“This is the risky part,” I reminded him. “If your signal blockers didn’t work, they warned Siobhan and the Walshes.”
He clapped me on the shoulder. “Have faith.”
Siobhan Cosway was not at all what I expected. In fact, she was not unlike my wife in appearance. Young, maybe late twenties. Red hair, startling blue eyes, and a bonny face. Yet there was more than a glint of ice in those eyes. She wore a rain jacket, tight jeans, and wellies, and I wondered if the downplayed look was to blend into our surroundings. There was a dark confidence in her grim, clipped commands.
Before we got into port, DS Davis used the radio system to check in on the operation. Two crew members were shot, a police officer took a hit, but he would live, and Russo and the crew of theIriswere arrested. There was no sign that they’d been able to warn anyone else about the operation.
Still, it was nerve-wracking when Cosway and her two thugs approached us at the port. The commercial side of Dublin Port was expectedly noisy and crowded. We’d preregistered ourarrival with no problems, and obviously the Gardai was waiting in the wings along with officers of Police Scotland.
I played my part. “Nofishuntil payment,” I reminded Siobhan when she demanded we start unloading.
With a pinch of her lips, she gestured to the boat. “I’ll need to make sure it’s the right kind of fish.”
“Thenyou’llneed to come closer.”
The biggest bloke at her back, who had a saddle nose and the big meaty fists of a boxer, grunted in displeasure.
“I’ll be fine.” Siobhan waved him off before walking confidently up our gangplank.
Fraser wedged open the crates and lifted the board between the fish and the drugs inside to show her. It was a first time I was getting a look at the cake.
Fuck. There were thousands and thousands of pounds’ worth of cocaine in there.
“I need to sample it.”
“No one said anything about that. The longer we dally here, the more likely we are to get caught. You want to sample the fish in plain sight?”
She threw me a scathing glance before she bent over, hiding her hand inside the crate. To my shock she flipped open a switch knife that seemed to appear out of nowhere. She cut open a bag and it spilled into the crate. Siobhan didn’t seem to care one whit. Instead, she scooped a tiny amount onto the back of her other hand, tucked the switch knife into her pocket, and straightened. She wiped her hand over her nose, snorting inconspicuously. It just looked like she was wiping her face. Once she’d dusted off any remains of the powder, she stood for a second, not saying a word.
My heart felt like it was about to explode.
Finally, Siobhan turned to the men who waited below and nodded. There were a few minutes of awkward silence as herman made a phone call. Siobhan studied every single one of us, like she was searching for something. When her gaze lingered on DS Davis, I held my breath.
Then the burner phone Joshua Hughes gave me rang. I slipped it out of my back pocket and answered it, trying not to sound as nervous as I felt.
“Got the money,” an unfamiliar voice said. “Make the delivery.” He hung up.
They didn’t know, then?
Surely that meant we’d gotten away with this?
“Let’s unload.”
The next fifteen minutes were probably the worst of the operation as we drew closer to bringing this thing to an end. After all, the plan was that as soon as these crates started going into Cosway’s van, simultaneous arrests and raids would begin.
My heart was in my goddamn throat as we carried the last of the crates to the delivery vehicle. I’d just backed up from handing over one to Siobhan’s goon when everything slowed down as shouts of officers poured into the scene, guns raised and pointed at the Cosways. I was pushed to the side, stumbling back into Fraser as the undercover officers moved into position too, guns magically appearing in their hands. I didn’t have time to wonder where they’d gotten the weapons because one of the men with Siobhan wouldn’t lower his gun.
Siobhan was already on her knees, hands behind her head, multiple weapons pointed at her face. The others were surrendering and lowering to the ground.
Except that one.
The one with the saddle nose.
His gaze swung frantically along with his gun until it alighted on me. Expression morphing into rage, he said something I couldn’t hear over the noise of the shouting officers as he pulled the trigger.
45.London
It felt like the hospital floor bobbed and weaved beneath my feet as I hurried through its halls. Like I was on a boat, ironically enough. Despite the assurances around me and the feel of Ramsay’s strong hand on my back guiding me through wide corridors with floors that squeaked underfoot, I was overtaken with panic.
