Kelly Clan 02 - Connor (13 page)

He shuddered at the thought and swore that he’d have things figured out by then. He had no choice, not if he wanted to protect the woman fate had brought back to him.

“That bastard is playing games with us,” he said.

Braden looked over at him sharply. “You shouldn’t talk about the boss like that. It's disrespectful.”

Conor let out a hollow laugh. “Give me a fucking break. We all know the only reason anyone went with him was better pay. You can't buy respect with money.”

“Speak for yourself,” Braden said. “Some of us have other reasons than money.”

Conor glanced at him. He’d never really known a ton about Braden other than he was the man they called when they needed a problem to go away. In truth, that was all he needed to know. He was a tough SOB, and when the shit hit the fan, he was the kind of man you hoped was standing on your side. Losing him was a big loss to Finn. Did Finn not give enough respect to Braden? Maybe he was offended by Finn's desire to steer the family away from crime. Some men were born to inhabit that world, after all.

Conor shrugged. “I guess,” he said.

Now wasn’t the time to argue with Braden over why he left, and at this moment, he really didn’t give a shit. All he wanted to do was find either Ennis or Boris and end this before it came to Claire.

“What’s your plan?” Braden asked.

Conor shrugged. “Find Boris and kill him.”

Braden shook his head. “With Ennis. What’s your plan with Ennis? You know he’s not going to go easy with this. You're going to fuck up his relationship with the Russians. They'll be a damn three-way war with Finn, the Russians and our crew.”

Conor hadn’t really thought that far ahead.

“I ask him,” he said.

“And if he says no?”

Conor froze. That was a tight spot. He’d have to make a choice if he couldn’t get Ennis to call the Russians off.

“I keep asking,” he said tightly.

Braden stared at him for a long time before turning back to the window.

They stopped outside the yacht, and he took a deep breath. This was the last place, and he was done.

He walked up to the deck and then through the hall in the main cabin. He could hear voices ahead. His heart sank when he realized who was on board.

“Conor!” Teagan stood and gave him a hug, as he entered the sitting area.

He nodded over to Ennis, who sat comfortably on the couch.

“I’m surprised to see you here,” he said to her, but really it was for Ennis to hear.

“Yes,” Ennis said smoothly. “I was over near your house and thought it might be nice to take her to lunch.”

Teagan smiled at him as if nothing were wrong. “Wasn’t that sweet?” she asked.

He smiled at her and, again, Conor was struck by the fact that this man might actually have feelings for his sister and just how dangerous that could be. He'd tried so hard to protect his sister, and yet, here she was, spending time with a dangerous man in bed with the Russians and basically at war with his brother's crew.

Conor resisted the urge to laugh. He wanted to protect his sister, but then he joined up with Ennis. In the end, it was his own damn fault.

He nodded. There wasn’t really much that could be said about it now.

He looked to Ennis. “I’d like a word with you, please.”

Ennis looked around him to Braden and frowned.

“Maybe Braden wouldn’t mind entertaining Teagan?”

Braden nodded and sat on the couch next to her. Conor sighed. At least there she was in good hands.

They moved into the dining room and closed the door.

“What can I do for you?” Ennis said.

Conor stood tall. “Boris has decided to take out Claire,” he said. “I thought I was going to have time to work on her.”

Ennis laughed. “Do you really think she’ll change her mind?”

He shrugged. “Maybe,” he said. “I’ll do what I have to to make sure.”

Ennis shook his head. “If I know anything, it's that my cousin is stubborn. She isn’t going to give in easily, and I’m just not so sure we can wait anymore. Besides, I hear she’s had some trouble in the media. Real shame about Harriet. Couldn't have been more ill-timed for poor Claire.”

Conor froze. There was no way Ennis would order something like that. It just wasn’t the way he did things.

“Oh, would you quit looking at me like that?” Ennis snapped. “She was a loose end, and we like to keep those tied. It was just a matter of time before she'd end up hurting our operation, and I'm not going to risk my operation over some greedy bitch who was too stupid to not get caught.”

Conor shook his head and stepped back. “That’s not how we operate.”

Ennis held up a finger. “Correction. That’s not how Finn operates. I, however, see the logic in some of the things our father did. This is why I'm going to win, and Finn is not. You know this. That's why you're here.” He shrugged.

Conor's face contorted in horror. “How could you do that to that poor woman?”

Ennis laughed. “She was hardly innocent, if you remember. When it came time to offer your Claire up, she was more than willing to do it. I was just returning the favor. We reap what we sow and all that.” He waved a hand. “Besides, you know the kind of things we’re starting to dabble in. If you can’t handle some corrupt politician getting taken out, how are you going to handle our actual future profit centers?”

Conor gritted his teeth and shook his head. This was not what he signed up for. Maybe skirting the lines on some things, but this wasn’t one. If the men fought each other and one died, that was at least different, not killing women in their houses like damn cowards and snakes. He’d been able to think of some of the nastier side businesses as just something the Russians were doing, but it seemed like Ennis wanted to go into those things more directly.

“Tell Boris to leave Claire alone,” Conor said firmly.

Ennis frowned. “I’m afraid you’re mistaken on how this works,” he said, wagging a finger. “You see, when you’re asking for a favor, it’s good to say please.”

Conor gritted his teeth. “Please tell Boris to leave Claire alone.”

Ennis seemed to think for a moment and then frowned.

“I’m afraid I can’t help you,” he said. “She’s a liability, and we need a fresh face. She's, like I said, a loose end. She needs to be tied. You had your chance.”

Conor’s heart sank, and his lungs seized up.

“How can you say that?” he whispered.

Ennis smiled. “Very easily actually. You should be grateful I even gave her a chance, considering how she fucked me over with Harriet. Our business is just like any other business. We need stability to prosper. When things are unstable, when things change, it makes it difficult to make a profit.” He narrowed his eyes. “When any business has profit issues, they have to start thinking about letting employees go, and so, instability hurts everybody and their families.”

Conor narrowed his eyes. He wasn't sure if Ennis was threatening him or not.

He shook his head. This was too much for Conor to process. He needed to concentrate on one thing at a time, the things right ahead of him. Ennis's long game was just too much for him to deal with.

“I’ve got to go,” Conor said and opened the door, walking out.

Ennis laughed, following after.

“Don’t think you can run off and disobey me,” he said.

Braden and Teagan looked up at the pair. Braden frowned. Teagan just looked confused. Conor sighed.

He considered Ennis for a second. “If you won’t stop Boris from trying to kill Claire, then I’ll have to,” he said.

“You do that, and you’re out,” Ennis hissed. “That means no more care for Teagan.”

His heart twisted at the idea, but he had no choice. Conor turned and walked to the door.

A loud crack filled the small room. Conor turned in horror as he watched Teagan pull her hand back from the red hand print on Ennis’s face.

“You are not the man I thought you were,” she said and went to stand behind Conor.

He held his breath as Ennis surged forward, and Braden stepped in front, holding up his hands.

“Don’t be like him,” Braden said to Ennis. “Not that way. You don't need to be for the business.”

Conor had to wonder if he was talking about his father or someone else.

Ennis glared at Conor from around Braden. “You think Finn's going to take you back? You turned your back on him, and now he’s going to do the same for you. You’ll see.” He spit on the ground. “You’re going to be all alone out there. I won't take you back. You're twice the traitor now, you piece of shit.”

He shrugged. Better alone and a piece of shit than working with Boris and his crew.

Teagan turned to Braden. “Are you coming?”

Conor watched as he looked back to Ennis and then her. His face was pained as he shook his head.

“Leave him,” Conor said. “He’s already too sold on the idea.”

Not bothering to listen to the string of curse words that came his way from his former boss, he made his way off the boat with Teagan close behind. When they had made it outside and were on the dock, he sighed. He shook his head when they were inside the car.

“So,” Teagan said. “What do we do now?” She trembled slightly and was paler than normal. If he thought dealing with Ennis had all been too much, he could only imagine how his sister felt.

Conor looked ahead.. Taking his chronically ill sister with him as he hunted for a madman was not a great idea, but the sun was setting, and he had to do something.

“How do you feel about doing a stakeout with me?”

Chapter Fourteen

“No way!” Anna said, her voice nearly a shout.

Several other diners sitting near them turned to look in their direction. Claire focused on the meal in front of her. She’d been picking at her chicken for the past twenty minutes, and it just didn’t seem to be getting any better. Everything from the day had built up, and her stomach didn’t seem to be able to keep up with things.

“I can’t believe Conor would set you up like that,” Anna said and stabbed a carrot. “After everything that happened, sabotage and betrayal are about the worst.”

Claire leaned forward. “He seemed worried that what happened to Harriet might happen to me.”

Anna raised a well manicured blond brow. “And could it?”

She shrugged and leaned back. “Yes?” Uncertainty filled her voice. “I don’t know. Most of the time, I’m the one hearing about these stories afterward. I don't really know all the fine details. Boris is a bad man. There's no question of that, but Ennis was never that bad.” He shrugged. “At least he used to not be.”

“I don’t know.” Anna wrinkled her nose. “They all sound pretty bad to me.”

Claire nodded. If she thought about the situation and the players much, it did all sound bad.

“So, what about Conor? He was just trying to save you,” Anna said.

“He was,” Claire said softly. “I just don’t know. It seems like every time we have something good, something bad happens to fuck it all up. I don't know if I can have a relationship that's that much of a roller coaster. Even ignoring all this political stuff.”

“Men,” Anna muttered.

Claire nodded. Between the two of them, they had certainly had their fill of men.

“What are you going to do?” Claire asked.

Anna shrugged. “Keep working. Keep ignoring my phone.”

Claire hesitated before going forward. “Are you going to file for divorce?” It seemed an obvious course of action, but one never knew.

Anna set her fork down. Claire hoped she hadn’t overstepped.

“Yes, but I need to think about my options first. Jason is at a very powerful firm. This is not going to be pretty,” Anna said.

Claire nodded. She had thought as much. Jason didn’t seem like the kind of person to just let her go without going for everything. He'd already idly suggested having Anna killed after all.

Claire sighed. “This sucks,” she grumbled. “I want my chocolate cake now.”

“It will be fine,” Anna said. “In the end, I’m relieved.”

Claire was slightly surprised to hear it.

Anna smiled. “I know it seems weird, but he was making my life hell. Without him, I’m a whole new me. With my recent job change and this, I have more opportunities than I've had in a long time. Now, I’ve just got to find out who that me is.”

“You don’t know?”

Anna shrugged. “I was still in school when we got together. So, all our friends were through him since we had to make the right kind of connections.”

Claire frowned. “I didn't realize.”

“I didn’t mind,” Anna went on. “I had no family here after my mother died, and we were never great at making friends. Jason needed my support, and I offered it. I only wish I had demanded the same support from him. Instead, I always just rationalized it away. Telling myself he was just too busy, under stress or whatever.”

Claire hated hearing that. Anna was a great person who deserved so much more.

“But now I don’t have to worry about a lot of things. Laundry for one is easy. I can make whatever I want for dinner, without any weird dietary issues.”

A few tears slipped out of her eyes, and Anna seemed surprised by this.

“Here.” Claire offered a tissue from her purse.

Anna mopped up the tears. “I don’t even know why I’m crying.”

Claire took her hand. “It’s a lot of changes. Give yourself a little time to adjust,” she said. “Maybe you want to come to my place tonight?”

Anna nibbled her lower lip and then nodded.

“It’s so quiet,” she said. “I guess I never thought of it.”

Claire gave a small smile. “You’ll get used to it. Sometimes I have trouble.”

Anna took in a deep breath and let it out. “Thank you,” she said.

“That’s what friends are for,” she said. “Now, let’s have some damn chocolate cake.”

Anna giggled as Claire called for the waitress, and she smiled. In the end, they were both strong women who could overcome this.

* * *

Conor and his sister sat quietly outside Claire’s apartment. She still wasn’t home, and he hadn’t seen a sign that anything had happened since they had shown up.

“So, this is where she lives?” Teagan asked.

Conor nodded. He didn’t know how his sister felt about everything with Claire, but it was best not to push. They both were under enough stress as it was.