Page 75 of Redemption

She doesn’t say anything else but goes back to looking out the window. I wish we were alone, so she’d let me into that head of hers. She’s keeping too many thoughts rattling around, and I hate not knowing what they are. The expression on her face makes me think they can’t be good.

Lorcan steers us toward the Byrne family estate despite the early-morning hour.

“What are we doing about the two of you?” Thomas knows my brother very well, and he met Kim during a business dinner when she worked for us.

They exchange an uneasy glance in the front seats. “Until we figure out what the PLA has planned, last night proved we need protection. They aren’t going to let us do whatever we want while they execute their plan.” He meets my gaze in the mirror. “What do you reckon Thomas will think about me not being dead?”

“He’ll know we’ve cooked up some sort of scheme.” Would he assume the FBI or CIA were involved? Why would the government declare Lorcan dead otherwise? “Not sure he’ll believe there wasn’t high-level intervention.”

Kim’s thumb brushes Lorcan’s cheek, tenderness in her gaze. “The CIA doesn’t want us to reveal ourselves. Holing up in a hotel for however long isn’t a great option either.” He covers her hand.

I stare out the window as we creep closer to the Byrne residence. Like many of the other mafia families, they once had a large estate far from the city borders with various smaller properties in the downtown core to move people or products. Now, their country property is nestled on the edge of the city, in danger of being consumed by urban sprawl.

Thomas commented on the developments when he came to Boston to visit and saw how our privacy was eaten by the expanding city limits. The Donagheys have a long history with the Byrne family, and if Lorcan reveals himself, we’ll be counting on those connections not to sink us.

“I’ll go in first. Everyone else wait in the vehicle. I’ll find out about the PLA plan, and then I’ll ask for protection while we go after them. I know we’ve got the CIA at our disposal once we’ve uncovered the details of the scheme, but until then, we might be wise to have more manpower,” I say.

“You reckon Thomas will give us that?”

“Depends on why he turned down whatever they wanted from him in the first place.”

“You think I’ll be all right to reveal myself?”

I stare at him in the mirror, and he’s not going to like my answer. “Only one way to find out.”

Kim slides her hand along Lorcan’s arm to grip his fingers.

She should be worried. I haven’t got a clue what I’m walking into when I enter Thomas’s estate, but I realize we need his help, and I’ll do whatever I can to secure it.

“I want to come with you,” Carys says when Lorcan drives into a parking lot about a half mile from the entrance to the Byrne complex.

My first instinct is to tell her no. She’s covered in Jay’s blood, and I don’t know how Thomas is going to react to my request. Technically, I still owe him a favor from a few months ago. There’s more of a tit-for-tat aspect to our relationship rather than my take-take-taking. I’ve got nothing to offer yet. Maybe a nice vacation in Cape Verde in the future, but there’s no immediate gain for his help.

At my hesitation, she sets her jaw. “I’ll rephrase that for you. I’m coming.”

With a sigh, I climb out of the back seat and make sure Jay isn’t going to topple over. Carys has kept him comfortable with various painkillers during the drive. He’s barely been conscious long enough to hear how and why he was shot. I have a feeling he’ll need the story repeated once the drugs wear off.

She slips out the other side behind me and links her hand with mine while we start down the street lined with residential row houses and tiny gardens out front.

“You’ve been quiet since Jay was hurt.”

“Yeah.” She clings to my arm. “I was terrified he was going to die. And then… and then, talking to John made me realize how far apart my father and I have drifted. I don’t know anything about his life anymore. That should make me sad, shouldn’t it? But—I don’t know—I don’t think it does.”

I kiss her temple and remain silent. Her father is a shit, but her relationship with him has never been that simple.

“I’m forty-six. Shouldn’t I be over this?”

I chuckle. “Over a shitty parent? Nah. That’s not a thing. We carry that dysfunction with us. I’m damn sure going to try my best to be better to Lucas than my father was.”

While we walk, she rises on her toes and kisses my cheek. “You’re already a better father for wanting to be your best.”

We’re nearing the guarded entrance of Thomas’s house, so I don’t say anything in response, just squeeze her hand. We’ve got miles to go before I get to put my fatherhood prowess to the test again. I don’t even know Lucas anymore, and the thought brings a brief pang of sadness before I push it down. I’m going to have a lot to make up to him and Carys when my sentence is done.

We approach the crew of guards, and one comes out of his guardhouse on the other side of the gate.

“We’re here to see Thomas Byrne,” I say.

The guy checks his watch and squints at us. “Mr. Byrne doesn’t have any appointments this morning.”

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