Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 78773 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78773 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
“Don’t I know it. One’s keeping me on my toes,” I say.
“But you have a little help these days, don’t you?”
I nod. “Aye, your mother’s helping me hire a nanny.”
Keenan shakes his head. “That’s not who I’m referring to.”
I hide absolutely nothing from Keenan. The truth is, he’s the only one in the world who knows everything there is to know about me, from the days I was adopted by his father, Seamus McCarthy, to my meeting and falling in love with Eve. And he knows what I do now.
“Right, then,” I say with a nod. “No bloody use denying it.”
“You’ve got feelings for Megan?”
I clear my throat and meet his eyes. “Aye.” I won’t hide it any longer, won’t deny it. I’ll deal with whatever shite the brotherhood gives me if I have to. She’s worth it.
Keenan nods. “I suspected as much. It’s why I’ve put you in charge of her surveillance.”
Ah. So he did that on purpose, like I suspected.
“And is she giving you crap about it?” he asks with a chuckle.
“Aye, of course,” I say. “You know how it goes.”
“I do.”
“I mean, she does pretty well. Doesn’t give me too hard of a time, for the most part.”
“Except when she does,” he says with a shake of his head.
I think of how she wouldn’t look at me at breakfast and how she ignored my text, and I barely stop an eye roll.
“Aye.”
“She’s a good lass,” Keenan says, sobering. “She’ll do well by you. She’s feisty as hell, but she knows the ways of the Clan. And in the end, a woman who knows who we are and what we do will prove more loyal. I trust you, Carson.”
I nod. “Thank you.” I’m glad he does. I would never intentionally hurt her. Never.
“Come closer, please,” he says in a low voice. “We’re safe here, but I don’t want anyone to know what we’re talking about.”
We don’t keep secrets in the Clan. It’s a rule I’ve known since my youth.
“Will we tell them soon, then?”
“Aye,” he says. “Absolutely. But I want to get to the bottom of this issue with the O’Gregors first.”
I nod.
“Tell me the latest.”
I tell him everything, details he and I alone know. How I’ve been spying on the O’Gregors, trying to find out who was responsible for Eve’s death. How I’ve tracked every transaction and hacked into their accounts and even garnered their trust.
“And what have you found?”
“They’re singlehandedly responsible for the vast majority of opiates in this country.”
He nods.
“They’ve cut a deal with London, in exchange for intel from Rome. And their connection in America leads me to believe they have big plans there as well.”
“America?” Keenan looks mildly surprised. “Thought they had nothing to do with them.”
“They didn’t, until recently. Irish mob in Boston’s got roots deep over here, though.” We talk at length about my research, the work I’ve done, and what I have yet to do.
“Any word on Eve?”
I hate this discussion. It feels like lancing a wound, a necessary evil, but painful and ugly.
“Not much, but enough to confirm they very well could have had a hand in her death.”
“I’m sorry, brother,” Keenan says. My throat tightens, and it takes me a moment to compose myself. Nothing makes me angrier. Nothing makes me more ready to kill, than the thought that Eve’s death wasn’t an accident. It’s the only reason Keenan’s allowed me the privilege of going undercover to begin with. He’d want to do the same.
“Thank you.” I tell him every detail. How I’ve hacked into their bank accounts and transactions. How I’ve followed their travel to London, Madrid, and Boston. How they’ve come to trust me as their top contact in opiate trade, and how I’ve used every means possible to hide my whereabouts and identity.
We know what’s at stake. We know if they find out what I’ve done, my life, and the life of every member of the brotherhood, is on the line.
“I trust you’ve been careful.”
“I have. I’ve blocked every possible means of tracking. They have no idea who I am. They believe I’m located somewhere in South Africa.”
Keenan nods, thoughtfully stroking his chin. “We’ll have to make our plan watertight,” he says. “But it’s time to stop observing and start acting.”
I know exactly what he means. I nod.
“I agree. I’m not playing with them anymore. If I can confirm they were responsible for Eve’s death, I’m bringing them down.” I swallow hard, fire rising in my chest at the thought of their implication. My gut tells me I’m not far from the truth, I’m right on the cusp of a breakthrough. “I’ll destroy them, Keenan.”
“Which is exactly what we want,” Keenan says. “We could go to bloody war, but we don’t win in the end. If the O’Gregors killed one of our own as you suspect… well, all the members of the brotherhood ought to know how and why. And we’ll need to end them, once and for all.”