Chapter 13
Rian
Ignoring the curses coming from my now-christened wife, I shut the door with a soft snick. Exhausted satisfaction aches in my bones, wanting to turn around and lie in bed with her instead. I know it wouldn’t be soft cuddles, more like mutual tiredness from the multiple rounds I put her through. I’ve never experienced anything like that before, but I’ve come to enjoy her sharp tongue more than anything.
Cillian is waiting across the hall, leaning against the wall with crossed arms.
I pause, narrowing my eyes. “I’ll stab you if you were listening.”
His lips curl into a mocking smirk. “It wouldn’t be the first time.”
Aodhan appears next to us, slipping out from one of the rooms unnoticed. My gaze turns to him and he nods. “Found him. Cormac is already on location.”
“Good, let’s go.” I tuck the rest of my shirt in and take the gun Aodhan holds out for me. Placing it in my waistband at my back, I glance at Cillian. He is the most gruesome of us all, my bloodiest of enforcers, but he has the softest heart, even if he seeks affection in all the worst places.
His jaw tics, annoyance flickering across his face. “I got her.”
My eyebrows raise. “I trust you with her life. I just don’t trust you to not fall in love with her.”
He snorts, his tattooed fingers coming up to rub at his lips. “Sure thing, Boss. No falling in love with your lady. Got it.”
Any other time I would be annoyed with his teasing, but I don’t want to waste time. Aodhan falls into step with me as we take the back stairwell to the parking garage.
“He seemed easy enough to find.”
I nod, thinking the same. “He wanted to be. If there’s one thing those Outfit fuckers excel at, it’s getting out of situations they don’t want to be in.”
We head out the back exit in the stairwell far away from any guests staying in the hotel, and Luca’s prying eyes. Declan has the cameras looping until we’re off the property so that security isn’t alerted about anyone leaving if the Famiglia happens to be watching.
“Where’s he at?” I ask when we get into the car.
Aodhan hands over his phone, showing off the location, and I frown.
“He didn’t stay in Manhattan? He’s halfway to Jersey.”
“I assume it’s to show who he’d be more inclined to ally with.”
I text Cillian where we’re headed and tell him to call immediately if there are any emergencies. “I can’t speak for the Italians, but he’s a dumbfuck if he thinks either of us want to align with the Outfit. Those crazy fucks put the rest of us to shame.”
Aodhan snickers. “Maybe not the Camorra. But they are fun to watch, the way they circle jerk the agencies around. Government so pent up to catch anyone in the Outfit, they basically leave the rest of us alone.”
A smile faints my lips, and then all humor is gone when I think about the reputation of Sebastian’s father. “All I know is if I were him, I would have put a bullet between my father’s eyes a long time ago.”
I check through the various messages and emails I received during my wedding as we make our way to the dingy bar off the highway. When we arrive, both Aodhan and I tense at the empty parking lot. It’s either a wash spot or Sebastian sent everyone away for the evening. Either way, it’s not an ideal place to fly under the radar, especially on a day that we already garnered a lot of media attention.
We make our way to the door when Cormac appears from the back alley, nodding that it’s clear before we slip through the unguarded entrance.
Sebastian James doesn’t look up from the chair he’s slouched in, the cards in his hand casually in view for nearly half the table. His second, Nico, plays with the chips, dropping them over and over in a neat stack in his cupped fingers. A player across from them looks up, falls out of his chair at the sight of the three of us, and struggles to scramble to his feet and leave.
The dealer pauses, his face paling before looking at Sebastian. “Sir?”
“Deal them a hand,” he says, the lazy drawl of his words irritating me. Sebastian looks over his shoulder, his icy eyes taking me in with a mocking smile. “Maybe grab them a drink. They seem tense.”
Cormac cracks his knuckles before slipping on the shaped brass over them, not liking Sebastian’s blatant disrespect.
I chuckle, sitting on the chair closest to him and facing him full-on. “You came to my wedding and touched my wife.”
He sighs, setting down the cards and sitting up straighter in his chair. Cormac and Aodhan move to stand behind me, but I know their eyes are on Nico. Only a fool would think that computer hack doesn’t know his way around a gun.
“I only needed Luca’s attention. I meant no offense to you or your wife.”
My teeth grind together, and I ache to punch the smug bastard in the face.
His lips curl up. “Fine, you can punch me,” he says as if he’s reading my mind and then holds up his hand. “Or you can listen to what I have.”
I lean back, intrigued by what he has to say, but still annoyed over the events from earlier. “Or I can beat you until you’re too bloody to speak. Then I get what I want either way.”
Sebastian shakes his head, waving his hand for Nico to sit back down from where he’s risen from his seat. “One or the other, lad . I deserve a hit, but I can sweeten the deal.”
“Why would I make a deal with someone who doesn’t uphold the honor of family events?” Aodhan says.
His icy eyes darken, an entire cold front twisting his face. “Because Luca is a fucking cunt and hiding something that belongs to me.”
“Get out,” Nico commands the dealer, who promptly leaves the room.
Sebastian turns in his chair and nods at Nico, who pulls out a spiral notebook. My brows knit together in confusion and annoyance. If he’s fucking with me and wasting time when I could be buried in my wife, I’m going to take more than a few fingers.
He slams it on the table between us. “We couldn’t risk storing the information electronically at the moment. One of us carries it at all times.”
I reach for it, but Sebastian drags it closer to himself. His fingers tap on the cover. I drop my arm and tilt my head.
“My patience is thin,” I say calmly.
His icy eyes flicker to mine, any amusement drained from them. “This information is worth more than taking a punch for touching what isn’t mine.”
Cormac scoffs. “We won’t agree blindly.”
We are equals in the brotherhood, but they still defer to me for a sense of leadership. His words are as good as mine.
Sebatian doesn’t look away from me.
“What do you want?”
He pushes the notebook across to me. “The Daghdha Brotherhood is powerful but relies on respect they’ve rightfully earned. What if there is an equivalent that runs unchecked, unnoticed and reports solely to Luca? A network of stealthy sparrows.”
Aodhan stiffens behind me, his fingers curling into the chair and knuckles digging into my back. If this information is legitimate, it means it’s being run under his nose. I’ve left most of the East Coast in Aodhan’s care while doing business for the brotherhood in Ireland and other parts of the US.
I push the notebook away from me, staring at Sebastian. “What do you want?” I repeat. He wouldn’t offer this in good faith.
His smile is bitter. “You’re aware I skirt the edges of the Outfit as their legal farce. I need the manpower I can’t obtain without swearing further loyalty to my father.”
My lips curl in disgust. “The butcher,” I spit out. “I’m surprised he would allow his son to stray so far from home.”
His jaw tenses but he doesn’t comment. Nico flexes his fist, cracking his fingers, and I catch the flash of fury on his face.
“Are these their identifications?” Cormac growls.
Sebastian nods and then shrugs. “At least the ones we could confirm. I’m sure there's more.”
I exhale slowly. There isn’t a choice now. Spies aren’t unheard of, but we’ve long been past the need for them in the digital age. Grabbing the notebook, I skip through the first couple of pages before stopping at a familiar face. My stomach burns with betrayal as I pass the book to Aodhan to rip out the pages of our men.
“Alright. Tell us what Luca stole from you.”
There isn’t anything that scares me, but the smile that stretches across Sebastian’s face makes my skin crawl. “Not a what, a who.”