Page 2 of Duncan (Irish Mob of Boston #1)

Duncan

“Any progress?” Sal asked as I walked into his office. He sat behind his large wooden desk, never taking his eyes off whatever he was working on.

I sat on the sofa across from his desk and let my frustration settle. It had been almost three weeks, and I was still organizing the files from Duane’s office.

“Not yet. I haven’t even begun to look at the information because I’m still trying to figure out his system.”

“Would Maura know?”

“I doubt it. Even still, I’d rather not involve her. She’s done. I want her to live her quiet, happy life.”

Sal scoffed, his focus still on the papers in front of him. “Happy maybe, but not quiet. Not with those three out there.”

I laughed quietly.

Sal was right. Lannie and King were one thing. But I was there when Eduardo was taken out. Sal’s nephew, Blade, was young, but he’d made his peace with death. That was when he had nothing to live for, though. Now, he had a woman and baby on the way. He wouldn’t go down easy.

“Can you believe little Lannie is gonna be a grandad?”

I watched the corner of Sal’s mouth curve up just the smallest fraction. But even if it had been a full-blown smile, which I had never seen on Sal, it wouldn’t reach his eyes.

He’d recently found out he had a son who was a grown man. He’d missed everything because of his father’s reign. He’d lost the woman he loved, his son, and any other children they might have had.

Maybe he could still have his woman. If I could fucking find her.

“Any news on Tyran?

I blew out a long breath.

Tyran was a touchy subject. He had betrayed Sal, in the worst possible way. What exactly he did, we didn’t know. All we had was speculation.

“Not yet. We have guys out all over Boston searching. The word of his betrayal is out. There isn’t anywhere in the state he can hide, not without help. And I don’t see anyone helping him.”

I ran my hands up and down my legs.

“Aiden, Lorcan, and Patrick are searching the warehouses. Flynn, Oscar, and Beckett are down at the pier, talking to the fishermen. And Liam, Seamus, and Cagney have boots on the ground downtown.”

“Extend the search. Call every goddamn person we know, all over the fuckin’ country. I want the bastard found. What about Kelley?”

I chewed the inside of my cheek, not wanting to piss him off more. But it couldn’t be helped. What Nolan Kelley did was inexcusable.

“He’s gone. Looks like he went south.”

“The fuckin’ pussy. Does Caity know?”

“She says she doesn’t. She knows what he did, boss. She won’t cover for him. Not this time.”

“I want them home. Both of them.”

I nodded and asked the question that would be hard for him to answer.

“What about the boy?”

Sal leaned back in his chair and tossed his pen on the desk. “The boy stays where he is. He’s with family, in a fucked-up way. Maddie made her decision. I may not agree with it, but it was hers to make. I won’t start a war with the Bratva because my niece chose not to trust me.”

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 thought he 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.”

I looked up as Cian entered my office and stood just inside the door.

“I found something.”

“Need more information than that. Found something about what?”

Cian gave me a look that spoke of shame, or maybe embarrassment.

“I would like to point out that I would have found this much sooner had I been asked to look for it. Sal never asked me to look and neither did you, so I didn’t.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

He moved further into the room and tossed a file onto my desk. Opening it up, I skimmed over the report.

I looked up at Cian, not sure I understood what I was seeing.

“Did you find this in one of the boxes?”

“No.”

“Then where the fuck did you find it?” I yelled, standing up behind my desk.

“Like I said, no one ever asked me to look. Given that Duane had found some information, I started digging on my own. That’s what I’ve found so far.”

“She changed her fuckin’ name?”

Cian nodded. Now I understood. Duane wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed. So knowing that Duane likely found this information before him had to hurt. But he was right. No one had ever asked him to look.

“Gretchen Foster? That’s so plain.”

“Exactly what she was going for, I’m sure.”

My gaze snapped to my friend. He was right. Darcy wanted to hide. This was a way to hide. The eighties were a different time. There was no internet. No way to track someone down easily. You needed money and someone who could convince people to talk.

My older sister had run off to Arkansas with her boyfriend’s mother, had his child, and then changed her name and run even further. Leaving her child to be raised by his grandparents.

Why?

What the fuck had Tyran done that had her so scared?

“Anything else?”

“Not yet. Gretchen Foster is pretty common so there are a lot of names to go through. I tried looking in Ireland but haven’t tracked one down yet.”

“Keep searching. I’ll start going through Duane’s shit tomorrow.”

Cian left without a word, and I dropped back into my chair. Staring at the small amount of information Cian was able to find, I couldn’t help but wonder if my sister was still alive.

Was she out there somewhere looking over her shoulder? Did she know Eamon was dead and Sal had taken over? Was she more afraid of Sal than Eamon?

Or did she believe she had hidden well enough to have a life? Maybe she met someone. Got married. Had more children?

Where did you go, Darcy? Where are you now?