Total pages in book: 33
Estimated words: 30245 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 151(@200wpm)___ 121(@250wpm)___ 101(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 30245 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 151(@200wpm)___ 121(@250wpm)___ 101(@300wpm)
“No. I mean, he was expecting me to arrive in London, but obviously I never got there.” She takes another sip of her coffee while my brain works overtime. “Why? What are you thinking?”
“Feck,” I curse out loud. “Bastard.” I look at Einin, who’s starin’ at me, confused. “Come with me,” I say before racin’ from her bedroom and leavin’ the door open behind me.
I make a beeline for my office, ignorin’ Racer when I rush by him. He follows me to the office, and not long after, Einin enters as well.
I’m at my computer with the screen, trailin’ through names. I type in Einin’s da’s name into my software and wait for it to pull up what I already know. It didn’t take long for me to figure it out when she mentioned what happened.
“What’s goin’ on?” Racer asks when he flops into a chair and pulls out a smoke. The flick of his lighter has me turnin’ my head. “What?”
“There’s more to the feckin’ story than I thought. I’m pretty sure Patrick was dealin’ in women and girls for far longer than we anticipated.” Sinéad and Patrick Bragan were runnin’ the mob for years, until she took her baby and fled. Miren was the child who grew up not knowin’ who her da was. At the same time, Einin’s da didn’t know his boss, Patrick, was a feckin’ arsehole.
Patrick had Einin taken. It’s the only explanation I can come up with. Her da must have confided in his boss thinkin’ nothin’ of it. But what worries me is that there was never any search goin’ for her. If her da knew she was missin’, why didn’t he look for her? Why didn’t he alert the peelers?
When I find what I’m lookin’ for, the big picture is finally revealed. “Feckin’ hell.”
“What the feck are ye on about?” Racer asks again.
Spinnin’ my chair to look at him, I explain, “When Einin left for school, her da was the one who arranged the trip. But what I didn’t know is Patrick was his boss. He was the one who said he’d get her to London. The emails between Patrick and George show somethin’ else.” I look at Einin. “Yer da was worried. He’d asked for Patrick’s help to find ye, but by then, ye were on a plane out of the country. Patrick had promised five girls to the bastard across the pond.”
“But wouldn’t Da have known this? He worked for Patrick.”
Shaking my head, I say, “No. Ye da believed the man he was workin’ for was tryin’ta help him. He believed Patrick was searchin’ for ye, but instead, he was rakin’ in millions because ye were sold off before ye even said goodbye to ye ma.”
“So, ye’re tellin’ me Patrick was sellin’ the kids of his workers?” Racer leans forward, the cigarette hangin’ from his lips as he speaks.
“Aye.”
“And they asked him for help thinkin’ he had the connections to find them, not the peelers.” Racer deduces what I found and confirmed only moments ago.
It makes sense. If ye’re workin’ for a powerful man like Bragan, ye’d think he’d be the one to find yer loved one. The peelers don’t do shite to help, so it’s better to trust someone with criminal connections because he’d do anythin’ to support us.
Einin flops into a chair. Her face is a picture of shock. I can’t imagine what she must be feelin’. The thought of what she’s been through is still fresh in my mind. I remember she said they did terrible things to the girls, which only makes me sick to my stomach.
I’ve never thought about violence as an answer, but the more I hear about what the world is really like, the more it’s becomin’ clearer to me that sometimes it’s the only option. I may only be the tech in the club, but I have fists as well. And I ain’t scared to get them bloody if I have to. And for Einin, I’ll kill.
“I can’t believe it.”
“We need to have a meetin’.” Racer is right. He pushes to his feet and looks at me. “I’ll tell Monster what ye just said. He’ll probably want to call church tonight.”
“Aye, that’s fine.”
Racer leaves me and Einin in my office. So much for a chilled Christmas Day. All I wanted to do was relax with my girl, but I know that if we meet, we can get a plan together. I’m trackin’ Bragan’s contacts, and soon enough we’ll find him. I know Callia said he was comin’ for us, but if we can get to him first, we’ll have the element of surprise.
Pushin’ to my feet, I go to Einin and offer her my hands. She takes them with a smile. I pull her to her feet, and then, into my arms. Her gentle touch scorches me. She wraps herself around me, holdin’ on as if she were sinkin’ and I were her saviour. I will be. I am. And nothin’ will ever stop me from bein’ there for her.