She stepped out in a breath of smoke, stomping her boots. She was in her usual uniform of black, except I noticed sparks of silver tucked behind her tulle skirt. Her knives were hidden behind the fabric, probably secured to her legs with holsters.
“Though she is small, she is fierce,” Keenan almost whispered. His eyes didn’t hide how he felt about her. He looked at me and shrugged. “She’s cute, isn’t she?”
“Time and place, Keenan Ere,” I said.
My eyes narrowed on a rock-solid figure who stepped out of the car. Cash’s face was distorted through the icy muck, but his green eyes met mine, and he nodded as he adjusted his black sweater.
“Keenan,” I said, already reachin’ for the keys hangin’ from the ignition. “Who’s keepin’ my wife safe?”
Keenan put a hand to my arm. “We wouldn’t have left her without protection. And it’s none of yer men either. The man goes by the name of Mac Macchiavello. Cash asked him to come. There’s history between them, and he’s capable. He’s from New York. His wife and child came with him.” He glanced at Cash. “He’s your blood. We can trust him.”
I looked at Keenan.
“The lad went through the spin cycle himself. I remember, you know? How hurt you were when you never saw him or his twin after what happened that night. The lads were taken to New York by Maraigh. Ronan, his Da, I mean.Ach.It’s a long story that’ll have to hold for now.” Keenan stepped out and held the back door open for Fiona.
She slipped inside, and he slid in beside her. Cash took the seat next to me.
“Doesn’t hurt to have another giant next to you, does it?” His grin came slow. “We’re about to hunt down some trolls.”
“Mac Macchiavello,” I said.
“Trustworthy,” he said. “I wouldn’t have left my wife and kids behind if he wasn’t.”
He spat on his hand and so did I. We shook.
“Grand,” he said, his breath flowin’ out like smoke. “Just fuckin’ grand. I’ve been anticipatin’ the night Oran gets dethroned from his Boston seat. It’ll be good to see you sittin’ in it.”
“Everythin’ look good at the door?” Keenan asked.
“Oooh, yeah,” Cash said, all excited like. “I made sure of it.”
When Cash had come to visit me, and I told him of our plan, he offered to blow the door. He was skilled in explosives and thought it was an easier way for us to charge in.
“Nothin’ that’ll cause real damage,”he’d said.“It’ll just get you in without havin’ to dodge oncomin’ bullets before you even step up to the door.”
“We have to move fast,” Fiona said, her knee bouncin’. “Explosives aren’t subtle.”
“How long?” I asked.
Cash checked the clock on the dash. “Ten minutes. We should start walkin’ in five.”
Silence swallowed the four of us. It seemed like we were all reflectin’. My wife was always with me, but I’d never felt her this close, like she was pressed against my chest, her heart beatin’ against mine. I savored the memory of her face, the taste of her kiss, her scent clingin’ to my lungs.
The only woman I’d ever love.
The quiet must have gotten too tense for Cash. He leaned forward and turned the radio on.
Merrick.
Keenan cursed and said the man was as hauntin’ as a fecking musical ghost. Fiona’s eyes lit up. Cash went to change it, but I stopped him.
My wife enjoyed his music. It had been a part of our love story since the beginnin’. It felt right to keep it on.
Cash turned the radio off at the four-minute mark. “Let’s fuckin’ do this,” he said.
We all stepped out at the same time, decidin’ to don the ski masks, as we were keepin’ to the darkest areas of the sidewalk. Cash held up a hand when we were standin’ across the street from the bar.
He breathed out the seconds until the explosion, and as the door flew off its hinges with an explosiveBOOM!, and the chaos started, he said, “Cheers!” before we all charged the bar. Some of Cash’s men and some of mine converged, and it was an all-out bar fight as opposin’ sides came together in a clashin’battle.
