Page 34 of Dublin Charmer (Emerald Isle Mafia #5)
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Finn
I stride down the stairs and key in the passcode to release the security door to access the basement.
The digits are entered, the light flashes green, and then I’m down the stairs and heading into the war room.
My brothers are already there and look up as I enter and set my laptop on the long wooden table.
Tag is the first to speak. He leans back in his chair, coffee in hand. “What’s the emergency, Finny? It’s take your baby home from the hospital day. I’d rather be upstairs.”
“Same, same.” Bryan chuckles and by the way his hair is tousled, there’s no question that I interrupted him and Harper.
“It’s not an emergency. It’s just important.” I tap my tablet, avoiding his gaze.
Brenny is leaning forward, watching me and I don’t like it. “What else is going on, little bro?”
“Nyx handed us the Holy Grail of intel reports. I’ve spent the last hour looking through the folders and I thought you’d want to jump on this. We’ve got Gravely by the short and curlies.”
Sean presses both his scarred hands flat on the table and leans into my field of vision. “No one’s going to enjoy ripping that fucker to shreds more than me, Finn, but Brenny’s right. There’s something going on with you.”
I wave it away. “You’ll only laugh and make me feel stupid.”
Tag sets his coffee cup down and sobers. “I know when we joked about you thinking Ginny was girlfriend material we rubbed you the wrong way. That wasn’t our intention. We just find it funny that she’s made the rounds. We’re sorry about that, aren’t we, brothers?”
Sean and the twins all nod, looking genuinely contrite.
“So, what is it?” Tag puts the question out there and waits, his voice calm, his gaze patient.
How do I even put it into words without sounding like an idiot? Maybe I’m making something out of nothing. But no, the way she looked at me when I said I loved her wasn’t nothing.
The tears that welled in her eyes and the silence that followed weren’t nothing.
I clear my throat and run a hand through my hair. “Nyx didn’t say she loves me. In fact, after the most amazing sex ever, I told her I love her, and she cried and totally shut down. Why? What does that mean?”
The war room falls silent. My brothers exchange glances, and I feel heat creeping up my neck.
“Maybe she’s not ready to say it,” Brendan offers, leaning back in his chair.
“Or maybe she’s afraid,” Tag suggests, his voice softening. “She’s been on her own a very long time. Maybe she needs time to trust in her feelings.”
“But she does love me,” I insist, hating how desperate I sound. “I know she does. I see it in her eyes. I feel it when we’re together.”
Sean sets his phone down. “No argument there, little brother. We all see it. You two are great together, but maybe give her a chance to settle in before you worry. It’s probably just a lot at once. Gravely. Her brother. Trusting us.”
Bryan nods. “Think about it. In less than three weeks, she’s gone from being our enemy to being part of the family. That’s a lot to process.”
I exhale slowly. They’re right. Of course they’re right. “Aye, all right. Thanks.”
Tag stands and pulls me into a hug, clapping me on the back. “It’ll happen for you, Finn. Just as we found the other half of our souls, you’ve found yours. Nyx is your perfect complement. We all see it.”
My brother’s all grumble their agreement.
“And because you love her, you can give her the time and space she needs to let your love take hold, right?”
“Aye, I can.”
“Good lad. Now,” he says, clapping his hands together, “show us what you’ve got so we can make a plan to wipe Billy Gravely off the face of the planet.”
Heart lighter and mind clearer, I turn to the screen, I pull up the first file. “Nyx gave us everything we’ll need to destroy him. And I mean everything.”
The 72-inch TV on the wall lights up with detailed maps of Gravely’s operation. Financial records. Shipping manifests. Safe house locations. Property ownership. Personnel files.
“Jesus Christ,” Sean whispers, leaning forward. “How did she get all this?”
“She’s been collecting it since he took Gio. Insurance she hoped to leverage against him if it ever came to that.”
Brendan whistles. “Smart girl.”
I pull up a calendar. “Check this out. Gravely’s got a weapons shipment coming in two nights from now. And here,” I switch to a map, “this is where they’re unloading.”
“The old fishing warehouse in Howth,” Tag says, studying the location. “Isolated. Limited access points. Perfect for an exchange.”
“Perfect for an ambush,” Sean adds.
“And there’s more.” I swipe to another screen. “Detailed security rotations for all Gravely’s properties. Including his personal residence.”
Bryan leans forward. “Do you think we could hit him at home?”
Tag shakes his head. “Too many variables. Look how well that turned out for him.”
“I think the shipment is our best bet,” I say. “We’ve cut off access to his super warehouse and all the McGuire warehouses. He needs things to be business as usual, or it’ll cripple his operation. He needs this shipment.”
“Does he know Nyx is with us?” Brendan asks.
“Not officially, but he must know we took Gio when we raided his warehouse. He’ll also know Nyx would contact us to get him back.”
“He’ll also expect her to sell him out,” Tag says.
I shrug. “I expect that’s true, aye.”
“He might try to turn the tables and set a trap for us, knowing we’ll try to close in.”
Shit. I hadn’t really thought of that, but that tracks.
We spend the next hour planning the attack.
Sean will take the Devils to secure the perimeter.
Brendan and Bryan will lead the assault team.
Tag will coordinate from a distance. Laine will kill us all if he gets shot again so soon after the baby’s birth, but this is our big move and he’s our leader.
And me? I’ll be right where I belong—running surveillance and comms from a nearby location, with Nyx at my side.
“All right, we have two days to get this plan locked down,” Tag concludes. “Let’s end this, brothers. Let’s make this city safe for the women in our lives, yeah?”
“Damn right,” Sean says.
“Aye,” Brendan, Bryan, and I all agree.
As the meeting adjourns, I feel lighter. Focused. The plan is solid, and my brothers’ reassurances about Nyx have calmed my fears.
She loves me. I know she does. And someday, when she’s ready, she’ll say it.
For now, we have a war to win.
Nyx
I’ve been sitting on the edge of Finn’s bed for over an hour, my heart shattering with each passing minute. My backpack rests against the wall, stuffed with my equipment, everything disconnected, coiled, cleared from his desk, and packed away.
The tears won’t stop coming.
I’ve tried to be logical about this. I’ve tried to be strong. But logic has nothing to do with the way my chest aches when I think about walking away from him.
When the door opens and Finn steps in, his smile dies instantly. His eyes dart from my face to the packed bag, and I watch understanding dawn in those beautiful green eyes.
“Nyx, no. Is this because I said I love ye?” His voice cracks on the last word.
I close my eyes, unable to bear the hurt in his expression. “Yes, but not for any reason I’m sure you’re imagining.”
Finn rushes across the room and drops to his knees before me. He collects my hands in his. They’re warm and strong, and my heart breaks a little more when they wrap around mine. “Talk to me, Nyx, please. What’s going on?”
“Gio wants to leave Dublin.” The words come out in a rush. “He’s struggling. He’s having panic attacks. He needs to be away from here, somewhere he can feel safe while he heals.”
“Then go on vacation,” Finn says immediately. “Take him to Mallorca or the Greek Islands. Let him soak up the sun and recover. Go for a month or three or six. I’ll pay for all of it, but don’t end things.”
I try to breathe but my lungs won’t take in oxygen. “It’s not that simple. He doesn’t just want a vacation. He wants to get away from crime families and the dangers of takeovers. He wants us to have a safe, normal life.”
“Then I’ll set him up with one. New identity. New life. New continent if that’s what he wants. That doesn’t mean you have to go.”
“He’s all I have, Finn.” My voice breaks. “He’s my only family and I’m his.”
“That’s not true anymore.” Finn’s grip tightens. “There’s me. And my brothers. And the wives. All of us are in yer corner and love ye. We’re yer family now. Gio is a part of yer life, no question, so he’s part of this family, too.”
I swipe at the hot tears streaming down my cheeks. “I’ve known you for weeks. I’ve taken care of Gio my whole life.”
“Aye, I know that.” Finn presses his forehead against our joined hands. “But don’t shut the door on us, Nyx. Don’t end something that’s barely begun. Ye love me. I know ye didn’t say it, but ye do.”
A sob escapes me. “I absolutely do, but I can’t say the words—it would only make leaving harder. But that doesn’t change anything. I have to choose Gio. I have to.”
“But I’m not askin’ ye to choose.” Finn looks up, his eyes shining with unshed tears. “I’m askin’ ye not to give up on us. Go with Gio. Help him heal. But don’t say this is the end.”
“Long distance never works,” I whisper.
“Says who?” He cups my face in his hands.
“I’ll wait, Nyx. For months or years if that’s what it takes for him to figure his shit out.
One day, he’ll meet someone, and he’ll want to start building a life beyond his sister.
I’ll be waiting, I swear I will. But loving yer brother doesn’t mean ye can’t have love in yer life. ”
The word hangs between us. Love.
Such a simple word for such a complicated feeling.
“What if that never happens?” I ask.
“Then I’ll make the move.” Finn’s voice is fierce with conviction. “Do ye think I can’t hack from Greece? Or Spain? Or wherever the two of ye end up? I’m a digital nomad, baby. Have laptop, will travel.”
I laugh through my tears. “You’d leave Dublin? Your brothers?”
“For us? In a heartbeat.” He brushes a tear from my cheek. “But I don’t think it’ll come to that. Gio’s in a dark place now, but he won’t be there forever. We’ll find him a trauma counselor. Hell, make it a twofer and go with him and help things along.”
I want to believe him. God, how I want to believe this could work.
“I’m scared,” I admit. “I’ve never felt anything like this before. Anything worth fighting for besides Gio.”
“I know. Me neither.” Finn moves to sit beside me on the bed, keeping one arm around my shoulders. “That’s why I’m not letting ye walk away without a fight.”
I lean into him, breathing in his scent. “I hate the idea of leaving you.”
“And I hate the idea of ye going,” he says softly. “But it’s a thousand times better than ye leaving me for good.”
We sit in silence for a moment, his fingers tracing circles on my shoulder.
“Do ye need to go now?” he asks.
I shake my head. “I was just so afraid of hurting us both more by waiting. I told Gio we’d go after we take down Gravely and it’s safe. I promised I’d help you finish this, and I will.”
Finn nods. “All right. Then we have a few days at least.”
I reach up to touch his face, tracing the line of his jaw. “I don’t know how to do this, Finn. I have to do right by Gio.”
“And we will,” he says simply. “We both will.”
The tears come again, but they’re different now—not the desperate sobs of goodbye, but something softer. Sadder, but maybe with a little hope woven through.