Seeking Vengeance: Callaghan Brothers, Book 4 (3 page)

S
ean stared at the door.  He wouldn’t have believed it if he hadn’t just seen it for himself. 

It took him a few minutes to realize that Nick was gathering his stuff.  “Want to tell me what just happened?” Sean said.

Nick turned tormented eyes his way.  The kid opened up his mouth, then promptly shut it again and shook his head. 

At least Sean now had a good idea where Nick’s mind had been lately.  Hell, Sean was having trouble thinking clearly, and he’d only been in the woman’s presence for two minutes.   He couldn’t imagine being around her for any length of time.  Christ, his cock was still tingling from her hot little hand, and that was through denim and Hanes.  God help him if she actually wrapped her fingers around him; he’d probably turn to ash in her palm.

Sean blew out a breath and tried to focus.  “Okay, let’s start simple.  Who was that?”

Nick exhaled heavily.  “My sister.” 

Holy shit
.  And then some.  Sean had no idea this kid even had a sister.  No wonder he had problems.  Sean reached over and flipped off the lights.  “Come on.  I think we both need a drink.”  For a moment, Nick looked like he might bolt instead, but then nodded.  “Yeah.  Fuck yeah.”

“Was that a Ducati?” Sean said as he locked up, his eyes glued to the quickly disappearing taillight down the street.

Nick blew out a breath, releasing his hair from its binding and shaking his head like a dog.  “Sort of.”

––––––––

S
ean pulled a couple of longnecks from the glass-doored fridge behind the bar.  Jake’s Irish Pub was owned by his family; his brothers Jake and Ian took care of most of the day-to-day operations, but they all helped out occasionally.

The place had a decent Friday night crowd, but Sean led him toward a quiet back corner usually reserved for close family and friends.  Here they could talk in relative privacy.  A nod to Jake was all it took to ensure that they would not be disturbed. 

Nick slid into the booth, looking a little worse for wear.  That was good, Sean thought.  He was less likely to lie that way.

“So tell me what’s going on, Nick,” he said, handing him a bottle. 

Nick shrugged, accepting the cold beer and taking a long pull.  “My sister’s in town.  No big.”  He flicked those freaky eyes at Sean.  It was disconcerting to see such light, almost clear eyes against such dark lashes and hair, but Sean was fairly used to it by now. 

“I know I shouldn’t have had her in the bays, but she’s cool.  Damn better than anyone else you got working there.”  He paused.  “And you do have that no-one-works-alone policy,” he added, almost as an afterthought.

Sean refrained from pointing out that his rule was intended for employees and skilled mechanics, not for little sisters, even if they did bear a striking resemblance to Kate Beckinsale’s
Underworld
persona.  Or maybe he was thinking of her role in
Van Helsing
.  Sometimes they overlapped in his private fantasies. 

“She’s been the one helping you at night?”

Nick turned surprised eyes on him, and Sean allowed just a small smile.  “No one can get through that many jobs on their own, Nick.  Not even you.  I figured it was Dave, or Tommy maybe.”

Nick barked out a laugh and shook his head vigorously.  “You kidding me?  They couldn’t find a fuel line with a lit match.”

So Nick’s sister had inherited some of the same mechanical skills too.  With bad girl looks and a body that made his mouth water, Sean’s fantasy was only getting better.  If this kept up he was going to have to pinch himself soon.  Or fuck her until she couldn’t remember her own name.   He knew which one would be more effective.  He also knew which one was the smarter choice of the two. 

“Looks a lot like you.”

“We’re twins,” Nick admitted heavily, taking another long drink.

“No shit?” 

“No shit.”  Sean wasn’t sure if Nick viewed the admission as a good thing or a bad thing.  Maybe a little bit of both.  Sean had a twin, too.  He and Shane were identical.  Sometimes that was as much of a curse as a blessing; he knew firsthand the pull a twin had on you, for better or worse.  And if the sister was anything like the brother, a.k.a., a magnet for trouble, well, no wonder the kid didn’t know which end was up.

“She in some kind of trouble?”

“Yeah.  Sort of.  I don’t know.  Fuck.”  For a moment, Nick looked almost lost.  “She doesn’t think she is, but I’m not so sure.”

“Maybe I can help.” 

Nick might have snorted; it was hard to tell.  In any event, it wasn’t much of a response, and after a few minutes stretched by in silence, Sean figured he wasn’t going to get any more for free.  He decided to try another angle.  “So, how long is she in town?”

“Don’t know.  A day.  A week.  A month.  However long it takes. ”

“However long what takes?”  Sean probed. 

Seconds ticked by before Nick answered.  When he did, his expression was like stone, his eyes cold gray steel.  “Family shit.”   

It wasn’t exactly ‘none of your business’, but it was close enough, and it was clear that the kid had no intention of willingly sharing the details.  Sean wouldn’t push that button too hard just yet, at least not directly.  He had a feeling that if he did, Nick would just clam up completely.  As it was, he could tell Nick was uncomfortable with divulging just the little bit he already had.  Still, it wasn’t enough to put Sean off from trying to find out more. 

“She’s staying with you, then?”

“Yeah.”  Nick’s features softened, just a little.  Sean tried to remain patient, reminding himself that Nick seemed to be going through a rough patch, even though the why of it wasn’t exactly clear yet.  Sean’s preferred style of interrogation tended to be a bit more aggressive and involved direct – and usually unpleasant – physical contact, though arguably, it achieved more satisfactory results in a timelier manner.  Nick’s vague, short answers were fast becoming tiresome.  Adding to his edge was the unexplainable need to know; he wasn’t sure why it was important, just that it was. 

“Is that part of the problem?  Her crashing with you?”

“Hell, no,” Nick said irritably, then caught himself.  “Nicki’s great, man.  I love having her around.  It’s just...”  

Nick scrubbed his face with his hand, and in that instant, he looked a lot older than his physical years.  Just what the hell had happened to these kids?  Sean reminded himself to ask Ian – the resident expert on digital research – to look beyond the standard background check, only he’d ask him to include the sister, too.

In the meantime, Sean signaled Taryn for two more beers and waited patiently.  Nick wanted to talk, maybe needed to.  Sean would let him get to it in his own time. 

As long as it didn’t take too long.

Nick was obviously giving his answer a lot of thought, picking and choosing what he could safely reveal.  Sean had been through enough interrogations to know when someone was weighing their options, deciding whether or not to lie and to what degree.

“She’s stubborn, you know?  She won’t let me take care of her while she’s in town.  I hadn’t seen her in... well, that doesn’t matter.  The point is, she insists on working, chipping in for food and shit.”  He snorted again.  “She says she doesn’t want to be a burden.” 

“That doesn’t sound so bad,” Sean said, sipping his beer.  “She’s a mechanic like you, right?  Where’s she working?” 

Nick took a deep breath.  His youthful features were pinched together, his mouth turned downward like he was in physical pain.  “That’s what she
should
be doing,” he said.  “But she’s not.  She’s working at
Angels
.”

One of Sean’s eyebrows raised in a perfect arch.  He knew the place.  Maybe a little too well. 
Angels
was Pine Ridge’s local “gentleman’s club”.  It was a great place to hang out if you were a guy who liked drinking and watching hot, sexy women dance... among other things.  While Nicki definitely rocked the
Angels
vibe, it was not the kind of place any man would want his
sister
to work. 

“Waitressing?  Tending?” he suggested hopefully.  The servers and tenders wore sexy uniforms, but they still wore
something
.

Nick’s look said it all.  “No.”

Fuck
.  No question she had the body for it, but
fuck
.  Men didn’t go to
Angels
with a lot of pure thoughts on their minds.  And there were a hell of a lot of shiny poles and private rooms in the place.  Still, if she was Nick’s twin, she was twenty-four.  Definitely old enough to make her own decisions. 

“She’s a big girl, Nick.”

“That’s exactly what she said,” Nick spit back, looking at Sean as if he was a rat bastard just for agreeing with her.  “But
she’s my sister
.”

“Yeah, I hear you.”  Sean just met her and he was uncomfortable with the thought of her working there, bad girl image and all.  The weirdest thing?  For as badass as she was, there was something inherently feminine and fragile about her.  Maybe it was her eyes, maybe it was her perfectly formed features, but it was there, and it had a powerful effect on his more visceral male instincts.

Setting that thought aside – surely it was an effect of the unease he’d experienced all day - she was still something straight out of one of his darker fantasies, but those fantasies were
his
.  The thought of sharing them with a crowd had him clenching his bottle so hard he feared shattering it in his hand.  It made no sense whatsoever, but he refused to analyze it.  Tonight was all about instinct, not logical reasoning, and he was going on his gut.

“I mean, it’s one thing for her to do that shit in Vegas, you know?” Nick was saying, clearly on a roll.  “It’s different there, high-class gigs and all.  Their security, it’s tight, and I don’t worry so much.  But
Angels
... you ever been there?  It’s insane, man.”

Sean blinked.  “Your sister danced in Vegas?”  Weren’t there licensed brothels in Nevada?

“Yeah,” Nick said, his face hardening as if he guessed the natural progression of Sean’s thoughts.  “But that’s all, man.  And she’s good, too.  Real good.  Too good for the sorry bastards around here.”  Nick spoke with the vehemence of a protective brother.  Sean hoped, for Nick’s sake, that the kid was right.

“They’ve got a good crew over there,” Sean said confidently, though his mind was racing and his insides were squirming a little.  Something just didn’t feel right.  He didn’t have the gift of reading people like his twin Shane, but he was proficient enough to sense when things didn’t line up properly.

“I know the owner, and he’s real protective of the girls.”  At least the ones that wanted to be protected.  Mutual consent was sacred at
Angels
, and it wasn’t a secret.  Judging by the severity of Nick’s reaction, Sean guessed he knew it, too.

“You don’t know Nicki.  She might think she’s safe, but she’s a magnet for trouble, man.”

Yeah, Sean could believe that.  She was simply the female version of the young man sitting in front of him.  Definite problem with authority.  Didn’t like to be told what to do.  Filled with attitude and carried a chip on her shoulder a mile wide.

Sean almost snorted.  Maybe he should introduce Nicki to his brothers’ wives.  She had something in common with Taryn, Lexi,
and
Maggie, but then no delicate flower could ever capture the heart of a Callaghan man.  Their women were, by nature, as fierce as the men, even though they presented it differently. The thought sent a strange chill through him, but he shrugged it off.  Nick was too caught up in his own troubles to notice.

“So what was she doing under the Benz?”

Nick had the good sense to look guilty.  “I told you, she knows her stuff.  I work days, she works nights.  We don’t get to spend much time together.  She’s been bringing food over to the garage, hanging for a while, helping me out before her shift, you know?  It’s been kind of nice.  Then later, I’ve been going up to
Angels
, just to, you know, keep an eye on her and stuff.”

Sean brought the bottle to his lips and drank.  “So why aren’t you there tonight?”

Nick’s eyes flashed with barely repressed anger.  “Last night things got out of hand.  Some jack-off wouldn’t take no for an answer and I might have gotten in his face.  Ended up getting my ass thrown out and hers nearly fired.”

Sean was definitely on Nick’s side on this one.  “Did you do some damage?”

Nick smiled.  “Broke every bone in the hand he had on her ass.”

Sean smiled too.  “That’s the debt she was talking about?”

“Yeah.  She’s too damn proud to admit it, but that guy was twice her size.  Some things a brother’s just got to do, true?”

Yeah, he knew.  And that explained the dark circles under Nick’s eyes the last few days.  At least he wasn’t using or gang-banging.  His respect for the kid went up a notch.  How could he fault him for looking out for his sister?

“Now I’ve been banned from the place when she’s dancing, and she refuses to quit.  What am I supposed to do?  I try to get in there again and they’re not going to be so forgiving this time.”  Nick rubbed the back of his head gingerly; Sean guessed it was probably where one of the bouncers had driven that point home.

Not for the first time, Sean was infinitely glad he only had brothers.  Men were so much simpler.  Growing up in a family of seven boys ensured they all learned how to take care of themselves, but even then, they stuck up for one another when they could.  Because that’s what family did. 

But they were guys.  Holy hell, he could only imagine what it would have been like if they had a little sister!  Sean’s protective instinct kicked in in a big way.  At least that’s how he rationalized the next words out of his mouth. 

“Want me to head up there, check it out?”

Nick looked at him suspiciously.  “You’d do that? Why?”

Sean shrugged.  He had no clue.  Maybe he was bored.  Maybe his life was just too tranquil.  Maybe he had some kind of shining knight complex.  Whatever.  All he knew was he had to do something and he didn’t want to analyze it, because that ominous foreboding was back again, more powerful than ever.