Sean hopped up and made his way around the bar, fetching my drink.
“Where is he?” I asked. “Did Peter really call a meeting and now he’s late?”
“You know how the man is,” said Sean as he dropped into the seat next to me. “Runs a tight ship with his boys but can’t keep a meeting to save his life.”
Silence fell, and on the jukebox some old Irish rock song played.
“You like the Pogues?” asked Sean. “Love ’em. Good for getting into fights and drinking whiskey.”
“No. Can’t say I do.”
More time passed. I checked my watch, and before too long a half-hour had passed, Sean attempting to get me into some BS small talk all the while. Then a text arrived from April, letting me know that she and Willa were on their way to grab some food.
“Who’s that?” asked Sean.
“Don’t worry about it.” I was beginning to get uneasy.
“Call Peter,” I said. “I didn’t come all the way to London to wait around for him.”
“Hey, don’t get your knickers in a twist, boss.”
“Excuse you?”
“He’s on his way. You know how the traffic is here—New York, but even more ghastly. He’ll be here soon.”
“Get him on the phone at least. I want to hear from his own mouth that he’s on his way.”
Sean sighed. “I don’t think that’s going to be possible, boss.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Peter’s…he and I had a little chat.”
If there was any doubt that something was fucked up, that did it.
“What kind of chat?”
“He found out that I’d been the one keeping tabs on him for you. Didn’t take too kindly to that, to say the least.”
He rolled up his sleeve to reveal a line of small, red burns along his arm.
“He’s a smoker. And so were the two guys he had along with him when we, ah, talked. You ever had a cig put out on your arm before? Not the most pleasant thing in the world, if you can imagine.”
My gut tensed.
“What did he put you up to?” I reached forward and grabbed Sean’s arm, pressing down on the still fresh burns. He let out a cry of pain as he tried to wriggle free. But I was far, far stronger than him. He didn’t get far.
“Ah…ah! Shit!”
“Tell me now!” My voice came out in a harsh growl.
“He…he told me to tell you to come here, to keep you busy, you know?”
I twisted his arm, another cry of pain sounding out.
“For what reason?”
“I…don’t know! But he told me he’d do even worse if I didn’t do it!”
I didn’t need to ask any more questions.
I knew what the reason was.
Willa.
I pulled my fist back and drove it hard across Sean’s face. He toppled back, landing on the floor with a thud. I didn’t bother to see if he was all right.
I had bigger things to worry about.