Page 79 of Stolen Mafia Vows
I replay the conversation with my father in my head.He went straight to the gatekeeper, that’s what Pa had said. Yet another situation that I didn’t question because I had no reason to disbelieve them.
“Did Caleb arrange to meet my brother?”
Terry must see something in my expression that causes him to unclench his fist and sit back in his seat. “Ruairi contacted us from Ireland. It took us by surprise, but we agreed to a meeting in New York. That was as far as it went. So, if Caleb knew more than that, he kept it to himself, and that’s not how this family operates. He wouldn’t have attended a meeting alone; I’d have been right there with him.”
“So, who did Ruairi arrange to meet?”
Terry fills the silence. “And why did he lie about it?”
“Emily said that Caleb didn’t kill my brother.” My voice sounds distant even to my own ears, as I talk over the scenarios playing out inside my head. “I tried to put myself in his shoes, recently married with a baby, and the last thing I’d want to do is start a war.”
Terry pours another slug of brandy into his glass and downs it in one go. “Someone will benefit from the Murrays and the Byrnes ripping each other to shreds, and that fucker has my daughter.”
“And my wife.”
A flicker of irritation crosses Terry’s face. “The bastards will wish they’d picked on someone else when I get my hands on them. I’ll blow them sky-high. There’ll be nothing left to remind the world that they ever existed.”
Terry and my father are cut from the same cloth. If someone crosses them, they react on anger and adrenaline and suffer the consequences later. If an alliance could ever be agreed upon, we’d be unstoppable. But right now, this red-hot fury needs to be contained, channeled into the right outlets to keep Emily safe until we can rescue her.
“I think that the Murrays are the real target here. Whoever murdered my brother, and took Emily, is simply using the Byrnes as pawns. So, we start with enemy number one and work our way down.”
“We don’t have time for that.”
“We’re stuck on a seven-hour flight across the Atlantic. I suggest we make the time work for us.”
Terry chuckles. “The boys have thrown all our resources at tracking Emily’s location in the States. This isn’t the first time someone close to us has been kidnapped, and my money is on the bratva.”
“The bratva?”
The thought of Emily being held hostage by a Russian mob makes cold fear congeal inside my gut. It makes our dealings with the other mobs in Ireland and the North-East of England look like a game of toy soldiers in comparison.
“Names?”
“We have good relations with the Petrovs, but new families are cutting in on the action all the time.” Terry stares out of the window, pensive. “We all have our own patches, and provided we don’t cross any lines, it works. The same with the Sicilians. There are unwritten agreements in place.”
I recall the blonde woman I met in my father’s study. Olivia Dragonetti. Is it a coincidence that my family decides to cut her out and connect with the Murrays instead, and then Ruairi gets killed? My father is angry, understandably so. He’s grieving for his eldest son and is lashing out at the last name Ruairi mentioned in their correspondence.
Caleb Murray.
But I’m almost a hundred percent convinced that Caleb had nothing to do with Ruairi’s death, which means that we need to start looking elsewhere. Terry’s money might be on the bratva, but mine would be on the people who’ve slunk into the shadows and are keeping silent. Waiting. Watching.
But what would Olivia Dragonetti stand to gain from a war between two Irish mobs? Unless this is purely driven by rejection and hurt feelings. Only, this doesn’t sit right with me either; she’s mafia, she would move on and strike a stronger, more financially rewarding deal elsewhere.
Before I can mention the name to Terry, he reads an email on his tablet, his brows drawing lower than ever. “I fucking knew it. Caleb has pulled up CCTV footage from every airport in the state and tracked Emily to a property outside of the city.”
“You know where she is?” My heart is galloping like it can reach her before my body does if I would only set it free.
“And would you believe it?” He puffs up his cheeks and releases a steady breath through pursed lips. “This particular Fort Knox is owned by bratva.”
We’re a step closer to finding Emily. I don’t care if the man on the fucking moon is holding her, they’ve done me wrong, and they’ll pay for it. But coming at them with an army is thesurest way of risking the life of the woman I love, and I’m not prepared to put her life on the line.
“Have they demanded a ransom?”
“Nothing.”
Terry is still watching me closely, but he has visibly changed from wanting me dead to treating me like a peer regarding the situation with Emily. Perhaps he has shelved the knowledge that I married her without his permission for now, but I’ve no doubts that he’ll resurrect it the instant she is safe.
“That’s because they’re waiting for the Byrnes to do their dirty work.”
