan about this. I can’t keep him from talking to your cousin.”

Sofia sent a panicked gaze over her shoulder. “Can’t you leave Oleg’s name out of it? Please, Miller.”

Miller bit her lip. Her instincts screamed at her to tell Rogan everything. To get Sofia the hell out of here. But the woman’s gaze was filled with pleading and fear.

“Fine. I’ll keep quiet about Oleg’s part. Be safe, Sofia.”

She followed Finn into the alleyway. He kept her close behind him, head pivoting right to left as he led her to the car. Only once they were on the road did Miller’s heartbeat slow. Tremors shook her body and she squeezed her hands together, wincing at the pain in her arm. She pulled her sleeve up, biting her lip as she examined her bruised skin.

“I never said I wouldn’t tell Rogan.”

“What?” she asked suddenly realizing she’d left her purse and her cell phone at the restaurant. Crap.

Finn glanced back at her through the rear-vision mirror. “I never said I wouldn’t tell Rogan. About Oleg.”

“I know. That’s what I’m relying on. I want you to tell Rogan everything.”

Finn studied her for a moment then nodded.

He’d lost his easy-going demeanor. His gaze was hard. Focused.

“I left my cell at the restaurant. Can I use yours to call Rogan?”

“Sure.” He stopped at a light then searched his pockets. “Fuck. It must have fallen out when those assholes had hold of me. Christ, the Boss is going to kill me. I’ve fucked up so many times.”

“Don’t worry. Rogan will be grateful we both got out of there safe.”

“Yeah. I don’t think he’ll see it that way.”

Rogan handed over his cell phone and gun to Cillian, who was keeping watch outside, before he entered the dark bar owned by the Vipers. It was too early for it to open yet.

He nodded at Isaac, the new leader of the Vipers. He didn’t know Isaac well and didn’t fully trust him. Maybe he never would. He’d known Iker for years and the man had betrayed him. Right now, Rogan trusted very few people without reservation.

Still, Isaac had made reparations for Iker’s betrayal. He’d also guaranteed Miller’s safety. Isaac knew Miller had been searching for her mother’s killer. Discovering what had happened to her mother was going to be nearly impossible now Iker was gone. Rogan had done some research himself while Miller was recovering. He hadn’t unearthed anyone who had any knowledge of what had really happened to Miller’s mother.

Not yet, anyway.

Rogan took a seat next to Aleksandr. “Anisimov.”

“MacGuire.”

“How are things at Solnyshko?”

“Good. Your Miller is working out well. Don’t think she’ll be there for long, though.”

His Miller. He liked that.

“Why is that?”

Anisimov shrugged. “She’s a smart girl. She’ll probably move on to bigger things.”

“Right, let’s get this started,” Isaac said. “I want to talk about the Seven Sinners. They’re creating problems for us.”

“Why? Because you want the monopoly on Fizz and to do that you need to get rid of them?” Anisimov asked.

Isaac frowned. “They’re pushing the boundaries of their area. They want more territory.”

“Step Callahan is hungry,” Rogan stated. “Do we need to do something about him before he takes things too far?”

“We need to make it clear there are rules and boundaries,” Anisimov said. “Perhaps I will have a little chat with him.”

Isaac’s face hardened. “I will go.”

Rogan glanced over at Anisimov, who nodded. It was time for the newest member of the alliance to show his worth.

“Fine,” Rogan agreed. “Just make certain he gets the message.”

“Oh, he will,” Isaac replied. “Loud and clear.”

***

“What the fuck is this asshole doing?” Colm muttered. By the time they left the meeting, it had grown dark out. The bar had been due to open in an hour’s time.

Rogan turned, wincing as headlights from the car behind them assaulted his eyes.

Smash!
Rogan jolted forward, the seat belt catching him as the other car smashed into them from behind. “Can you lose him?”

The street was nearly deserted. At least, they wouldn’t take out any bystanders.

Colm swerved into another street then another. “He’s still on me, Boss.”

Smash!

The car shook. Rogan winced as head slammed forward, wrenching his neck.

“Has this asshole got a death wish?” Colm turned down another street. “I’m headed out to the interstate. Hopefully, we’ll lose him.”

As they drove along the interstate, the car grew bolder, moving up beside them.

“Must have a hell of an engine in there,” Colm stated. “Brace yourselves.” He slammed on the brakes and the other car shot past.

“Good work,” Rogan told him.

“Fuck! It’s not over yet. Goddamn idiot!”

Rogan spotted the car reversing toward them. Colm shifted the car into gear, accelerating, passing the other car as it backed up. But too soon it loomed behind them. As it moved up beside them, the driver swerved in, hitting the side of the car.

Once, twice.

“He’s gonna kill us all!” Colm yelled before he lost control of the car and it swerved off the road. The world spun sickeningly before coming to an abrupt halt. Rogan yelled as he slammed against the seat belt. His head smashed against the window and darkness slipped over him.

“Hey! Hey, MacGuire, wake up!”

Rogan stirred, blinking his eyes. Where the hell was he? He tensed and immediately wished he hadn’t as his body complained. Everything felt tender and painful, as though he’d just gone a few rounds in the boxing ring.

“MacGuire, wake up!”

Detective Maran? That didn’t make sense. Why was Detective Maran yelling at him? At a groan, he slowly turned to find Cillian sprawled on the seat beside him.

“Boss? You okay?” Colm tried to turn from the front seat of the car.

“What happened?” Had they been in a car accident? Why couldn’t he remember?

Maran held his door open. “Someone ran you off the road. I saw them hit the side of your car and you spun then smashed against a tree. The other car pulled up and someone got out. I get the feeling they were considering finishing the other job until they spotted me.”

Rogan attempted to undo his seat belt, silently cursing his shaking hand. Christ, his head hurt.

“Colm, you all right?” he asked.

“I’m good, Boss.”

“Cillian?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“An ambulance is on its way,” Maran said, backing up as Rogan climbed from the car. “I don’t think you should move.”

“I’m fine.”

Cillian climbed out on the other side. The front of the car was smashed in and smoking.

Rogan moved to the driver’s door. He tried to tug it open, but it was stuck.

“Colm, can you climb out over the back?”

“Belt’s stuck. Wait, I got it.”

Rogan waited for Colm to climb out of the car before stepping back as a precaution.

“Since you all seem to be fine, maybe you could give me a statement.” Maran turned to them.

“Nothing to tell, Detective,” Rogan told him. “A car ran us off the road. Maybe you should be out there searching for him.”

“Make? Model? Color?”

“You probably saw more than we did. It’s dark and the headlights were blinding.”

A siren pierced the night and an ambulance sped toward them. Fuck, this was the end of a great day.

Who the hell had tried to run them off the road? And if Detective Maran hadn’t been there, would he have finished off the job he’d started?

***

Where the hell was he? Miller understood Rogan was busy, but couldn’t he even return her calls or texts? Worry gnawed at her stomach. Whenever she’d tried to contact him before, he’d either answered right away or called her back within the hour.

Miller curled up on the sofa, pretending to watch the movie on TV. Finn sat across from her in an armchair. He’d stuck close by her side since they’d left Solnyshko. She’d tried to convince him she was fine, but he felt he’d screwed up and keeping watch over her now was his primary concern.

She heard a door open and low voices. “They’re home,” Finn said unnecessarily.

Miller stood and followed the voices into the kitchen.

“Rogan, where have you—” She froze mid-sentence as she took in his ripped clothing, the cut on his head, and the bag of frozen veggies Colm was handing him.

Colm and Cillian didn’t look much better. Colm’s eye was swelling and Cillian favored his left side.

“What happened?” She rushed forward in concern. “How did you get hurt? Did someone do this to you?”

She led Rogan over to a stool and grabbed the frozen bag, placing it on his lip. “Sit. All of you.” She turned her frown on Colm and Cillian when they didn’t move. “What happened?”

“Nothing happened,” Rogan told her.

“Oh no, don’t give me that. I’m not stupid, and you don’t get to act as though I am. I don’t ask questions when you get home late at night. I don’t ask where you’ve been or what you’ve been doing. Frankly, I don’t want to know. But, when you come home hurt, I get to know. Understand me?”

Hands on hips, she leaned over Rogan.

The others started to slink away.

She pointed at them without looking. “Stay right where you are. All of you. Have you even been to the hospital?”

“An EMT patched us up.” Rogan watched her warily.

She snorted, muttering to herself. “I’ll get the first aid kit. Finn, sit on them. Anyone moves and they answer to me.”

“Shit, she’s scary when she’s angry,” Cillian said with admiration.

“Oh yeah,” Colm agreed.

“Mine,” Rogan growled at them both.

“Uh-huh, of course, Boss,” Cillian quickly agreed.

Colm held his hands up, wincing. “Didn’t mean anything by it, Boss.”

“Umm, Boss?” Finn asked, shifting his weight from side to side.

“It’s okay, Finn. We’re not going to try and move. You can leave.”

“That’s not it. I don’t want Miller angry at me, but I have to tell you something. About tonight. You’re not going to like it.”

It took her forever to find the damn first aid kit. They needed to put it somewhere more accessible.

When she returned to the kitchen, she knew Finn had blabbed. She turned to the younger male, who was pale and nearly shaking.

“You couldn’t wait until after I patched them up?” she asked.

“No, ma’am. You’re scary. But the boss, well, he’s the boss. If I didn’t tell him straight away, he would have killed me.”

“I still might,” Rogan growled.

“It wasn’t Finn’s fault. We were outnumbered.”

“But I shouldn’t have left you alone in the store room.”

“You left her?” Rogan thundered.

Finn winced. Now he was definitely shaking. Rogan stood, glaring at him. “Anything else you need to tell me?”

Rogan’s voice had gone quiet, deadly. Poor Finn, it was a wonder he hadn’t wet himself.

“No, Boss.”

“Get out. Get out of my sight.”

“W-when shall I come b-back?” Finn stammered.

“Never.”

He raced out as though the hounds of hell were on his tail.

“There was no reason to scare him like that. You’re not serious when you say he can never come back, right?”

Rogan turned his intense gaze on her. “What was his one job? His primary objective?”

She swallowed heavily but stood her ground. She wasn’t scared of him. But, damn, he could be intimidating when he wanted to be. If she’d ever seen this side of him before, she might have been the tiniest bit scared. “To guard me.”

“And he failed.”

“Be fair, Rogan. There were three of them. The restaurant hadn’t opened yet. He had no way of knowing there would be any problems.”

“Show me your arm,” Rogan demanded.

“He told you about Oleg, huh?”

“Yes. I can’t believe you thought to keep that from me.”

“I gave Sofia my word. But only because I knew Finn would blab. We have to get her away from him. She’s not safe.”

“Oh, don’t worry. That bastard is a dead man.”

“You can’t kill him!”

Rogan stared at her incredulously. “He touched you! Hurt you! He set it up so Callahan could get to you on his own. Do you have any idea how dangerous he is? He could have killed you.”

“I know. I get he’s a bad guy. Believe me, I do. But that isn’t Finn’s fault.”

“Show me your arm,” he reiterated.

She looked around for Colm and Cillian, but they’d snuck off. Cowards.

“Tell me what happened first,” she demanded.

His jaw clenched and a low growl erupted from him. Oh, he really wasn’t happy.

“We were run off the road on our way home from a meeting.”

“By whom?” she asked.

He shrugged. “Don’t know. Although, I can guess.”

“Callahan? He has it in for you. He thinks your father had something to do with his father’s death.”

“Is that what he said to you?”

She nodded. “He also said he thought it was too much of a coincidence my mother died around the same time.”

Rogan frowned. “How could they be connected?”

“I don’t know. But her body was found close to Lake Medina. Could Iker have had something to do with both of their deaths?”

“It’s possible. I don’t know who killed Callahan’s father. But it’s possible my father had something to do with it.”

“He wants me to play detective for him. Scratch his back and he’ll scratch mine.”

“No one is getting their back scratched,” he snarled.

“I know. I’m going to check you over.”

“Arm first. Show me.” He was barking out orders and she needed to calm him down. Showing him her arm was not going to do that.

“Rogan, it’s fine.”

“Show me your arm, Miller.”

His tone of voice told her he was not going to let this go. Stubborn man. With a sigh, she rolled up her sleeve, wincing as her knuckle brushed the deep bruise which was now a purplish-bluish color.

Rogan cursed low and deep. “I will kill him.” His voice shook.