In Too Deep

“Not a fucking thing. That family has been a boil on my ass for twenty years. Let him dig. He doesn’t even know where to look.”

“Dad, calm down.”

“Don’t tell me to calm down. You made this mess and I keep having to clean up after you!” Alan was full-on yelling now. “I told you this would happen. Putting yourself in the public eye. Thinking you could be me.”

Then there was nothing but chaos. Danny was yelling at his dad, dishes sounded like they were being thrown, someone screamed to call nine-one-one. Ronan was halfway out of the car when Brendan grabbed his arm.

“What’s going on?”

“I don’t know. All hell’s breaking loose in there.”

Brendan picked up the laptop to listen.

Ronan took off toward the bar. He ran inside and looked around. A crowd had gathered near the Cahills’ table. Then he saw Chloe talking on the phone. She was fine. All of the other sounds fell away and he focused on her voice. As she spoke, he realized Alan Cahill had a heart attack.

He returned his attention to Cahill’s table. As the crowd shifted, he saw Alan on the floor, Danny holding his hand and talking close to his father’s face.

How could things possibly get worse? He moved closer to the bar and leaned against the counter as his heart rate returned to normal.

Sirens wailed down the block announcing the arrival of the ambulance. Within minutes, paramedics rushed through the door. Chloe ushered customers back to their tables and called over to the bartender to get everyone more drinks. Then she noticed him and hurried over.

“What are you doing in here?”

“I heard everything going to hell and needed to make sure you were okay.”

Her eyes were wide and when she spoke, her arms were flailing. “Alan was yelling at Danny and then he just fell over. He didn’t look good when he got here. He’s been worked up pretty much the whole time.”

“Hey, Chloe,” someone called from behind them.

“I have to get back to dealing with this.”

“I’ll be here.”

Relief crossed her face and gave him no small amount of satisfaction. He looked over her head as the paramedics wheeled Alan out, Danny on their heels. His gaze met Ronan’s, but his expression was blank like he didn’t even recognize him.

His phone buzzed in his pocket. Brendan.

“What the fuck is going on?”

“Alan collapsed. Chloe said he wasn’t looking good when he got here. They’re taking him out now.”

Danny and his father were tucked into the back of the ambulance and the vehicle screamed away from the bar.

“Well, fuck,” Brendan said.

“What now?”

“I’ll find out what’s happening to Cahill. You want me to drop you off at home?”

“No. I’m going to stay here. Find out what Chloe saw. Get her perspective.”

“Grab my wire while you’re in there. No sense in leaving it where it might get found.”

“Call me when you know something.”

“You, too.”

Ronan took a seat at the bar and ordered a beer. Once Chloe had the Cahills’ table cleared off, Ronan walked over there and took the booth. His gaze tracked Chloe’s movements as she wove through the tables checking on customers. Her smile was bright but phony. Alan Cahill had rattled her, but she wasn’t showing it. Not to people who didn’t know her. He noticed the stiff line of her shoulders and the frozen curve of her lips.

He hated seeing her like this. Knowing that he was the cause of at least part of that weighed on him. This was why he didn’t want to involve her. He and Brendan were stirring up a hornets’ nest and she was stuck in the middle. The voice deep in his head berated him for being here, for not staying away from her, for wanting to be with her no matter what.

But at this point, he wasn’t sure she’d still have him.