Fighting For Irish (A Fighting for Love Novel) (Entangled Brazen) by Gina L Maxwell

don’t work for him?” If not, their loyalty was more likely to themselves than to Sicoli. Aiden had a chunk of winnings still in a savings account back home. Maybe he could pay them to forget about Kat and tell Sicoli they’d killed her.
    Sully spoke with a tinge of annoyance. “I know what you’re thinking, Mr. Smith, and the answer is no. We might only be contracted to go after runners, but Mr. Sicoli pays us handsomely for our loyalty. Plus, we get half of whatever money we collect on top of our regular fees, which is why we’re more patient than your average collectors.”
    Fuck. There went that plan. At least he’d had the presence of mind to instruct Xan to get Kat out of town until Xander could reach Jax if Aiden didn’t make it out of this meeting. From the look of things, he’d give himself a fifty-fifty chance at this point. Not great odds.
    Aiden planted his feet shoulder-width apart and kept his arms loose by his sides. Without the aid of Kat’s gun, the only thing he had going for him was his fighting skills. “What happens if you can’t collect?”
    A sadistic glint lit up Vinnie’s eyes. The kind that said, I’ve tortured living things since kindergarten and never lost an ounce of sleep . “Why don’t you ask Lenny Marx? Oh wait, you can’t.”
    Sully elaborated. “Our orders are to come back with either the money or proof of death. After meeting with Mr. Marx in prison, we determined he had no means of getting us the money. Soon after, he met with an unfortunate accident.”
    If that wasn’t a bluff, then these guys were the real deal, and any hopes he’d carried for bargaining his way out were a waste of energy. Though he hadn’t wished death on the guy, he couldn’t deny a small part of him was glad Kat’s ex wouldn’t be coming after her in the future.
    That is, if he could ensure she even had a future.
    “So then it should be over. The girl doesn’t have anything to do with it. Marx was the one who borrowed the money from Sicoli, not her.”
    Vinnie barked out a laugh. “Is that what she told you?”
    “Marx didn’t borrow money,” Sully added. Unbuttoning his suit coat, he sat on Kat’s futon and rested his gun arm on the back of the couch. “He was contracted as a distributor for the crystal meth division of the syndicate. He moved the product but never brought in the earnings. Then he and the girl skipped town.”
    “Which signed his death warrant,” Vinnie piped in with a wry grin. “Sicoli uses contracts. No matter what you sign on for, you owe him one of two things: completion of your job or your life. Marx knew the score.”
    “So now you two either do your job or he has you killed, too, is that right?”
    Sully shrugged a shoulder. “It’s how he operates with everyone. We don’t take it personally.”
    “Good for you,” Aiden drawled. “I still don’t see what the hell any of that has to do with the girl.”
    “Considering her name is on the contract, it has everything to do with her.”
    Aiden’s blood ran cold. “I don’t believe you.”
    “Not that we owe you proof,” Sully said as he motioned to his partner, “but see for yourself.” Vinnie pulled a folded piece of paper from his back pocket and handed it to Aiden.
    Unlike most contracts that had multiple pages of language you couldn’t understand without an attorney dumbing it down for you, this was a single page of pretty cut-and-dry terms. And at the bottom, right under Lenny’s, was Kat’s signature.
    Aiden felt the cold fingers of betrayal close around his neck like a noose choking the air from his lungs. The seemingly innocent woman he’d been protecting all this time was no better than a common drug dealer. Like Lenny. Like Janey’s scumbag boyfriend. Someone who pushed narcotics on kids desperate to fit in or who want to rebel, who then end up dragged into the sordid life of a never-ending addiction with little hope of escape.
    Goddamn it!
    Aiden took a cleansing breath and