I stopped midway to the elevator and turned.
“Your brother heard from Esmeralda at all?”
He put his hands in his pockets, clearly uncomfortable with this conversation.
“No. She’s gone ghost.”
I nodded and continued up to the penthouse where Violet was waiting.
“Give me a minute,” I said, walking past her with my phone to my ear.
Cian picked up on the first ring.
“You good?” he asked.
“All good for now. I need you to do something for me.”
I walked by the dresser and noticed Blair hadn’t put her necklace back on.
“I’m listening…”
“Esmeralda Constanzo. I want to know what you can find on her.”
He hummed and I could hear him typing.
“Let me do some digging. I’ll get back to you.”
I glanced at the necklace again and snatched it up before leaving the bedroom, tucking it away in my coat as a reminder to put it around Blair’s neck when I saw her again.
“You hungry?” I asked Violet, meeting her at the elevator.
She shrugged.
“I could eat.”
“How do you feel about Albanian food?”
Our eyes met and there was a knowing smirk pulling at hers.
“Never had it but I’m sure I’ll enjoy it very much.”
Bringing Violet with me instead of Blair was strategic.
Not because my wife wasn’t brilliant in her own right but because dismantling an organization was Violet’s specialty and had been for a while now, long before Finnegan came tumbling into her life.
“You did this for a reason, right?” Violet asked once we were moving toward the Bronx with Lorcan behind the wheel. “Beyond me being a good weapon to have at your back, which your wife is also.”
I chuckled and nodded, head back and eyes closed.
“They used to be the best of friends,” I said, thinking of me, Finn and Blair as teenagers. “We grew up, Finn went abroad with Niamh, while Blair and I were basically living separate lives. She forgot what she means to my brothers, so I’m giving them today to get acquainted again.”
And I wanted her to feel my aunt out.
Something had been bothering me about this and I wanted to be sure before bringing it to my mother’s attention. Activating Caroline O’Sullivan was the last thing I wanted to do, especially when it came to her sister. They were all they got now and I didn’t want to break my ma’s heart like that.
“Is that what we’re doing? Getting acquainted?”
I lazily cut my eyes at her.