Page 46 of Dublin Charmer

I look around the room—at these dangerous men who kiss their women tenderly, who mourn their enemies’ deaths, who thank someone for bringing them a drink. Maybe they really could help me find Gio. Maybe there’s a way out from under Gravely’s thumb that doesn’t end with my brother in a body bag.

“I need to tell you something,” I say, my voice stronger than I feel. “About my brother.”

Finn’s hand finds mine, his thumb tracing small circles against my skin. “We’re listening.”

His touch anchors me as I begin to explain what I know about how and where Gio is being held, about Gravely’s blackmail, about the impossible position I’m in. With each word, the weight I’ve carried alone for months feels lighter.

And when I finish, Tag Quinn looks me directly in the eyes and says, “We’re going to help you get your brother back.”

For the first time in years, I allow myself to feel something vulnerable and dangerous.

Hope.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Nyx

I’ve spent my entire adult life trusting no one but Gio. Now I’m sitting in a room full of Dublin’s most notorious criminals, and I’ve just handed them my most vulnerable secret. My brother. My weakness.

And somehow, it feels like the first right decision I’ve made in months.

“Thank you.” My voice is small but steady. “Gio is my everything. My biggest fear is that Gravely has learned I’m missing, and he’s taken his anger out on my brother.”

“Do ye know anything about how or where he is?” Tag asks.

“I broke through Gravely’s firewall weeks ago and have access to a video feed of his cell. There’s no sound, but I can see him. I watch that feed constantly. Being here is making me crazy because I can’t access it.”

“Do ye have a remote relay set up?” Finn asks.

“I do, but I need access to a computer.”

Finn looks to Tag who considers things for a moment before nodding. “We have a few minutes before dinner. Do what ye canto assure her of her brother’s fate and then join us in the dining room when yer finished.”

Finn stands and holds out his hand. “All right. Let’s see what we can find out.”

The room falls quiet as we prepare to exit but I stop and look back at Piper. I can’t imagine how she’s feeling. Two of her brothers and her mother are dead because of Gravely. Two more are still missing.

“I’m sorry for your loss, Piper. Truly.”

She flashes me a watery-eyed smile. “Thanks, Nyx. I appreciate that.”

I feel Tag’s gaze following us as Finn escorts me down the hall, back the way we came. He’s a strategic man—calculating, assessing—but he seems calm and well-balanced, unlike Gravely.

With Billy Gravely, almost all conflicts come down to greed, power, and ego.

I’m expecting Finn to take me to an office of some sort, so when he grabs the ornately carved banister and starts up a wide staircase, I hesitate.

“Where are we going?”

“Somewhere private where ye can access what ye need.”

“How private?”

Whatever he sees in my gaze makes him chuckle. “My computer system is set up in my bedroom. If ye want access, that’s where we need to be.”

“In your bedroom? That’s very convenient.”

He flashes a grin and waggles his brows. “What’s the matter, Nyx, afraid to be alone with little ole me? Afraid I’ll turn on the Dublin charm and seduce ye?”