Page 119

66

CONOR

At first, when Star called, I thought she was hyperventilating.

I could only hear the sounds of heavy breathing in my ear.

Then, I managed to make out, “Need. Helicopter.”

My brows lifted. “Star, I need you to calm down. Do you hear me?”

“Running,” she gasped.

“Where to?” I muttered. “Did I hear you right? You need a helicopter?”

“Land it in the yard of the Sinners’ clubhouse. We need to get to DC and then to the Catskills.”

Though I was confused as fuck, I picked up another cell and made the call for a pilot. Once that was arranged, I told her, “He’s collecting me, then you. You’ll fly us to DC for obvious reasons. He should be here in thirty minutes.”

Abruptly, the sounds of thudding came to a halt. “Then I can stop running,” she groaned.

“Why were you running in the first place?” I sat up straighter in my desk chair. “Is someone chasing you?”

“No one would be dumb enough for that. Plus, I wouldn’t run. I’d just kick their asses then and there,” she grumbled, her breathing slowly becoming more regulated. “I had to leave my SUV at the bottom of the MC’s road.”

“Why?”

“It was blocked by a truck.”

“Prime came calling, huh?”

She snorted. “I don’t think the club was repeating their dog food subscription. Although, with how many animals they have around, who the fuck knows?” A massive sigh sounded in my ear then, more to herself than to me, she rasped, “No need to freak out now that we’re dealing with this.”

I heard the sound of stomping. “What’s going on?”

“Heading back up the road to the compound so I can hitch a ride with your helicopter.”

“Our helicopter,” I corrected as I started to gather a few pieces of kit together.

“What are you doing?”

“Getting some of my shit in order?—”

“Go into our bedroom. Check the cabinet in the walk-in closet, the one that’s nearest the window.”

“Why?”

“Because there’s a go bag in there. One for each of us. They’re black duffle bags.”

“A ‘go bag?’” I questioned blankly. “What the hell’s that?”

“The clue’s in the title, Conor. Jesus H. Christ. It’s what we need for a mission.”

My mouth rounded. “How long?—”

“When did I make them up? The day I moved in.”

This woman.

Shaking my head, I muttered, “You going to tell me what’s got you riled up? Or why we need a go bag today? Are Rachel and you arguing again?”

“Of course, but this isn’t related to that. Someone came to her door during the meeting—Bear’s ex.”

“Rex’s dad? Didn’t know he had an ex. Thought his wife passed away.”

“She did. But he had an affair and knocked her up. Anyway, when he died, turns out he gave her a safety deposit key. In the box, there were some rubies and some letters. Those were addressed to me.” She sucked in a breath. “You know how you were asking the other night about the link between the Pauks and Bear?”

“Uh huh,” I murmured as I went to retrieve our go bags. Then, realization struck. “He told you in the letters?”

“Temperance fucking Black,” she snarled.

“What?” I gaped at nothing. “ She’s the connection?”

“Apparently. He said she approached him and offered to work with him years ago.”

“Must have been with the Brothers’ approval,” I said uneasily.

“I’ve told Eagle Eyes to bring her in. We’ll get more answers out of her.”

Finding the duffle bags, I hauled them over my shoulder and returned to our office.

“What else did Bear send you? You said there were two letters.”

“There were.” She cleared her throat. “Our suspicions were correct.”

I stilled. Then my door buzzer sounded.

“Who’s that?” she demanded.

Checking out the cameras, I murmured, “Aidan.” My chin tipped forward when I saw Brennan beside him. “Bren, too.”

She released a breath. “Thank fuck.”

“Your grandfather might like to think he’s all-seeing and all-knowing, but he isn’t,” I retorted. “He’s not due in the city until Friday. Remember?”

“After what Eagle Eyes shared with us last night, you still think that?”

I grimaced. “To be honest, I’m not sure what I think about any of this. I just know we’re in the middle of a shitstorm and nothing is making much sense.”

I released the door so my brothers could walk in and yelled, “I’m in my office.”

“No shit, Sherlock,” Aidan drawled as he strolled in, a cross between James Bond and a walking advertisement for tailored suits.

Brennan, as always, looked like a bruiser. You could dress him up in Brioni, but fuck, you couldn’t take away from the fact he was the fists of our family.

“What do you want?”

“To speak with you, moron,” Brennan grumbled.

Aidan perched his ass on Star’s desk and folded his arms across his chest. “I wanted to talk yesterday but after everything with… everything, it didn’t seem the appropriate time.”

I put Star on speaker. “We’re listening.”

Aidan cast a wary glance at my cell. “You won’t like what I have to say, Star.”

“It’s that kind of day, Aidan. Hit us with it.”

“I think your grandfather is losing his shit.”

My brow furrowed. “Why in particular?”

“At first, I could okay this beef he has with the English. Don’t particularly feel Irish, not like Da, but to honor our ancestors, why the hell not?

“So, I got the ECD to target wherever he wanted to wreak havoc. On the border with Northern Ireland, ships brought in cargo from the UK to the Republic. I had them screw with trucking logistics, fuck with that embassy’s security so he could listen in?—”

“You didn’t tell me about that, Conor,” Star growled.

My nose crinkled. “Aidan asked. What was I supposed to do? Say no?”

“Erm, no, you were supposed to share. Isn’t that the crux of this whole teamwork crap you keep spouting?”

“I only knew about the embassy security. Not the rest of?—”

“Before this triggers a full-on domestic squabble,” Brennan sniped, “let’s deal with what matters here?”

“Get on with it then,” she spat.

“I think he’s trying to overthrow the fucking Irish government,” Aidan stated, agitatedly stroking a hand through his hair.

“You can’t think that. Where’s your evidence?”

“How about that he told me to station the bulk of the ECD’s numbers outside the Stormont Estate?”

My brow furrowed. “He wants to lay siege to Northern Ireland’s parliamentary buildings?”

Tensely, Aidan admitted, “I’m thinking so. I mean, his influence will be pivotal in getting Shay where we need him to be, but I’m not about to go to jail for conspiracy to bring down a fucking government! That price is too high, even for goddamn me.”

Star was silent for a moment, then she croaked, “What the hell is his endgame?”

I pinned my brother with a stare. “Do you know?”

With a shrug, he said, “I just figured he was building up Russia’s power in Europe.”

“And you were okay with that?” Star snarled.

Flicking a look at Brennan, his expression didn’t give anything away as Aidan replied, “Not entirely, but you’re the ones who put me on his fucking radar! Everything comes at a cost. I figured this was the price you were willing to pay.”

Scrubbing a hand over my face, I muttered, “You should have discussed this with us.”

“I’m the head of the ECD. Not you. Not Brennan, Declan, Finn, or Eoghan.” He pursed his lips. “Anyway, I have come to you to discuss this. This is a crisis point.

“What he’s asked of me before have been petty political disruptions. This is the first time he’s requested something with such monumental repercussions.”

“He was probably building up in increments, trying to see how far you’d go,” Star mumbled wearily.

“Unluckily for him,” Aidan clipped, “I’m not Da.”

“Who, ironically, he didn’t like.” I blew out a breath as I slumped down in my chair. “We can’t allow him to?—”

“When’s the planned attack?” Star interrupted.

“In two weeks’ time.”

“He won’t be a problem by that point. Democracy might not be perfect, but it’s better than a fucking autocracy,” she grated.

Aidan, Brennan, and I shared a look between us, but I was the one who asked, “Star?”

“You know what I have to do, Conor.”

“We’ll do it together, Star,” I assured her, wanting her to know that I had her back.

“He once told me that he and his father tried to assassinate Stalin.” She barked out a bitter laugh. “Seems like I’ll be following in his footsteps of taking down megalomaniacs.”

Aidan cleared his throat. “You have my backing if that’s any consolation.”

“She’s going to kill her grandfather, Aidan,” I grumbled. “She doesn’t need your approval.”

“Calm down, Conor,” Brennan retorted. “We all know she’s got the biggest balls out of the four of us.”

Star didn’t comment, didn’t even snicker, just asked, “When’s the helicopter’s ETA?”