Page 24 of Irish Reign

There’s more—a discussion about staffing and how things slow down in summer and how my case isn’t likely to move forward before early fall, barring any major change in circumstances.

That means barring the ethics board finding me unfit to practice law. Teddy doesn’t say the words out loud. It’s like he’s superstitious, like he doesn’t want to risk bringing down the same fate on himself. But we both understand precisely what he means.

Finally, he stands. He dusts his hands down the front of his suit. He locks his briefcase with careful, precise motions.

I see him to the door of the conference room, and his hand is dry as he shakes mine. “I wish you all the luck in the world, Ms. Kelly,” he says.

I’m going to need it.

10

BRAIDEN

Saturday morning, I pull into the Dover airfield, driving straight to a private hangar at the far end of the compound. My Jeep looks like a second-class citizen among the luxury vehicles of the other members of the Diamond Ring, but the freeport’s other billionaires don’t seem to notice.

After years of working with Trap Prince, I know better than to shake his hand. He’ll do it; he’s not a feckin’ animal. But after, he always looks like he’s plunged his fingers into a bowl of raw tripe. So we settle for friendly nods, and he gestures for me to climb the steps into his private jet.

Half the Ring is already on board. We’ve all followed the dress code on the invitation that arrived by email—collared shirt, no jeans, no shorts. Arsene Dubois has a smear of sunscreen on his nose, but no one else has mentioned it, so I keep my gob shut.

“Anyone know where we’re going?” Carl Braxton asks, barely looking up from his phone. I wonder if he’s closing some illegalarms deal even as we wait on the tarmac. He has customers in every time zone on the planet.

“I tried to hack the flight plan, but I couldn’t get in,” Cole Wolf says.

“That’s a first.” Gage Rider is sipping a Bloody Mary that looks to be nine parts vodka.

Wolf shrugs. “I’m the one who upgraded Prince’s system. I should have left a back door.”

I’m willing to bet he’s done just that; he’s only playing hard-to-get because he wants to be one of the guys.

Steve Torrington flashes a smile that’s served the insurance executive well for a lifetime. “You’re going about this all wrong, boys. Just offer the pilot a good enough tip, and you’ll get our destination in no time.”

“Try that with my pilot,” Trap Prince says from the door. “And you’ll find out what it’s like to fly in the motherfucking cargo hold.”

We laugh, because Prince pretends it’s a joke. But no one tries to storm the cockpit with bribes. Instead, we take our seats when the pretty flight attendant asks us to. We put on our seatbelts like we’re all proper choir boys.

I find myself next to Sawyer Best, which suits me fine. The man knows the value of silence—he built his career as a military interrogator—but he’s happy to talk shop if anyone has questions about how to run a private army.

I’m not looking for soldiers. But Best has other skills I might need. I wait until he puts down his glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice. It’s early in the day for the twenty-year-old bourbon he prefers.

As we reach cruising altitude, I ask, “You do consulting work on physical security, don’t you?” The Diamond Ring is all about cutting through unnecessary shite.

“What do you have in mind?” The man is locked up tighter than a bank vault. Which is excellent for my purposes.

“I’m thinking of buying a house. Something near Philly, for my family. Temporary, for a year or two.”

“New construction?”

“If you tell me that’s better.”

“New homes already have networks built in, for surveillance, for computer security. They’ve all got windows like department stores on Fifth Avenue, but you can replace those with bulletproof glass.”

“And old homes?”

“Some of them are built like forts. They’re more likely to have property, a place where you can build a proper gatehouse, install perimeter protection, that sort of thing. Of course, some of them are money pits that can’t anchor a deadbolt.”

“I’ll probably go new. I’m moving fast.”

“Sam wants out of the Rittenhouse?”

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