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The anger in his words did its best to cover the hurt. But I knew that was hard for him to say. A month ago, Sal would have made a different decision. He would have said fuck the Bratva and taken his nephew back. Now, though, after what we’d learned about Darcy. After the sacrifice she’d made for his son, he understood the sacrifice Maddie had made for hers.

“I’ll send some of the boys to pack them up this weekend. But I’m not the one telling your sister she has to come home.”

I stood from my seat and walked to the door.

“Cian can tell her. She likes him.”

“No fuckin’ way. Your sister, your job!” I said, pointing at my boss.

“I’m the boss. You all do what the fuck I tell you to do!” he shouted.

I raised an eyebrow as I looked at him.

“How’s that workin’ out for ya?”

I didn’t wait for an answer. I walked out the door to his muttered,‘Asshole,’and laughed, calling back to him, “Call your damn sister!”

Sal loved his sister, but she was stubborn and argumentative.

Everyone knew Sal would do anything for Caity. Unfortunately, that made her a target. That was how Nolan Kelley ended up the boss in New York. The man was a sociopath.

He’d been good at hiding who he really was. Charming Caity easily. He’d targeted her because he was like Eamon. He’d appealed to the little girl who wanted her daddy’s attention. He knew if he married the boss’ daughter, it would be his ticket to the top.

He managed to get himself appointed to New York City just two years before Sal killed Eamon and took over. He thoughthe was safe. He thought he would continue on without us ever finding out all the ways he’d betrayed the family.

He was wrong.

Returning to my office, I picked up my phone.

“What the fuck do you want?”

“You always answer the phone that way?”

“Only when there’s an asshole on the other end.”

I barked out a laugh. “Miss you too, prick. Listen, we’re searching for someone, and we heard he might be heading south.

“Who?”

“Kelley.”

“Shit. He’s headed here, isn’t he?”

“That would be my guess. He’s got nothing left here, so he’s gonna take his chances there. If he shows up, you bag him and call me. Sal wants to take care of this personally.”

“Got it. Hey, Dunc?”

“Yea?”

“Bring my brother with you.”

“I will do my best.”

Disconnecting the call, I sat back in my chair. Louisiana was a long shot, but it was all we had at the moment. We actually had better odds of finding Nolan in Louisiana than we did convincing Liam McGuire to travel with us, knowing his brother wanted to see him.

But that’s one thing Sal was known for. Making us do things we really didn’t want to do. He would ensure Liam was with us if we ended up in New Orleans.

“Hey.”