Page 10 of Keegan: The Murphy Family
“Who are you? What do you want from me?” I hissed, struggling to get free again. I could sense the man’s presence in the room as he slowly stepped towards me. I knew it was a man, and I knew my life was hanging by a thread…dependent on this man’s whims and fancies.
Then I heard a light bulb switch on. It filled the room with a dim orange glow…enough for me to see the man’s face.
It was Connor Gallagher.
I’d never seen him before, but I recognized him immediately.
I could hear my father’s voice in my head now. I was six, and he was playing with me in our backyard. I had a million questions for him, about what he did for a living. He didn’t say much, but he told me that he was involved in some things which he was trying to get out of. As a six year old, I understood very little of what he was saying.
But he did say something that day which stood out. Even now, I could hear him saying it— “if you ever see this man, Fallon, I want you to run.”
I’d stared at him, confused. Then he’d described him to me. A big man with a scar running down the front of his face, all the way over his lips and down his neck. Dad told me this man was called Connor Gallagher, and that he was evil. I’d promised him that day that if I ever saw him, I’d run.
But I couldn’t keep that promise.
He was standing in front of me now, and I had nowhere to go.
I struggled, instinctually, even though I knew that those ties were not going to give way.
For a few moments, Connor just stood there, smirking at me.
“You’ve grown up, sweet Fallon,” he said.
He was implying that he knew me when I was a kid, that he’d seen me when I was a little girl. I wanted to scream, I wanted to cry—but I knew that showing any signs of weakness in front of him; would be a mistake.
“What do you want from me? Why am I here?” I screeched instead.
His laugh came out of nowhere. He laughed with his head thrown back, with his shoulders quaking. Like I’d just told him the funniest joke he’d ever heard.
“You really think that’s going to work on me? Playing this role of the innocent lamb?” he asked, stepping closer to me.
A chill ran down my spine. I was afraid he was going to touch me.
“I want to know what I’m doing here. Why you have me tied up here!” I screamed.
He stopped laughing finally and drew in a deep breath.
“Okay, I’ll tell you, little girl. You have just given me the best leverage I can use against the Murphy family,” he answered.
I glared at him. I could feel the sweat dripping down my temples, dampening my eyelashes.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I have nothing to do with the Murphy family. My father worked for him but you killed him! Since then, I haven’t had any connection with them!”
Connor was nodding his head lightly, listening to me…but I could tell from the look in his eyes that he didn’t believe a word of what I said.
He smacked his lips before he spoke again.
“Nice try, little girl, but I know exactly what your relationship with the Murphy family is,” he continued.
I shook my head, desperate to make him see reason; but he was smiling again. He had me exactly where he wanted me.
“I had Keegan Murphy followed. You see, my son Braden, was very enthusiastic about Keegan getting out of jail. None of my sons were big fans of their brother getting beaten up and being put in the hospital. Braden was more than willing to find Keegan the moment he stepped out of prison, and making sure that fucker never walked again.”
I gulped. My throat had gone dry. I knew exactly where he was going with this.
“Whatever your son has told you is a lie. I have nothing to do with Keegan Murphy!” I still tried. I had some fight left in me.
“That’s not going to work on me, Fallon. My son saw Keegan go to the diner, where you work. Keegan very neatly led us to the girl we’ve been trying to find for ten years. Two birds. One stone,” Connor continued.
The smirk never left his face. He was having fun watching me squirm and sob.
I shook my head.
I couldn’t believe how this had happened so quickly. Keegan had led them straight to me.
“What do you want from me?” I squealed and Connor shrugged his shoulders.
“It’s very simple, little girl. I wanted to kill you. You see, we know you saw the murder. Braden was there. He knew you were in the cupboard. But my stupid son is soft. He didn’t want to kill a kid. But you’re not a kid anymore.”
I couldn’t hold back the tears. I was crying because I knew that my end was near. They were going to kill me. They were going to kill me before Keegan had a chance to find me.
“Braden is an idiot. He should have killed you right then. Made sure he left no witnesses. We’ve been trying to find you since then. Finish the job.”
“So, you’re going to kill me. You killed my father and now you’re going to kill me too!” I spat at him.
Connor drew in a deep breath and shook his head.
“Not yet, little girl. If I kill you now, then I lose the leverage I have on the Murphys. Braden saw you and Keegan together. We know what is going on between the two of you. That boy will do anything to get you back, and that is exactly the kind of foolishness we need.”
“No, please, just leave him alone. Kill me if you have to!” I was crying now. I had given up. I knew there was no escape from this. They were going to kill me anyway. They were going to kill Keegan too. I just wanted it to end.
All my life, I had death and danger hanging over me like a dark shadow. I just wanted it to be over. I’d had enough.
13
Keegan
I had no doubt who was responsible for Fallon’s disappearance. The Gallaghers had taken her. And I had a haunting suspicion about who had led them to her—me. For the one month that she’d been in Chicago, nothing had happened to her. And on the very day that I was out of prison, that I went and looked for her—she was kidnapped.
I drove my car back to the family home, where most of them had already gone to bed. Thankfully, mam and dad were asleep so I didn’t have to answer a barrage of questions.
Eamon and Callum were still out in the porch, drinking, when I went up to them.
“Brother? What are you doing back here? Come join us for another pint,” Eamon said.
I was struggling with the idea of telling them what was going on. But that would require a lot of explaining. I’d have to tell them the whole story with Fallon, and I just didn’t have the time for it. Besides, whatever was going to happen tonight with the Gallaghers; I wanted to do it alone. I didn’t want my family to be involved in the mess—especially since that was exactly what Connor Gallagher wanted.
“I can’t stay. I’m looking for information on Finn Gallagher,” I said, standing over them. Eamon and Callum exchanged looks. The mention of the Gallagher name was like an explosion in this house.
“What do you want with that scumbag, little brother?” Callum asked and I shrugged my shoulders.
“I just need to find him,” I said.
“You need to find a Gallagher boy?” Eamon reiterated and I knew alarm bells were going off in their heads.
“Do you know where he is?” I asked.
“You need to tell us what is going on before you get yourself back in prison again,” Eamon said, and he stood up.
“You don’t need to get your panties in a bunch. I just have some unfinished business with him. It’s nothing,” I said.
Callum stood up too.
“Nobody has any unfinished business with that fucker. He barely knows up from down most of the time!” he said with a smirk.
“Exactly, so nothing’s going to happen. I just need to talk to him. Just trust me!” I argued.
Eamon and Callum were glaring at me and I could see they were worried. I’d just got out of prison for beating up a Gallagher, and now I was looking for another one. I knew what the
y were thinking.
“Mam is not going to like this. Neither is dad,” Eamon remarked.
“Look, if you’re not going to tell me where he is; I’m just going to go ask someone else. I will find him!”
Callum sighed deeply.
“He’s probably going to be at Paddy’s Pub. That’s where he spends most of his time, if he’s not out burgling old ladies,” he said.
“Okay, thanks,” I called out to them, I was already backing away.
“Keegan, c’mon, if you need our help with something—just say it!” Eamon said and I waved a hand in the air.
“It’s nothing. I’ll be fine!”
