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I notice Michael smirking out of the corner of my eye. “Neither.”
“Are… You want to open store credit? It’s a pretty lengthy process, just so you know,” she asks, looking a bit concerned now.
“Sure, let’s do that,” I smile at her, fixing my cufflinks.
She sidesteps to get a tablet and presses the screen a few times before smiling at me, “Your name?”
“Liam,” I state clearly. “Liam Mullen.” Her eyes round, and her mouth hangs open. I cock my head slightly to the side, “Though, I suppose I don’t need an application, do I? Considering I already own it.”
“What?” Damon calls from the other side of the room. Slowly, he stalks over toward me. He looks as cautious as he is surprised. “What did you say your name was?”
“Liam Mullen,” I reiterate, panning my vision over to him. “I take it you’ve heard of me.”
“I’ve heard rumors,” he states curtly. He’s an older guy, looking to be approaching fifty, but his hair is dyed jet black in an attempt to hide his gray, I’m sure. His eyes narrow and study me for a long moment. “Christ Almighty… I’d want to grill you about such a claim, but there’s no denying it. You’re Diana’s kid, aren’t you?”
Diana Mullen—my mother, and sister to Sean. “In the flesh,” I nod.
His jaw shifts side to side. I’m not sure if it’s from stress or frustration. “You’re the one that did Colin in, aren’t you?”
I sniff and crack my neck, trying not to let myself get irritated all over it about the blood splattering on my shirt. “He was an issue that needed to be handled.”
“I’d love to hear the detail on that,” Damon replies.
“I’ll tell you everything you need to know at a meeting. Gather all of the captains at the West District office tomorrow night. Let’s say seven. You got that, Mike?” I ask, calling over to my underboss without turning around or breaking eye contact with Damon.
“Got it,” Michael confirms.
The old-timer scoffs and shakes his head. “Let me get this straight. You come into town, kill Sean’s underboss, take one of our most expensive watches, and are calling meetings? I don’t even know you.”
“Well, you’re gonna. We can have us a nice little meet and greet tomorrow night,” I tell him as evenly as I can. He’s grinding on my nerves already.
“The gall on you, kid,” Damon snorts.
The smug look on my face is the only half-pleasant look I can muster. If there was more of an audience than one employee and Michael, I would have slapped the taste out of Damon’s mouth for talking to me like that. I’ve done my show of power by taking the watch, so now I need toattemptto get off on the right foot with the captains. “Let’s call it genetics.”
Gradually, the offended sneer drained from his features and to my surprise, Damon starts chuckling. “You know what, you’re right about that. Didn’t even grow up here, and you remind me so much of Sean.”
I fain a smile and nod. “So, will you call the meeting?”
“You’re twisting my arm, but yeah… I’ll do it for ya.”
I clasp his shoulder in appreciation. “Will you do one more thing for me?” He confirms with a nod. “Make sure no one from a captain, down to the lowest grub of an associate you all watch over, talks to the Robinsons. You understand?”
“But why—”
I pat his cheek, a bit aggressively. While I’m not slapping him, I want him to feel the rings that linger right under my gloves. The promise of violence if he doesn’t comply. “Doyle, don’t you think you’ll get the answer to that at the meeting?”
There doesn’t need to be words exchanged for him to confirm. I watch him swallow his nervousness. Then I nod at Michael. We move out of the shop and head back toward my car. “Way to make an entrance,” he comments. “What are you planning to do at that meeting?”
“What do you think? Make my face known to the people that need to fear it.”
CHAPTERFIVE
Anna
The ringing of phones, chatter, and clacking of keyboards are usually soothing noises for me. It’s a symphony of normalcy and stability. After the kidnapping, I had opted to take a new job over remaining at the restaurant where I had first met Ethan Levine. But even before I made the decision, I knew it was pointless. I simply itched for a semblance of control. Even if the only semblance I could have wasdelusion.
Today, though, all that noise is too much. Every sudden phone ring makes me jump. The background chatter grates my last nerve. I have barely gotten any work done and I know my supervisor will surely get onto me about it. How in the hell can I help people navigate a health insurance website via customer support, when I know what’s waiting for me outside the walls of this building?
