“Don’t let us down,” Tiernan growls, voice hoarse with grief. “That piece of Italian shite took my son from me. It’s only right his death come from you.”
I nod again.
He’s right. I was his fiancée. It’s my duty… then why does it just feel like another collar? Another punishment, another threat…
Something changes in Tiernan’s expression, the grief gives way to something darker. “You owe Eoin this, girl. It’s blood for blood.” There it is. He snatches my wrist, squeezing. “And if you fail, I’ll make sure the debt is closed another way.”
My chin dips but in my head, I’m somewhere else. I’m eighteen again, standing barefoot on a hot stone sidewalk. Matteo’s lips are pressed to my collarbone, his whisper searing my skin. The sea breeze carries his laugh, and I was young enough to believe it meant forever. I mourned Matteo’s loss more deeply than I have Eoin’s. And that guilt tears through me.
“You’re unforgettable, Kitty Cat.”Matteo’s voice, deep and warm, echoes through my mind.
Liar.
“Your flight is at dawn,” Donal says, rising to his feet and clapping me on the shoulder. “You’ll be met in Manhattan by a contact from the Murphy clan. They’ll keep you off the radar while you work.”
“Where will I find Rossi?”
“He spends most nights at some nightclub his fecking cousin Alessandro owns. The Velvet something.”
I already know the name. I’ve known for weeks. I just wanted to hear it spoken aloud. To make it real.
The Velvet Vault.
The same place I saw him laughing last week in a security camera still. Alive and whole. Not a single crack in that golden-boy armor of his.
“I still can’t believe you’re letting Alessandro Rossi go free and clear,” my brother hisses at Tiernan. “He’s the one who stole Conall’s woman. He deserves a bullet in the head just like his cousin.”
“That’s not our business,” Da snarls.
Tiernan remains silent for a long minute. “Eoin was my son,” he rasps. “Conall dug his own damned grave.”
Besides all of Conall’s immediate family is dead. There’s no one left to call for his vengeance. Clearly, Tiernan is too distraught over his own son to care about avenging his nephew for now. But if I succeed… who knows whose life they’ll demand next.
“Don’t come back unless his blood is on your hands,” Da growls, draining the last of his whiskey.
I stand, give a respectful nod to Tiernan, and leave without another word.
Outside, the wind howls and the rain cuts sideways across my cheeks. I welcome the sting. Let it sink in. Let it remind me.
This isn’t a job. It’s penance.
And when I put Matteo Rossi in the ground, it’ll be for Eoin.
But also for the girl I used to be.
The one he left behind.
I step through the automatic doors of JFK airport, my boots silent on the polished floor. A wisp of my new bottle-blonde hair falls across my forehead, and I quickly push it behind my ear. I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to the new color, even though it’salready been months I’ve been dyeing over the brilliant ginger. An assassin shouldn’t stand out, shouldn’t call unnecessary attention… I was trained to be a ghost. My eyes are hidden behind oversized sunglasses, my slim figure beneath baggie sweats, my locket tucked under my shirt. Not that anyone’s paying attention. In a city of millions, a girl like me disappears fast.
A blacked-out SUV idles at the curb, engine purring like a well-fed panther. I don’t have to guess, I know it’s my ride. The man leaning against the driver’s side door clocks me instantly. Young, maybe mid-twenties, just a few years older than my twenty-two. Dark hair cropped short, leather jacket open over a tight black tee, sleeves rolled to reveal ink winding up his forearms. One brow lifts as I approach, a lazy grin curling his lips.
“You must be McKenna.”
I nod. “Caitríona.”
He pushes off the car and opens the passenger door for me like a gentleman. “Sean Murphy. But you can call me whatever you want, gorgeous.”
Throwing him a scowl, I throw my duffle in the back and slide into the seat without a word. He shuts the door behind me and climbs into the driver’s side before he shifts into gear and pulls into traffic. We drive for a while in silence, and I take it all in. With the jet lag, I can barely keep my eyes open, but I persevere all the same.
