Page 43 of Sweet Deception (Irish Kings #4)

Chapter Thirty-Eight

It’s obvious that Nika’s sick over her friend and the other women mixed up in all this. She wouldn’t even look at me after I mentioned bringing her cause to Shane. What really kills me though, is that even though I’d die for her, I can tell she still doesn’t know if she can trust me.

For some crazy reason, I want to prove myself to her. Need to.

She has to know how much she matters. No, I haven’t said that to her. Not in those exact words. But actions are what count.

That’s why I’m going to see my father first.

Our suites are on opposite ends of the third floor.

His is also three times the size of the other enforcer suites.

It’s essentially a full apartment condo.

Multiple rooms, a full kitchen, and furnishings older than I am because he’s lived up here for decades.

I did most of my growing up in this place, but ever since my mom left, I don’t stop by much.

Even my father’s surprised to see me as he waves me inside with raised eyebrows. I navigate to the living room and sit down. He trails behind, bemusement on his worn face.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?”

It takes a lot of effort to resist rolling my eyes. “You said you wanted the mission play-by-play.”

My father lowers into his favorite leather armchair, settling in directly across from me. “And you decided to make a house call?”

Ignoring his brand of sarcasm, I launch into a retelling of how the mission went.

At first, I’m just stalling, but then this approach begins to make sense.

I’ll start with our success and illustrate what a great job Nika did holding up her end of the bargain even though she’s a total beginner who could’ve died.

Once I’ve laid that groundwork, I’ll bring up the matter of extracting the women. That’s what I’m thinking when my father lifts up a finger to stop me halfway through.

“You were captured?” He cocks a single eyebrow.

Fucking hell. “I had a run-in with that orange-headed dipshit. Not a big deal.”

“You’ve never been captured behind enemy lines before.”

“I wouldn’t call it captured .” I crack my knuckles. “I’m sitting here, aren’t I? It was just an altercation.”

“And where was Veronika in all this?”

“She was in the server room completing her part of the mission.”

“So the two of you were separated.”

Why is he making a big deal out of this? “That was the plan. You know this. I set the fuses and kept watch. She went ahead to the server room and?—”

“She went ahead ?” Donal pushes.

“What are you asking me?” I struggle to keep my tone level. Otherwise, he’ll think I’m being evasive.

“I’m just trying to figure out how you got captured, but she didn’t. That’s all.” My father lights up a cigarette but doesn’t offer me one even though he knows I could use a drag.

Sometimes, I really hate him.

“An untrained woman, alone, in that situation?” His skepticism becomes clear. “That doesn’t strike you as suspicious, son?”

He’s starting to piss me off. “Not only did she get the job done, she helped me give Troy and his boys the slip. She shut off the electricity without compromising the system, which allowed us to escape.”

She also pointed out the ventilation shaft before I even thought of it.

“I concede that she served her purpose as an asset to the family.” He crosses his legs. “This time.”

This is as good as it gets with him. If I’m going to ask for his aid, this is my best chance.

“All we have to do now is convince Shane to extract the women safely.”

My father tilts his head, giving me a curious look. “You’re taking up a cause all of a sudden?”

He’s partially right. But if I’m being honest with myself, I’m also asking about this for personal reasons. “Don’t you ever think about Mom?”

The tension appears in my father’s jaw instantly.

“Don’t you ever wonder what came of her?”

He nods, silently acknowledging his regrets over what happened with my mother. And in this moment, we share the weight of everything we’ve never said. I know my dad loved her, just like I did.

The same way I know I don’t need to explain to him why saving these trafficked women and girls is important. It’s exactly what my mother would’ve wanted us to do. Not to mention what Nika’s been desperately after this whole time. We also wouldn’t even know about any of this without her.

My father acknowledges me with a micro nod and together, we approach Shane.

I only hope he will understand too.

After we migrate to his office and share our thoughts, Shane blinks at the both of us. He seems taken aback, then amused by my impassioned vehemence about how we have to protect any women we may or may not find at the summit.

We’ve certainly never had a discussion like this before.

To my knowledge, this is the first time we’ve ever come up against such a large-scale human trafficking operation.

I think I’m making total sense until my uncle hits me with, “You doing this for her?”

“It’s just good business.” I stand firm. “Ensuring the women come out alive also means securing witnesses. We can use their testimonies as blackmail to keep Red Hill in line.”

My father scoffs. “If they ever try to expand again, they’ll need our blessing.”

I nod. “If we do it clean and fast, we can get the girls out first, then dismantle Red Hill’s power structure brick by brick.”

Shane considers this, then smiles. “Your girl is smart.”

That irks me.

Nika’s not my girl.

Or maybe she is, but we haven’t talked about it yet?—

Damn him for bringing this up. Fuck.

I need to go talk to her.

“Okay,” Shane finally says. “We’ll ensure any girls we find get out safely.

But Veronika stays here.” His expression becomes grave.

“Rory found a confirmed guest list for the summit. Apparently, the Sullivan brothers invited buyers from even more crime families than we thought…which complicates things.”

“So, we’ll be walking into a room full of enemies and…future enemies, perhaps,” my father muses aloud.

Before we can discuss further, the door to Shane’s office opens, and Rory slips in. “The girls are being moved tonight. To a new location. Just saw the alert come through.”

My father gives Rory and me the same look. “Sounds like you boys have another mission to prepare for.”

Shane grants the approval, and Rory and I are out the door in seconds. “I’ll round everyone up.”

“I’ll go tell Veronika.” We part ways at the grand staircase. I take the enormous stairs three at a time, optimism crackling inside me.

Shane agreed. We’re going to save the girls, exactly as I’ve been assuring her we would. I can’t wait to see her eyes light up when she realizes she can trust me, that I’ve got her back.

But when I push her door open to deliver the news, I’m greeted by an empty room.

No water’s running in the bathroom.

My heart stops, then pounds. The window is still locked, and the hall guards saw nothing, but somehow, she’s just…gone.

Calm down , I tell myself. She probably went to find Kiara and Piro.

I call Kiara, who picks up on the second ring. “Darren?”

“Hey. Have you seen Veronika?”

“Yeah, she came by a while ago. She wanted to take Piro for a walk outside. Haven’t seen her since.”

My stomach drops. I scan the room for clues, and that’s when I see it. A neatly folded note on her perfectly made bed.

“I’ll call you back.” The lifeless words fall from my mouth as I end our conversation and grab the note.

They’re moving the girls tonight. I can’t wait for Shane to decide whether their lives matter to him or not. I’m sorry to go like this, but I made a promise.

“Fucking hell!” My roar brings my father running.

“She’s gone?” he asks from the doorway behind me.

“Don’t.” My voice goes deadly quiet. “Don’t say you were right.”

I’m already in motion. If she knows they’re moving the girls tonight, she must have tracker data on the transport locations.

She’s going after Lucy.

And she’ll most definitely get herself killed.

Unless I find her first.

And when I do, she won’t have to worry about anyone else, because I’m going to strangle her myself.