Those were the last words before the trunk closed.
***
I could have climbed over the back seat. I didn’t have to stay in the trunk. But as the SUV drove through the streets of Boston, I shrank into myself. Tucking my knees to my chest, I let the pain wash over me. It was hard to say if I cried. My chest didn’t work, and I couldn’t bring in enough air to sob. My cheeks were numb, and if there were tears, I wasn’t able to feel them.
“We’ll use the service lift,” Connor said, breaking the heavy silence in the vehicle as it came to a stop.
Shaking myself, I sat up and dashed a hand under each eye. The skin was dry.
The driver’s side door cracked open then slammed shut. Other doors opened and closed as I waited. When the trunk finally lifted to reveal the spawn of Satan, I was ready to fight.
Connor kept his hands on the lid, arms stretched high above his head as he leaned casually forward. “Ready to play nice?”
“Go to hell.” I crossed my arms over my chest.
The mobster sighed. “Look, Liam is in a meeting with some investors. I would rather not haul you past the boardroom over my shoulder.”
That told me two things. We weren’t at the construction site where my husband spent his days. And Connor hadn’t kidnapped me.
I hadn’t really thought the latter was true, but in the mob, being kidnapped was always a possibility. Connor was loyal, though. It didn’t take a genius to figure that one out. He’drescued me from a terrible situation, and like the faithful dog he was, he’d brought me straight to his master to deal with.
“Won’t you lose a hand for touching me?” I sneered.
Something flickered in his eyes.
Fear.
“Threatening to gun your father down in cold blood counts as extenuating circumstances,” he said with a forced laugh, brogue thick and voice sure. “I do have permission to save you, cailín.”
“Fuck you.” I struggled to breathe properly. “You just damned my mother and sisters.”
“And you’re being a pain in the arse, so we’re even.” Connor pulled back, swept both hands in the direction we should move, and added, “After you, Mrs. McDonagh.”
I kicked out my legs and jumped out of the trunk. The parking garage was brightly lit. A hot gust of air from the industrial fan wailed through the length, rushing from shadow to shadow.
We were underground. At night.On a Sunday.
Stepping into the service elevator, I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth. Who the hell was Liam meeting on a Sunday night? We had to be downtown, maybe the south side.
None of those questions really mattered.
The facts were simple. Connor was turning over a problem that was above his pay grade, and I would have to answer for my actions.
Maybe…. Maybe Liam will listen.
Connor swiped a keycard on the elevator, and the guards filed inside, me in the middle. Pushing past one of them, I stabbed my finger into the button to close the doors. “What floor?”
Connor swiped his card again, then gave me a nod.
“The top.” Connor leaned against the opposite wall, kicking his heel over the opposite ankle.
I jabbed the button and the doors began to close. The elevator rushed upward, soaring higher and higher. Hope waited for meup there. I shifted back and forth, tapped my toes against the floor. If anyone would listen, my husband might.
“Jaysus, missus, ye’re giving me the willies,” Sean cursed under his breath.
I rose on the tips of my toes and sank down. Over and over. Energy coursed through me. My chest was clear now. I could breathe. Rapid gulps of air filled my lungs.
I burst out of the elevator the moment the doors pinged open. “Which way?”
