BRODIE
IDREW IN A DEEP BREATH ASIPARALLEL PARKED IN FRONT OFREILLY’SPUB, A SMALL DISTANCE AWAY FROM THE HIGH RISE WE’D BEEN AT EARLIER. The street was quiet, one guy loitering with studied nonchalance on the next corner and an old woman dragging a box to the curb across from us and muttering to herself.
The old woman was legit, a longtime tenant in the building she was now entering. The man was one of King’s men, one of several lookouts we stretched throughout the vicinity to keep our clan leader safe.
Reilly’s, a nondescript hole in the wall with the traditional grimy shamrock on its sign, was King’s standard meeting location when he had heavy business to attend to. Kael had driven over before us, intending to go ahead of us to soften his father somewhat.
Emery and I stepped out of the car and were greeted by two of King’s men. Liam and Shannon stalked immediately from the shadow of the pub foyer and the adjacent alley, revealing they’d been waiting for us.
“Shannon,” I greeted the red-headed one levelly, biting my tongue as they conducted both of us to a brisk weapons search. He grunted and Liam smirked in my direction. Emery tensed, one hand balling into a fist, but she held steady. A ridiculous surge of pride welled up within me. She had come a long way from the woman I had met several weeks ago, one on the brink of incipient panic any time a man neared.
Shannon removed the gun from my waist band and the knife strapped to my ankle. I didn’t make a fuss. I had known they would be removed as soon as we arrived.
Kael was waiting inside. The look on his face was more somber than usual, and I knew the meeting with his father had not gone well. Taking him by the elbow, I walked us a few steps to the side and bent my mouth closer to his ear. “If things don’t go as planned, I need you to promise me something.”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, brother.” Kael’s face was pinched, concern visible in his eyes. Despite this, he exuded a kind of arrogance that assured me things would work out the way we needed them to.
“No, this needs to be dealt with now. If things don’t go the way I need them to, I need you to promise that you will get her out. That you’ll keep her safe.” I couldn’t do this without the assurance that it would be worth something in the end.
Kael gave a clipped nod. “It’ll be done. You have my word.”
Turning on his heel, he walked swiftly away, motioning for us to follow as he led us down a dim, dingy hallway to where King waited.
Tension filled the air as we stepped into a tiny back office. King was seated behind a scarred metal desk and looked up from beneath his brows as we entered. He raked his gaze over Emery—up, down, and back again—before he finally turned it on me.
“It appears we have a problem, boy,” he said. “I never would have expected you to betray us for a hot piece of ass.”
Beside me, Emery stiffened. I squeezed her hand to remind her to keep her mouth shut. The last thing we needed was for her to get fired up and talk us into an even deeper pile of shit then we were already in. “Respectfully, that’s not what this is, King,” I replied.
He leaned back in his seat, the springs squeaking under his weight. He was a classic dark Irishman, large but fit for his age, dark hair turning gray at the temples, blue eyes keen. “Well, do tell. That’s the purpose of this little meeting, is it not?”
It was clear that this was not going to be an easy sell. I opened my mouth to lie. “Emery is my fiancée. She has been for some time.”
King arched a single eyebrow and then tilted his head, clearly searching for proof. I lifted Emery’s hand so the emerald in my mother’s wedding set caught the light.
“Is she now? And was she your fiancée prior to receiving my instructions?”
“She was, sir.” I kept my eyes steady on him, aware that without seeming to do so, he was watching me for any indication of a falsehood. “I met her over Skype when I was there in Jessup Falls helping her friend. I fell for her.” I forced a grin to my face and pulled Emery in tight against me.Be convincing, macushla.“You know what happens when an Irishman falls.”
“Aye. He does stupid shite.” King’s laugh was humorless.
“My apologies, King. I was taken off guard when I received the dossier and didn’t know how to handle it. When you sent Carson I panicked.” I shifted my weight, hating the insult I was delivering to myself. Panic was not a word that had ever been in my vocabulary. I’d been making hits since I was a lad, and I’d been solid fecking steel through every one of them. But I’d take the offense if it meant Emery’s safety.
“I don’t pay you to panic, boy.” King templed his fingers and then spoke again, not waiting for a response. “But that’s secondary to the matter at hand. This isn’t something that’s going to simply go away, Gallagher. You may be engaged, but we have a client who paid to have this young woman taken care of. I’m not in the habit of going back on my word.”
“Da. You know our credo.” From the side of the desk, his position of respect as Donegal’s right hand, Kael spoke. King shot him a sharp glance, silent reproof at the interruption.
“Aye. The credo.” Sharp eyes landed on Emery broodingly. “Are you familiar with our credo, lass?”
In my peripheral, I saw Emery’s chin rise the tiniest bit. “I am.”
“And how did you come to learn of it?” He was digging, I knew. He wanted to know if that ring sparkling on her left hand was there because of a statement of belief that would save her life, or if it was real and true. I squeezed her hand again.Convince him.
“Well.” The south was loud in that one word and inwardly I smiled. “When Brodie put me in the car to come here and speak to you, I was a little perturbed. Because…assassinations and such.” Behind his father, Kael shook his head and looked down at his feet to hide a grin. Emery looked up at me adoringly. “But he explained that since I was his fiancée, and would soon be part of the family, that your code of honor protected me from all harm. He said honor meant everything to the East Coast Irish, and they always defended their innocent.”
King shifted in his seat. Raising a hand, he rubbed at the skin beneath his eye with a single finger. I’d seen the gesture many times over the past fifteen years. It was something he did when conflicted or faced with a big decision. “Hmph. It does change things, I will have to agree.” He turned to me. “But I don’t appreciate the way it was handled. Now. Kael…take the lass to the storeroom behind the bar and leave her with Liam or Shannon. We will discuss the matter privately.”
Shite.He didn’t believe us. After the briefest of hesitations, Kael came forward and motioned toward the door. “Ms. Bishop.”
