“Aiden…” I whisper his name, a tear slipping down my cheek as I realise that the boy who once protected me with his life is now gone forever.
44
DECEPTION
I have not slept in thirty-six hours!
My eyes burn, and my mind feels foggy, making it difficult to focus on anything. I don’t know how to feel. I’ve wanted Aiden Quinn behind bars for so long. I’ve wanted him off the streets and away from innocent people.
I got my wish, sort of, and I feel fucking miserable.
Katie discharged herself from the hospital as soon as she found out. We tracked her back to AJ’s house in Foxrock, where the cleaner refused to let us in, and Katie’s devastating howls could be heard from the floor above.
She was supposed to be married the day after she was abducted; now, on what should be her honeymoon, she finds out her fiancé was murdered in cold blood. There are no words—not a single thing I could utter that could possibly ease the pain she must be feeling. To make matters worse, David Walsh is in the wind.
He won’t last long. He has nowhere to run. He should hope that we catch him before AJ’s associates do. The clock isticking, and justice will be served one way or another.
I have it on good authority that AJ’s younger brother Robbie has been caring for Katie since the news broke, so she is not completely alone in this difficult time. They have each other to weather the storm.
Pat Fitzgerald saunters into my office with his head stuck in a file. “It looks like Walsh purchased the warehouse about eighteen months ago.” He does not so much as look up from the papers as he speaks.
I groan and press my fingertips against my temples, trying to ease the throbbing pain. “Why would Walsh be interested in a warehouse?”
Pat finally looks up from the files, raising an eyebrow to acknowledge me. “You didn’t hear?”
“Hear what?” I all but slam my head against the desk in frustration.
Pat opens his mouth to speak but is silenced by a loud knock on the door. “Results are back,” he says, his expression unreadable. I sit up straight, my curiosity piques as Pat reads the report, double takes, eyes bulging out of their sockets.
“What is it?” I demand.
He looks up at me, lips parted. “You’re not going to fucking believe this.”
* * *
ÉABHA
“Do you want to take the day off?” Craig asks, stepping out of his office for the umpteenth time today to check on me. His cinnamon brown hair falls into his eyes as he looks at me with concern.
I feel like dog shit; I look worse, but work is the only thing keeping me sane right now. “I’m good. I’m better off keeping busy.”
Jay practically kicks the door in; it seems to be his go to move as of late. “Have you heard?”
A sickening case of Deja vu washes over me as he makes a grab for the remote and turns on the news.
I don’t get a chance to ask as the volume increases, and I see the headline. The news anchor looks like she can taste the pay check on her lips as she speaks.
“Several bodies were pulled from the warehouse, all in various states of decomposition. The bodies are yet to be identified.”
I start to head towards the canteen. Jay’s arms engulf me and drag me back to continue watching the story.
“In a bizarre turn of events, the body believed to be that of Aiden Quinn has been identified as that of notorious drug lord David Walsh. While it is believed that Quinn could be among the unidentified bodies discovered in the warehouse, authorities are still investigating and have not confirmed his whereabouts.”
“It wasn’t Aiden…” I cannot believe what I’m hearing. It wasn’t Aiden who was pulled from the blaze, which means, “he’s still alive.”
* **
MOORE
