Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 93929 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93929 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
I’m about to reach inside when a voice stops me.
“You boys need a hand?”
I almost laugh as I turn around to find Cormac standing casually behind us.
My brother’s wearing street clothes. Black jeans, dark shirt, light jacket. His hair’s messy and slightly curly and his eyes take us in with almost no expression at all. Cormac’s always been hard to read. He’s one cold bastard.
“Jesus shit, where’d you come from?” Liam says, clearly startled. He steps to the side, hand paused mid-reach for a weapon.
Cormac glances at that hand and seems to visibly dismiss the threat. His eyes move back to mine. “You weren’t worried about someone following.”
“Why would I be? I didn’t think the family Ghostman would come after me.”
He tilts his head. “If I were here in a professional capacity, you’d be dead already.”
“Then are you just here to help out?”
“Declan wants a word.”
“I’m busy. Tell him to wait.”
Cormac shakes his head. “Right now.”
“Declan can ask himself.” I turn my back on my brother. “We’ve got a job to do.”
Liam seems uncertain, but he starts reaching for a box, and only stops again when Cormac speaks.
“Caroline’s on her way too.”
I grimace. That bastard. He knows what he’s doing. I turn again, this time quickly, and step forward close to my brother. Cormac’s a killer, through and through, and in a fight, I’m not sure I’d win. Even with Liam’s help, it would be close. Cormac’s entire job for the family is to take down our enemies. It’s what he does. It’s what he loves, almost as much as his wife. I think of murder as his first love.
“You really should leave her out of this.”
Cormac barely reacts. “Can we please not make a scene in front of your brother-in-law’s apartment building? If you ever want to follow through with this plan of yours in the future, it’d be better if nobody finds out you were here.”
I glare at him. Cormac stares back impassively. In the end, I snort with frustration and force myself to smile broadly. I shove the mask back into place.
“Alright, big brother, since you’re so persuasive, let’s go talk to the Whelan boss. Liam, you take the van back home.”
“Whatever you say.” He backs away and walks around to the driver’s seat.
I gesture at Cormac. “I assume you have a car?”
He walks off without a word.
Declan’s not happy.
The vibes are bad the second I walk into his office. Caroline’s already there and looks very uncomfortable. I’m not sure what they said to extract her from her father’s place, but I hope it was subtle. She lightly touches my hand, almost unconsciously, the second I stand beside her chair.
My oldest brother is behind his desk drinking gin and glaring. That’s half his job these days: getting drunk and being mad. He runs the family and heads the businesses with ruthless efficiency, and if I’m honest, he does a very good job. He doesn’t have Dad’s charm, but he’s still a good leader.
Right now, I don’t care about that. I’m mostly just pissed.
“Why are we here?” I raise my drink to my lips. Cormac’s sitting in the corner. Seamus is lurking beside him. “You brought the whole gang together.”
Declan keeps on glaring. That’s his default look. “I know what you’ve been doing.”
My eyebrows raise. “You’ve seen my Sudoku book? I’ve been absolutely slaying lately. It’ll be solved in a week, tops.”
“This isn’t a joke.”
“No kidding, bro. Math isn’t funny.”
His fist slams onto the table. His teeth are gritted together. “Two of them are dead, Finn. And now you’re going for a third. It’s bad enough you’re doing this, but you dragged her into it too.”
Everyone’s very still. My heart is racing. Caroline’s stiff as hell under my touch. I keep my hand on her shoulder, trying to reassure her, but this is a surprise.
I keep my smirk firmly in place. It’s my only protection right now. “I don’t know what the fuck—”
“God damn it, Finn, stop playing around. I know it’s you. I know she’s involved too. And if I know, you can be sure the Flanagans are going to figure it out too. What are you thinking? What the hell is going on?”
He’s livid. I can’t blame him. Eamon Flanagan and those cock-sucking sons of his are useful to my oldest brother. They keep the unions happy, the bribes flowing, the books sweetly cooked. They’re profitable, and in our world, that matters more than almost anything.
Except to me.
“You know why.” I stare at him, holding his gaze. My smile’s gone now. Fuck the armor. Let them see the truth they’ve been trying so hard to ignore.
Declan softens, but only slightly. “Shit happened between you and them when you were younger. I get it, you hate them, but this is bad. You know how important they are. We don’t kill our own.”