"Is it?"
"Da."
He sighs, and I hear the creak of leather—his office chair, the one he's had since before I was born. "I'm not going to lecture you, boy. You're a grown man. You make your own choices. But I need to know your head's in the game. She's still your principal. Her safety still comes first."
"I know."
"Do you?"
"Her safety is the only thing that matters." The words come out fierce, sharper than I intended. "I'd die before I let anyone touch her."
A pause. When Da speaks again, his voice is softer. "Aye. I believe you would."
We sit in silence for a moment.
This is how we communicate—in silences and understood things.
Da raised me alone after my mother left, poured everything he had into making me capable, competent, deadly.
We don't do feelings.
We don't do heart-to-hearts.
We just... understand each other.
He's not going to push.
He's not going to pry.
He's just going to trust that he raised me right and let me handle my own life.
"What's the situation in Dublin?" I ask, steering us back to business. "The Krajncs?"
"Quiet. Too quiet." I hear him shift, papers rustling. "They made a big move at that showing—three shooters, coordinated attack. That takes resources, planning. You don't do something like that and then just... disappear."
"You think they're regrouping?"
"I think they're waiting. For what, I don't know. But it doesn't feel right. Something's brewing." He pauses. "They've pulled back from their usual operations in Belfast too. Usually they're running product through the docks every week. Nothing in the past ten days."
"That's not normal."
"No. It's not."
I think about the dark sedan. The one that watched the compound for days and then vanished. "Something feels off here too."
"The MC handling it?"
"They're aware. I'm working with them."
"Good. Don't try to be a hero. You're one man. Use the resources available."
"I will." I hesitate, then ask the question that's been burning in my chest since I woke up this morning. "Da... how long am I staying with her?"
He doesn't answer immediately.
I can picture him in his office, considering the question from every angle the way he considers everything.
The dim light from the window behind him.
