“What? He’s my brother, I can say it. We're allowed to mock each other just a little bit,” he said, and then froze as the clock above the bar read ??? in the evening. It was time for the delivery men.
Saying nothing, she followed his gaze and understood immediately. She let him lead her toward the back door.
The air here was thick with the scent of good beer and even better food, and as the music continued to play loudly in the other room, it all seemed to die away here. This was the moment they had been waiting for. She could feel it in her gut. Glancing anxiously one more time over her shoulder as Kilian in his police uniform kissed Sophie's hand, she squeezed Daniel's, hoping to offer comfort as well as receive it.
If Daniel was nervous, it didn't show. He walked as confidently as ever to the back door and let it fall shut behind them. “Easy there, Tommy,” Daniel said with a warm smile on his face as he reached forward to shake the large hand of the delivery man.
“Evening,” Tommy nodded as he looked around anxiously.
“What's wrong?” Caitlin asked before she could stop herself, and Daniel faced her.
“Nothing,” Tommy said with a shrug. “Business as usual. Got your stuff here,” he said, and offered an emphatic half laugh. It did nothing to calm Caitlin's nerves.
Daniel stepped toward the truck and opened it. The back door of the pub swung open and Kilian stepped forward followed by his fellow officers, glided long-legged across the back patio and stopped, hands on his hips before the truck.
“Kilian,” Daniel said, not a question but not a greeting.
Caitlin's pulse pounded in her ears as her stomach leapt uncomfortably. “Is everything all right Kilian?” she asked. She slipped an arm around Daniel's waist and the protective gesture that would normally be seen as endearing was comforting to warm the chill in Daniel's bones.
“Just conducting a search,” the man beside Kilian said. He stood over a foot shorter than him, but the respect that all the men gave to him, regardless of his stature, led Caitlin to believe that he was the captain.
“Why a search?” Caitlin asked, her voice hollow.
“Because,” the man said, stepping around them and not bothering to spare either of them a second glance, “festivals are prime time for terrorism and smuggling.” It took both of his arms to hoist himself into the back of the truck. Once he got inside, he stood proud as a king, surveying the many boxes and crates. “Alright, boys. Let’s do our search,” he said and snapped his fingers as Kilian stepped forward, never meeting his brother's gaze and climbed in next to the captain.
“Which box would you like me to open first, Captain?” Kilian asked.
Caitlin's hands began to tremble with anxiety.
“Whatever's closest,” the captain chuckled before turning back to the pub and squinting up into the sunlight.
“Have we done anything that will lead you to assume we’re breaking a law, Captain?” Daniel asked, his voice polite and his face ever patient.
In Caitlin's mind, no one would ever know that he was, in fact, smuggling firearms into the country.
“No, nothing in particular other than your large business being scheduled to receive large shipments,” the captain said casually as he lifted a cigarette from his pocket and ignited it. The red burning circle was all Caitlin could make out as he stepped backwards, deeper into the delivery truck. “Anything yet?” she heard the distant voice as her grip around Daniel's arm tightened ever so slightly.
“No,” Kilian murmured.
She heard the sound of a box shifting and inventory being shuffled around.
“Break open the box,” the captain said.
Caitlin’s blood ran cold as her limbs felt numb at her side. This was it: the end of the line.
“Captain,” Kilian said. “Are we to destroy property in the search of something we have no real cause for?” There was silence in the truck.
Caitlin cast a side glance at Tommy, who twisted his ball cap anxiously in his hand and stared down at his feet.
“No, perhaps not,” the captain said. “Open one more and search it. If it's clean, we’ll head down to O'Malley's Furniture. They have three delivery trucks coming by today. Now tell me, why would a furniture store need a delivery of that size over a holiday weekend?”
“No idea, sir,” Kilian said.
The sound of a wooden crate being ripped open sent a wave of nausea flooding through Caitlin’s system and the world around her began to spin.
“Are you all right?” Daniel asked as the view of the truck became horizontal.
Her head hit the gravel with a crunch.
