Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 84013 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84013 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Aiden Halloran looks at me over a pair of dark sunglasses.
The bastard looks smug. But he always looks smug. It’s hard not to be when you’re the heir to the most powerful Irish mob on the east coast. The last thirty years haven’t been good for organized crime, ever since the RICO statutes began to whittle away at the upper echelons of the families. RICO made it so the bosses couldn’t hide behind their underlings, couldn’t give themselves legal distance anymore. But crime always finds a way, and the Halloran clan moved in where other crews failed, drifted apart, and got thrown into jail. Aiden’s a single heartbeat away from true power, and he knows it.
He tilts the sunglasses down and looks at me with those eerie dark blue eyes. “How’s my sister?”
“Busy with work.”
“You staying on her?”
“Best I can. She doesn’t like having a babysitter.”
He laughs once. Aiden’s laughter always sounds like a gunshot. It’s sharp, intense, and deadly. There’s nothing humorous about this man, nothing at all.
“I’m not surprised there. My father’s been too easy on her for way too long now. She forgot what it means to be in our family.”
“I’ll tell you right now, it’s not my job to remind her.”
He gives me a look. “I fucking know that.”
“Good. Just so we’re clear.”
“Have you noticed any threats? Seen anything out of the ordinary?”
I think back to the SUV near-miss, to the guys I saw at 30th Street, to the dark cars that rolled past her apartment in the night. “I can’t be sure, but I might’ve spotted one of the Turks.”
“You sure it’s not just some random guy with a beard?”
I give him a look. “I’m not some racist that thinks all tan people look alike, you asshole.”
“Just saying, we haven’t gotten any reports that the Turks are particularly interested in Daley.”
“I think your reports have a blind spot. She almost got run over not an hour ago right in this intersection over here. Right in broad daylight.”
His eyebrows raise. “Accident?”
“I doubt it.”
“That’s not good. My father won’t be happy about this.” He sighs and leans back. “Maybe it’ll be better if she comes home.”
“You know that’s unlikely.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not sure why she’s being given the fucking option.” He glances at me, frowning. “And I’m not sure why you talk like you know my sister at all.”
I grimace and stare him down. “It doesn’t take a genius to realize she likes the freedom she’s been given and won’t give it up easily.”
“Good, and you’re not a genius, so let’s be clear on that.” Aiden’s hands move over the steering wheel. “Keep a close eye on her. Make sure she’s safe. We’ll send a second so you can have a break tonight, but don’t fuck it up. And convince her to move back home when you can.”
“That’s a lot of moving pieces.”
“Yeah, well, if you wanted an easy job, you shouldn’t have fucking volunteered. Why did you take this assignment, anyway? You still holding on to high school?”
I give him a flat stare. “No, Aiden. I’m not.”
“Good, because that shit’s long gone. You’re a good guy and one of our best cleaning men, but don’t start thinking you’re more than you are.” He puts his car in gear. “Convince my sister to come home. That’s your new job.” He rolls the window up and speeds off.
I watch him go. The fucking prick. Daley’s other two brothers aren’t bad, but Aiden’s a real bastard. Never liked the entitled fuck, and he never liked me. I’m sure he hates that I’m the one looking after his little sister, especially since I’m a damn cleaner. That’s what the clan calls its killers, the guys that get sent in when someone needs to die. Aiden never liked his squad of murderers, and for good reason—we’re the best in the business, and our loyalty is important to him holding on to power. Aiden’s father might’ve forgiven me for what happened back in high school and set the past aside, but Aiden sure as hell hasn’t.
Convince Daley to move back home. There’s simply no way that’ll happen. If Aiden and Chief Halloran want her back in Delco, they’re going to have to drag her there, kicking and screaming.
Which I suspect they’ll have me do, sooner or later.
Chapter 6
Daley
I’m exhausted after work.
This is my first real job. I worked all through college and my MBA program, but this is different. It’s a real nine-to-five with a salary and benefits and expectations and professional coworkers, truly a big-girl job, not just some stupid thing to earn me enough pocket money to survive. This is the sort of job that’ll pay off my student loans, that’ll afford me a real car, that’ll make my life somewhat better.
And it’s draining. Nobody ever told me that working is so dang hard, even when there wasn’t much to do today.