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Prologue
Vivi chewed on her short thumbnail as she stared at her sister, Zaylah, and paced angrily in their living room. Their brother, Brady, had gone missing two days ago and so far they’d hit brick wall after brick wall.
“You think he’s back at O’Shannon’s?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” Zaylah muttered. “I’ve warned him not to play with fire, and Patrick O’Shannon is nothing but a snake.”
“You have to go.”
Zaylah shook her head. “I don’t want to leave you alone.”
Vivi rolled her eyes. “I may be short but I’m an adult, Zay. Don’t let the height fool you.”
“Smart-ass.”
“Better than being a dumb-ass. Which would be our brother.”
“Ug! I can’t believe him! I’m going to kick his behind next time I see him.”
“I’ll help you.”
Zaylah gave her a strained smile. “You’d have to get a ladder to reach it.”
Vivi flipped her off. “Go. If he’s gambling with money he doesn’t have, he’s going to be in debt to the Irish mob. And then he’s really fucked.”
“Yeah. You’re right. Okay, I’ll be back.”
Just then her cell rang, and Zaylah almost tripped over her own feet rushing to answer. She picked it up off the coffee table and clicked “accept.”
“Hello? Brady? Hello?”
Zaylah’s body snapped straight. She turned toward her, eyes wide with horror, and fear sliced through Vivi. She knew, with absolute certainty, that she didn’t want to know what the conversation was about. It wasn’t going to be good. Whatever was being said to her sister would change them forever.
“All right,” Zaylah mumbled in a cracked voice. “I’m on my way.”
She hung up, and Vivi shook her head. She wanted to be an ostrich, just bury her head in the ground and escape whatever bad news was coming her way. By the shattered look on Zaylah’s face, it was about Brady, and no way did she want to know that something happened to her brother. He was the middle child, and she wasn’t ready to be without him. Wasn’t ready to miss him.
“That…” Zaylah cleared her throat. “That was the morgue—”
“No!” Vivi cried. She shook her head, wanting her sister to deny it, but the tears coursing down Zaylah’s face told the truth. Grief consumed her, causing her heart to stutter painfully.
“I have to go.” Zaylah turned but she stumbled around, clearly not knowing what to do. “They want me to … to … ah, identify his body.”
She faltered, and then the dam broke. Sobs tore through her, and Vivi hugged her tightly. Together, they tried comforting each other as they mourned for Brady. Long minutes later, Zaylah patted her on the back and the tears slowed.
“Stay here,” she whispered. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“Don’t you need me to go with you?”
“No. Only one of us needs to remember the horror of seeing him lifeless.”
Vivi nodded. Truth be known, she hadn’t wanted to see Brady like that. She didn’t want that nightmare in her head. Zaylah slipped on her coat, grabbed her purse, gave her one last haunted look, and walked out the door.
What were they going to do now? Images of her brother played over in her mind, bringing forth a new batch of tears. How could he be dead? How could they ever be all right again?
Suddenly, a bang hit the front door and she jumped to her feet. One more loud hit and the wood cracked. The next moment, a hulking brute of a man entered, followed by several regular-sized men. They rushed in and she gave a startled scream as one grabbed her. She fought, panic settling in for a moment. His gloved hands prevented her from touching him, and instead he jerked her arms behind her where they were tied.
“Let me go!” she yelled.
