Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 34198 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 171(@200wpm)___ 137(@250wpm)___ 114(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34198 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 171(@200wpm)___ 137(@250wpm)___ 114(@300wpm)
The clean-shaven one grabbed Tam by the arm and yanked her to a standing position.
“Holy shit, she pissed herself.” Her captor grimaced in disgust.
“I asked you a fucking question.” The bearded one tightened his grip on her arm. Tam’s instinctively fought against the vice grip on her arm but her attempt was futile. He was much too strong.
“I-I, please, I didn’t mean to do it but—”
Hot breath fanned her face when the bearded one lowered his face until it was inches away from hers. “I didn’t ask for your damn life story. I asked who the fuck you were.”
“Tam,” she whimpered.
“Who do you work for?”
She shook her head. “What do you mean?”
Beardy gripped her by the other arm, pulling her away from his partner. He then shook Tam until her teeth rattled. “Who the fuck do you work for?” he asked once he was done.
Though he’d stopped shaking her, Tam’s head continued to spin. She felt like she was going to throw up. “Nobody. I swear. I didn’t mean to kill him. He was going to hurt me and so I fought back. He was choking me and I pulled the knife from my pocket. I only meant to cut him, not slice his throat open. I’ve never killed anyone in my life.” She burst into loud, body-shaking sobs.
Tam could still feel the weight of Rico’s dead body pressing into her. She’d been living on the streets on and off for the past several years and she’d seen her fair share of corpses. But remembering her victim’s lifeless eyes shook her to the core.
“I think she’s telling the truth.” The clean-shaven one spoke.
Beardy shrugged. “Well, it doesn’t matter, once the boss finds out, he’s going to lose his shit. He’s been looking for Rico for weeks and it’s going to piss him off when he finds out he didn’t get his money.” He turned his attention to Tam and looked her up and down. He stared at her with his lip snarled as if the very sight of her disgusted him.
“Think Big D is going to kill her?”
“Don’t know. Don’t care. That’s none of our business. But I’m sure D will be interested in meeting the bitch who’s responsible for offing the motherfucker he’s been hunting for weeks.”
Tam had barely escaped Rico with her life, she didn’t want to take a chance with Big D. Her survival instinct kicked in and she brought her foot down hard on the bearded one’s foot.
Her action must have caught him by surprise because he loosened his grip just enough for Tam to break free. She barreled past the other goon and headed to the door. Freedom waited for her on the outside, but she didn’t get very far. Something heavy came down on the back of her head, causing what felt like an explosion within her skull. And just like that, her escape attempt was over almost as quickly as it began when darkness took her. The last thing she remembered was falling.
This was fucking enough.
Despite severing ties with many of his former business associates, problems continued to crop up. Problems that could lead back to him. Problems that would get people killed.
Seamus had sent several subtle warnings through the network, yet people still continued to test him. Maybe they believed he’d gone soft now that most of his business pursuits were legit. Or that he was afraid to get his hands dirty. That was one of the downsides of dealing with these underground types.
Sometimes the only thing they respected was a show of strength. And if that’s what was required to get what he wanted, then so be it. His father had always drilled into him from an early age, if he wanted something done right, he would need to do it himself. It’s what brought him to a part of town he hadn’t visited in years.
Most of the people he currently rubbed elbows with wouldn’t be caught dead in these parts. Seamus was certain they wouldn’t last and hour without either getting robbed or beaten for being on the wrong block at the wrong time.
Seamus, however, had no fear of this place. He wore tailored suits that cost what most people made in a year, drove an expensive car and lived quite comfortably but he was no stranger to the streets.
His father had tried to keep him out of the life but at the age of ten, he was kidnapped by one of his father’s enemies. He’d been beaten, starved and tortured. His father’s men had finally tracked him down and rescued him. Those goons may not have killed him physically, but they’d managed to snuff out what was left of his innocence.
Patrick Haggerty had never been one to let even the slightest of insults slide without some form of retaliation, so of course, the man responsible for hurting his son had to pay. But once Seamus’s tormentor had been found, Patrick had left it up to Seamus to decide what punishment should be doled out. He’d explained to his son that there was no point in shielding him from the world that he’d tried to keep Seamus away from anymore in light of what had happened.