Chapter Eighteen: Richie

“Come in.”

Butch stepped into the room and stood to the side of the opened door. My sister strode in, giving Butch a wide berth, chin up, shoulders back, not at all the meek little mouse I’d counted on. Well, that shit stopped now because this little tigress needed to know who ran this zoo. I waved her to a chair. Butch closed the door and stood against it. Hannah gave him a side-glance and then parked her ass in the chair like a good little girl.

“I’m disappointed in you, Hannah.”

“What’s this about, Richie? I have a busy day tomorrow, and I need to get to bed. It’s almost midnight.”

“Oh, yes, I can imagine your busy day…what with all the secrets and lies and things going on behind my back.”

She flinched for a split second, but to give her credit, she rallied well. Her face went back to stone.

I opened my drawer, scooped out the flash drives, and dumped them on my desk.

“Care to explain?”

“I assume you already know what they are,” she snapped.

“I do.”

“So why am I sitting here?” She leaned forward. “It’s coursework. I’m trying to better myself.”

“You don’t need to better yourself. I take care of you.”

“Did you expect me to just manage this club until it was time to throw me into a home like Nana?”

“How is Nana?” I asked with a tight smile.

She leapt up. Butch moved from the door, but I waved him back as Hannah stabbed her finger toward my face.

“Shut the fuck up,” Hannah snarled, and then she began to pace. “You don’t care, and you have no right to even talk about her.”

“You’re right. I don’t care, and talking about her bores me. Let’s forget about that old woman. I’ll assume she’s still alive and send next month’s check.”

She whirled around and pointed to the flash drives. “Those are mine, and I want them back.”

I swept them back into my drawer, and Hannah’s mouth dropped open. “Sit.” When she stood there staring at me, I added, “Now.”

She slumped back into the chair and glared at me.

“Let’s talk about you,” I said easily. There was no point in losing my temper unless I had to. I preferred Hannah complacent, not spitting mad.

She was still angry, but she was calmer. Things were looking brighter for me now that she’d lost that righteousness and knew things weren’t going to be easy. As for her, things were starting to look gloomier, and she recognized that.

“What about me?” she muttered.

“I can’t have you making these sorts of decisions on your own, Hannah. It’s my job to take care of you, and I will do that.”

She shook her head. “No, I need to have a future, Richie, a future that belongs to me, that I make for myself. I can’t depend on you for everything I need or want in life.” She glanced around and sneered. “I certainly want more than this dump.”

“And Danny O’Shea?” I asked. “Is he part of this grand scheme of yours?”

“Danny and I barely know one another,” she said quietly.

“That may be, though I don’t quite believe it.” I pulled my phone toward me. “I want you to hear something.” I pressed a button, and Steve’s voice came through the speaker.

“Just a heads-up, boss. Hannah asked for O’Shea’s help with something tonight. He was gone about an hour. After that, it was back to business, but something seemed off to me.”

The message ended, and I tossed the phone back to the desk. Hannah had paled a bit, and she folded her hands in her lap, but not before I saw the tremble.

“Care to explain that?”

“I gave that fucking prick all my tip money to keep his goddamned mouth shut. Rat bastard.”

“Steve’s my man, Hannah, not yours.”

“Jesus.” She raked her hair back from her face, drawing in a long breath, and then gestured toward my desk. “I needed help with some of that course work. Danny mentioned once he took some accounting in junior college.”

“That’s a lie, little sis,” I said softly.

She shook her head, and Butch moved across the room to stand by the desk.

I leaned back in my chair. “It’s a lie because on Friday evening there was no course work in your apartment,” I said, feeling greatly satisfied she was so easy to trip up. Hannah couldn’t lie her way out of a paper bag. It was one of the reasons I’d kept her clear of the business. The other was I thought she just might be good at it, and I couldn’t have that.

She blew out a breath. “That explains why Carmen looked so unhappy on Friday. He gave someone the keys, didn’t he? What did you threaten him with?”

“The usual,” I said. “But Carmen only played a small role in my little caper. Don’t be too hard on him.”

“I don’t blame him at all. Carmen’s first loyalty is to his family. But you? You have no loyalty to anyone or anything, especially family.” She leaned forward. “Why are you so threatened by the fact that I might get an education, that I might actually be good at something?”

“You’re good at a lot of things, Hannah.” I studied her. “I just don’t want you too good. Now”—I gestured to the phone—“what are we going to do about your little interlude with O’Shea?”

“Stay the fuck out of my life, Richie.”

I shook my head sadly. “I can’t do that. I’m afraid both of you are going to have to pay—in one way or another.”

“You’re a complete and utter fuck.”

“I am,” I said with a nod. “I’ll deal with O’Shea later. First, I have to deal with you.”

Hannah gulped, but she kept her eyes on me.

“I’ll let you keep your flash drives.” Her eyes widened, and for one moment, she looked hopeful. “But you’ll have to do something for me.”

There was that look of hopelessness I wanted. It fell over her face like a dark veil. She cast a glance toward Butch. “Not that.”

I smiled. “No, not that. Not yet. You can have your course work, even get your silly degree if it matters all that much. Might even work in my favor here at the club. But you’re going to have to make a trade, Hannah. I’m a businessman after all. If I’m going to subsidize your education and give you marketable skills, I have to ensure those skills work toward my best interests.”

“What do you want?” she ground out.

“I’ve been making some plans, doing some groundwork of my own. Money is good, and I have plenty of it, but more money is better. Let’s just say I’m doing a favor for a friend. The future consequences will make it well worth my while, and the favor involves a bit of adventure. I’ll need you to be my liaison while we work out the details.”

“Liaison? In what capacity?” She was a hard bargainer. I could take the credit for that. Always thinking that sister of mine.

“Courier. Just dropping things off and bringing them back to me.” I held up her hand when she opened her mouth. “Nothing illegal. It’s just communication.”

“And you’ll let me continue with school?”

I opened the drawer and returned the flash drives to the desk. “Yes.”

“And Danny?”

“I will chalk that up to your own adventurous spirit and assume it won’t happen again—whatever it was. I will chalk up his mistake to your charming and persuasive personality and assume you will ensure you’re not in the same place at the same time again.”

“Can I leave now?” Hannah said, standing.

“When I have my answer.”

“I’ll do what you asked. Just give me back my property, and I’ll need your word that you’ll never send someone into my personal space again.”

“You have my word—as long as you don’t give me a reason to do so.”

Hannah swept the flash drives into her hands and whirled around, stomping to the door.

“Open the fucking door, Butch,” she snarled.

Butch gave me a look and rolled his eyes. He strolled over and opened the door, and Hannah disappeared into the hallway. Butch continued to watch until I assumed she turned the corner.

“Want me to handle O’Shea?” Butch asked, turning around.

“No. Leave O’Shea to me. I want to handle that prick personally.”