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He turned as if to get money, but I stepped into the house and looked around at the unkempt nature of it. Trash littered the coffee table, and an old dog lay across a stained area rug. The entire place smelled like cigarette smoke and stale weed. “Tell me what my guys said and who said it,” I demanded.
He looked up at me from where he seemed to be sorting through his thoughts. “Did I get scammed?” he asked. I didn’t say anything, and he shook his head. “I got a letter in the mail instead of your guys’ usual visits, asking for information. If I could give accurate information, it said I’d be let out of my payment for last month. Nobody came to collect, so I thought I was out of it.”
“What information?”
“The letter asked about the new Dom and what he wants with the old one’s daughter. Information, technicalities, all that shit. I figured you were looking to collect.”
My jaw clenched, and my finger itched to reach for my gun.
Andrei spoke, drawing his attention. “Do you know who you gave the information to?” he asked.
“I don’t know, man. I mailed it off. I still have the address around here somewhere.”
The thought of the news spreading so quickly had rage shooting through me. He thought he could just offer up information that could kill Ciara without repercussions.
Andrei looked between me and the man, clearly seeing how close I was coming to snapping. “You know all about the order to have the old boss’s daughter killed?” Andrei asked. “Tell us about it.”
“What do you want to know?” he asked. “I don’t usually offer information like this without payment.”
The sniveling little coward was willing to exchange any amount of information for the sake of his own life and wellbeing, and that would be the gravest mistake he’d ever made, though he didn’t seem to realize it yet.
“Consider last month’s payment forgiven as long as you answer our questions,” I said cooly. “Give me the technicalities on this order. What proof is needed? Where is it to be sent? How does one collect on the debt once she’s dead?”
He licked his lips and sat down on what he’d been holding. “You take the proof directly to his house. First come, first served. It has to be direct proof linking you to the hit, and he’ll give you the cash payout. It’s a sweet deal. I know a dozen people looking to get her. Someone will get that money soon, so if you hope to collect, you’d better hurry.”
I cracked my knuckles. “Get me that address where you sent the information,” I demanded, and he nodded, moving through his house as he searched.
I turned to Andrei. “Word is still spreading, which means my call did nothing.”
“His underboss made it clear that the call wouldn’t make a difference. This situation is what we expected it to be,” he replied in a low tone.
The man came back into the room, holding up a letter. He handed it to me, and I scanned the contents, unable to make out who had written it. The request was an offer for information in exchange for lenience on payment, and I wondered how many of the other people had received something similar. Then, at the bottom of the sheet, was an address to mail the information. I didn’t recognize it, but it was another stepping stone.
“This is all the information you were given?” I clarified.
“That’s it,” he said.
“And you thought a few hundred dollars would be worth spreading information about this woman—spreading information that could get her killed?”
He shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal. “I do what my boss asks of me, and he requested that the information be spread as far and wide as we can send it. That means that I deliver the information when someone asks. I’m not looking to cash in on the deal, but who am I to keep others from making a fortune?”
I didn’t second guess it as I lifted my gun from my hip holster and pulled the trigger once. The spot between his eyes where the bullet sunk into his brain immediately oozed blood as he thudded back on the floor. He hadn’t even had a chance to open his mouth or raise his fists, but I didn’t regret it.
He had and was willing to spread the information about Ciara, and I wouldn’t let him survive for that. How many people had he already told about her? How many attempted hits could there have been if I wasn’t already protecting her?
“More people are going to brave your wrath for her every day. The news of the money isn’t contained to the Irish mob’s territory anymore. It’s seeping into everyone else’s, and that’s a threat,” Andrei spoke, staring at the man on the floor. “Men like him are a threat.”
“There’s one less of them now,” I said, tucking the gun back into my holster. The dog in the living room turned and looked at us before eyeing his owner and laying back on the rug. “Have someone come and get this body and this animal before his neighbors come sniffing around. We’ll ask all the other mobsters if they received a similar letter.”
Andrei grabbed it and looked it over for a moment, examining even the back of the sheet before nodding. “It doesn’t give any personal information about the sender, but I’ll look into this address more in-depth. Whoever sent it wants to know how to cash in on this bargain, and we can’t let that happen.”
“No, we can’t,” I agreed, striding toward the car.
If this information about the cash reward continued spreading like wildfire, I wasn’t sure if being married to Ciara would be enough to keep her safe. I had to end this.
Chapter Sixteen
Ciara Gilroy
