Page 95 of Dublin Charmer

A chorus of affirmatives follows. Sean and the Dublin Devils are positioned to block the eastern exit. Brendan and Brody have the western approach covered. Bryan and Rory are watching the water exit with a small fleet of boats.

No escape routes left uncovered.

Piper’s brothers have united with us against a common enemy, but it’s clear they aren’t mafia kingpin material. They started this takeover with their father and four older brothers to carry the weight of leadership. Now the once great McGuire territory is in tatters.

Nyx taps my arm and points to her screen. “Gravely’s nervous.”

I lean over to get a clear look. On her monitor, Billy Gravely checks his watch, and then goes back to tapping his cane against the toe of his boot. His shoulders are tense, his movements jerky.

“He has reason to be nervous. He’s running low on men.”

“I’ve only got eight visible. Turn on thermal scanning on Drone 2 and see if there are others hidden.”

“Maybe that’s all he could persuade to follow him after the trail of mercenary bodies he’s left in his wake the past month.”

“Maybe, but it’s not like him to walk into a situation under-manned.”

“He’s desperate,” I mutter.

“Or planning something,” Nyx counters, her eyes narrowed. “I don’t like this.”

I access the controls for Drone 2 and activate its thermal imaging feed. “I count twelve heat signatures around Gravely. Four more than we can see on the regular cameras.”

“Tag,” Nyx says into her headset. “Be advised, Gravely has at least twelve men, not eight. Possible ambush.”

“Understood,” Tag replies, his voice steady. “Where are they?”

I describe the position of the four in hiding and watch as Tag signals to his team, spreading them wider to account for the additional threat.

Pride swells in my chest—not just for my oldest brother’s leadership, but for this moment. Nyx and I working together, keeping our family safe.

We’re a perfect team.

“Supplier has arrived. Two blue box trucks and a tinted-out Range Rover,” I report, tracking the Range Rover as it pulls into the designated meeting area. “A driver in each truck, no movement. Two men exiting the SUV. The driver remained in the vehicle.”

“Visual confirmation.” Sean angles his body to face the men from his place of hiding. “If I were to guess, I’d say the guy on the left is Alejandro Vega. Colombian cartel lieutenant.”

Their image is captured on his body cam feed and Nyx takes that and runs with it. “Accessing facial recognition... confirmed. That’s Vega. He’s on Interpol’s watchlist for… well, everything.”

“Gravely’s burned too many bridges here,” Sean says. “The asshole had to reach out to South America to get someone who would work with him.”

“Aye, that might be so,” Tag says, “but we don’t need Vega for an enemy. We hold until their business is done, and Vega is clear. Understood?”

There’s a resounding mumble of compliance and then the comms fall quiet once again.

We watch in tense silence as Gravely approaches Vega. The men exchange words, then handshakes. Gravely gives the man a duffle bag. Vega checks inside and then hands it to his man. Then he waves for the drivers to get out of the box trucks. They leave the trucks and move toward the SUV.

Business as usual in the underworld.

“Wait.” Nyx leans forward, pointing at the screen. “Gravely’s posture has changed. He’s drawn his gun. Shit. He shot the man holding the duffle bag. Vega’s men have drawn weapons as well.

“Shit,” I mutter. “Tag, the deal’s going south. This exchange is now armed and hostile.”

“Gravely’s taking back his money and screwing over his new supplier.” Nyx quickly cycles through camera angles. “Such a Billy move.”

The dock erupts into chaos as Gravely’s hidden men burst out into the open and run for the box trucks. Gunfire flashes across our monitors as Gravely’s men and Vega’s crew open fire on each other.

In the confusion, Gravely breaks away from the fight, swings the duffle over his shoulder, and runs.