Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 93929 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93929 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
But she’s not stopping. Her free fall is only speeding up, and I can tell there’s only one way to end this.
And that’s to drown in blood.
“I’ll do it.” I look from Liam to Caroline. Neither responds at first. “I’ll plant the guns.”
“Finn…” Caroline hesitates, shaking her head. “You’re still hurt.”
“I can handle this one. It’s the least I can do after nearly getting you killed.”
I hold up a hand. “I do this. Give me one more week to heal. That’ll put me right at a month. I’m regaining mobility every day and the pain’s nearly gone. One more week of rumors and then we move.”
Caroline doesn’t like it. She wants to go-go-go, no brakes, no slowing, but I can almost see something spark in her. Like she realizes what she’s doing.
“A week might not hurt,” she says reluctantly. “And you are doing pretty good.”
I move to her and pull her against my side. She curls into me with a soft exhale. I kiss her hair and breathe her smell. “I want to be the one who breaks them, remember? Even if it breaks me too.”
“I don’t want that.” She chews her lip uncertainly. “Do you think it’s going to end up like last time?”
“I won’t let it.” I look over to Liam. He’s finishing his coffee and getting to his feet. “Gather the materials and start coming up with a plan. We’ll move in a week.”
“Sounds good to me.” He nods and turns to leave, but stops before he can go. “By the way, your brothers have been sniffing around.”
“Really?” That gets my attention. “They say anything?”
“Nothing important. Just some questions about what you’ve been up to. How you’ve been. I told them you’re busy, that’s all.”
“Stick to that story.”
“Will do.” He slinks off and the door clicks shut behind him.
Caroline gets on her toes and kisses my neck. “Are you sure you’re up for this?”
“I can carry a few boxes into an apartment.”
“I know, but if it goes wrong—”
“It won’t.” I stroke my fingers through her hair.
She looks unsure. It’s clear she wants to keep racing forward, but maybe whatever we have between us is starting to tug her back. Maybe she’s sensing the same pressures I’ve been feeling.
And if I’m lucky, she’ll start making the same choices.
32
FINN
Ipark the van and kill the engine. There aren’t many people around this late. The street lights glow a soft orange and occasionally flicker. The apartment building looms to my left, windows bright. The doorman looks half asleep.
“How much did you bribe him?” I ask, not taking my eyes from the building.
Liam answers, sounding almost lazy about it. “Fifty grand.”
I laugh and stare. “Seriously? Fifty for a doorman?”
“What? The guy’s really well paid. You want him to keep his mouth shut, it costs.”
He’s got a point, but still. This operation is already way more expensive than I thought it would be.
Not that the money is an issue. I’ve never been a big spender. I live comfortably and I have my vices, but I’m not crazy about it. My war chest is likely much, much bigger than anyone in my family realizes.
I make a quick call and raise the phone to my ear. No walkies this time, only phones. That’s more of a risk but it’ll have to do. Can’t have our line of communication failing again like it did with Redmond.
“Yes, darling? Are you in position?” Caroline answers almost immediately. She sounds excited.
“Just parked. How are things over there?”
“Fine. Terrible. You know. But Dermot’s here and he doesn’t seem like he’s leaving anytime soon.” She’s talking at a whisper. I assume she’s hiding in a bathroom or something.
“Good. Keep an eye on him and call the second something changes. We’re heading in shortly.”
“Be careful. Gotta go. Talk soon.”
She hangs up. I pause and look at my phone. I hate that she’s at her father’s place right now. I know how much it hurts her to step foot in that house, but it was the best way she came up with to make sure Dermot wouldn’t be home. She arranged a little family gathering, and while she’ll probably have to swallow some verbal abuse, at least we know they won’t touch her. Not while she’s my wife.
“You ready?” I shove my phone back into my pocket and check my gun.
“Definitely, but I’m not the one with the bum shoulder.”
I absently rub at the wound. “It’s fine. Don’t worry about me.”
“You good to carry those boxes?”
“Probably not, but I’ll make it work.” I get out and Liam follows, moving around the van on his side. We meet at the back and throw the rear doors wide.
The boxes don’t look like much. They’re heavy duty cardboard with some Chinese symbols on the side. But look past the boring exterior, and just beyond, any intrepid searcher will find a bunch of subcompact semi-automatic weapons plus enough ammunition to storm Fort Knox.