Chapter Forty-One
Ronan
For the next three days, we remain holed up at Alexei’s house. The lad isn’t very fond of me after the stunt I pulled before with Mack and the small matter of shooting at his car. But he helped me when I needed it, regardless. I don’t have a clue if it’s because of the alliance or because of Sasha.
I’ve noticed he has eyes on us often. Like he’s trying to pick us apart, work out what’s going on between us. I haven’t a clue why. Crow always said this one was funny when it came to women. That he had a soft spot for them. And I’ve seen him enough times to know it’s true. I don’t think he’s got eyes for Sasha, but I still don’t like him looking at her the way he does. I don’t like anyone looking at her.
Because she’s mine.
I glance at her sleeping form beside mine and wonder how the bleeding hell I ever had the good fortune to cross paths with her. For her to see past my issues and care for me anyway. I haven’t worked it all out yet, but the one thing I do know is Sasha is kind and has a good heart. For some reason, she believes there’s something in me worth keeping.
I don’t take that lightly. Only, I worry I’m going to jack this whole situation arseways if I don’t tread carefully. There’s still a bit of dread inside of me when I think about having a baby. I’ve no fecking clue how to care for a baby. But when I look at Sasha and it really settles over me that she’s carrying my child, I get a big head over the notion. I fancy the idea that I’ve claimed her in such a way. That she will never have another but me, and that we might make a family together. The way that Crow said, with that picture he had in his head. I want that with Sasha. Only, I need to sort out all of this other bollocks first.
The benefit of being at Alexei’s is that he has a dungeon that could rival my own. He uses it himself from time to time or allows the Russians to do so when the need arises. That very same dungeon is also where Andrei was left to fester until I was in fair enough shape to handle the business that was left undone.
I didn’t reap as much enjoyment from the act as I’d hoped. The prick had already contracted some sort of infection by the time I had a go at him and he wasn’t as lucid as he should’ve been. But he did suffer. There were no bones about that.
His death was slow and painful. A standard I set for anyone else who thinks they might touch what’s mine. When I finished with him, I sent Andrei back to his men in pieces.
Now there’s only the other matter of the feds to contend with.
On cue, there’s a rap at the door and then Rory pokes his head in.
“Ye mind?” he asks. “I need a word with you.”
I cover Sasha over and then reach down to kiss her cheek right in front of Rory. I don’t mind so much, now. I’m not uncomfortable anymore. Worried I’m stuffing it up in front of the lads. The only thing I care about is that they all know she’s been claimed.
“I’ll be along in a moment,” I tell him. “Let me get dressed.”
He nods and shuts the door behind him and I dress in the clothes that Alexei provided me. It’s no suit, but it’ll have to do.
When I open the door Rory is waiting outside, and he gestures down the hall. I walk beside him and into a room where Conor, Michael, Dom and a few of the other lads have joined us as well. Since the shake up with the feds, they’ve all gone to different safe houses. This being one of them.
“Any word on Crow?” I ask as I take an empty seat.
“The barrister assured me he’ll be home for Sunday supper,” Dom answers. “They’ve got nothing but a bloody house of cards. A huff and a puff and we’ll blow it right down.”
I rock back in my chair with a nod. I suspected as much. This isn’t the first time we’ve had heat on our backs, and it won’t be the last.
“And what of the rest of it?”
“Alexei’s done his homework,” he answers. “They’ve got nothing. No body, no dice. Some grainy photos of you, and an informant with a past so checkered it won’t hold up in court.”
He sounds confident, but I still don’t like it. I want to tell Sasha it’s over. But it won’t be over until that witness disappears. A notion I’m not too keen on. I don’t like involving women in our business.
“Who is she?” I ask.
“Some junkie whore,” Rory answers.
A voice from the door behind us replies.
“Yeah, like me,” Scarlett adds. “Nothing more than a whore.”
Rory’s face pales, and he attempts to backtrack quickly, but it’s no use. Scarlett ignores him and comes and sits right down at the table like she has a right to.
“This isn’t your business,” Dom tells her. “Now you best leave.”
She crosses her arms and snaps her gum, shaking her head in refusal. “Nah, I think I’ll stay. Because I have something to say on the matter.”
The room falls silent, and all of the lads look at each other, wondering who’s going to handle her. They all know Rory fancies this girl, so they don’t want to step on toes. But he’s not saying anything either. So I take it upon myself to sort out this headache.
“Tell us what ye have to say and then be on your way. These meetings are for the lads only.”
“Look, all I’m saying is I know this girl. She goes by Shorty on the street. Girl’s got a wicked bad asshole for a pimp. He’s keeping her son from her to keep her in line.”
“Where are ye headed with this?” I ask.
“When I saw her last, she told me that she was getting her son back. That some guy promised he was going to help her. That he’d pay off her pimp if she did what he asked. Set her up with a whole new life.”
The room falls silent, and the lads piece together the information Scarlett just tossed us. Donny must have promised to get her son back if she testified as a supposed witness. And then the feds would set her up with a new identity.
“That plan sounds like it requires an awful lot of chips to fall just right,” Michael remarks.
“Aye,” I agree. “Donny never did think things all the way through.”
“She’s scared shitless,” Scarlett says. “I just thought maybe you don’t have to kill her. Maybe you could help her get her son back instead. And send her on her way to somewhere else. I guarantee you won’t have any more problems with her if you do.”
“Ye can’t guarantee something like that,” Rory says, the irritation in his voice clear. He knows such a guarantee from Scarlett would likely put her at risk if this plan of hers ever did go south.
“I can and I will,” she says. “I know this girl. She’s had it rough, okay? She just wants out of this life. She’s grasping at whatever life vest will keep her afloat.”
The lads all look to me for an answer. Something that would have made me uncomfortable before, but now I take no issue with it. Because it isn’t just me that’s riding on this working out favorably, but Sasha and my child too. And I need to know that the man who comes home to her at the end of the day is one she can actually stomach to look at. But I also need to ensure her safety.
“We need to speak with this girl,” I say. “Then we can sort it out. Dom, you and Scarlett give Alexei the details and he will get us everything we need.”
He nods and stands up to do exactly that. Only his phone rings, and he answers it before he goes. The words are few and quiet, but the expression on his face tells me it isn’t good news he’s just received.
“We’ve got another problem,” he says when he hangs up. “Niall’s just had a massive heart attack.”