We jog from my office all the way to the war room, where a shit show is clearly in progress. The inner circle is there.
Shane. Our underboss, Donal Gallagher, with his severe, angular features pulled tight in a scowl. Thomas Brennan, the man in charge of this mafia’s enforcers, informants, and foot soldiers, looks like a volcano ready to explode. Darren and Cian glance up the second we come through the door. The expressions on their faces say everything.
We’re in deep shit.
Darren’s stationed behind the podium at the far end of the room, a giant projection lit up behind him. On the screen is a recorded video message from Leonardo De Luca himself.
He appears pleased, if a little weathered by prison and war.
Like his father Matteo, Leo has a square face. His hair is thick, dark, and slicked back. His eyes are almost demonic in their apathy. He gives off the impression of someone so uncaring and completely detached from the world.
In other words, he’s unhinged.
But we didn’t need a video to tell us that.
“You’re just in time for the replay.” Donal throws his chin at Darren, who hits play on the video. It spurts to life.
For a moment, Leo just glares directly into the camera as if he’s making eerie eye contact with each one of us. It’s unsettling.
Something along my spine bristles unpleasantly.
This is the sick fuck who’s had Kiara and her mom under lock and key.
It takes an immense amount of restraint not to put my fist through the wood of this conference table.
After a few seconds of Leo’s aggravating silence, he finally speaks.
“You’ve got something that belongs to me, Kings.” His deep, steely voice drips with acid. “And if you don’t return her to me, there won’t be enough of you left to stop me from coming down there and taking her back myself.”
“Is that right?” Finn sneers at the screen.
Leo drops his head to the left. “I know all about your little run-in with the cops. Yourfallensoldiers.” A sick sort of smile spreads across his face. “You should be thanking me. Six less whore-mongering mouths to feed.”
I’ve never wanted to reach through time and space and throttle someone so hard in my life. From the tension in the shoulders around me, I doubt I’m the only one.
“And unless you return my property within the next seventy-two hours, you’ll have another travesty to look forward to.” Leo crosses his legs and settles his hands on top. “Tick tock, boys.Tick tock.”
The video cuts off, and the silence that swallows the room in the seconds that follow nearly deafens. We’re all choking on our rage and discontent.
Leo referring to Kiara as his property prompts fantasies of brutal murder. But aside from that, all I could think while listening to the man’s threats was,he’s in league with the mole.
He has to be. The Tyson operation was top secret on our end. In fact, apart from the eight men who were tasked with carryingit out, six of whom perished in the process, only the people in this room knew about it.
Which means Leo either got intel out of one of the guys who died…or from someone sitting at this conference table.
My eyes glide around, searching the faces of the men around me.
Men I’ve seen hundreds—no, thousands—of times in my life, and never once suspected might be capable of betrayal. It’s obvious we need to find the molenow.Before Leo can use him to create any more chaos. And that’s exactly what I expect Shane to say when he rises from his seat at the head of the conference table.
Instead, he squares off with his son, the seething fury in his eyes enough to reduce us all to ash with a single glance.
This is the most anger I’ve ever seen Shane direct at Finn before.
Yes, of course, Shane gets angry. But I’ve never before seen him this pissed atFinn.
We all just assumed that didn’t happen. Finn’s mother and younger brother were killed in a car crash many years ago, and from then on, the only vibe I’ve ever picked up on between Shane and his son was a protective one.
The vibe I’m sensing now is hostile, tinged with disapproval and irritation. “I thought you had this handled, but I can see I was mistaken.”
