Page 40 of Savage Little Secret

“You’re insane! Or suicidal. I think you might be both!”

I follow Brendan into an abandoned house on the edge of town. The air stinks of rot and old smoke.

“Shut up,” I mutter, scanning the corners as he hobbles around. “This place is a trap waiting to happen.”

“No one comes around here. It’s a perfect cover,” Brendan replies.

The place looks like someone left in a hurry. Pictures are gone, drawers yanked open, furniture abandoned.

“O’Malley better show up alone,” I warn Brendan as I glance at my phone to look at the message that I sent Sean earlier with a picture of the beaten man.

Meet at the house on Kline if you want Brendan to stay alive. 4 p.m. Come alone. We need to talk about Cara. – Ivanov

There wasn’t a response, but Brendan swore that it’s the right number to reach his boss.

“He should show since Cara’s still alive,” Brendan mutters as he moves to sit down on the stained, dust-covered loveseat. He stretches his broken leg out in front of him with a grimace, sweat lingering on his forehead. “You got any more oxy?”

“No, you ate it like candy. Ask your boss for more,” I tell him.

Brendan scoffs. “Yeah, right. I’m already dead for all that I’ve told you.”

“If he likes my deal, you might limp away from this.”

“A deal with Sean O’Malley?” Brendan replies with a brief laugh. “The Irish don’t make deals with the Russians. What could you possibly offer him?”

“Are you Sean O’Malley?” I question him, making him shut his mouth.

Honestly, I have no idea if this is even going to work, but I have to try. And I need to do it quickly. More rumors are going to spread whether I like it or not, and soon the Council will pressure me for proof that Cara’s been taken care of.

A car door clicks shut outside.

I slide the gun up to Brendan’s temple. Not to scare him, but so Sean sees I’m in control the second he walks in.

“So dramatic.” Brendan sighs.

“Shut up,” I warn him again. “If your boss behaves, so will I.”

“I can’t promise anything. You may not have killed his daughter, but you did fuck her. He won’t forgive that,” Brendan mutters as he continues sitting there, too tired and hurt to put up much of a fight.

And I’m not ever going to forgive O’Malley for killing Mikhail or Gabe.

Nothing he could do or say will bring them back, though. And continuing to fight with the Irish will only lead to more blood spilled by my men and his own.

A minute later, one pair of footsteps sounds from the front porch, making me tense up in preparation. Anything could happen. The Irish could storm this place and kill me, but that’s a risk I just have to take.

Hopefully, now that Cara has been returned to him in one piece, Sean is curious enough to hear me out. Part of me was hoping that she would come with him.

The doorknob turns, and the door slowly swings open. Sean’s large form comes into view as he stands in the doorway, one hand tucked in his coat pocket. I assume he’s locked and loaded as well.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, he’s alone.

“Well, well, well,” Sean says as he arches one of his bushy eyebrows at me. “You’ve got some balls on you, Ivanov.”

I keep the gun pointed at Brendan’s temple. “How many men did you bring?”

“Didn’t see any sign of your crew. You the type to hide them on rooftops?” Sean asks as he walks toward me, his eyes sweeping back and forth to check the house for any traps that I might’ve set or any men hiding in corners.

“It’s just me,” I tell him.