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"She died?" Brennan, who’d been leaning against a wall, straightened up.
"She did," I confirmed, shooting him a look that conveyed my displeasure at being interrupted.
My eye caught on Finn and I saw his tension had risen again.
"What hooker?" Jonesy questioned, his brow puckered. "We left him at Queens of Heart last night—"
"I think you just answered your own question," Declan rasped. "She worked at Queens of Heart."
Jonesy’s nostrils flared. "He killed that girl he was with? Fuck, she was only a baby."
I knew my distaste flickered onto my expression.
Jonesy was in his late fifties, but he’d thought nothing of using a hooker who was in her early twenties.
Sick fuck.
I watched as the older man scrubbed a hand over his face. "What do you know about this new street drug making the rounds, Jonesy?"
When his throat bobbed, I knew he was going to lie to me. "Not heard much about Red, Aidan."
I barked out a laugh. "Bullshit if ever I heard it. How do you know its goddamn name if you haven’t heard much about it?"
His cheeks turned pale. "I ain’t lying. Just know the name."
"You sure you ain’t lying?" I mocked. "Feel like getting some of what’s coming to Cain?"
Jonesy’s mouth bobbed open and closed in response.
"Cat got your tongue, Jonesy?" I snarled.
Lucas jerked to his feet. My captain—the formal title for the leader of the crew I needed to start utilizing as more than guards—confirmed his usefulness by informing me, "The Sicilians are selling it out of a warehouse in Queens, Aidan."
"Now, was that so complicated, Jonesy?" I reached into my shoulder holster, drew out my gun, and pointed it at him. "You fucking lie to me again, I’ll have your tongue before I blow out your brains. Do you understand me?"
He swallowed, his gaze drifting from the gun and back to me. "You don’t mean that, Aidan."
"You really wanna take that bet, Jonesy? Your loyalty was to my father. You need to prove your loyalty to me. That isn't something that gets passed down as easily as the business. And that ain't on me either. It's on you fuckers to prove that you're trustworthy."
"Our loyalty is to the O'Donnellys," Jonesy argued.
I studied him a second. "See, this is what interests me about all of you. You know I’m not like my father. You know he was insane. You know that was why he scared thebejesusout of everyone.
"But isn’t it far more terrifying to have a man who’s completely rational slice out your tongue for lying to him?
"Nothing I do can be excused away with an insanity plea. Everything I do will be undertaken with me in completecompos mentis, so you’d better watch yourselves and you'd better stop fucking bullshitting me."
Blanching for the first time, Jonesy stuttered, "I-I-I don’t know much about what he was taking."
"You and Cain were Da’s guards," I pointed out.
"Yeah," he agreed.
"So what you’re telling me is that this motherfucker has managed to get addicted to it and that’s happened without you or any of Da’s other men realizing it?"
"Well, we—he—"
"We—he—" I jeered. "Is that another fucking lie I see you trying to come up with, Jonesy?" I pointed my gun at Anthony, another of Da's guards. "Stand up."
