Page 74 of Dublin Beast

“It has to be Billy Gravely’s doing. He may be a psychotic fucker, but he’s got sway with some nasty mercenary types. My bet is that if this is them, it’s Gravely who put this together.”

That’s my read of the situation, too. Or maybe this has nothing to do with the McGuires and we’re witnessing something that has nothing to do with us or our mission to avenge my father’s murder.

“Do you think we could haul ass fast enough to intercept? Two on two would be nothing with the shape they’re in and us with the element of surprise.”

Kieran looks doubtful. “They’re headed in the opposite direction. If they get back to their car before we get to them, we’ll have to double back and we’ll lose time.”

That’s true, I just hate doing nothing.

“There. They’re coming out of the trees. I’ll flip off the thermal imaging.” Kieran flicks a switch and then the picture on the laptop flips to photo imaging.

It’s dark and because there is still no moon to light up the night, the image is grainy. “I’m pretty sure it is a woman.”

I grunt. “Or a wee man. Or an alien.”

“I don’t think it’s an alien. There would’ve been more government types if they captured E.T.”

I roll my eyes, but that one’s on me. I brought up the aliens. Leaning closer, I try to will the image on the screen to magically come into focus.

No such luck. The threesome is practically swallowed up by shadow no matter how close I stare at the screen. There’s just no way to tell if it’s her.

The body of their target is smaller than the two of them. They’re dragging her, limp but alive. They probably knocked her out for easier travel.

She was fighting with fists and feet when they first grabbed her, but now she’s slung over the shoulder of one of the men.

“Watch as he tosses her into the car. See if you can get a good shot of her face.”

Kieran adjusts the drone, tracking them as they load the body into the trunk of the vehicle before peeling away from the ruins of the farmhouse.

“Did you get it? Is it her?”

“Working on it.” Kieran jumps into the back seat of the SUV and grabs the laptop. “Hurry, you drive. I’ll use the drone to track them, but we need to get moving. Depending how far they go, the battery will die and we’ll need to change it on the fly if we expect to keep these assholes in our sights.”

Shit. I hadn’t thought of that. I jump into the driver’s seat and start the engine. “All right. Tell me where I’m going.”

* * *

Harper

The kettle hisses, a warning in the quiet hotel suite as I pace from one end to the other, chewing the inside of my cheek. It’s been ages since the farmhouse was attacked and the surviving two men left the Sentinel compound dragging someone from the house.

I watched the building and the cars burn for the first half-hour, waiting to see if Kieran and Bryan entered the compound to assess the damage.

They didn’t.

I assume that’s because they went after the ones who fled. I have no way of knowing where they went or if they’re in trouble. I check my phone, but there’s no reply from my last two texts. I don’t want to distract him if things are intense for him, but I’m genuinely worried.

We’re friends, after all.

And I’m invested in his search for the woman and his quest for justice for his family. He still hasn’t told me exactly what Siobhan did, but I know there’s bad blood between her and his oldest brother, Tag. And I know she caused the shooting between Tag’s right-hand man and one of the McGuires—ending with Declan McGuire dead.

Bryan’s life is literally a life-or-death situation.

Which—who are we kidding—normally, I would thrive on and be all for the adrenaline pulsing through my veins—but this feels different.

In the past five days Bryan and I have fallen into a companionable partnership. We make a good team. My calm analytic nature is a good counterweight to his passionate need to make things happen—aka beating on bad guys.

But hey, I’m all for beating on bad guys.

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