Page 31 of Redemption

“Lunch. Tomorrow.” Pierre-Jacques wanders toward the double doors. “Bring whoever you want. The more the merrier.”

As soon as he’s through the door, I want to start talking, but I know better than to tip my hand. Instead, the three of us show ourselves out, collecting our weapons at the front and heading for the car.

When the last door slams, Lorcan shifts to examine me. “You caught his meaning?”

“I did.” I stare out the window, my heart thumping an irregular beat. Anticipation and dread. “Carys is in Ireland.” The one person I’d do anything to protect is within sniper range of the enemy. “We need to track her down and send her home.”

Chapter Fourteen

Carys

OurplanelandsinBelfast, and as we wade through government red tape, I wonder how the PLA avoided the same process. Maybe they bypassed the whole thing. It’s what I would have done—found a loophole. Finn has nothing but the prison clothes on his back. No passport, identification, or money. Evander tracked him and the helicopter to a northern village. He’s brought a small team with him to negotiate his release.

We pile into the rented van, and one of Evander’s men navigates us north. Finn’s presence in the same country is a homing signal, flashing to the beat of my heart. “How long?” I peer out the window as Belfast falls away along the roaring highway.

At one time, Van de Berg Ammunitions had a plan to build our European office here. When I took over from my father, I decided not to pursue the investment, instead favoring more travel for our employees. The terrain around Belfast is familiar given the number of times we came to investigate the possibility of reorganizing. Between Finn’s spirit and a forgotten potential investment, the anxiety bubbling in my stomach decreases to a simmer.

“Ballycastle is about an hour from here,” the driver says.

“Is that where he is?”

“Not quite.” Evander passes me the map app on his phone. With his finger, he indicates a location outside Ballycastle along the coast. “The helicopter landed here.” He pinches the screen and points to a road. “His clothes ended up here, or at least the tracker did.”

Despair creeps up my spine. It’s a guessing game. “So, we don’t know where he is.”

“We’ve got a place to start. I’m sending my team out tonight to ask around, observe, see what we can come up with. He’s here somewhere. You and Jay will get a good night’s sleep at the hotel. In the morning, we’ll put together ideas based on where he’s located.”

“You’re not leaving us out of the plan,” I warn. The last thing I want is to wake up and find more things have gone wrong.

“No intention of leaving you out.” He closes his phone. “But we have got to be smart about this. The PLA has taken him for a reason.” He grimaces and examines me. “Is there any chance he’s workingwiththem by choice?”

I rear back as though he’s slapped me. “No. No. He wants to be with his family.” There are few things I know for certain, but that’s one of them. Finn’s unwavering loyalty is an absolute. He went to jail for me. Between death and jail, he always said he’d pick death. For me, he sacrificed his freedom. He would never betray me.

“The PLA framed Carys for the crimes her father perpetrated or for crimes none of the Van de Berg family committed. What exactly went on there isn’t crystal clear,” Jay admits. “Finn wouldn’t agree to work with them.”

But he would take them down. They tried to destroy me, and Finn has never taken threats against me lightly. The McCaffery men who came after him in the Irish bar eighteen years ago almost killed me by accident. Finn tracked them down and murdered them—over an accident. What would he do to the PLA who willfully and intentionally went after me?

I shudder and meet Jay’s gaze. The troubled expression on his face tells me everything I need to know. We’re on the same page, but for some reason, both of us aren’t giving Evander the full picture. Have we lost faith in him? Do we both suspect something larger is at work here? Even if Finn is going after the PLA, it doesn’t explain the interception of the jailbreak.

“All right.” There’s skepticism in Evander’s voice. “We’ll continue under the assumption Finn has been kidnapped against his will. We’ll formulate an extraction plan once we confirm his location.”

“Yes.” My tone lacks conviction. “He wouldn’t choose to work with them.”

“We’ll go to the hotel first so you and Jay can get settled, and I can determine next steps with my team.” He goes back to his phone. A frown mars his forehead as he clicks through various messages.

I stare out the window as my mind ticks through the possibilities. Did he screw up the extraction? Could the Volkovs have anything to do with the PLA? Someone at the prison was applying pressure to him for something. Is Finn trapped by the PLA against his will? If he agreed to the interception, why wouldn’t he have given me a way to see it coming?

Evander checks us into our rooms and then disappears into the conference center with his team. Instead of insisting on joining them, Jay and I are in the hotel’s bar and restaurant. Huddled together in a dimly lit booth, we pick at our food. Normally, I’d be relishing in the old-world atmosphere. But unrelenting thoughts keep tumbling through my mind.

“Are you thinking the same thing as me?” I ask.

He nods and takes another bite of his beef pie. “Likely. Finn’s not someone who goes quietly anywhere he doesn’t want to go. For him not to have gotten any sort of message to you since the jailbreak means one of two things. Either he’s in no shape to contact you, or he’s going along with this bait and switch for a reason.”

“But why?” Him injured or incapacitated is too much to contemplate. He’s larger than life—unstoppable—he’s survived shootings and stabbings. He’s been the conductor of his own fate for so long it’s impossible for me to believe he’s not still in control somehow.

“My gut says to take them down. The better question is: For who?”

“Hagen?” I murmur.

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