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FINN

I sit in a wingback leather chair in Ronan's office nursing a pre-dinner drink. His curiosity about Mick's trial has fueled our entire conversation thus far, and I've been here for nearly an hour waiting for his chef to finish dinner. Isla and Declan, my brother and his wife, are set to arrive any minute.

"But you've set up the meeting with the solicitor for next week?" Ronan watches me carefully. He put this all on my shoulders to test me, make sure I'm loyal and trustworthy. As the family strategist, I'm used to taking the lead on things, making sure our plans and pathways forward move us in the right direction. This is no different other than the slight hiccup of the law being involved.

"Yes, Quinn is tight-lipped with me, something about privilege and need-to-know basis. You can fix that up for us when you see him. He's an eejit." The solicitor won't speak with me directly. He shares information with Mick and Ronan, no one else.

"It sounds like it…" He takes a long sip of his whiskey, downing the rest of the contents before setting the empty tumbler on the table between us. "The prosecutor hasn't shown her hand, then?"

"Mick knows what they have against him. Quinn says it's weak. That's all I get from them. She's feisty, though." I smirk at him and think of my plan to wine and dine her into my inner circle where I'll be feasting on everything she knows about this case and perhaps even swaying her mind.

"What's that look about?" he asks me with a grin.

"I'll be taking Ms. Gallagher to dinner tomorrow. I'm working some angles and hoping they pay off. She'll be eating out of my hand and she'll see the light. Mick is innocent, and I'll do anything I have to do to make sure she sees it and drops those charges." After finishing my drink, I set the glass next to Ronan's empty one.

"Anything?" he says, and I hear the question. He means am I willing to kill her and yes, I am.

"Anything," I say with a pointed stare. "If it gets to the point of the trial where there's no turning back and we haven't secured a not-guilty from all of this, I'll kill her. The judge will have no choice but to declare a mistrial." I don’t relish the idea of having such a stunning creature's blood on my hands, but I will do what's necessary to keep Mick safe. My father would’ve called that The Devil's Price.

"Ro?" we hear, and both of us turn to see Maeve in the doorway. She's holding their brand-new baby, Xander, who's about three months old and full of fire just like his father. He's fussy, as normal.

"Yes?" Ronan says, standing to welcome his wife to the room.

"Dinner is on. Let's go eat. Isla and Declan just arrived." Her eyes flick to meet mine. "Hi, Finn, it's so good to see you."

Maeve is just as beautiful as the mysterious prosecutor I desperately want to bed. Her dark hair and imploring eyes shift back to her husband where I see a flick of knowing desire pass between them. One day, I'll be so lucky…

"Baby Xander," I coo, walking toward them. I pinch his cheeks and smile at him, and he starts to cry harder. The fire in his veins will steel him for what's to come in his life. Heir to the O'Rourke name, this child is more precious than them all.

Ronan ushers us to the dining room where we all have a seat. Isla is absolutely bursting with energy, bustling people around as she serves up dinner. Declan has his hands full with this farm-girl turned Mafia bride. She doesn't know how to let the staff take care of things, and now with her only weeks away from giving birth, she's nesting, making it even more challenging for my older brother to make her sit down.

"Thank you," I offer as she plops a heaping spoon of potato mash on my plate as she passes by me with the dish. Her swollen belly makes the perfect perch for the dish, arm wrapped around it. I see the way Declan adores her with his eyes too. Again… I would be so lucky…

"Have you spoken with my da?" she asks me, spooning more potato mash onto Maeve's plate, then Ronan's. Her eyes flick up to see me every few seconds, and the concentration and worry etched there pain me.

"Briefly today. He sends his love. He's waiting on his grandson's arrival." I wink at Declan, the months-old topic of discussion giving his forehead a pinch. He wants a boy. Isla swears it's a girl.

"Granddaughter," she corrects, and she switches to the bowl of green beans. Declan helps himself to a portion of round cutlets and passes the plate to Ronan, maneuvering so that Isla will have less work. He's sneaky like that.

"Is he good? I mean, in good spirits? Is he healthy?" For a woman who nearly lost her father forever after being kidnapped by one of our sworn enemies, she's substantially calm. No other woman alive would be so strong and put together.

"He's down, Isla, but it's to be expected. If he gets off on the murder charge, he still has to face some hefty accusations with what they found in his barns." I wince as her eyes flash almost to black. She never knew her father was a mob boss her entire life until the circumstances of her arranged marriage to Declan revealed it. She's a tough cookie and part of this family now. And she's one of the reasons we are fighting so hard to get Mick out of this situation.

He's blood now.

"Dear," she sighs as she sets the bowl down after her pass around the table with green beans. She rubs her belly and perches next to her husband, and the conversation around the table turns to a lighter discussion. Maeve baby talks with Xander and Isla tears up at the idea of the babies being the best of friends, but I'm inside my head now with all the scheming and planning.

I will make sure Isla's father comes home. He's part of this family and he deserves for us to fight for him just as if he were my brother. Ronan seems agreeable to my idea of seducing the truth and some justice for Mick out of Ms. Siobhan Gallagher, and so I will pour all my efforts into that. But it doesn't mean I'm going to neglect other avenues.

Somewhere, there is a witness who saw it all. Mick knows the man and has told us as much. But he's been hiding so well, we can't find him despite turning over every rock in this God-forsaken city. It's my plan B. Find that witness and make him come forward.

In the meantime, I'm sticking with plan A, and I'm hoping to skim a little off the top just for myself, if Siobhan Gallagher is the sort to put out.