Page 20 of Redemption

“How’s that hotel your girl is building? No explosive situations?”

My hand is in the collar of his sweatshirt, and he’s pressed against the fence before he has time to react. “What’d you say to me?” My spit hits his cheek.

“You heard me.” His voice quivers.

“Donaghey,” the speaker system booms out. “Release Montgomery.”

I tighten my grip on the neck of his shirt to make his breathing uncomfortable. “You don’t threaten me.” With a violent shove, I let him go.

More than I want to kill this punk, I want out of here. If Hagen was the guy who set off the bomb in Carys’s building, he’d better pray I don’t slip the FBI and CIA before they can get me in prison. Otherwise, he’s a dead man. They gave me carte blanche to punish whoever attacked her, and I’m not leaving a single strand of doubt about who played a role before I’m tossed back in here. Annihilating the PLA is my deal, but protecting Carys is my mission.

“You don’t say no to Hagen. He said you needed a reminder.” Billy is on the ground, staring up at me, but his hand shakes when he wipes his mouth.

I crouch, careful not to touch him. No need to have the guards on the rampage when I leave the yard. “The only person who needs a recap here is Hagen. Tell him if he comes for me or mine, I come for him. Ineverback down.”

The kid leans toward me. “You take down Murray, and this goes away.”

Curiosity gets the better of me. Hagen’s a braggart and reckless, but he’s not persistent to the point of stupidity. “What’s his problem with Murray?”

“Money,” Billy says. “Stole from him.”

I scrub my face. Sure, I’ve killed for less, but this isn’t my beef, and I’m not making it mine. With any luck, I can bide my time until Carys unwittingly works with the FBI to bust me out. “Means nothing to me.” I rise and stare at him. “Tell Hagen if I ever get out of here, he’ll live the rest of his life with no arms or legs for putting anyone I care about in harm’s way. You got me?” I pretend to hold a limb and make a sawing motion. “I’ll remove each one with a dull blade.” With that, I turn and continue my walk around the perimeter.

“At least”—the kid scrambles to his feet behind me—“at least rough him up a bit or something. I can’t—I can’t—” His voice cracks. “He’s got my kid, okay? He’s got my son, and he said if I didn’t talk you into getting involved, he’s going to mail my wife a piece of him for every day of resistance.”

I cross my arms and let him catch up with me. “What are you doing running with the Volkovs when you can’t take the consequences?” These stories never moved me before Carys and Lucas. Now, a fire burns in my belly.

“I—I didn’t. I wasn’t. He came to me at visitation and told me he could get to my wife and son. Gave me that first message for you. I’d never seen him before. But he won’t leave me alone. He was here yesterday and said he’s got my son.”

“Have you spoken to your wife? Asked for proof of life?” Getting involved in this shit is a bad idea.

“Proof of life?” A crease forms in his forehead. “I haven’t—I haven’t talked to my wife.”

“Before you do shit for anyone, you always get proof of leverage. Always.” The cast on Carys’s wrist rises in my memory. If that was Hagen, he’s telling me he can get to her, to them. What he doesn’t realize is I’ll soon be able to return the favor. “The best proof of life is an answer to a question only your wife or son will understand. Something very obscure. Won’t be on social media or a response he can fake.”

“Okay.” Billy expels a breath. “You don’t think he has him?”

“Didn’t say that.” I run a hand along the back of my neck. “If you don’t ask for proof, he can tell you whatever he wants.”

“What if he does have him?”

This kid is so green. The logical next step would be for him to gather friends and apply pressure to me. Force me to take out Murray. Or try to take out Murray himself. He doesn’t have it in him. Besides being a shitty mafia leader, Hagen is a terrible judge of character. Billy might look hard, but he’s as soft as butter. How’d he pick this guy out of everyone in the place? Maybe he does have Billy’s son. “Your best bet?”

He nods, eager for direction.

In a circumstance like his, when he’s not capable of finding his own leverage, his options are limited. He won’t convince me to go after Murray. Hagen doesn’t appear willing to give in and ask for something else from me or the kid. Billy hasn’t realized yet that morphing into someone he’s not is his only choice. “Kill Murray yourself.”

He grabs his head and crouches on the ground as though I’ve delivered him the death blow. When people you love are at risk, you make impossible choices. It’s why I’m in here in the first place. Without giving him a second look, I continue on my walk.

There’s a chance I’ll solve Billy’s problem for him before he has to take a life-changing action. If Hagen had anything to do with the bomb that went off in Carys’s building, when I get out, he’s a dead man.

Chapter Ten

Carys

Intwenty-fourhours,Evanderwill be successful in breaking Finn out of jail or will have failed spectacularly. The tension in the house is so thick that Sofia has spent most of the time outside with the kids or at various parks. Lena has been baking as though she’s starting her own business. The freezer is stocked. She’s earned her nap.

As for Jay and me, we’ve been trying to focus our nervous energy on getting to the root of the explosion. When Finn gets here, he’ll be annoyed we didn’t start our search earlier or assume the police were incompetent or incapable. Sometimes it amazes me one person’s absence can be felt so deeply, but that’s how it’s been having him gone for months. I understand the routes he’d take and the things he’d want done, but doing any of them is a Herculean task. His moves don’t come naturally to me. Once he’s here, safe with us, life will be better.

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