The Long Game Read online

  Tommy thanked him and took a large swig of the stout. Ian hesitated a moment. He looked first at Tommy, then at me before shrugging again and moving back to the other side of the bar where a new group had just sat down.

  I waited for a moment before I spoke again. “Can I ask you something?” There was no response from Tommy, so I continued. “What did Spencer say when you told her about me?”

  Tommy’s brow knitted, and his jaw tightened. “I didn’t.”

  It wasn’t what I’d expected, and I gaped at him in open-mouthed shock.

  “I didn’t tell her for her sake, not yours, so don’t get any ideas,” Tommy hastened to add. “If you try to contact her again, it’ll be the first thing I do.”

  “For her sake or yours?” I asked. “Telling her who I am would raise a few questions about who you are.”

  “She knows who I am,” he said and took another swig of his drink.

  “She doesn’t know where you came from.”

  “Would you have preferred I told her?” Tommy turned to look at me for the first time since he’d sat down.

  “Maybe. She deserves to know the truth, but I don’t want her to get hurt.”

  “Enough.” Tommy dropped the pint back onto the bar. The dark liquid sloshed but didn’t spill. “I’m not here for your advice on how to deal with my daughter. I managed to protect her for nineteen years before you showed up, and I’ll do it long after you’re out of her life.”

  “Fine,” I said. “Then why did you want to meet me?”

  “Because I want you—all of you—out of her life now. For good,” Tommy said. “And I think there’s only one way I’ll get what I want.” He shifted on his stool and reached into the briefcase. When his hand reappeared, he was holding a battered old book with a leather cord wrapped around its thick middle. “Here.” He dropped the book on the bar between us, and it landed with a dull thud. “Take it and get the fuck out of my city.”

  Tommy’s abrupt demand stung more than I would’ve expected. Despite the situation and despite what Tommy had done to my da, I realized I actually respected the man. The idea unsettled me a bit, but I tried not to show it as I put a hand on the book to slide it my way. Tommy watched me, stone-faced.

  “What’s the big deal about this thing anyway?” I lifted it and turned it over in my hands. There were no markings on the faded green cover, nothing impressive about the binding or the outside edge of the yellowing pages.

  “You mean you don’t even know what you came all this way for?” Tommy scoffed. “So you’re just Michael’s errand boy.”

  I scowled at him. Truth was, though, he wasn’t too far off. Pop had sent me to get his book back, but I wasn’t even allowed to open the damn thing. I wasn’t good for more than playing fetch, just like Judd had said. “He trusted me to get something he’s been waiting on for twenty years. I think that makes me a little more than an errand boy.”

  Tommy considered this for a moment. “Open it.”

  My fingers hesitated over the leather cord. I had my instructions, but then, I’m pretty sure Pop hadn’t intended me to fall in love with Tommy’s daughter and get caught trying to break into a safe either, so what was one more screw up? I hooked a finger through the cord and undid the loose knot. I unwound the cord and let it drop into my lap. The book fell open to a page marked with a green ribbon. A list of company names ran down one column of the ledger’s page, and dollar amounts—big ones—were written in another. I scanned the page, frowning at the familiar names. I’d seen them before, but where?

  “They’re shell companies. Michael used them to launder the money he and his sons bring in, along with the percentage he takes from other clan members. A lot of them don’t exist anymore, but there are a handful he still uses and a few more that may still be operating under a different name. It only takes a little paperwork to have a brand-new company.”

  The list in Tommy’s notebook. Names with asterisks, questions marks, lines slashed through them. He’d been trying to follow the money. Trying to figure out how Pop’s operation really worked. I flipped through a few more pages, found more names—both for companies and individuals. This ledger was a record of every shady transaction Pop had made for years before Tommy stole it, and there was enough there to earn him and several others a lot of prison time. No wonder he’d pursued Tommy for twenty years. I snapped the book shut and wrapped the leather cord around it again, then laid it on the bar.

  I jutted out my chin and pushed it toward him, not wanting to touch it again. “Why are you giving this to me?”

  “Like I said before, every decision I make is to protect Spencer. If I thought there was another way to keep her safe, I’d do it, but Pop isn’t going to stop coming after me until he gets this book back, and I’m done running.” It was obvious it annoyed Tommy to give in to blackmail. “But let me be very clear. If you so much as think about my daughter again and I catch wind of it, I will devote the rest of my life to ruining the rest of yours. Understood?”

  I nodded, believing him to be a man of his word. I looked down at the ledger on the bar, thinking about what all this meant. I had what I’d come for, but taking it back to Pop meant betraying Spencer all over again. Tommy had taken this ledger as protection for himself and his daughter. It was his only bargaining chip to halt the wrath of Pop Sheedy.

  “They’re going to come after you,” I said. I hadn’t realized what the ledger really meant until that moment, but now I was sure what I said was true.

  “Probably,” Tommy said. He stared down into the wide mouth of his glass.

  “There’s nothing to stop Pop from killing you for what you did to him.”

  “Not a damn thing,” Tommy said.

  I pushed the ledger to him with my fingertips. “I can’t take it.”

  Now it was Tommy’s turn to gape at me. “What do you mean you ‘can’t take it’? You came all this way, tricked my daughter into thinking she was in love with you, then tried to break into my safe in the middle of a dinner party to get it. Now I’m handing it to you, practically giftwrapped, and you ‘can’t take it’?”

  The bartender glanced our way, and I gave him an easy smile. Nothing to see here, Ian. He watched us for a second longer, then went back to wiping glasses with his grungy towel.

  “I can’t take it,” I repeated, leaning a little closer so I could speak in a quieter voice. “I may have tricked her into thinking she’s in love with me, but I know I’m in love with her. I can’t take this book because it’s the only thing protecting you from Pop. Something tells me he wants more than just that book. If you give it back to him, it won’t be the end. Only the beginning.”

  “And I’m supposed to believe you care what happens to me?”

  “Whatever Pop does to you, it’ll hurt her. You forget, I know what it’s like not to have a father around. I’m not going to let that happen to her.”

  Tommy stared at me as if he couldn’t decide whether to kick my ass or write me into his will. After a few seconds, he slid the ledger back into the briefcase. “This doesn’t mean I’m going to let you see Spencer,” he said, securing the brass latch on the front flap of the case.

  “I know. I can’t keep lying to her, and if I tell her the truth, she wouldn’t want to see me anyway. That’s not why I’m doing this.”

  “Why are you doing this?”

  I slid from the barstool. “I told you. Whatever happens to you hurts Spencer. I’m not going to be a part of that. No matter what you did to my da.”

  He frowned skeptically. “And that’s it. That’s all you’re after?”

  “Well, there is something I was wondering about.”

  “What’s that?”

  “You said I’d never be able to guess the combination to your safe, but it’s a number I should know. I just wondered what it was.”

  “You want me to tell you my safe combination?” Tommy laughed.

  “Hey, you just handed me the book, and I gave it back. I’d say the chances of me tryi
ng to get into your safe again are pretty low.”

  “Fair enough,” Tommy said. “It’s 1031.” Tommy stood and grabbed his suitcase. He fished a ten-dollar bill from his coat pocket and tossed it onto the bar. “Have a good trip home, Shay. I look forward to never seeing you again.”

  Without a backward glance to me, Tommy waved his goodbye to Ian and the pregnant hostess, then pushed through the heavy doors and disappeared. I stood next to my own stool, rolling the numbers around in my head. 1031. Ten thirty-one. The numbers were definitely familiar, as Tommy’d predicted, but damned if I could figure out why.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  THE THUNDERING KNOCK jarred me from the sleep I hadn’t meant to fall into. I sat bolt upright on the sofa where I’d dozed and blinked, trying to figure out what had woken me. The pounding came again, rattling the door in its frame. I rubbed my eyes and squinted in the dim light.

  Apparently, it had gotten dark sometime between leaving Tommy at the bar and now. Shit. I was going to have to hurry if I was going to make my bus.

  Another knock.

  “I’m coming! Christ.”

  I reached for the knob and had barely turned it when the door burst open and Tommy barreled through, knocking me into the wall as he went past.

  “Where is she, you lying sack of shit? I can’t believe I bought all that crap about how much you cared about her.”

  “What the hell are you talking about?” I tried to play catch up. Nothing about this made sense.

  “Why didn’t you take the book when I offered it to you? Isn’t that what you came for?”

  “It was, but—”

  “What do you think you’re going to get out of me by taking her?”

  I shook my head. I had to be dreaming. “Tommy, what are you—”

  “What kind of coward kidnaps a nineteen-year-old girl? Goddamn it, Shay, tell me where she is. Now.” Tommy turned on me suddenly and grabbed my shirt in both hands. He slammed my back against the wall, and only the tips of my toes scraped the floor. “Tell me.”

  I couldn’t do more than blink at him. She? Kidnap? “Tommy, I swear I don’t know what you’re talking about. Did something happen to Spencer?”

  “Like you don’t know.”

  My mind switched from blank to panicked in under a second. I shoved him back and heard my shirt tear as patches of the fabric went with him. “I don’t. I left you at the bar and came straight back here. My bus leaves for New Orleans—” I checked the wall clock. “—in one hour.” I pointed to the ticket still on the table where I’d dropped it.

  Tommy glanced down at the ticket, then back up at me. “Is that supposed to prove something?”

  “I’m not sure what you want me to prove. Tear the place apart if you want, but she’s not here. What’s this shit about kidnapping?”

  “What do you think? I got the voicemail message your friend left,” Tommy said. He shoved a hand into the pocket of his suit jacket and pulled a thin, black phone from inside. He slid his thumb across the screen, flicked at a small green icon, and held the phone up for me to hear. Judd’s voice was gleeful as it played through the speaker: “Well, hey there, Saint Thomas. I’d say it’s a pleasure, but to be honest, it makes me sick even to be talking to the recording of a dirty snake like you. But I guess sometimes we all gotta get down on our bellies, don’t we? See, the thing is, you have something I want, and now I have something you want. I would suggest you call me back at your earliest convenience. Assuming you ever want to see this tasty little daughter of yours again.” Judd paused. There was the unmistakable sound of a woman—of Spencer—sobbing. Then it was muffled again by a closing door. I was sure then that I would kill him. I didn’t care if it took me the rest of my life; I would snap his neck with my bare hands before I took my last breath. The message continued. “But Tommy, no rush. I’m sure Cherry and I can do something to pass the time.” I could practically feel his windpipe collapse under my fingers.

  “You’re telling me you had nothing to do with this?” Tommy asked, though he’d clearly made up his mind already.

  “Tommy, I swear I didn’t.”

  “But you know who did.”

  I hesitated. I might not have directly helped Judd, but I was the reason he was here. “Judd Sheedy,” I said. “He came up a few weeks after me to make sure I got the job done.”

  “Michael’s youngest boy?” Tommy sounded incredulous. “You’re telling me he pulled this off on his own? That little asshat couldn’t keep the drool in his mouth the last time I saw him.”

  “Still can’t. But he’s crazy as hell, and there’s no telling what he’ll do to Spencer if we don’t find him fast.”

  “Do you have any idea where he might have taken her?” Tommy looked sick at the idea of asking me for help, but he was out of options.

  “I don’t—” I stopped. My eyes flickered to the matchbook still on the table where Judd had left it.

  Telling Tommy where Judd had taken Spencer was as good as drawing a line in the sand and then doing the long jump right over it, but I was out of options too. Spencer’s safety was the only thing that mattered. I walked to the table and slid the matchbook off of it, then turned it over in my palm. I tossed it to Tommy, and he caught it in one hand and looked down at it.

  “How fast can you get us there?”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  TOMMY DRUMMED NERVOUS fingers on the leather-wrapped steering wheel of his Lexus. “Are you sure they’re in there?”

  “That’s his car.” I pointed to the black sedan in the spot next to us. “And the clerk says a guy matching Judd’s description checked in earlier today and hasn’t left his room since.” I stared at the green door through the windshield. Room 19. “They’re in there.”

  Tommy lifted the ledger from the center console where it had ridden between us on the twenty-minute drive to the motel. It had been the longest twenty minutes of my life, spent imagining Judd’s hands on Spencer’s skin, the terror in her eyes. I forced the images away for the hundredth time and refocused on the motel door in front of us.

  “So what’s your plan?” Tommy asked.

  “I don’t have one,” I said as I popped open the door and stepped out of the car.

  “Fantastic,” Tommy said and did the same.

  I circled around the back of the car, doing my best to avoid the room’s front window. The thick curtains were pulled shut, but it didn’t mean he wasn’t watching. The more surprised Judd was to see us, the better chance we’d have at getting out of this alive.

  “He has a gun,” I said over my shoulder, my back pressed against the brick wall outside Judd’s door.

  “You didn’t think to mention that before now?” Tommy said in a harsh whisper.

  “Would you be doing anything different?” I shot back.

  “Knock,” Tommy said.

  I wrapped my knuckles against the door, then covered the peephole with my thumb.

  After a moment, a voice came from inside. “Who’s there?”

  Tommy and I both flattened ourselves against the building in case he looked through the window when he couldn’t get a view through the peephole. “Management,” I said, disguising my voice. “Problem with your card.”

  The chain on the door rattled, and the knob turned. “I didn’t use no—”

  I threw my weight into the door, and it banged open, sending Judd stumbling back. Tommy followed me inside and closed the door quickly. I scanned the room. A terrified Spencer was huddled at the top of the far bed, her knees pulled to her chest and her arms clinging to the headboard. She wasn’t tied up, as far as I could tell, and her jeans and t-shirt were still intact. Thank God for small favors.

  Judd regained his balance quickly and aimed his gun at my chest. “Nice of you to finally show up,” he said, in a tone too friendly for our current circumstances.

  “You know, Prince, I’m getting awfully tired of you pointing that gun in my face.”

  “It’s true?”

  Every head sw
iveled to look at Spencer. She still crouched against the headboard, but now the fear in her face was replaced by angry disbelief.

  “Are you all right, sweetheart?” Tommy asked.

  “It’s true?” she asked again, ignoring her dad to keep her eyes locked on me. “You know this guy?”

  I exhaled a deep sigh. Tommy might have decided not to tell her the truth about me, but Judd had apparently not been so considerate. “I know him,” I said.

  Spencer flew from the bed and charged toward me. She thrashed at my face and chest with her fists, and a small part of me wished Judd had tied her up. I took several steps back, trapped between her and the wall, and lifted an arm to shield my face. But I wasn’t going to stop her. I deserved everything she did to me and more.

  “You bastard. You lying bastard!”

  “All right, darlin’.” Judd laughed. “As much as I’d love to see you beat the shit out of him, the men have business to discuss.” He grabbed her by the arm mid-swing and tossed her like a rag doll onto the closest bed. Tommy took a step toward him, his face creased with rage, but Judd turned the pistol in his direction and brought him up short. “Uh-uh. I wouldn’t do that, friend.”

  “You touch her again, Judd, and you’re going to need more than that peashooter to keep me from killing you,” Tommy growled.

  Spencer didn’t move from the bed, but Judd’s manhandling hadn’t slowed her tongue any. “So it’s true. You’re working with him?” she asked, her eyes still boring into me like knifepoints.

  “No,” I said but thought better of it. “Yes. Kind of. We’re both here for the same reason. But this…” I swept an arm around the room. “This wasn’t part of my plan.”

  “What was your plan then? To get me into bed to get closer to my dad?”

  I winced and looked at Tommy. He was still watching Judd and his gun, and I hoped that was enough distraction from what his daughter had just announced. I turned back to her. “I came for a book. That one.” I pointed to the book in Tommy’s hand. Judd’s eyes followed and locked greedily onto the ledger. “That’s it. I just wanted the book back.”