Red. (Den of Mercenaries #1)(48)

“Oy, who in the hell do you think you are?” Liam demanded.

As Niklaus got to his feet, Reagan rushed around the bar. She stepped between them, her back to Niklaus, staring up at Liam. “Don’t. You promised me that my place was off limits to you and your brother.”

That was one of the few things that Liam had allotted her. Since he didn’t like her around his brother much—mainly because Rourke was a psychopath—he had told her during the beginning that he would make sure they kept all business away from her pub so she wouldn’t lose her business. Even if she had never witnessed it, teaching people a lesson in respect was one of their businesses.

“We can go in the office to talk.” It was beyond clear that he wasn’t done with Niklaus, but she refused to give him what he wanted. “Please.”

After a tense moment, he gestured for her to go ahead of him, and only when she was sure he wouldn’t do something when her back was turned did she disappear down the hallway with Liam at her heels.

They were barely inside with the door closed before Liam was in her face. “Who the f*ck was that?”

She had seen him annoyed, sure. Frustrated. But never angry. And now that she was in the face of it, for the first time she felt fear of him.

Maybe it wasn’t just Rourke everyone needed to watch out for.

Swallowing, she met his eyes and said, “I don’t know.” Yes, she knew his name and knew more intimate details about him, but for what he really wanted to know, she didn’t have the answer.

“Then what’s he doing piping up at me? Trying to protect you?” He searched her face, his gaze narrowing. “Or you trying to protect him?”

Choosing to ignore his first two questions, she did answer the last. “Everyone knows who you are Liam and that makes them weary of coming here. My business is already suffering just because they think you might show up. If you actually hurt someone here, they would never come back.”

He conceded to her point, though this wasn’t vocalized, just a mere nod of his head. There was no need in arguing it further, she was just glad he was willing to let it go.

“Now, what did you want to talk about?”

“Jimmy.”

Her shoulders relaxed as she heard her brother’s name. “What about him?”

“There’s word that he’s been hanging around Declan.”

Reagan was careful, very careful to keep her expression blank. When Liam had barged his way into her life, he hadn’t thought of who she or her family was, only that she could be his shiny new play thing he wanted to possess.

What he didn’t know was that their families, her and Declan’s, had known each other for years, even before coming over to America. Their mothers had been the best of friends for a long time, at least until Conor found out what the patriarch of the Flanagan family did for a living. But once he had, Conor severed ties with them, demanding that none of them even mention the Flanagan name again.

Her mother had meekly agreed to his demands, and since Reagan had been only a girl, she’d had no choice in the matter.

But her brothers…

They and Declan had been close, too close for Conor to rip them apart.

It was ultimately their loyalty to Declan that made Conor disown them.

Jimmy was another story entirely. Since he was only three years older than her, to their brothers, he had been too young to hang around them, but that didn’t mean he didn’t try and follow them around every chance he got. Their mother may have been passive when it came to many things, but she had been unwilling to give Jimmy up.

So yeah, there was a strong possibility that Jimmy was hanging around Declan—especially if the rumors of him being back were true—and with the way Jimmy had been talking yesterday, he obviously had a reason for going to him of all people.

And that reason worried her.

But Reagan loved her brother, and she wasn’t going to give him up. “I don’t see how that’s possible. He’s been at the pub every night.” Sometimes for only an hour, but that was semantics.

“And you wouldn’t lie to me.”

“No.”

She could tell he didn’t believe her, but he didn’t argue the point. “Tell that brother of yours to steer clear of the Flanagans. We wouldn’t want him to become collateral damage.”

Reagan bristled. “Are you threatening my brother?”

“Merely making a point, love.”

He curled a hand around the back of her neck and squeezed, making her wince. Maybe she had been foolish in believing that he was any better than his brother. She was seeing that now.

“Stay out of trouble.”

He pressed his lips hard against her forehead before letting her go, walking out of the office without a look back. Shortly after he’d gone and the door chimed signaling his exit, the conversations started back up.

Reagan only had a moment to herself before Shan came barging in.

“Are you okay?”

“Fine.” But she didn’t believe that herself, not entirely.

“What did he want?”

“It was nothing.”

“Are you—”

Reagan cut her off. “I’m sure. Is Niklaus…is he still out there?”

Frowning, Shan shook her head. “He left almost immediately after you came back here.”