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Valentina shakes her head. “Lorenzo and I are so close. I knew from the beginning it couldn't be him.”

Declan puts his phone in his pocket. “Lorenzo is the only one I've heard from.” What nobody says out loud is that Giuseppe hasn’t called.

“When we were at the house, before we got Bronwyn outside, there was an incident.” Her eyes go to mine. I nod.

“Tell him.”

“There was a man I used to call Shamrock. He had a shamrock tattooed between his thumb and forefinger.”

“I know who Shamrock is,” Declan says. “Fergus Malone.”

“He grabbed me outside the house. I did what Torin taught me. I got away from him, and then Torin put a bullet through his skull.”

“But he wouldn't have been alone. There's no way he came here alone.” I shake my head.

“That's the question, isn't it?” Declan says. “Who's still out there? Who do we need to bring down?”

“Who is the acting head of the Boston Irish now?” Cormac asks. “Who do you know of, Declan?”

“Malone,” he says quietly. “His son was meant to take his place, but they had a falling out. I don't know the details. His son left home, and there was bad blood between them. I know that.”

Shamrock.

If Malone’s own heir walked away, the sons aren’t hiding. They’ve been shut out.

Cormac strokes his chin. “It's like fighting to find a needle in a fucking haystack. Now that your contact's dead, I'm not sure what else there is to do.”

Valentina speaks up. “I do.”

For fuck's sake. If she puts herself in harm's way…

“Stay out of this, Valentina.”

“Don't tell me to stay out of this,” she snaps at me. “I was on that auction block, McCarthy. I am the one facing the possibility that my family betrayed me. I'm the one who saved your sister from a burning building.”

McCarthy, is it? We’ll see about that.

I blow out a breath and grit my teeth. I give her a withering glare, but she doesn’t back down, the stubborn lass. “Fair point. I understand that, but I don't want you⁠—”

“To defend myself? To do what you taught me to do? Do you really have that little faith in your ability to protect me, Torin?”

Declan laughs and shakes his head. “Let me play poker with you one day, Valentina. I think you'd be a worthy opponent.”

I cut my eyes at him, but he's not intimidated. I'm losing my feckin’ edge.

“We could continue down this road for weeks. Months. Years. Don't you understand that? Do you see what's happening?” She shakes her head. “He said, she said… his contact's gone, your contact's gone. We've got nothing but bits and pieces strung together and no real evidence.”

She's right. “I don't disagree, but what is your suggestion?” I'm losing my patience.

She swallows hard and lifts her head. “Send me back to the auction.”

What?

I'm on my feet before Cormac puts a heavy hand on my shoulder and pushes me back down. “Sit down, lad. You're no use to any of us if you pass out.”

I sit, glaring at her. Christ help me when I get this woman alone.

She presses on, relentless. “You can have your power all you want, Torin, but you know what the wire is on this thing. We've painted them coming here, and it's only a fucking draw. Beat them on their own turf. And whoever it is, whoever's behind this, whoever's so fucking furious that I escaped, that you took me, and that they didn't win…”