Chapter 27
Rian
The flash of Aodhan’s number on the console screen has Cormac and I exchanging a glance. There’s no reason he would be calling to give an update instead of texting.
“What?” I answer.
“Isabelle is gone. She took one of your father’s cars, left her phone. She put a lock on it.” The roar of an engine through the line has me grinding my teeth, knowing he took to the streets immediately to follow her.
“Call Declan and?—”
“Your father removed the trackers when he was trying to hide his diagnosis. We never reinstalled them,” Cormac interrupts, his knuckles tightening on the steering wheel.
“Track her brother instead,” Cillian says from the back seat.
“Have Declan check her texts too. Call me if you have an update.” I hang up on Aodhan, pull over on the side of the road, and light up a cigarette. I don’t smoke as often, seeing what it’s done to my father, but I need that hit. It’s only a few minutes before Declan is calling.
“I need a few more minutes to get into her phone, but I found her brother. He’s at the bar with Johnny,” Declan says as soon as I answer.
The car is silent, and I’m not sure I heard him right. Glancing at the GPS, I see we’re five minutes from the address.
“What?” I ask. Fury gathers in my chest. If we find Ricky in that bar, a bar we’ve already determined is being run by traitors, it only adds insult to injury. Irrefutable proof that they’re working with Luca, and Johnny is helping him.
“Unless he planted the tracker we had on him, he’s at the bar.”
Cormac shakes his head. “What the fuck.”
“Thanks, D. Now find my wife,” I say through gritted teeth. I don’t want to deal with this right now. I’d prefer to find Isabelle and spank her ass raw, but we need to make an example of the men who dared to betray us. Tossing the cigarette out the window, I speed away, ready to take out my anger.
Pulling around the building, we park and climb out, gazing around the nearly empty parking lot. A few cars are scattered around, giving the appearance of customers, but I recognize every single one. I’ve been away too long, and like Declan said, the traditionalists are reluctant to change. Them crawling into bed with the Italians and starting new businesses never crossed my mind.
“What’s the plan? Go in guns blazing?” Cillian asks.
I shake my head. “No, I want information. Who is lending the money to launder? Who is finding the spots for them? Then we make a statement about what happens to traitors.”
Cormac moves to the trunk, grabbing the gallon of gasoline from it. He and Cillian usually keep their cars stocked with whatever we need to hide bodies.
As soon as we open the door and they spot me, the loud chatter ceases. Johnny’s chair thumps to the floor from where he was leaning against the wall, the joint dropping from his mouth as he stands.
“Rian,” he swallows. His eyes watch me warily.
I take in the rest of the men scattered around the room that’s supposed to resemble a dingy pub. They’re all cousins from my mother’s side, and none of them will meet my gaze. Suspicion makes my blood cool. “What is this?”
“You know the drill, man,” Johnny jokes, bending to pick up his discarded blunt. I thought his attitude at my wedding was drunken disrespect and held no malice in it, but maybe I’d been too trusting with my own family to do anything about it.
I nod, finally noticing the man I’m looking for. Ricky is tucked behind the bar, moving half-empty bottles of liquor. I had hoped that Declan was wrong, that Isabelle’s brother isn’t on the wrong side of Jersey. “I do. I am curious who is profiting from this place, though. Our family, Johnny? Or theirs?”
“What do you mean?”
I step farther in, allowing the door behind me to finally shut. “Only one soldato in sight, one very close to Luca. But plenty of mo mhuintir . Something smells, Johnny. And it’s either you or the floor we’re standing on.”
His eyes narrow. “You accusing me of something?”
Walking toward the bar, Ricky finally catches what’s happening and meets me around the counter. He glances between Johnny and me and steps aside as I move to the bottles. Picking one up, I open it and sniff. It is real alcohol, at least they did that right. I swirl the amber liquid, holding the glass up and turning back to Johnny. “Whose money is being run?”
“Both.” He crosses his arms.
I throw the container, shattering it on the wall across the room. Glass and liquid spray all over my cousins sitting in the booth below. They barely flinch and move silently to stand near the door. “Peace was granted between our two families, I bear the burden of that union. Are you unhappy with that peace?”
Johnny’s unease bleeds into his face, his bravado losing steam. “No, deartháir .”
I grab a few more bottles, toss them, and drive more of the men toward the door. Cormac and Cillian have it blocked to prevent them from leaving. They all watch warily, apparently choosing to let Johnny fight this battle alone and speak for them.
“No,” I say, holding onto one last bottle. I push the rest of them to the floor near me and step over the glass. I walk till I’m in front of Johnny, staring directly at him. “No,” I repeat. “So what the fuck is this?”
“It’s—”
I strike him against the head with the glass bottle and he grunts, stumbling away from me. His hand comes up to touch the bleeding gash at his temple. Tossing my makeshift weapon to the floor, I turn to the men at the door.
“I may have been gone too long, but I am not weak. This family is not weak. We are changing. We cannot run the same business we have for decades. There is a reason we are reducing wash spots; they can’t be bought so easily.” I look at Johnny and the other men standing around the room. “Working with the Famiglia without my explicit approval is an act of treason. What’s the punishment for being a traitor, Cillian?”
Cillian grins maliciously. “Death.”
Johnny shakes his head, glaring at me with hateful eyes. “You kill me, and you will never win over the families that oppose you. We are Irish! We do not bow to the law!”
“I am the law! Everything we do is for the families, and if they are too stupid to realize that, then they can leave. This is my territory,” I seethe with tired conviction. I rub my hand down my face. “I am trying to keep us ahead. I didn’t waste my time, my brothers didn’t waste their time, crawling into every dark corner on this earth to grow our connections for you all to betray us.”
I grab Johnny, rummaging through his jacket pockets till I find what I’m looking for. Holding the lighter up, I wait till he meets me in the eyes. “Burn it.”
He glances at the men behind me and back to me. “The money. There’s about?—”
“You don’t need money where you’re going,” I sneer into his face.
“You’ll regret this,” he says, moving away to sit back down in the chair he’d been in when we came through the door.
I scoff. “We’ll see.”
Nodding at Cillian and Cormac, I leave them to do what they do best.
I grab ahold of Ricky’s arm and pull him out the door with me. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
He pulls away, glaring at me. “Luca sent me. He said he wanted eyes on our investment.” Then Ricky glances at the cries coming from inside the bar. “I didn’t know it wasn’t above board.”
I nod, not caring if he’s telling the truth or not, but him being here does serve a better purpose. “Where’s your sister?”
His face twists. “She ran away already?”
My patience snaps. I’m done with today. Grabbing him by his shirt, I shove him hard against the building. His head bounces against the brick and I pull my gun out, pushing it under his chin. “Where’s my fucking wife?”
I can see his skin paling, fear making his muscles tremble. “If you kill me, she’ll never forgive you.”
“I don’t need her forgiveness if I fuck an heir into her. She would love that child enough to stay.”
Ricky blows out a breath. “How would I know? She never went anywhere but home and the restaurant.”
The fuck? My skin crawls with unease. She can’t be that stupid. “Your father’s restaurant?”
His jaw tics. “Is there another restaurant she’d be at?”
I blink. Isabelle disobeying my orders never occurred to me, and maybe it should have. I’ve grown used to her attitude when it’s just us, but I never expected her to blatantly disregard me in public.
Letting go of her brother, I step back as he rubs the back of his head. I also expected her to not be stupid enough to test me and leave the premises without telling me.
“Why is your sister so hellbent on being there? I’ve offered her real schools and chef replacements.”
He sighs. “She didn’t want to be a part of this world. She wanted to help my father’s restaurant become successful enough to leave the Famiglia.”
“No one leaves,” I say, annoyed that she had the idea to begin with.
Ricky clears his throat, looking ashamed. “I didn’t have the heart to tell her that. My sister is stubborn, and if she sets her mind on something, there’s no stopping her. It's better for her to have that hope.”
I shake my head, amused but frustrated because Isabelle is more than stubborn. Checking we’re alone, I tilt my head and stare at her brother. “How much do you trust Luca not to stab you in the back?”
His eyebrows furrow. “What?”
My eyes trail over to my cousins. I knew them when we were younger, but we aren’t particularly close. “How’d you even get in contact with Johnny?”
“I met him at the wedding.”
I nod. “And Luca just happened to be okay with you coming to my territory? Today? When your sister was probably lured from my home?”
Ricky straightens where he’s standing. “Quit bullshitting me right now. Is Isabelle in danger?”
“I don’t know, but if she is and Luca is the reason, I better not find out you knew.”
He grabs my arm when I try to walk away. “I love my family and my sister.”
“Enough to betray Luca?”
His eyes stare into mine, the truth reflecting back, and I nod again. He lets go, slumping against the wall and pulling out his phone as I head back to my car.