Page 53 of Devious Obsession
“And a bruised ego takes killing us to fix?” These men can build entire empires from their strategy and strength, but it only takes one ill perceived insult for them to start having a hissy fit and threaten murder.
“A man’s pride is a dangerous thing to damage.” Seamus lifts a shoulder like it makes total sense. When he turns his gaze on Artem, his expression softens. “Give me a few minutes. I’ll make a few calls and see what I can find out. If there’s a way out of this that doesn’t include gunfights and bloodshed, it’s best to take that path.”
Silently, Artem nods.
“Make yourself at home.” Seamus pushes off the counter and heads to the stairs. “Don’t let her touch anything else, though. I already have one wall to replace.”
Once Elana falls asleep on the couch, I meet up with Seamus in his office. He’s lived in this place for over a decade. Alone in the woods, yet the technology he has in this little house rivals that of the CIA.
“What did you find?”
He turns around from his screen with an intense frown. “You left out the part about the DeAngelos being involved in this mess.”
“There are no more DeAngelos.” I hook my hands on my hips.
“She was fucking one of them.”
Red flashes in my vision. “Talk about her like that again, and I’ll rip out your fucking tongue.”
He puts up his hands. “Okay, okay. I’m just filling in the holes of your story. If you want my help?—”
“Your help?” I snort. “I don’t need your help.”
“You needed it today.” He gives a pointed glance to my arm.
“I needed the medicine you have. You were close by, that’s all.”
He sighs deeply. “I know you hate me, and with good reason. I’m an old bastard who never put anyone other than myself first. But I can help here.”
He’s right about that, and I can’t dismiss his ties to the Irish. They’ve weakened since he went underground, but they’re still there.
“What can you do?” I gesture with my chin at the untraceable phone on his desk.
“Janis is small potatoes, but O’Brien makes a good chuck of change from him. Right now, he believes the Volkovs came into Boston to take some of that. Even if she was trying to broker a deal that brought him into Chicago, it doesn’t matter. He’d would want a cut there, too.”
“The O’Brien doesn’t have his fingers in Chicago. That’s the deal Alexander made with him years ago. They stay out of each other’s way, and peace stays in place.”
“Cole needs assurance that your bosses aren’t trying to move into his territory.”
“I gave him my word before the confrontation with Janis happened.”
“You spoke to him?”
“I needed intel fast, and he runs the city. I assured him the Volkovs are not making a play for anything in Boston.”
“And then your girlfriend did the exact opposite.” He points at me.
“That’s all this is then—a bruised ego. Cole isn’t trying to use this as a way to move west?”
He shakes his head. “No. He has enough of his own family problems at the moment. Declan was killed a few months back, and Killian, another cousin, has risen up from the ashes. Everyone’s afraid to turn around for fear of a knife getting shoved between their shoulder blades. Having to deal with this mess isn’t exactly the largest of their priorities.”
“And your connections are still good? No one’s gunning to drag you out into the light?”
He laughs. “I’m an old man, Artem.”
“You’re still in fighting shape far as I can tell.” True, his beard is closer to white than gray, and it’s too long and unruly now, but the rest of him remains in good shape. Broad shoulders, muscular build.
“I don’t have the patience for any of it anymore. Grown men chasing each other around the world fighting for toys that aren’t theirs. All the killing and bloodshed. What for?” He lifts his shoulders and lets them drop. “So they can hold onto a small bit of business until someone bigger and more powerful comes and snatches it away?”
