Page 37

THIRTY-THREE

emmanuel

“Why?” Makenna’s voice is loud, like a whip through the screen. “Why did you never tell us?”

We’re standing at the docklands—Jer’s favorite place—and everyone is here.

Denis, Henry, and Jerry didn’t like when they said everyone would be in attendance.

Everyone who’s anyone in Ireland is here.

Not to mention there’s Makenna and Dante, Hayden, Liam, and Hayes Gallagher—Denis’ cousins.

Jade and Rocco Gallo, along with his brothers, Elio and Alessio.

Then there’s the Syndicate: Cesare Mariano, Ronan Delaney, Olezeka Morozov, and Prior King.

“That is for another day, my dear,” Henry says.

Right now isn’t the place to air family laundry. We’re looking to find out the truth about who’s behind all of this shit.

“I have some information,” Ronan Delaney says, speaking for the first time. He’s head of the Irish mafia in Boston.

“What is it?” Jer asks, his arms crossed over his chest

“It’s about Trace Harrington,” Ronan says.

“What about him? He’s dead,” Henry inputs.

“So, I had some of my men dig up the body. This shit has hit way too close to him. Everything they know was precise, like inside information.”

"What do you mean you dug up the body?" Maverick asks, his voice sharp.

Ronan's eyes narrow. "I mean exactly what I said. We exhumed Trace Harrington's grave. And guess what we found?"

"An empty fucking coffin," Prior King finishes, his face grim.

The room erupts into chaos as everyone starts talking at once. I feel my blood run cold. If Trace Harrington is alive...

"Quiet!" Jer roars, silencing the room. He turns to Ronan and Prior. "Explain. Now."

Ronan nods. "We've had our suspicions for a while. Too many things weren't adding up. So we decided to check the source."

"And you're sure it was his grave?" Stephen asks.

"Positive," Prior confirms. "We checked and double-checked. That coffin was empty."

"Fuck," I mutter, running a hand through my hair. This changes everything.

"If Trace is alive," Cesare Mariano says slowly, "then he's had years to plan his revenge. And he'd have the resources and connections to pull something like this off. His father is dead. He’d want revenge."

"But why now?" Dante asks. "Why wait all this time?"

"To lull us into a false sense of security," Henry says grimly. "To strike when we least expect it."

I think back to everything that's happened—Ava's death, Hustler's murder, the attempts on our women. It all fits. Trace would have the motive, the means, and the ruthlessness to orchestrate something like this.

"We need to find him," I say, my voice hard. "Now."

Jer nods in agreement. "We pool all our resources. Every contact, every lead. We find Trace Harrington and we end this once and for all."

I pull out my phone, sending a quick text to Clodagh.

Me: Stay inside. Don't open the door for anyone but me. I love you.

As I pocket my phone, I meet Maverick's eyes across the room. We share a grim nod of understanding. Whatever it takes, we'll protect our families. And when we find Trace Harrington, he'll wish he'd stayed dead.

"We need to increase security on all our families," Denis says, voicing what we're all thinking. "If Trace is behind this, he won't stop until he's taken everything from us."

Henry nods in agreement. "I'll have my best men on it. No one goes anywhere alone, and we double the guards on all our properties."

"What about Alastríona?" Makenna asks.

“She’s with Freddie,” Henry replies. “She’s safe with him.”

“His attention will be split,” Makenna sighs. “He’ll be out for revenge for Ava. He’ll choose to pursue that.”

"Freddie knows what's at stake," Henry says firmly. "He'll keep Alastríona safe while we deal with this threat."

I nod, though I'm not entirely convinced. Freddie's been off the grid since Ava's death. His state of mind is a wild card right now.

"We need to move fast," I say. "If Trace knows we're onto him, he might accelerate his plans."

"Agreed," Jer says. "We'll split into teams. Some of us will focus on tracking down Trace, others will work on securing our families and properties."

As the group starts dividing up tasks, my phone buzzes. It's a text from Clodagh.

Clodagh: Okay, I understand. Please be careful. We love you too.

“We have every member of our organizations on alert for Trace,” Ronan tells us. “He’s now the most wanted man in America.”

“No,” Jer says. “He’s just become the most wanted man in the world. I want it spread that there’s a five million euro bounty on that cunt’s head. He’s to be brought in alive.”

I smile. Fuck yes. Five Million euro isn’t a small amount. It lets everyone know that Trace is dangerous and they’ll also know that a sum will be paid for any information. Trace is fucked. It won’t be long until we find him.

I can feel it. It won’t take us long to get him. Not now that we know who he is. We just need his whereabouts.

A low whizzing sound hits my ears, and I tense. I know that fucking sound. “Down,” I roar, but it’s too fucking late.

The bullet finds its target. I watch as it sinks into Jer’s head, right between his eyes. He never stood a chance.

Fuck. Trace Harrington has taken yet another victim.

Jerry Houlihan is dead.