“Like I said, it doesn’t matter to me anymore. But a man like Tiernan, he doesn’t delegate family problems. He acts.” He flicks his gaze to the rooftop again. “If I don’t call him to confirm you’re dead in the next five minutes, my wee little sister will be.”
“You’re a fucking piece of shit, Donal,” I hiss.
Leo again, urgent now. “Matteo, you want me to take the shot or not? Call it.”
“Hold,” I grit out.
Donal lifts his palms like a benediction. “Run after me if it makes you feel like a hero. But while you chase the old dog, the wolf is hot on her heels.”
I take one step. He takes none. The van door whispers open behind the dock ramp, then a shadow shifts above on the scaffold. We are seconds from the net.
He sees it all and still doesn’t blink. “Last chance, boy.”
“For what?” I snarl again.
“To decide who you’re saving.”
The word boy lights a fuse, but panic drowns anger fast. I picture Cat turning north, the wind at her hood, her phone buzzing. I see Tiernan in my head with that razor smile and old-world patience closing a hand. I see a narrow street that smells of trash and old laundry and a copper-haired woman who thinks she can outrun a dynasty.
I lift my chin like I’m about to lunge and Donal’s weight shifts to meet it. In the microbeat his eyes cut to my shoulder, I drop mine and reach for my gun. His hand finds the holster, and my shot rings out. It hits his arm; he flinches, only a fraction, but it’s enough. My men move.
Donal’s faster.
He slams back into the wall, thumb already on a black fob. A disguised service panel leaps up from the brick wall, metal shrieking, and two warehouse workers I didn’t see—his, not mine—drop smoke canisters like they’ve rehearsed it. The alley fills with a gray bloom.
“Back!” I cough, choking, and eyes burning before dropping to the ground. The world reduces to silhouettes and coughs, boots on the pavement, and a volley of gunshots. By the time the dark cloud thins, Donal’s gone. He either climbed over the wall or up through a warren of loading bays.
Leo appears at my elbow, a scowl carved into his jaw and eyes pissed. “Sorry,capo. He came with backup we didn’t clock. We lost him.”
“I heard,” I rasp, wiping grit from my mouth.
“Orders? Ale is going to want?—”
“No.” My voice steadies. The wrong call here costs me everything. Donal is a threat. Tiernan is an extinction event.
I yank the phone from my pocket with a hand that won’t stop shaking and pull up Cat’s dot. Still north, moving. I don’t have proof Donal told the truth, but I don’t have the luxury to doubt it.
“Pull the teams off me,” I shout at Leo. “Split up. One crew keeps eyes on the Irish’s known bars, stash houses, and the pier by Gansevoort. The rest stay south searching for the female trigger. Quiet. No uniforms, no Gemini insignia.”
Leo’s brow furrows. “But Ale?—”
“I’ll handle Ale.” I’m already moving toward the mouth of the alley, lungs still burning. “Tiernan and Donal are in play now and trust me, they’re much worse.”
Leo swears under his breath. “Got it.”
The light outside has gone hard and narrow between the buildings. Traffic surges, oblivious to the panic surging in my gut. I dart into the chaos, thumb flying over the screen as I figure out a route to intercept that blinking dot.
Me: Tiernan is here. He’s coming for you.
I wait for the reply, my heart a manic drumbeat kicking at my ribs. Nothing.
There’s a ringing in my head where her gun butt kissed my skull. It keeps time with a thought I can’t quiet: If Tiernan gets to her first, I’ll lose her. Forever.
Midtown opens ahead of me, a maze of business suits I’ve always known how to cheat. I take the first corner at a sprint.
Hold on, Kitty Cat, I’m coming.
CHAPTER 22
