I finish my drink and signal for another. “We didn’t come here to discuss my personal life.”
“No, we came here to discuss the Vance surveillance. Which, by the way, has cost us a fortune and yielded nothing.”
“Pull it,” I say.
Declan blinks. “What?”
“The surveillance. Pull it. You’re right, it’s a waste of resources.”
He looks surprised. I’ve been refusing to shut down the operation for years, insisting that eventually something would break. But nothing has.
“You’re serious,” Declan says.
“Yes.”
“What changed?”
“Nothing changed. It’s just time to accept that she’s gone and I’m not finding her.”
Declan studies me for a long moment, then nods. “I’ll make the calls tomorrow.”
My phone buzzes before he can say anything else. It’s a call from an unknown number with a New Jersey area code. I answer.
“Mr. Rourke, this is Matteo Romano.”
I recognize the name. One of our contacts who feeds us information about rival operations. “What do you have?”
“Victor Vance died last night. Heart attack at his estate. Paramedics couldn’t revive him.”
Everything stops.
“You’re certain?” I ask.
“Positive. My source inside Vance operations confirmed it an hour ago. Julian Vance is taking over, but there’s chaos. Transition period, power struggles.”
“Understood. Keep me informed.” I hang up and set the phone down.
Declan is watching me. “What?”
“Victor Vance just died. Heart attack.”
His expression shifts immediately. “When?”
“Last night.”
We stare at each other.
“The surveillance—” he starts.
“Don’t pull it. Not yet.”
“You think this changes things.”
“Victor was the one who refused to cooperate. He’s the one who hid her and made it clear that pushing meant war. Now he’s dead, and Julian is in charge.”
“Julian is trying to legitimize the family. He doesn’t need the same enemies his uncle had.”
“Exactly.”
