21. Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-One
Finn
I nstead of memorizing the plan, Lorcan and I meet on a deserted side road, well before he’s due to arrive at the mansion. He walks me through the takeover strategy he and Kimi brainstormed the night before. Solid. Not brilliant, and certainly not without complications, but better than anything I’d have come up with in less than twenty-four hours. Our meeting is to make sure I don’t have questions about the plan before I present it to Pierre-Jacques, Daniel, and Noel. Otherwise, how do I respond if they push back on something?
“The PLA believe I’m capable of this.” I wave over Lorcan’s detailed scheme. “We both know if you weren’t here, my action items would not be so… subtle.”
He chuckles and rubs his cheek. “Not much subtle about our ideas either. Calls for the murder of the oldest McCaffrey son to guarantee obedience.”
“None of the others are strong enough to step in and take over?” If somebody had murdered me, Lorcan would have been more than capable of taking the reins for the Donaghey family.
“CIA doesn’t think so.” He shrugs. “It’s the intel we’ve got, which Kim says is sometimes shit.” He squints into the distance. “Think they’ve got eyes on you?”
“Didn’t notice a tail. I ran for about five miles before I started walking. Anyone who might have followed would need a drone, which I would have heard, or be running behind me on foot. Either way, I tried my best not to make the chase worth their time.” I stare at his scrawl on the page. “They’ve got ears on us. In the bedroom.”
His eyebrows lift. “You and Carys are being careful? Jay knows as well?”
“We’re going to kill whoever is listening with mundane chatter. This morning’s topics were the effectiveness of antiaging face creams and blow jobs.”
Lorcan snorts. “Blow jobs? Those two are connected?”
I chuckle. “Nah, but the stupid conversations have been making Carys laugh.” A bonus for me. Since Pierre-Jacques threatened the kids last night, and I didn’t buy into her ‘scared woman’ defense of Jade’s behavior, things have been strained between us. If Demid agrees to take everyone under his protection, maybe that’ll ease her mind.
Lorcan taps the roof of his car and stares at the deserted, winding country road. “You got any questions?”
“I gotta go there to execute your plan. So, if I have to leave, you need to be here to protect Carys.”
“I won’t go south.” He leans against the vehicle. “McCaffrey family would recognize me right away. Bullseye between the eyes. I’m the spitting image of the old man.”
The same goes for any interaction with the Byrne Family. They’d recognize him in a heartbeat. No goatee and a different hair color aren’t much of a disguise. The CIA may not care if they’ve got one less operative, but I’ve only got one brother. He’s the sole surviving member of my family. Despite our history, I’m not letting him walk into a trap.
“Pierre-Jacques can’t trust me yet. I reckon he’ll send Daniel or Noel with you. Keep you in line.” His lips quirk up at the suggestion. He flicks the paper in my hands. “Memorize this and burn it, yeah?”
I take out a lighter from the pocket of my running shorts and wag it before sliding it back in. The PLA did think of everything. The gym in the basement of the mansion, which I’ve nicknamed the dungeon because it amuses me, fulfills my need to lift heavy things and get out my frustrations. I’m still not sure why I’m the best person for the jobs they’ve set up. Could be as simple as muscle for hire. The equal focus on Carys is what messes with my head.
Lorcan nods and climbs into his compact car. It’s comical watching him fold himself into such a tight space. “If you need me to say something at the meeting, ask. Otherwise, I’m keeping a low profile.”
“Got it.” He starts the engine, and I say, “I’m surprised Kimi let us meet alone.”
He purses his lips. “She trusts me. CIA might not. FBI might not. But she does. I’m not fucking that up for anyone.”
At every turn he’s cautioning me not to put him in another situation where he has to choose. I’m not intending to go rogue. As long as Carys, Lucas, and the rest of our crew is safe, I can play along with whatever the CIA wants me to discover or dismantle. The immunity on crimes committed for the PLA during my stint on the outside doesn’t hurt. I’m leashed and unleashed. Could be worse.
“I’ll see you later.” With a tap on the hood, I wander into the fields. I’ve got a few miles to walk and memorize before I burn this sheet far from the prying eyes of the mansion.
The setup for the conversation with Pierre-Jacques pisses me off. Instead of being in the war room, he’s summoned me to speak, literally, in front of his throne. Like I’m some kind of peasant. It’s insulting, and a power play in the most obvious way. He’s seated in one throne, and Jade, black eye on prominent display, occupies the other. Didn’t look like he hit her that hard. Noel and Daniel hover on either side of them, obedient dogs.
Behind me, Jay and Lorcan are listening to me lay out the plan. Without a map, the ideas are jumbled words to me. I’ve got no idea how Pierre-Jacques is following the rotation of places, the modes of attack, the number of men needed. They seem bored by my chatter, which is really annoying. I didn’t ask to be his lackey.
Pierre-Jacques sighs loudly. “Will this get me what I want?” His expression is bland.
“Yes,” I grit out, ready to tell him that if he didn’t give a shit about the actual plan, he should’ve sent me south with no restraints and let me blow buildings up. I memorized that sequence for nothing.
“Go ahead, then.” He waves me off. “Take Lachlan with you and go to the southern faction. You’ve got one week to bring me Donal McCaffrey’s head on a stick, literally. On a pike.” He mocks driving it into the ground. “So I can display it on the corner of the castle ruins.”
Jade tenses beside him, obviously not impressed with his suggestion. She places a hand on his forearm, and he gazes at her, their eyes locked in silent communication.
“Fine,” he mutters before turning back to us. “A box or some such will do. I can have someone here put his head on a stake afterward.” He makes an impatient gesture toward Noel, who winces in response.
“Jay, not Lachlan.” I glance over my shoulder at the two of them. “I trust him.”
Pierre-Jacques barks out a laugh. “Well, I trust Lachlan, Noel, or Daniel. Pick one. Jay is not an option.”
I stare at Noel and Daniel. Noel is a dick and won’t follow my orders. I’m as likely to have a knife driven into my back with him along as I am to get Donal’s head on a stick. Daniel is more pliable, but that doesn’t make him any safer as an accomplice. Guy is so medicated he can barely prop his eyes open. A drug addict, a dickhead, or my brother. Choice is easy.
“Lachlan.” I don’t look at him. How we’ll keep him safe and away from anyone who might recognize him in the south is a problem for another time.
“Leave today. I want this done quick, quick.” Pierre-Jacques dusts his hands off and rises from his seat, offering Jade his open palm. “You can put Francois in charge once you’ve got the McCaffrey men in line. He’ll be your contact in Cork. Good enough to direct the symphony from there. I require you to conduct other business afterward.”
I frown and cross my arms. “McCaffrey family used to deal primarily in Dublin, not Cork.”
“Yes,” Pierre-Jacques agrees. “They did. Funny how things change with time.” With that, he leads Jade out of the large throne room and into another section of the mansion I haven’t had a chance to explore.
“Come with me.” Noel gestures for me to follow him. “I’ll give you Francois’s information. I’ll also give you a PLA car. That piece of shit Lachlan drives isn’t suitable for such a long drive.”
Means the vehicle will probably be bugged. Pierre-Jacques might have claimed he trusts Lachlan, but I don’t believe him. Mindless chatter for six hours. Fucking amazing.
“My car is good on petrol.” Lorcan reasons from behind me. I wonder if he’s also dreading the six hours of stilted conversation.
“PLA’s got bank. We don’t care about costs.” Noel opens an office door for us and directs the three of us into it.
But they’re concerned for our comfort? Yeah, right . I whip out my phone and open the contacts page.
“We’ll also provide you with a phone.” Noel eyes my no-frills device. “Preloaded with the contacts you need. You’ll return it to us when your work with the McCaffrey family is done.”
Nothing about this setup is comforting. Their phone, their vehicle. They may not have cared about the actual plan, but they’re hell-bent on catching me doing anything I’m not supposed to. I take the phone without a word. Jay’s always playing on his. Maybe he’ll be able to tell if they’ve enabled anything on the device that can screw me over. I’m fine with them tracking me, but if I have to be worried about them listening in even when I’m not in the car, that’s a problem. Lorcan and I will have to plan and coordinate openly at some point. Too easy to screw up his identity.
Noel hands me a phone, a paper map, a stack of cash, and the key fob for a vehicle. “The vehicle is in the barn out back?” I’m guessing because I haven’t seen a fleet of vehicles out front.
“Yeah, that’s the one,” he agrees, distracted by the ping of his own phone. “I’ve got somewhere to be. You got questions?”
“None,” I say, and he shoos us out of the office as though he’s in charge of the world. He rubs me in the wrong places.
We reach the car in silence. There, I pass the PLA phone to Jay. “I need for you to take a look at this.”
“Ears?” He’s already unlocking the device.
“Yeah. Anything I need to be careful about. I know fuck all.” Lorcan and I stare at each other over the top of the tin can he drives. “Their car will be wired.”
“Undoubtedly.” He grimaces. “Physically more comfortable, intellectually more painful. He doesn’t trust me. I don’t know what game he’s playing.”
“You build trust by testing people.” Jay’s brow is furrowed as he navigates through the phone. “Us standing out here huddled together probably isn’t earning any of us points.”
I make a frustrated noise and point at Lorcan. “Be back here in two hours. We’ll send Kim down.”
Before we get to the entrance, Jay puts his hand on my arm. “Something Pierre-Jacques said the other day has been eating at me.”
I cross my arms, impatient to get packed and jump this first PLA hurdle. “What’s that?”
“Did you kill Eric?” He closes the loaner phone and passes it back to me. “Disabled the microphone. So, if you want to record someone, you or Lachlan will need to enable it again.”
“Why has that comment been bothering you?” Answering might open a minefield between me and Carys. I promised I wouldn’t kill him, but when he was incapacitated from the shootout at the Russian house, I didn’t hesitate. One less problem for us. Besides, putting him out of his misery shouldn’t make me the bad guy. Not sure Carys would see it that way.
“Eric died during the raid. But if Pierre-Jacques knows he was still alive when you returned…”
He doesn’t bother to finish his chain of logic. Either the PLA planned and executed the attack on the house, or they know who did. I’m not admitting anything, but Jay’s not stupid. I take my opportunities as they come.
“Would also explain why you weren’t so keen to figure out who stormed the house.” Jay puts his hands on his hips. “You didn’t want Carys to find out what you did.”
I smirk. “I admit nothing. Supposing the PLA was involved in the raid, and assuming Eric was alive when I arrived, why? Why leave him there?”
“Maybe he was meant to deliver a message.” Jay searches my face.
For the first time, a hint of uncertainty sprouts in my chest. “A message?”
“Did he tell you something before you shot him?” There’s no judgment in Jay’s question, just curiosity and an unexpected urgency.
Eric didn’t utter anything of importance, but it wasn’t from lack of trying. Instead of encouraging him to speak more, I dismissed his incoherent ramblings. What had he been attempting to say? “Nothing.” I twist my lips. “Nothing I could decipher.” A chill snakes along my spine at the realization the house invasion in Russia might have had more to do with Carys than I realized. I let myself believe Eric’s brutal torture was Demid retaliating for his daughter’s death. Pierre-Jacque’s comment, and Jay’s curiosity, throws a whole new light on that night.
“Something’s not right here, man.” Jay shakes his head and leads us toward the door again. “I can’t put the pieces together yet, but I know they fit.”
I rub my face and follow behind him. The wind snaps the Irish flag on the pole above the mansion, and when I glance up, Jade is framed in the window, staring at us. The voice at the back of my mind whispering trouble is coming gets a little louder.