“I’m bringing the timeline up. Tomorrow, early hours. I’ll have my men scoop him up. Meet me at the old service station on Mine Road. Use an untraceable vehicle, I’ll show you where to go from there.”
“Aye.”
“Any questions?”
“None,” he assures me.
I believe him. Men like him and me are used to getting shite done with little chatting. We like to plan, execute the plan and move on.
Suited me.
Keelan Malone and I’d get on just fine!
CHAPTER 16
MOIRA
He had a job. Now that I knew what I’d suspected but hadn’t been sure of until Jess confirmed it, I recognised the signs. The only difference this time was that he seemed reluctant to leave us, and that wasn’t good.
He needed to be sharp, to have his attention on what he was doing. I didn’t need him to be caught by the Garda because his mind wasn’t on his job.
In the back of my mind, I wonder if there is something wrong with me, since I don’t care about what he did when he left us. He dispatched bad people in a manner that was violent enough he’d been dubbed Butcher early on.
I didn’t care though. Growing up where I did, I knew that the law didn’t always punish those that needed it. And if Andy needed tobe Butcher to get rid of the scum of this earth, then I’d support him. Hell, I’d be his alibi. I’d lie up and down that he’d been with me if it meant he came home.
Maybe it was time to put mine and Jess' plan into place.
There’s a job in the works.
Jess: I know. I’ll see you this afternoon. We'll go over a plan.
Okay.
I erased the messages from my phone. I’d wait until this afternoon to get information. I knew better than to keep incriminating evidence on me.
Last night he’d kept his promise and he’d come home to me, but not before he’d gone to his place and showered. I’m not sure what the time had been, but it had been the early hours when he’d slipped back into our bed and pulled me into his embrace, curling his body around mine. He’d relaxed and fallen asleep almost instantly. It had taken me a bit longer, but eventually I’d followed him. I didn’t care what he felt he had to do to keep us safe as long as he came to my bed when he got home.
***
The bakery is closed, and I’m waiting for Jess to arrive and collect the banking. I’m nervous, and I have no idea why. I’dalready made up my mind that the Butcher’s business wasn’t any of mine after tonight.
I hoped that he’d understand why I was doing this, and not see it as a betrayal of his trust …because it wasn’t. I wanted him to know that I didn’t see the monster he thought he was and that maybe if I actually saw the monster in the flesh and didn’t freak out, he’d understand that to me it didn’t matter.
Because it didn't matter… as far as I was concerned, he was doing the world a favour while keeping me and Mikayla safe at the same time. I don’t think there was a mother out there that would disagree with me.
Jess arrived right on time to find me waiting for her. Her gaze never once left mine as she opened her bag and handed me a slip of paper.
I go to take it, only she doesn’t let it go. “Be absolutely sure, lass. Without a doubt, sure, that this is the way you want to do this. Once you see, there’s no going back. The only way out is death, and having to have you disposed of will destroy my boy. So, one last time. Are you absolutely sure?” she asks in a hard tone.
My eyes are steady, and my resolve is firm when I assure her. “I’m sure Jess.”
“Okay,” she agrees, letting the paper go, “memorise that, and then we’ll destroy it. I’ll be at yours at midnight in a vehicle you can use, and I’ll watch Mikayla for you.”
Emotion fills my chest at her support. “Thank you, Jess. I won’t disappoint you; I promise.”
“You’d better not,” she replies. “I’d hate to lose one of my best workers and someone I consider family, but make no mistake; my loyalty is to my Sean and our boys first and foremost.”
“I understand,” I assure her, and I do. It’s the same loyalty I feel for Andy.
