Merciless: An Irish Mafia Romance (Wild Irish Book 4)

by Vi Carter

  “Please don’t leave me.” I jump up again trying to grab onto something but my nails drag down the metal. “Liam!” My legs give out again and water rushes over my head. The world tilts and I push back up to the surface but hit a wall. My tied hands run along but there is no break in the wall. I can’t find a gap. My legs stop kicking and I’m sinking, my lungs ache and burn for oxygen as the last bit of air leaves my mouth. I fight not to inhale but my mouth opens and I drag in a mouth full of water and the world explodes as my body pulses and trembles to try to exhale water that can’t be exhaled.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  LIAM

  I’m in the lake trying to open the side door so I can reach Svetlana. The van is disappearing at an alarming rate. I take a deep breath before I go under the water. It’s cold and murky and I have to use my sense of touch to find the door. I try to pull it open but it doesn’t budge. I keep trying until my lungs burn and I have to return to the surface.

  “Boss I can’t swim.” Gregor is still on the bank. Useless to me. I swim back and climb onto the back of the van that’s still jutting out from the water; it’s easier this time as more of it is submerged in the lake. I don’t see Svetlana. I take another deep breath before I jump in. She’s not the only one down here; I push the body of the man and find Svetlana, my hands touching the sack over her face. Something loud bangs and the light dims. One of the doors must have closed. I’m swimming towards the door pulling Svetlana with me. The door rushes towards us as the van sinks quickly.I pass it gripping Sveltlana and we break the surface of the water. The moment I do I pull the sack off Svetlana’s head. She isn’t breathing. I swim as fast as I can to the bank and Gregor is there, he pulls her up as I climb onto the grass and start pressing on her chest. After compressing I hold her nose and blow into her mouth. I repeat this again. “Come on,” I beg her as I continue to press on her chest. She coughs and splutters up water and I pull her up while turning her on her side. She continues to bring up water. It leaves her in gushes.

  “Get me my phone,” I say to Gregor and he takes off running towards the car. Svetlana continues to bring up lake water. Her leg is bleeding pretty badly and I lay her down on her side when she stops getting sick. Removing the rope from her hands causes her to hiss.

  “Liam.”

  I’m right back up near her head. “I’m here,” I tell her.

  She looks at me with lids half closed. “Thank you.” A smile graces her face. “I thought you were going to leave me.”

  “You are no use to me dead,” I say the words easily as I move down to her feet and untie the rope. I take more care; her leg is in bad repair. Gregor hands me my phone and I take it. “Get her into the car.” Gregor bends at the knees to pick her up. “Be careful with her,” I warn him as I rise and ring George. He answers straight away.

  “I need you to get to my house right now.” I hang up not giving him a moment to deny me. Gregor has Svetlana in the car.

  “You drive,” I tell him as I climb into the back. Lifting up her head I rest it on my lap. A moan leaves her lips. My hand goes to her hair and I start to stroke it, trying to soothe her as we drive home.

  “Shane there is a van at the bottom of Whitewood lake. I need you to get the bodies out of it, and bring them back to the house.”

  “I’m on it.”

  “Bring Darragh with you.” It will keep his mind occupied.

  “Is that really necessary?” Shane questions.

  “Yes.” I hang up and ring Stephen.

  “Mr O’Reagan.”

  “We are coming now. Have the barrier up. Also George Watson is arriving soon; don’t delay in letting him in.”

  “The barrier is broken, they crashed through it.”

  “Get someone out to repair it straight away.”

  We arrive only a moment later and I tell Gregor not to slow down. The car bumps across the broken barrier. He pulls into the garage and I lift Svetlana out. She groans and I try to be as gentle with her as possible. Cradling her to my chest, I’m trying to stop her from moving too much. Shane and Darragh pause in the hall when they see us.

  “Don’t stand there. Go and do your job,” I say as I pass them. Gregor opens the doors and we move into the basement.

  “Stay outside and wait for the doctor.”

  Gregor parts ways and heads back up as I carry Svetlana into the bedroom. She’s shivering and I hate the color of her skin. Sitting her up I peel the t-shirt off her. Her skin is already bruising in several areas. Laying her back down she moans again, she’s trying to cradle her left arm to her side. I dump the top onto the floor and start to remove her trousers; they pull down easily to her knees, but her right leg is a mess. I leave her and get a scissors from the bag of knives that I had taken from the kitchen.

  When I get back she’s trembling. Taking the blanket I wrap it around her. “Stay with me. The doctor will be here soon,” I say and focus on cutting the trousers from her leg. Every hiss has me clenching my jaw. When the material falls apart I lift her leg by the heel and pull out the material.

  Footsteps have me breathing a bit better. “George her leg looks bad,” I tell him the moment he enters the room. He moves the blanket back and her shivers continue. I’m tempted to pull it up around her but I let him do his job.

  He takes a look and she cries out as he moves her leg. The cold has seeped into me also and I strip off my suit jacket and tie before going to the side of the bed.

  “It’s okay. He’s going to help you.” I try to comfort her but she continues to cry out.

  “Can you put her out?” I ask him and he doesn’t glance at me. He has a magnifying glass strapped to his head as he examines her leg.

  “I didn’t exactly have time to prepare.” He moves back to his bag and puts on gloves while taking out some white bandages and what looks like a large tweezers.

  “You better stay up there with her this is going to be sore.” I take a moment to pull off my shirt.

  “Give me a minute,” I tell him and kick off my shoes before stripping off my trousers and boxers. Taking a pair of jogging pants I pull them over my wet skin and slide on a t-shirt. At least now I can sit on the bed. Once I’m beside Svetlana, this time I take her head in my lap and hold the one hand that doesn’t seem sore. I give George a nod and he starts. It takes everything in me not to jump off the bed and hurt him. It takes another thirty minutes of Svetlana crying out, twice she loses consciousness.

  “She’s very lucky it’s more surface cuts, she didn’t do any real damage.” He moves up now to check her arm. When he touches it she stirs. “I think it’s broken but I’d need to x-ray it.”

  “No. you figure it out here. She can’t go to a hospital.”

  George looks at me for the first time. “I can strap it, but I need to go and get some things.”

  “She swallowed a lot of water,” I say.

  He nods before getting his steth-o-scope. “You need to sit her up.”

  I do slowly and she opens her eyes. “Leave me alone.” I ignore her protests and hold her body against mine. Pulling her wet hair away from her chest I let George listen to her heart. The red lace material that covers her breasts is wet but I’ll let her remove it.

  “It’s nearly over.” I murmur in her ear.

  “You need to lean her forward so I can check her lungs.” I do as he says holding her away from me. It feels like he takes longer before I can pull her back against my chest. I pull the blankets up over her chest and she shivers.

  “Her lungs sound fine, but honestly she would be better in a hospital. Things can change quickly.”

  “That’s not an option,” I say again and hope I don’t have to repeat myself any further.

  “I’ll bandage her leg and go and get the strap for her arm, and some painkillers.”

  Svetlana wakes up as he moves her leg. Brushing her hair back I try to soothe her. When he’s finally done, she relaxes against my chest.

  “Gregor will let you out,” I say to George as I
let Svetlana lie fully down on the bed, I’m careful with her arm as I move her.

  “Please don’t leave me.” Her good hand is reaching out to me.

  “I won’t.” I’m able to pull the blankets over her bandaged leg now and all the way up to her neck before lying beside her. “I’m here.” I whisper to her but she’s already asleep.

  ***

  “Mr. O’Reagan.” I open my eyes, my hand reaching under my pillow where I usually keep my gun but I don’t touch the cold metal that I’ve become accustomed to.

  “The Doctor is back and so are your brothers.” I nod before glancing at Svetlana. She’s asleep, her breathing is deep. My movements are slow as I get out of the warmth of the bed and meet George in the doorway. “She’s asleep and I don’t want her woken up.”

  He’s clutching his black bag that bulge’s with equipment. “I can come back later.”

  “No. just sit and wait for her to wake up.” My request isn’t taken kindly but George goes into the room.

  “Get him a chair,” I tell Gregor as I get some clean socks and runners.

  ***

  Shane and Darragh are in the entrance area; both of them are in dry clothes but their hair is still wet.

  “Where are they?”

  “You want them down here?”

  “Yes,” I answer Shane. Darragh mutters as he leaves to help Shane with the bodies. I open the door that leads into the more sterile part of the basement.

  “Wanda.”

  “What can I do for you today?”

  “Light up the basement.”

  Lights flicker to life one after the other. I move around the chair that’s cemented into the middle of the floor. That will have no use today. A butcher’s block is pushed up against two large pillars. Taking it, I roll it further into the room and cover it with black sacks.

  “Where do you want it?” Shane asks.

  “Here.”

  “What are you going to do?” Darragh questions.

  “I don’t know,” I say as they place the body on the wooden slab. They’ve wrapped it in a bed sheet and we remove it. It’s a male. His beige coat doesn’t cover his gut.

  “He wasn’t very fit,” I say. The smell of smoke assaults my senses and I flicker a glance at Darragh who leans against the pillar watching me while smoking a fag.

  “Can you start at the feet?” I ask Shane and he removes the man’s Nike runners. I check his jacket pockets but there is nothing in them. Opening his checkered shirt there is no tattoos on his body.

  “Feet are clean,” Shane says.

  “Yeah so is his chest,” I mumble, while checking his neck.

  I open the belt of his trousers and we pull them off, Shane lifts the legs to help shift the material off.

  “He’s a briefs man,” Darragh states with laughter in his voice. “Always reminds me of a pedophile. Especially the ones with big bellies.”

  “So you think he’s a pedophile?” I ask as I search his pockets, my fingers touch the leather of a wallet.

  “Who the fuck knows,” Darragh answers me as I open the wallet and remove the ID.

  “Larry Wheelen.” I read his name out loud. The image on the ID card matches his.

  “Legs are clear,” Shane tells me.

  I nod.

  “Didn’t Dermot Wheelen recently die?” Shane quizzes.

  “The name sounds familiar,” I remark.

  “Did he live at the crossroads on the way to Nobber?” Shane walks to the sink and starts to wash his hands.

  “Yeah, he was huge. When he did his weekly shopping he would first get a cooked chicken and eat it while he did the shopping.” Darragh extinguishes the cigarette on the floor and I walk over and pick it up.

  “It’s a concrete floor.”

  “It’s my home,” I say.

  He snorts. “It’s like a serial killers nest if you ask me.”

  “I didn’t.” I place the butt in the bin before washing my hands.

  “Let’s redress him and get the next body in here.” I’m surprised when Darragh helps me dress Larry.

  “What will we do with the bodies after?”

  “Burn them. Our DNA is everywhere. Micky Heffernans funeral home in Trim will burn them for us.”

  “So what we just drop the bodies off?” Darragh buttons up Larry’s shirt as I put back on his socks and shoes.

  “He opens for fifteen minutes each night. You have to be there between twelve and twelve fifteen and he will burn the body, he charges 10k a body.”

  “That’s day light robbery.” Darragh remarks as he lights up another cigarette.

  I wrap Larry back up in the bed sheets.

  “Mr. O’Reagan.” Gregor stands at the door but hasn’t come into the room.

  “Yes Gregor. You can speak.” He’s hesitant in front of Darragh and Shane. Gregor wasn’t something I shared with my family.

  “She’s awake and looking for you.”

  “Tell George to give her something to help her sleep.” I clench my jaw hating leaving her after what just happened but finding out who did this was important.

  Gregor leaves and I can feel their questions brush the nape of my neck.

  “No, she is not my girlfriend. Yes, she is staying with me. I’m not sure for how long but her life and mine are tied.” I finish turning to my brothers. “If she dies, I will be killed.”

  “What can we do?” Shane is always ready to help.

  “Put him back in the van and bring the next one in.” They do and I want to rush this body. I want to get back to Svetlana. We repeat the process only the woman is clean no ID, no wallet or anything to identify her.

  “She’s pretty.” Darragh has decided to lean against the pillar again and watch us as he smokes.

  “At least we have his ID.” Shane remarks as we redress her. I had hoped she would have some ID on her or a mark that we could tie her to a gang. But she looks like a normal woman who might have kids and a nine to five job.

  Once we redress and re-wrap her Darragh and Shane take her to the van. I wash my hands after picking up another of Darragh’s cigarette butts.

  Svetlana is playing on my mind but I promise myself I will get to her soon. Leaving the basement I go up to where Darragh and Shane are just finishing loading the van.

  “You can get rid of them tonight?” I ask Shane.

  “Yeah, I think I have cash.” I expected it to be dark when I arrived back up out of the basement but the sun is still shining in the sky.

  “Darragh I need you to check in tomorrow on the hotels.” I’ve never handed this responsibility over to anyone but leaving Svetlana right now wouldn’t be wise.

  Darragh seems to stand a little taller and I hope I don’t regret my decision in sending him.

  “Yeah what do I do?”

  “Do you have a suit?”

  He smirks. “Yeah and I look pretty hot in it too.”

  I don’t look away and his smirk melts off his face. “I need you to be serious. You need to be the boss.”

  “I can do that.” He’s nodding with a serious expression.

  “I’ll email you a list of each manager. It will be just a short meeting with each of them. Find out if there are any problems. They will give you printouts of the month’s figures and any formal issues. Just bring all the paperwork back to me. I can work from here. Can you do that?”

  “I can do it.”

  “Good.”

  Shane still lingers and I can see all the questions in his eyes but right now is not the time.

  “What about Larry Wheelen?”

  “I’ll take care of it,” I tell Shane and descend down the steps into the basement. Gregor and George are in the living area; the minute I step in they both turn to me.

  “How is she?”

  “She’s been asking for you, but right now she’s asleep. I splintered her arm and wrapped it.” He rattles a brown bottle of pills. “Give her two of these three times a day.”

  “You’ll be back tomorrow to ch
eck on her.”

  “If you want.”

  “I insist.”

  He gathers his bag. “I’ll be off now.”

  “See you tomorrow George.” Once he leaves I pour myself a whiskey and drink it down quickly.

  “Larry Wheelen, he’s from this area. He might be related to Dermot Wheelen.” I remove the ID card from my pocket and hand it to Gregor. “Find out everything you can about him.”

  “No problem. Is that it boss?”

  “Yeah.” Gregor leaves and I fill my glass before drinking it all down. I had no idea who knew she was here and why they would want to kidnap her. The only logic to it was to start a war. If I lost her Mr. Novak would kill me. But who sent them? And they weren’t professional’s. Someone was sloppy.

  Svetlana groans and I leave the living room and enter the bedroom.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  SVETLANA

  I’m sinking deeper and deeper, the black water pulling me under. I no longer have a sack on my head, and I can see Liam. He grins at me before shrugging.

  “Don’t leave me,” I plead.

  He starts to laugh.

  The sludge around my legs starts to pull me under. “No, no. Please don’t leave me.”

  “I’m here. It’s okay you’re safe now.”

  The warmth of a body beside mine has me whimpering with relief. I move closer to the source of the heat. My leg burns and I hiss.

  “Try not to move.” The words are spoken softly and close to my ear but I don’t listen. I want to get closer to the heat. I’m so cold. My arm touches something solid and warm. It disappears for a moment before it moves tightly against me. So close I can lay my head on the warmth. The beat of a heartbeat soothes me back into a sleep.

  ***

  My hand skims warm flesh. It feels solid and flexes under my hand. I move my hand again and it tightens. Burying my head deeper into the chest allows me to move my hand further up. Anywhere my hand touches the muscles shift and flex under them. A part of my brain is telling me to wake up but I like this dream too much. My hand stops above the fluttering of a heart beat and I inhale the smell of cologne, leather and shoe polish. The smell is familiar but my brain has shut down, as my hand moves back down over a six pack that coils under my fingertips, each bump is tantalizing, my hand stops at the band of his trousers. I’m nearly giddy as my fingers slip under the band, a hand covers mine stopping me from exploring any further. My eyes snap open. My heart sky rockets. The burn of humiliation splashes across my cheeks as the smell registers with me.