Page 81 of Honorable Sins

Kara gives instructions to Conor and Rory where to take Fitz. Not toward the exit.

I shove Dreadlock Guy away from them. Right into Brice, who greets him effusively with deadly friendliness, a hand on either side of his neck. I keep Dreadlock Guy in place while Brice executes a carotid artery pressure maneuver.

The would-be kidnapper sags into unconsciousness as the train pulls out of the station. Brice follows my lead toward the maintenance tunnels, our captive a dead weight between us that none of the sparse crowd left on the platform after the last train's departure notice.

Once we're inside the tunnel, we take the time to zip tie Dreadlock Guy's wrists together behind his back before he wakes up.

He's groggily staggering between us by the time we reach the secret access point to the Bunker where Fitz and my men are waiting.

The soldiers don't know about this entrance to the Bunker. It's for the boss and underboss, in the case of extreme emergencies and it's the one secret my father-in-law has managed not to expose to our allies.

Kara knows though. I told her. And now Rory, Conor, Brice and Fitz do too.

I'm not worried. I can trust them to keep their traps shut about it.

Fitz stands between his uncles, his gaze fixed on Dreadlock Guy as we march him forward. "Where's Sadie?" he demands in a fair imitation of my deadliest tone.

It's enough to make an Irish father weep with pride.

If this Irish father had ever wept before.

"Is that Fitz?" Kara asks in my ear.

"Aye," I assure her.

Before I can answer Fitz's question, Dreadlock Guy stumbles, then he shifts down and up, driving into Brice's diaphragm with his shoulder. My second staggers back a single step, but it's enough.

Dreadlock Guy turns and starts sprinting down the tunnel back the way we came.

I pull out my Vanta, aim and shoot his foot as it lifts backward on the next step. His shout is louder than the shot and I'm ragin' all over again at the thought of the Vanta we're going to have to retrieve from the Subway tracks.

No need to guess where he got the whisper gun. Kenneth bleedin' Shaughnessy.

My quarry drags himself to the wall and gets up onto his still usable foot before trying to take another step, dragging his bloody appendage behind him. He's a stubborn motherfucker, I'll give him that.

But he crumples on the next step.

He's not going anywhere.

I turn back to my son. "Sadie never left her apartment. I checked on Maureen and the girls as soon as I heard about the hit on Wraith and Áine."

Fitz wilts a little. "Good. What about her parents? His text said they were dead."

My son doesn't sound like he believes that. He shouldn't.

"Wraith is getting Áine checked out, but they're fine."

"I didn't think Wraith would let anyone get to them," Fitz says with conviction.

Before I can answer, Kara says, "I want to talk to our son."

The programmed signal for someone joining or leaving the group call sounds. A couple of seconds later, Fitz jolts and grabs his phone out of his pocket.

"That'll be your mam," I tell him.

He answers. "Mom? I'm sorry." He pauses and looks a me like a new recruit facing Brice across the training mat for the first time. "She's crying."

I turn and shoot Nyström's other foot, his howl of pain music to my fucking ears.