The crowd of customers, all surly-looking blokes who’d seen better days stiffened, but they no longer reacted as violently as they’d done before. With Halle now a part of our family, the girl once married to Liam’s brother, they knew better than to start some shit.
It wouldn’t end well for anyone.
What they didn’t know because we hadn’t broadcast the news was that Liam and his entire Irish syndicate were in a limited alliance with us. We wouldn’t invade their turf and they certainly didn’t have the muscle to invade ours. We simply used Liam for the kind of information that wouldn’t be eagerly provided by certain factions of people living in Las Vegas.
Even though our reputation for turning legit had been around for a long time, we certainly hadn’t made many friends over the years. The former generation of brutal leaders had set our future in stone.
Liam had been given advance notice of our arrival and the reason for our meeting. While the hard clenching of his jaw indicated he’d much rather be spending time at his proctologist’s office, he was calm and collected. Even prepared for what we were asking him to do.
The thought in my head was still doubting the sudden compassion I’d felt earlier.
All the while, Lainey’s voice continued to pound inside my head. I was a good man. According to her, a marshmallow inside. I wouldn’t go that far.
Our mystery guest would face lingering pain for a long time.
We’d left our men outside. We had no fear of what Liam would do. We had him by the balls after his involvement with the Greek mafia less than a year before. He was alive because of us.
He also had his niece to think about, Halle’s little girl who he adored.
Not that we’d consider ourselves one big happy family, however blended we’d become. We’d never fully trust the Irish even if Liam and his clan were on short leashes. However, as a gesture of good faith, not only had we encouraged the continued economic growth and expansion of what would soon be a strong Irish neighborhood, but we’d also provided needed capital for new projects.
He had a half dozen reasons to be grateful.
Liam nodded toward his small office in the back of the bar. We followed him inside, waiting as he shut the door.
“I heard about the attack, Sasha. I’m sorry,” he said by way of opening the discussion.
“Thank you. Now we need your help in discovering the person responsible.”
He stared at us disbelievingly.
“I don’t know how I can help you. I haven’t heard anything about the O’Shaughnessys since we last talked. And you wouldknow about any Russians trying to steal your limelight. The few Greeks who remained after you killed the Papadakis family fled like rabbits.”
“You’re going to be our eyes and ears, Liam. I assure you that the vermin will stick his ugly head from his protective hole. He won’t do so around us or to anyone considered our partners.” Mikhail simply stated the words. There was no emotion, no anger.
We’d purposely kept our alliance quiet. Not only would it place Liam’s family and those of his loyal men in danger, it also didn’t allow for secrets to be spilled.
“You know I have a family. Right?” he asked. It was rare that he was nervous about anything.
“And you know we will protect them. We’re bringing you a present to help you discover who’s targeted us,” Mikhail answered.
“What did you hear about the party, Liam?” I asked quietly. We’d purposely avoided talking to the press and had explicitly instructed the police to keep certain details quiet. What had been on the news was bad enough, but at least the guest list had been kept quiet. A few had outed themselves, the ones who’d fired off pictures of Lainey and me on their social media platforms. The only reason anyone would know it was a birthday party massacre had been their posts.
I doubted he’d seen them. He wasn’t much of an internet guy.
“Not much. A family celebration.”
“True,” I answered. “It was Nina’s seventh birthday. It was also the anniversary of the night I pulled my wife off life support.”
Liam’s eyes opened wide. He hadn’t been privy to my private pain. We’d never be that close no matter Halle’s connection to him.
“Wow, man. I’m sorry. I had no idea.”
“No, you didn’t,” I said as I walked closer. “Why don’t I give you some details, so you better understand. That party was special to Nina. She’d been looking forward to it for weeks. While I’ve made it special in the past, I’d always been hesitant about allowing her friends to come over. Too risky.”
“Understandable.”
“Sadly, this is one party she won’t forget. Granted, her favorite singer Lainey Rose agreed to perform. She was delighted. So were her friends. So was Emily, who is also a huge fan.”
