Page 65 of Redemption

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Finn

I’mdrivingLorcan’scompactcar like it’s a Formula One masterpiece. The engine is at full whine while we buzz along the highway to Belfast. We hustled out of the mansion after grabbing most of our stuff without being seen. Carys would have been pissed if I left her clothes behind, and since we weren’t being shot at, I stuffed shit in a suitcase. Couldn’t get everything.

Lorcan’s talked to Kim, and Jade dropped the truth on Carys at the end of dinner, along with a hell of a threat, so our quiet escape didn’t mean much. The urge to speak to her is thrumming through my veins, but if her voice cracks, I’ll turn the car around and go back to the mansion to hold everyone there hostage until Jade returns.

If her danger is real, confronting her right now won’t keep Lucas and the rest of them on Cape Verde safe. My usual slash-and-burn strategy won’t work. What I wouldn’t give to unleash the full force of Finn off his leash on Jade and Pierre-Jacques. No one has ever stood toe to toe with me and won. They won’t be the first.

I can only hear Lorcan’s side of the conversation in the vehicle, but his tone tells me I won’t like what’s happening. He’s mutteredJesustoo many times for me to believe there’s anything good to report. “Right, yeah. I’ll ring you back.”

“What is it?” My voice is tight with tension.

“Demid Kunznetsof was killed in a car bomb earlier today.”

“Holy shit,” I mutter and bang my fist against the steering wheel. “How are they a step ahead of us?”

“I reckon they’re more than one, brother. We’re playing catch-up on all sides.” He stares out the passenger window. “Volkovs and Kunznetsofs were in bed together?”

“Enough.” I wonder if his mind is heading where mine is.

“Who can you call to find out where Semyon and Hagen are?” Lorcan peers at me in the darkness. The streetlights flash across his serious face at regular intervals.

“I’m not asking the Volkovs for help.”

“What choice do we have? The CIA aren’t going to offer protection. I asked. Not part of your deal—or mine.” He grimaces.

“Well, screw them. Maybe I won’t fulfill my part of the deal.” Bullshit tough talk. I will because I don’t want Carys and Lucas to be hunted with me for the rest of my life.

The thought of slipping away, back to Cape Verde,hasoccurred to me. Take my woman and run. What would the consequences for my brother be if I did that? Would he end up suffering the CIA’s wrath for not keeping me under control? The only time I’ve ever thrown him to the wolves was in the warehouse when he picked Kim over me. Never occurred to me then how hard I’d find a choice between him and Carys. His position was impossible, and I don’t even begrudge him anymore for the non-life-threatening bullets he pumped into me.

“Here’s the thing,” he says. “Her sister’s revenge on her mother, on whoever else she thinks has slighted her, will play out. You’re not going to leave her threats unanswered, especially since she’s making them against Carys and Lucas. Let’s not pretend walking away is even an option.”

I let out a frustrated grunt. “I can’t go to Hagen. He tried to fuck me over in prison.”

“Then approach Semyon.”

“The old man is far more cunning than his son. If I ask him, he’ll demand something I don’t want to give in return.”

“If you don’t make the call, and she finds out later you could have saved her son and didn’t…”

He doesn’t need to tell me the lengths I’ll go to for her. I’ve been living them from the minute she dragged my ass out of the warehouse.

She’s forgiven me a lot, understands me better than anyone, and while she might not like what I have to sacrifice to keep Lucas safe, she’ll never forgive me for letting him die. “Grab my phone. Call Sean in Boston. Our organization has been eaten up by the Volkovs. He’ll know where to find Semyon.”

“I can’t talk to him.” His tone is heavy with meaning. “He’ll recognize my voice, and as far as the world knows, I’m dead.”

I squeeze the steering wheel and then rub my face. “Right. Put him on speakerphone or Bluetooth or whatever.”

He dials Sean’s number on my phone from memory, and then we wait.

“Sean Hastings.” His familiar pitch stretches across the car, yanking me back to another time and place. So long ago, and yet not. Months that’ve felt like years.

“It’s Finn. I need to know where Semyon is right now.”

“Finn? What the hell, man? You broke out of prison.” Sean chuckles. “When I saw it on the news, I wasn’t even surprised.”

“No one can keep me down,” I say. “Where’s Semyon?”

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