12. Chapter Twelve
Chapter Twelve
Carys
L ucas is restless. When I put him down at his regular bedtime, I hoped he’d sleep through the night. Rocking him isn’t going to work. He’s wide-awake, and my nervous energy probably makes him think it’s the middle of the day. Evander should have been here an hour ago. Hitching Lucas onto my hip, I head to the living room.
Jay is sprawled on the couch, and he glances over the back when I come out of the hallway. “Little guy can’t sleep?”
I laugh. “Can any of us?”
“Apparently my wife and kids aren’t having any trouble.” He yawns and checks his phone.
“Anything?” Hope rises in my chest for the millionth time since the jailbreak started. Evander said we wouldn’t get any updates until they walked through the door. If the plan went sideways at all, he’d be putting out fires. The news broke the story of Finn’s escape an hour ago—when Finn should have arrived. He’s out. We don’t know why he isn’t here. “Are you getting worried yet?”
Jay’s my barometer for how much I should be panicking. So far, he’s been relaxed on the couch. No pacing; no frantic internet searches.
“Nope.” He sits up and rests his forearms on his knees. “Evander had a contingency plan for everything. Has something gone wrong? Yeah, I think so. But no news is good news. Whatever has happened, he’s fixing it or tracking it or rerouting.”
“Right.” I take out a bottle, heat the water, then mix the formula. Lucas makes happy noises while he waits for me to stop shaking. “Bubba?” I meet his gaze, and he makes a fist over and over, the sign for milk.
Sometimes when I look at him, I see Eric. For most people, genetics are a marvel, and something to be celebrated. His dark hair and eyes mimic his biological father, and the reminder is a tender spot in my heart. Such an awful man gave me such a precious gift. As my son gets older, I hope his personality outshines any remembrance of Eric. He’ll be Lucas, and the shadow of Eric won’t loom so large.
I take a seat on the other end of the couch, with my baby cradled in my arms while he drinks his bottle. Talking is pointless, but I want to spew out useless words as though they’ll ease my twisted gut. What is there to say when nothing is known? Speculation will drive me insane. He’s out of the prison, and he’s on his way here. He has to be.
Jay’s phone beeps, and he checks the screen. “Dominic says there’s a car coming down the lane.”
My heart leaps into action as though it’s been whipped. The sudden gallop makes me press the heel of my hand to my chest. “He’s almost here.”
He smirks and rises. “See? Nothing to worry about. A delay. Nothing catastrophic.” He tips his head toward the door. “Want me to take Lucas? You can meet them at the entrance.”
I nod and pass him off. The heat of anticipation rises to my cheeks. This is it—the happy ending I wasn’t sure we’d get, and we’re grasping it with both hands. Jay juggles my son while he texts Dominic to let Finn and Evander in straight away.
When the door opens, I bounce on my heels, ready to fly into Finn’s arms. God, it’s been so long. Evander enters first, his expression grim, but I ignore him and peek over his shoulder. Where’s Finn? “Is he still in the car? Was he hurt?” My racing heart stutters. “Oh, God. Has he been hurt?” There’s agony in my voice. “Do we need to go to a hospital?”
I clutch onto Evander’s arm, trying to see past him into the dark-tinted windows. He’d take Finn to the hospital before coming here if it was serious, wouldn’t he? Or have a doctor on standby? Had that been one of the contingency plans?
“You’re gonna want to sit down.” His tone is gentle despite the frustration in his gaze.
“No.” I shake my head. “I don’t want to sit. I want to be told where Finn is.”
The door to Lena’s room opens, and she comes down the hall in a rush. “Is he here?”
“No,” I cry, the sound of my voice almost a wail. At the noise, Lucas’s face puckers, and he reaches for me. Jay holds him tight, and Lena intercepts.
“I’ll take him to your bedroom, Carys. I’ll see if I can get him asleep.” Her expression is pinched when she removes Lucas from Jay’s outstretched arms.
Jay’s hand slides along the small of my back. “Come on, Carys. I’m sure Evander’s got things he needs to tell us. We gotta keep calm to find the best path forward. There’s always a path forward.”
That’s been our mantra for years. Impossible isn’t a word we use. When we want something enough, there’s always a route to take or a path to explore. The question is whether the consequences of taking those paths are ones a person can live with. Right now, I’ll go down any road that leads to Finn. He’s not here. He should be here. I swallow my sob and nod, heading to the couch. There, I perch on the edge as though I’m going to fly out and rescue him myself. Where is he?
Once we’re seated, Evander lets out a long breath. “Finn’s not with me.”
“No shit, Sherlock,” Jay mutters in his first sign of any emotion since the night began.
“Where is he?” I am desperate to keep my voice rational and even. I’ve been in enough meetings with men to realize any woman’s emotions are viewed as weak or unstable. A man can rage or scream at people in frustration, but a woman can’t. I can’t. Steady. Calm. Find the way out of the maze without losing my cool.
Evander rubs his face. “I’m still gathering intel.”
“You must know something.” Jay’s tone borders on threatening. “Or you wouldn’t be here.”
“I came because you’d be worried, and any time a plan goes this wrong, I make it a priority to speak to my clients in person.”
“You don’t have a clue where he is,” I whisper. The realization causes a ball to rise into my throat. The urge to let out a huge, wracking sob is almost more than I can bear.
“I’m hoping to get more information while we’re talking. I have a crew piecing together where he might have been taken.”
“Taken?” I latch onto the one word. Of course, it makes sense. He was coming to me, and he would never go anywhere else. “We had a bombing here.” I glance at Jay. “A few weeks ago. Do you think Finn’s kidnapping and that are connected?”
“I wouldn’t rule out anything at this point,” Evander admits.
“The Volkovs?” I peer at Jay, trying to get a beat on where his head has gone. Mine is spiraling, searching for any answer to make sense of Finn disappearing.
“Could be.” Jay frowns. “I got the impression whatever Hagen was after was in the prison not out of it.”
Evander let his phone rest on the coffee table and steeples his fingers. “Here’s what we know. My crew got him to the emergency fire escape that links to the roof. They use the platform to helicopter patients out of the infirmary. During the escape, he knocked a guard unconscious. That wasn’t unexpected. We wanted the jailbreak to look like Finn had manufactured it rather than inside help. Protect people’s jobs in case I need them again later.” He takes a deep breath. “Shots were fired in the stairwell, but Finn did get out.” His phone beeps, and he picks it up to check the message before setting it down. “My helicopter crew was intercepted by a group of three at the airport. What I don’t understand is who these people are connected to or where they’ve taken him.”
“As far as you know, he’s alive?” My voice is little more than a whisper. The thought of him dead is enough to make my knees weak, and my stomach rolls.
“According to my inside contacts, the cameras on the roof show Finn rushing into the helicopter willingly with a big Black man. He probably assumed it was me. We’ve never met, but I have a certain reputation.”
“Finn’s led a colorful life,” I hedge.
“Colorful?” Evander chuckles. “Bloodthirsty is more accurate. He’s got a lot of enemies. Conversely, the talent for blood and mayhem can be appealing to people or organizations.” He rubs his neck. “We have a tracker on the helicopter, and when it’s apparent exactly where they’re headed, we can narrow the field of suspects.” His phone buzzes, and he hits the answer button and heads into the kitchen.
“Oh, my God,” I mutter, dropping my head into my hands. “We’ve lost him.”
“Whoever took him didn’t kill him, at least not right away. So, either Evander is on track and they want to use him for something, or the grudge is personal,” Jay reasons.
“That’s supposed to make me feel better?” I snap. “We don’t have him. He’s a wanted criminal. He’s got enemies everywhere. Someone sent us a warning weeks ago, and we’re still no closer to figuring that out. Do you really think none of this is connected? There’s no such thing as coincidence.” God knows I heard those words often enough from Finn.
Evander returns to the living room and stands in front of me and Jay, tapping the phone against his palm. “They’ve landed on a remote airstrip in Ireland.”
“Ireland,” I breathe. Relieved and anxious because Ireland could mean so many things.
“Who owns it?” Jay asks. “Mafia?”
“PLA,” he admits with a grimace. “Not worst-case scenario, but they don’t play around. They’ve been rapidly gaining power. The guard at the prison confirmed he was able to get a microtracker on Finn while they were in the infirmary. So, in the morning, we should have a lock on his exact location. We can go in and extract him.”
“I don’t understand,” I admit. Why would the PLA kidnap Finn from a jailbreak? Why would they need him at all?
“My guess?” Evander glances between me and Jay. “He has the bloodlust they like. As the head of his mafia organization, he annihilated several competing groups. He’s a strong tactician.”
“I bet you any tactical plans came from his brother, Lorcan, not him. Finn isn’t subtle,” I say.
“Subtle isn’t necessary most of the time. They like effective.” Evander shrugs. “Besides, his brother is dead, right?”
“Right.” I try not to make the word sound hesitant. Lorcan isn’t any more dead than Kim is. I run my hands through my hair and try to gather my thoughts. When the CIA detained me in Ireland, Kim appeared quickly. Would they have tried to insert her in the PLA? Would Lorcan have gone with her? “An extraction?”
“I’ll fly to Ireland to get a lay of the land. I’ve got people I can work with to get him out.”
Jay glances at me, and we hold eye contact in silent communication. Whether this fuckup was Evander’s fault or not, it happened. He’s not running the show solo.
“You’re not doing this rescue without us.” Jay slides his phone into his pocket.
“This isn’t a mission for amateurs. The PLA isn’t an organization you want to fool around with.”
“Doesn’t matter.” I steel myself. “We’re coming.”
“I’ll be making decisions quickly and decisively. If you’re tagging along, you’re not to interfere, you’re to observe.” Evander pins us both with his gaze. “I’m the leader. There isn’t room for more than one.”
“Fine,” I grit out. His attitude is nothing new, though I’m not sure Finn will be so keen on obeying anyone once we get him.
“Make your arrangements. I’ll text you as soon as I’ve got a definite lock on his location.”
“Okay.” I follow him to the door, my mind churning with everything I’ll need to arrange. Lucas can’t come because the situation is too dangerous and unpredictable.
Once Evander is gone, Jay says, “You think Lorcan and Kim are undercover?”
“That’s my first thought.” I grab my laptop off the side table and open it.
In the search engine, I type Lorcan Donaghey and then navigate to images. Surely there must be a photo of Lorcan somewhere. As I click through page after page, I have to admit the government did a good job of covering his identity, at least superficially. Did they manage to scrub his image from everything? Otherwise, having him undercover would be a liability. When I examined my pictures from various events after Kim’s betrayal, her absence from photos was obvious. She had a sixth sense where cameras were concerned, and while she climbed the ranks of my business, she was never keen for accolades that might lead to public praise.
“What are you looking for?” Jay peers over my shoulder.
“Lorcan. But other than his name, his image isn’t anywhere. As far as the world is concerned, he is dead.”
“At least if he’s part of this…”
“Yeah, I agree. He and Finn have their problems, but they’re still brothers.” I snap the laptop closed. “I hope, whatever is going on, we aren’t walking into a trap.”