Raider followed, his boots snapping straw and hay as he stepped inside to see the tractor, empty stalls, and a myriad of tools lined neatly on one wall just as they’d been the night before.
In a surprisingly graceful move, Sean grabbed a shovel leaning against a post, turned, and swung it at Raider’s head.
Raider ducked, out of pure instinct, and the metal brushed his hair. He jumped back. “What the hell, man?” It was a sad testament to his training that his accent came out just like he’d grown up on the streets of New York.
Sean held the shovel with both hands, his stance set. “Who the hell are you?”
Raider forced himself into character. “I’m your daughter’s fiancé.”
“Right. Maybe so, but that’s not why you’re here.” Sean tapped one part of the handle against his left hand. “Start talking, or I’ll take off your head. Brigid will be pissed, but she ain’t marrying you.”
Raider took another step back. If Sean swung again, he’d have to take the shovel, and he didn’t want to hurt Brigid’s father. “Fine. I have an organization that needs your connections.” He held up a hand as Sean’s chin lowered. “All I need is an introduction to the Coonans. Nothing more.”
Sean’s eyes glittered an angry emerald. “Who the hell are the Coonans?”
Nice try. Raider forced a scoff. “I have your police records and rap sheet. It helps to have friends in high places.” His smile even felt dirty. “I know you were an enforcer with the Coonans, and I know you’re still in contact with them. Introduce me, vouch for my organization, and I’ll never bug you again.”
Sean’s nostrils flared. “And Brigid?”
“I like her. Am happy to marry her.” The next words burned through Raider’s throat. “If you want me gone after the introduction, I’ll be gone. But she likes me. If this new enterprise goes well, I can make her a very wealthy woman. Give her anything she wants.”
Sean snarled. “I haven’t talked to the Coonans in two decades. There is no reason under God’s green earth that I’d reach out to them, and they’d know that. You’d be dead the second you showed for a meeting. You stupid sonofabitch.”
The man was lying. There was no question Jonny and Josh had visited the farm at least twice. Why? “I don’t think you understand the connections I have,” Raider drawled.
Sean’s face turned a motley red. “Did you have this enterprise in mind before or after you met my daughter?”
Raider swallowed, looking for the right answer. “I met her, started dating her, fell in love with her, and then had her investigated.” He shrugged. “Had to know everything. When I found out about you and your connections to the Coonans, I started to think of a way to expand my business. It’s—”
Sean held up a hand. “I don’t want to know a thing about it. Does Brigid know what you do?”
Again, Raider tried to read the man’s expression, but it was blank. He must’ve been an excellent enforcer at some point. “No. The less she knows, the better. It’s safer for her.” He tried to look earnest. “I’m only into cybercrimes, Sean. Don’t move drugs, don’t move guns, and don’t move people. Well, guns once in a while. Just odd jobs.” Maybe that would make him more palatable to the old guy. “If I partnered with the Coonans, and they used their current system to launder my money, I could do very well. So could they.”
Sean lowered the tip of the shovel and leaned it against the post again. “Well, here’s your problem. I’m not in touch with the Coonans, and even if I was, I wouldn’t help you. I left that life a long time ago.” He wiped his hands down his overalls. “I plan on telling Brigid the truth, but I doubt that will change a thing. She’s always had terrible taste in men.” He rubbed his weathered hands together and moved closer to the door. “Probably karma for my past sins. So you’re going to end it with her.”
Against all logic, Raider kind of liked the guy. Yeah, he was lying, but he definitely cared about his daughter. “What incentive would I have to do that?” he asked.
Sean smiled for the first time. “Well, end it, and I won’t kill you.” He pivoted on his left foot.
The punch came out of nowhere, full on, and with a farmer’s strength. Pain exploded in Raider’s temple, his brain instantly swelled, and he dropped like a boulder to the barn floor. Hay filled his nostrils, and then the entire world went black as unconsciousness took him under.
Chapter Twelve
Brigid sat on her handmade wedding-band quilt and looked around her childhood room. Lightning zigged outside, and fat raindrops started to fall against the window. She loved a good rainstorm on the farm.
Pictures and pom-poms and sports trophies covered her dresser and end tables, and a collage of more pictures and souvenirs took up the entire wall space above her desk. She’d forgotten. Her dad had coached her in softball and in soccer for her early years, until she’d played at school.
Then she’d discovered her first computer and had turned away from sports. Had her father felt she’d turned away from him, too? Her mother had died, and they’d both retreated, and then she’d walked a little on the wild side.
Would he be proud of her now? Of the good she did? She fingered the necklace and started to release the clasp.
A knock sounded on her door, and she jumped, dropping her hands instantly. “Come in.”
The door opened, and her father walked in, wiping his hands off on a faded yellow bandana. He’d removed his boots, but his hair and overalls were wet. “How are you settling in?” he asked. The smell of the outdoors came with him. Thunder crackled outside.
“Good.” She cleared her throat. He and Raider had been outside for a couple of hours. “How did it go with Raider?”
Her dad shook his head. “I’d hoped your decision making would’ve improved as you got older.”
