Ruinous Love Trilogy, #2
Leather & Lark
by Brynne Weaver
Contents
Chapter Two: Bull’s-Eye
Overview
One year later, Lachlan works under crime boss Leander Mayes, torturing drug dealer Robbie Usher for selling rainbow fentanyl to kids. Lachlan ends the ordeal with a clean headshot, then asks to retire. Leander refuses, citing lost contracts after Lachlan angered Damian Covaci. A flashback reveals Leander “rescued” the Kane brothers after their father’s death, tightening Lachlan’s leash as he heads to Rowan’s restaurant opening.
Summary
In Leander Mayes’s basement, Lachlan assists as Leander tortures captive drug dealer Robbie Usher, who sold rainbow fentanyl targeting kids. Lachlan resists Leander’s sadism but participates under orders, recalling that Leander never assigns innocent targets.
A security interruption reveals a pizza delivery, signaling Leander’s intention to prolong the cruelty. Lachlan endures Leander’s taunts and a gruesome “pizza smoothie” laced with Robbie’s extracted teeth. Pressured, Lachlan pinches Robbie’s nose so he swallows the sludge, then ends it with a single shot to Robbie’s head.
Leander’s control sharpens. He reminds Lachlan of last Halloween’s botched cleanup, when Lachlan angered Damian Covaci and damaged lucrative contracts. Lachlan asks to retire; Leander refuses unless Lachlan fixes the fallout, implying indefinite service.
A vivid flashback shows the Kane brothers after killing their abusive father: Rowan stitched his own lip while Fionn tended him, and a young Lachlan held the belt around their father’s neck when Leander arrived and took over their lives. The past cements Leander’s leverage over them.
Leander mentions Rowan’s new Butcher & Blackbird opening and Fionn’s medical career, masking threats with affability. Lachlan leaves for the opening, knowing he’s still trapped by Leander’s power and the consequences of the Covaci incident.
Who Appears
- Lachlan (Lachlan Kane)Hitman chafing under Leander’s control; ends Robbie’s torture with a clean kill; seeks retirement but is denied.
- Leander MayesCrime boss and manipulator; orchestrates Robbie’s torture; cites Covaci fallout to keep Lachlan working.
- Robbie UsherDrug dealer behind rainbow fentanyl; tortured in Leander’s basement and executed by Lachlan.
- Rowan KaneLachlan’s brother; chef opening Butcher & Blackbird; part of Leander’s leverage via family ties.
- Fionn KaneLachlan’s brother; now a doctor; remembered stitching Rowan as teens after their father’s death.
- Damian CovaciPowerful client Lachlan offended by trunking a Covaci; lost contracts bind Lachlan to Leander.
- The Kane brothers’ fatherAbusive parent killed by Lachlan with a belt; his death drew Leander into their lives.
- Pizza delivery driverDelivers food; brief interlude that precedes renewed torture in Leander’s basement.