“Within the hour.”
“Cool. I’ll get some breakfast and coffee in me, then meet you at the front in about thirty?”
“Sounds perfect, and Eamon, don’t be too rough on Keeva. I nearly died, and as much as she doesn’t want to admit it, she’s having a hard time coping.”
Eamon swallows, and the room grows thick with silence. “Do you plan on telling her everything, or are we going to keep lying to them?”
“We’ll tell them when the time is right,” I mutter, not wanting to talk about this. It isn’t the place. Delaney could be coming around any corner, and unfortunately, I don’t have sisters who can let things go. They want answers, and they’ll drill into you until you give them what they want.
* * *
Eamon took me into the city, but before he drove to my sergeant’s office, we grabbed another cup of coffee. It was at one of the chain restaurants my cousins own, Maeve’s. Their first location opened twenty-something years ago in Dublin, and now it’s become a staple pub for every big city in Europe. I imagine it’s another way for them to launder money, but Liam hasn’t confirmed it as of yet.
We’ve just been cleared through the checkpoint and we’re heading up toward the office building. Eamon parks the car, and I’m sure the men who left the estate in a bulletproof SUV behind us aren’t happy. They can’t get on base, so they’re stuck parked on the side street until we come back out. Luckily for all of us, we’re safe here.
I exit the vehicle and make my way up the small stairwell leading into the office. Just like every other time I’ve been here, my body goes into complete autopilot mode. I say hello to Veronica, the secretary sitting outside my sergeant’s office, and she waves me on through.
Eoghan sits behind his desk and shoots me a fake smile. “Keenan, please have a seat.”
He rises from behind his desk the moment I sit down and walks toward the doorway. He shuts the door and comes back behind his desk, sits in his chair, and opens his typically locked drawer. I have two choices right now. I can sit here and wait for him to rip my position from me, or I can tell him what we both damn well know is about to happen.
I think the latter is the better of my decisions.
I look right at him and clear my throat. “I’m being medically discharged, aren’t I?” It’s better I am, that this life is something I leave behind. In my heart I know it, but it doesn’t make anything easier right now. If I’m going to have a choice, I’d rather it be my own, not something decided by a bunch of people in a room who only know me by the facts listed on a sheet of paper. But sadly, I don’t get this chance. I’ll lose all benefits if I do.
Eoghan nods in confirmation. “Yes. The medical board who oversaw your case believes it’s too dangerous to put you in a position where you could get hurt.”
“You mean one where I could be the reason others get hurt.” I know what Eoghan is trying to do. He wants me to believe the best, to think I’m not a liability, but the fact of the matter is right in front of me.
Eoghan and I stare at each other for a few moments before he clears his throat. “I’m telling you what they’ve told me, Keenan. I’m so sorry to have to do this, but I’m afraid we don’t have a choice.”
Over the next thirty minutes, Eoghan goes over everything with me, and I’m officially no longer an active member of the Defence Forces. I go out to the SUV, and Eamon and I both leave the base. We’re about a mile away when my phone starts to ring. It rings and rings, but I don’t care. This is all so odd. Everything has changed drastically over the last few weeks. I went from living in a rough area, in the home my mother died in, working for the Defence Forces, and now I’m becoming a high-paid boss in a criminal underworld.
“Are you going to answer that?” my brother asks me.
Being pulled back into the moment, I answer my phone. “Hello?” I wish I would’ve looked to see who was calling.
“Keenan, how’re things going?” Liam asks. The man must have some sort of spidey senses.
“I’m good. I was going to call you in a bit. I’ve been medically discharged from the Defence Forces.”
Liam sucks in a breath, and for a moment, things are silent between us. “I see. How do you feel about the choice they made?”
“Honestly? I don’t know how to feel. Blessed in a way because I needed to get out somehow, but I’m not one who likes when things are taken from me.” I glance out the window and watch the people on the streets. They’re smiling under their umbrellas while they talk to their friends or as they’re walking their dog.
“It’s understandable to feel impartial at the moment,” Liam adds.
“Mhm. On the plus side, this makes things easier for us,” I say while I feign a laugh.
“That it does, but I would’ve found a way.” Liam’s tone sounds promising, almost as if he thought about a few ways to make sure I wasn’t part of the Defence Forces. I doubt he had any hand in my medical discharge, but I’m certain he’s the type of man who has enough power to make things change.
“I have no doubt you would’ve.”
Liam and I stay on the phone for a while, discussing what my role as a manager for his shipping companies means. If it weren’t for the fact I’m beginning to learn about him, I’d assume he’s telling me a job role I’m actually going to end up doing. But I know better. He’s only having this conversation with me in case people are listening. By the time we end the call, even I question what in the bloody hell I’m doing for him, but we agreed we’d meet up in a few weeks to go over everything. For now, all I need to be worrying about is getting better.
I promised Delilah I’d take her out to dinner before all this happened in London, and now that I’m getting around okay again, I want to keep the promise I made her. I made reservations at a nice restaurant in the heart of Belfast. If this were a few weeks ago, I wouldn’t have been able to afford to take her to a place like this.
The member of my security team who drove us dropped us off at the door and handed the keys to the valet. He walked closely behind us, keeping eyes on everyone within a close proximity. We went up to the hostess, and she took us up an elevator to the second floor, where she guided us to a table over by the windows.
