It’s definitely a new perspective.
“One day, when I was thirteen, he told me he would beat Duffy to death if I didn’t do as he said, and he took me out. I didn’t know what he did for work, but that day I found out. He was in charge of one of the brothels, and he took me there.” She pauses again and sucks in another deep breath. “To work off a debt.” She speaks quickly now, like the words can’t come out fast enough. “I don’t know why, but Eian came by that day and he found out about it. He also cut off my father’s hand, which I think is poetic really. Then he got the man who was raping me off me, and took me home because I wouldn’t have it otherwise. I needed to get to Duffy, and Eian did that for me.”
Her gaze focuses back on me then, like she’s surfacing into this plane of existence again.
“He freed me and Duffy, and then brought us to Ronan. That’s the day we met our real Da, and though we only had him for a few years, I can tell you Ronan Dempsey was more of a father to us in that time than that fucker Jimmy could ever have dreamed of being.”
I keep a level gaze on her even after she’s done. I feel like I owe it to her—the whole fucking world owes it to her.
“They had Jimmy and the other fucker—I forget his name.” Duffy picks up the storytelling without wasting a second. “Anyway, they had both of them tied up in the bunker, and I’d asked Eian if I could be the one to kill Jimmy when he got those chains off me. Ronan liked that idea apparently, because only a little while after they went away, Eian came back to the room he’d put us in and told me to go with him. But Rory here wanted a piece of him too, so we both went in there, and Eian taught us how to deal with them while Ronan watched.”
“I remember,” Rory says, and it strikes me how in sync they are, telling the story together. “Eian asked me how much pain I thought that other guy deserved. I told him I didn’t care, and he said that I should care. That people who take advantage, who make innocents suffer, deserve to suffer ten times more. He told us that was the job of the Dempseys, and we had to learn how to be the worst monster in the room.”
“And after a few hours, I finally got to kill Jimmy,” Duffyfinishes like it’s the end of a kids storybook or some shit, his voice almost sounding like a song.
“So you see?” Rory asks me. “We followed Ronan’s orders and now we follow Eian’s, because they’re the only ones who care about and avenge all the people who no one else cares about.” She leans in, rests her elbows on her knees, and clasps her hands. “As long as you don’t fuck us over and don’t hurt innocents, Eian’s never going to hurt you. In fact, he’ll even take care of you, and there’s no scenario where he’ll hurt your little girl, Colby. I don’t know if he’ll ever let you go.” She whispers that last part, and though I told her she didn’t have to pretend with me, I’m still grateful that she does when the next words come out of her mouth. “But you can have a good life with us, Colby. As far as we’re concerned, you’re already part of the family.”
And family is forever.
Yay me.
6
EIAN
“I can see you were right,” I tell Sean when I finally look up from the reports. He stands up straighter, his thirty-two years barely showing on his baby face, and that’s the main reason assholes think he’s inexperienced, but he’s one of my most trusted men.
I know it couldn’t have been easy to come to me with this, so I know he made damn sure he was right before talking to me.
The fact that my men hesitate to come to me with small issues is by design.
I have a lot of shit to do on any given day, and I make sure the men and women I have in charge of the casinos and brothels talk to every employee so they go tothemwith smaller issues.
Sean has been in charge of our biggest casino in Jersey for about seven years. Yeah, he was young when I realized what a machine his big brain is, and I haven’t regretted that decision once. Today is the first time he’s ever brought a problem to me, and he’s grown our profit margins by a lot over the years.
“I’m proud of you,” I tell him as I stand. I believe in giving credit where it’s due, and if I could give him a bigger job, to help me deal with the day to day, I would. But there’s no way one man can manage two casinos, so instead... “After we deal with this, you’re going to have to find and train three new dealers. Check with Chen. Besides that, I want you to pick two men, train them for as long as you think is necessary, and I’ll put them in charge of the underground casino on Fifty-Third and the one in Williamsburg.”
His blue eyes open wide before he can tamp down his reaction.
“Thanks, Boss,” he mumbles. I don’t begrudge him that. I don’t give out compliments easily, but he’s earned it, so I tell him.
“You’ve earned it. Now, bring the three dealers in here. Make it sound like a bonus.”
“Yes sir.” He nods once, and then he’s out of there. Blake and Richee come in when he leaves and close the door behind them. Richee works right under Blake in security,and he’s even bigger than Blake, built like a tank, and loyal to a fault.
“Get ready,” I murmur, then nod at the couch so they’ll sit.
Less than five minutes later, Sean walks in behind the three stupid motherfuckers who thought they could steal from me. Sean thinks they’re all in on it together and that’s why it took him so long to catch them.
“Good evening,” I tell them, speaking mildly because I don’t have any need to shout here.
They all say a version of hey, then stand at attention. I can see the greed in their eyes, and I’m about to make them pay for it.
“You were all aware before today that you work for me, weren’t you?” I tilt my head a little, trying to be as non-threatening as possible.
“Yes,” they all answer.
“And how much do I pay you?”
