Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 105065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 525(@200wpm)___ 420(@250wpm)___ 350(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 525(@200wpm)___ 420(@250wpm)___ 350(@300wpm)
I turn to go, but Sasha reaches out and grabs me, pulling me in for a dreaded hug. I stiffen, as usual, but I let her hug me anyway.
“You need to be careful, Mack,” she says. “Just because you’re under Lachlan’s protection doesn’t mean anything. Things still have a way of happening. Especially when Donny’s involved.”
“What do you mean?” I pull away so I can look her in the eyes.
She glances back at the door and bites her lip. This could be important, and I know I have to get it out of her whatever it is.
“You can tell me, Sash,” I plead. “Anything. I just want to know what I’m getting myself into.”
“Look, all I’m saying is that there have been other girls who tried to stand up to Donny, and it didn’t end so well for them.”
“Like who?” I demand.
She gives her head a tiny shake, and the fear in her eyes is obvious. “I can’t say.”
“Was one of them Talia?” I blurt.
Her eyes widen, and she glances around again as she backs away. Shit. I’ve royally fucked up now, but it can’t be helped. I know she knows something, and I have to get it out of her, friend or not.
I grab her arm in a bruising grip and drag her even further down the hall.
“You have to tell me Sash.”
“I don’t know.” She shakes her head frantically. “I don’t know anything! I just want to work. That’s all. Let me go, Mack.”
I’ve got her cornered, and her whole body is trembling under the weight of my stare. I can only imagine what I must look like right now, so I do my best to take it down a notch.
“She was my best friend,” I whisper. “Please, Sash. I just need to know what happened to her.”
“Jesus.” Her face goes pale as she grips her hair and takes a deep breath. “That’s why you’re here, isn’t it?”
“No,” I say adamantly. “I met Lachlan at the fights. He offered me a job. But I know that Talia worked here before she went missing.”
This could very well get me killed, but I trust that Sasha isn’t going to open her mouth about this unless she absolutely has to. If for no other reason than she’s trying to keep her head down and not draw attention to herself. If I had to guess, I’d say the girl has some secrets of her own.
“Look, I don’t know, okay,” she says. “I swear. She was a really nice girl and all, but she only worked here for a couple of weeks. I don’t know what happened to her. One day she just stopped showing up for work. And then the police came and asked us a bunch of questions. I didn’t know anything then, and I still don’t.”
“You have to know something,” I push. “Just tell me who she was hanging out with. Which one of the guys? Just give me that much.”
“I have a sick mother to take care of!” she cries. “God, Mack, are you trying to get me killed?”
The weight of my guilt is crushing me. None of this is as easy as I thought it was going to be. I don’t want to scare Sasha or even get her involved. But I need to know. And I will do whatever I can to protect her if it comes down to it.
“None of this will come back to you. I promise.”
Sasha hesitates and then paces back and forth. Her hair is all tangled from her pulling on it, and her eyes look drawn and tired. I have to wonder what kind of man managed to suck such a sweet girl into a place like this and then left her to fend for himself. I don’t know him, but I hate him already.
Sasha comes to a halt, seemingly with her mind made up.
“There were a few guys who were interested,” she says quickly. “Donny, Sean, and some big Russian guy. I don’t know his name. He’s only been in here a few times and I didn’t pay attention. You shouldn’t either, Mack. You need to let this go before the same thing ends up happening to you.”
“I can’t.”
She shakes her head and lets out an agonized sigh.
“Well, then you’re going to die too.”
Without another word, she pushes past me, leaving me in peace to the swell of grief rising inside of my chest.
Chapter Twenty-One
Mackenzie
Ronan comes for me just after midnight, escorting me out to the curb where Lachlan is already waiting inside his car.
Neither one of them says a word to me as Ronan shoves me into the passenger seat with a scowl and then shuts the door behind me. I barely have time to buckle myself in before Lachlan zooms off into the night, his knuckles white on the steering wheel and his features hard.
I would apologize now, but somehow I don’t think that would help.
When we get back to his house, he drags me inside by the arm. Conor is still sitting in the chair, his expression changing from murderous to fear as his eyes swing between me and Lachlan.
“For chrissakes,” Lachlan barks. “Untie him. Now!”
I scurry over and do as he says, making quick work of his bonds. He cringes when I rip off the duct tape, and I feel like an asshole all over again.
“I’m really sorry,” I whisper.
He doesn’t grace me with a response. The moment he’s up and on his feet, Lachlan orders him to get out. And then it’s just the two of us. Him with his cold, hard gaze, and me… quaking in my stilettos.
“Come here.”
I walk to him with downcast eyes, silently pleading for him to go easy on me. I know what’s coming next. I know it in my bones. But this wasn’t how I wanted it to go.
Once I’m within arm’s length, he grabs me by the throat and slams me up against the wall, his eyes burning with rage.
“Do ye fancy a buck with Sean?” he asks. “Is that it?”