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My office door banged open, startling me out of my thoughts. Of course Teag never knocked; he didn't respect me like that.
I blinked, trying to orient myself to the real world again. "What's up?"
Teag came in and dropped the file on my desk. With Connor back in the rotation, Callum had put him in charge of running my side of things while I was on the mend, and to my chagrin, he was actually pretty good at it. What Teag was lacking in finesse he made up with an innate understanding of all the moving parts. It didn't hurt that he was ruthless when it came to getting people to pay up.
He leaned against my desk and crossed his arms, studying me. "You been here all night?"
"Since I came in," I replied, rubbing my eyes. The clock said it was 4AM, but I didn't feel like I'd been here that long.
"You should be taking it easy. The doc said--"
"I'm fine." I looked away, staring at the wall. Teag's offer seemed genuine, but the last thing I wanted to do right now was have a conversation.
"I know you're worried about the shipment, but I got this. Go home, put your feet up. Give that girl of yours a call."
"I don't have a girl."
"Is that a fact. Shame." Teag was standing too close, and I didn't like the way he was looking at me. "Not even that little number in the North End you were seeing? Pretty little thing. Worked at a bookstore, right?"
My blood froze. I hadn't told anyone about Emilia. Not even Connor. I leaned back in the chair and spread my hands with a grin. "It's hard to keep them all straight, you know?"
Teag sat back with that little smile of his that made me feel like fresh blood was in the water. He pointed his finger at me like a gun, taking aim. "A guy like you should be careful where he sticks his dick in the North End. Boss might start looking at him,and not for handing out gold stars, neither. You're good, kid, but you're not that good."
"You got something you want to say to me?"
"Just talking, man. I make it my business to know these things. That's the only way you get ahead in this world."
My heart was jackhammering in my chest, and my hands felt numb with equal measures of anger and fear. All right, Teag wanted to threaten me? I could threaten him right back.
"I don't know what the hell you're talking about, but you want to be careful with how far you overstep your bounds. I've known Callum a lot longer than you, old man. Don't think that just because he gives you some scraps from the table you're anything more than a mutt under it. So shut your damn mouth before you end up with a bullet between your teeth."
A beat of silence. The look on Teag's face was one I'd never seen before, and it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. He was smiling, but something dark shifted in his eyes. "Big words for a guy who's been sitting behind a desk for the past few weeks. But I'll tell you what, I don't give two shits who you're fucking. You're not the first guy to let a piece of ass cloud your judgment, and I'm sure as hell not gonna be the one to stop you.
"All I'm saying is you better watch your step, Doyle. You're not above suspicion just because you're friends with the boss’s son. This family's been around for a long time, and the McTiernans aren't the only ones who know how to take care of a rat.”
He slapped my desk and grinned at me. "But don't worry, Alfie. You secret is safe with me."
The conversation with Teagan sat heavily in my gut for the next few days, and when Connor hauled me out of the office to back him on a shakedown with him, that apprehension sank like a lead balloon.
"It's your lucky day, Alfie," he said. "You're back on the rotation. Get your shit."
"Now?" Connor usually brought Tommy along with him if he needed backup.
"You have a hot date?"
I swallowed a smartass remark and suited up. Connor didn't look like he was in the mood to play around. "Where are we going?"
"Docks. Unger shorted us again. Time to get your hands dirty."
But when it came down to it, Connor was the one who seemed intent on extracting his pound of flesh from the dockmaster, going after the wheezing man with a vigor I never saw from Connor unless something was really bothering him. I stood behind them, checking over the shipping manifest and pretending not to notice the beatdown happening six feet away from me. I'd already found the incongruencies in the numbers, but I wasn't keen on watching Connor pummel the guy if I didn't have to.
"It w-was a mistake, Connor," Unger stammered. "I'll make it right, I promise."
Connor hoisted the man by the collar and murmured something that made his eyes go wide. Unger stumbled back so hard he nearly fell on his ass, and he scuttled away.
Rain was starting to come down, now, fat drops that splashed onto the pavement outside the open door, pinging off tin and steel. Low, grey clouds obscured the skyline, choking Boston's skyscrapers with a hazy film that cast everything in shadows.
The cloudiness matched the expression on Connor's face, and I could almost taste the metallic tang of blood in the air.
