Page 26

“I had some business to discuss with you, but it can wait. I’ll handle it,” he replies.

“Are you sure?”

“Positive, Baby Girl. Lyric was right, you need a vacation. You wear so many hats. If you don’t give your head a rest, your shoulders will ache with all the pressure.”

“If you don’t need me, I’m going to go. I don’t want to be rude to my friends.”

“All right, Baby Girl.” He chuckles, then sighs heavily. “Byron says to give him a call.”

I laugh. “Tell him I will. Talk to you later, Unc.”

“Later, Baby Girl.”

I hang up and force myself not to think about what might be going on back home. That’s not the headspace I want to be in. Danika Peoples is on hiatus.

CHAPTER8

Handling Business

Ronan

“So this ishow I get an audience with the great Ronan McGowan?” this fuck says as I walk into the locker the brothers have him and his partner restrained in.

“Ya shouldn’t ever want to see my face. Especially not like this.”

Releasing a laugh as if he’s unfazed, he then shrugs and gives me a grin. “I’m not getting the respect I deserve. We had to make a little noise.”

Lochlann lunges at him, but Rory holds him back. It is only out of respect for me that he hasn’t already killed these sons of a bitches. Donnovan O’Connor and Emory McFarland fucked up.

They and their men hit one of my diamond locations. They would have gotten my attention with the robbery, but their men got sloppy and hurt one of my guys and two innocents.

“It’s business. You’re taking this too personal.”

“Shut your fucking gub. Did I ask you to speak?” I bite out.

This bastard laughs as if I’ve told a joke. He looks so confident now. He’s brave and feels like he has an upper hand. His partner has enough sense to remain silent and look as if he fears me.

“You want the diamonds. I want to talk business.”

I look at him like the piece of shit he is. I’m not buying this crazy act he’s trying to sell. If you’re going to try to act as if you’re the craziest one in the room, you should be willing to commit.

His first problem would be the fact that there isn’t a crazier motherfucker in this locker than me. I lost my grip on sanity years ago. If I ever had one. As a McGowan, I started life a little loose in the head.

“Bring in the brother,” I say as I shrug off my jacket and toss it aside.

His eyes grow wide. I’m sure he’s surprised. This fucker tried to send his brother to Rio before he pulled this shit. I leave Rory and Lochlann in charge here for a reason.

The brothers are twins and have an uncanny knack for paying attention to detail. They keep an eye on all my family’s assets here in California. Monetary and otherwise.

The two redheads are like sons to me and have been mistaken for my own over the years. I grew up with their father, Finnánn. He started working for Da when he turned sixteen and his boys followed suit when I started to build my own gang.

They were happy to come to California when I first set things up here for da. With their fast learning and ability to put fear in any man who looks their way, they earned the positions they hold to this day.

“You don’t have to involve him,” this piece of shit says as the tough guy act falls away.

“Like you didn’t have to involve those innocent girls and Brendan,” Loc snarls.

“I … I didn’t know the girls would be with him. I just knew he was one of your guys. One you would give a shit about.”