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“What’s going on here?” Finn folded his hands on the table. “We’ve been keeping things running smoothly while you’ve been hiding, doing what you’ve ordered. Why all of a sudden are you lookin’ at us like you’ve never seen us?”
“None of you respect me.”
“That’s bullshit,” Rowan argued.
Fred snapped his head in Rowan’s direction. “So, you steal from all the people you respect?”
“What the fuck are you talkin’ about?” He sneered, his cheeks turning red.
“How long did the three of you think you’d be able to take from me without my notice?”
“I’ll ask again, what the fuck are you talkin’ about?” Rowan appeared genuinely upset.
I flicked my eyes to Aiden, and he wasn’t giving his attention to any of them. His gaze was focused on something on the wall, as if he were holding himself together by sheer will.
“Numbers don’t lie, Rowan. I have proof the three of you have been skimming from the top for a while now.”
“You have to be shittin’ me,” Oscar growled. “We’d never do that.”
“Right because honor among thieves and all that?” Fred huffed. “Should I show you?”
“Please do,” Finn said.
While all the proof was on the computer, Fred had spent the afternoon making copies so he wouldn’t have to pass around a tablet. These were old fashioned men, and Fred wanted to do this the old-fashioned way.
He slapped the proof on the table, and all three men scrambled to get an eyeful. I watched as they read document after document. Only one thing showed on their faces, and something didn’t sit right with me. They were utterly confused.
“What’s this shit?” Rowan slapped the papers in front of him.
“Proof, Rowan.”
He shook his head. “That’s not right. Those numbers lie. I got my own books.”
“Books you cooked to counter this.” Fred motioned to the papers on the table.
“Hold on.” Oscar was glaring at the documents. “Where’d you get these? They don’t match my books either.”
“Shocking.” Fred folded his arms over his chest.
“You’ve just decided to not believe us no matter what.” Finn pushed the papers away. “You come in here guns blazing, but you’re pointing the barrel at the wrong people.”
Fred stood, hands flat on the table and towered over Finn.
“Am I? Here’s how I see it. The three of you were taking from me, you knew it was a matter of time until I figured it out and you’d have to pay for your disrespect, so you hired some thugs to kill me and since you all hated Aine and by extension Sean, you figured you’d take them also, keep your money, and take over my empire. What part of that do I have wrong?”
“All of it,” Oscar answered without hesitation.
“We haven’t taken any more than our take. We loved Sean and while yeah, Aine had no spot at this table, we’d never kill her for her ambition. We were waiting it out; soon enough she’d get the hint and back off. Whoever has been singing in your ear is off tune, sir.” Oscar slammed his hand on the table.
I could see doubt begin to creep into Fred’s entire demeanor, and I was beginning to think these guys might be telling the truth.
“What about the poker game?” Fred turned to Finn. “You were running your mouth about Aine, about how I was a shit boss.”
Finn scrunched his nose. “You are a shit boss, but so was your pops at first. You’re young, but not stupid. You lack things but bring other stuff to the table. You’re better at numbers than your pops, and we’re raking in a lot more these past three years.”
“And Aine?”
“She had no place here ever. But, sir, we’d never hurt her.” Finn didn’t flinch away from Fred as he spoke.
