“No. You’re a Murphy employee, staying in my house against my wishes because he’s paying you to. So let’s not get the lines twisted here. There are always sides where the Murphys are concerned.” I stand from the table. “I’ve got to get ready for work. I’m on the closing shift tonight.”
Scotty nods, reaching for the papers sprawled around the table. “I’m ready whenever you are.”
I groan. “I don’t need a babysitter. You living here is enough, isn’t it?”
“I’m supposed to take you to and from work, Griff.”
I grind my teeth, feeling a little feisty. The flowers in my living room really spoiled my mood today. I could choose to push past it, fuel myself with positive energy. But where’s the fun in that? Especially when I have a Scotty sized pain in the ass. “What about if I go on dates? Are you supposed to follow me and report to the imbecile that I’ve moved on?”
Scotty clears his throat, his cheeks turning a visible shade of red. It’s all the confirmation I need.
A dry chuckle escapes as I shake my head. “Unbelievable. I’m not allowed to move on. But he’s allowed to have an entire ass family without me.”
“He’s not going to marry her, Griffin.”
“I’m done with this,” I say, leaving for my bedroom.
Slamming my door shut, I close my eyes and bang my head against the wall. This day is really taking a turn for the worse, and I haven’t even eaten breakfast yet. I let my emotions do the talking, and like the emotionally developed toddler I am, I decide I need to teach Patrick Murphy what I really want for an “I’m sorry” present.
I call the man himself.
“Hello?” Paddy answers, in a whisper as if he’s just waking.
“In the past, when your girlfriends pissed you off, did you want flowers as an apology?”
There’s a beat of silence. Then, “No. I wanted them to suck my dick.”
“Exactly.” I hang up the phone and head for my shower to get ready for the night shift at the pharmacy.
Chapter Four
Myhandsshake,thegun that I’m holding heavier than normal. I don’t know how Callum does this with just a knife. He’s always so calm and collected. Unphased. Almost like he enjoys death. And maybe he does. But I’ve seen too much of it. And it doesn’t get easier. I close my eyes, inhaling the scent of metal invading my nostrils.
Copper. Crimson blood stains my hands. Then I pull the trigger. My ears ring and I stumble back.
“Finally,” my youngest brother, Sean, mumbles behind me, tapping his fingers against a laptop.
“You could have done it, you know.” I grumble, pulling out the handkerchief from the breast pocket of my suit jacket. This place is cold and uninviting. I want to be anywhere but here.
He doesn’t look up from his work. “Whenever I do it, they scream too much.”
I snort. “Because you’re a sadist.”
“No. I just think mind fuckery is an effective way to get them to talk.”
Callum and I prefer to use words and fists to get rats to come clean. Sean? Well, his methods are unorthodox. That fucker enjoys sucking the life out of his victims. And they are victims wherever he’s involved.
I glance at my watch, then toward the small window in the far corner of the warehouse. Griff has about another hour of work before the pharmacy closes. I’m planning to surprise him there, but I still have to clean up the mess that is another Irish bastard turned spy for the Russians.
“Do you mind taking care of this?” I ask Sean.
He looks up from his laptop, chewing the inside of his bottom lip. “Yeah, I do.”
“Asshole.” I step forehead and smack him upside his head. “Now. I’m pulling rank. Clean it up, I got to go.”
“Fuck you.” Sean slams his laptop. He doesn’t even stand from his chair before he’s punching my bad leg.Fucker.
I grunt, dropping to my knee. The pain shoots up my leg, and I know I’m going to be limping for the next few days. He’s still sitting on the metal folding chair, so I reach for the front legs and yank. He falls backward, his laptop crashing to the ground.
