Brush of Despair (Dublin Devils Book 2)

by Selena Laurence

  “You? You were how he knew about tonight? You’re the reason Finn is in jail right now?” Cian’s voice was like a whip, and Danny struggled, not able to get to his feet, but not able to rest his weight on his knees either.

  “Yes. I wanted money. Gambling. I’m sorry. I just thought it was games between you and the old man. I never meant for Lila or anyone else to get involved. I swear I didn’t know anyone would actually get hurt. You all like to play games. I thought it was just more of the same old MacFarlane games.”

  Cian threw the traitor onto his back, then kicked him hard in the gut. Danny coughed and retched for a moment at Cian’s feet.

  “Stand. Up.” Cian’s voice was the coldest ice, razor sharp and absolutely deadly.

  Danny scrambled to his feet, one arm wrapped around his midsection.

  “Where is Lila?”

  “I didn’t know,” Danny gasped. “I swear I had no idea he was going to do it. He called me to come over while I was driving her to the parking garage. He separated us. I never would have left her alone, I’d never have let them take her.”

  Cian punched him hard in the face. Danny’s cheek split, and blood spilled out as he groaned in agony.

  “Tell. Me. Where. She. Is.” Cian punctuated each word with a brutal punch. The rage consumed him like an inferno. Hot, fierce, and uncontrollable.

  “The last I saw they loaded her into a car with your old man,” Danny choked out as he hunched over, blood dripping from his face onto Cian’s hardwood floor. “He has her, I don’t know where. He’s going to use her to control you.”

  Cian looked at the pathetic sack of shit he’d trusted with everything most important to him in the world…

  And brought his fist back one last time.

  Robbie heard the back door to the kitchen open and smiled to himself. “I expected you nearly an hour ago.” He held a glass of whiskey above his head. “You could probably use a drink. Come help yourself.”

  When there was no response but the sound of footsteps behind him, Robbie shrugged lightly and took a swig himself. He wasn’t necessarily surprised by the cold metal ring of the gun barrel that pressed to the back of his head, but he hadn’t been sure it would happen either.

  “I’m shaking in my boots.” His tone was sarcastic, and he took another swallow of his drink.

  “Where is she?” Cian growled.

  “Someplace safe.” Robbie heard Cian’s weight shift behind him and then the click of the safety on the gun releasing. Huh. Maybe the kid had a little more to him than Robbie thought.

  “You remember the night you made me kill Uncle Dylan?” Cian asked.

  Robbie didn’t answer.

  “You remember how he told me he forgave me, and to go ahead and listen to my Pop?”

  Robbie flexed his fingers on the table, discomfort knotting inside him when he thought of his old friend.

  “I only remember a scared little boy who refused to become a man,” he snapped at his oldest son.

  Cian snorted. “I knew right then and there that Uncle Dylan was ten times the man you’d ever been. He sat in that chair without making a sound and let me kill him. He had the grace to absolve you and me, and go to his maker with a clear conscience.”

  “His maker,” Robbie scoffed. “Him and his goddamn religion. Always judging everyone, begging forgiveness for the things that gave us the power to become who we are today. While he was praying the rosary, I was out getting us territory. While he was in confession, I was in every bar, restaurant, and bodega in this neighborhood making sure they knew who was in charge, taking protection money, building a business that’s kept you and your brothers in fancy clothes and fancy cars your whole lives.”

  The gun pressed harder into Robbie’s scalp, and he stiffened just a touch, wondering how close Cian really was to pulling the trigger.

  “I don’t give a shit about the money. I’m not sure I ever did. All I’ve ever wanted was my family. But as much as you talk about family, you have no idea what it really means to have one. You bullied and threatened and beat us to get your way, and I realized that night with Uncle Dylan you never loved us, just like you never loved him. We were all just pawns. I’m not sure what would have happened if you’d had girls instead of us. Maybe you’d have left them alone…or maybe you’d have whored them out to get yourself more power. Regardless, for you, family’s just another word for weapons, and I’ve been the most important one in your arsenal.”

  Robbie’s heart beat a bit faster as he felt the tension crawling from Cian’s hand down his neck and then his back. For over half a century, Robbie MacFarlane had honed his instincts, and at that moment, they told him that he might have finally pushed Cian too far.

  “You’ll never find her without me,” he warned.

  “Don’t bet on it.”

  “Your mother—”

  “Will never know I was here,” Cian answered.

  Robbie’s heart gave a lurch then, and he moved to stand from the chair, tried to face his oldest son before it was too late, but there was a whispered curse in the darkened room, and then a strange crunch as pain rocketed through Robbie’s skull right before everything in his world went completely black.

  Cian walked briskly through the early morning chill to the nondescript sedan. He checked the surrounding parking lot before sliding into the seat on the passenger side.

  “Things didn’t quite go down as promised last night,” Don said, one eyebrow raised.

  “But you got the body and the USB drive, so you can go after the Russians,” Cian answered.

  Don adjusted the rearview mirror, doing some sort of silent communication with Bruce, who sat in the backseat thumbing through his phone in feigned boredom. “We did, and we will. But I imagine you’re more concerned about what the CPD nabbed—he’s about six feet tall, green eyes, Irish surname.”

  Cian gritted his teeth at the smirk on the man’s face. “You know I have everything you want to shut down the Dublin Devils, and that I’ll only give it to you if Finn walks.”

  Don’s gaze narrowed. “And are we really supposed to believe Liam’s lying at the bottom of Lake Michigan even though we found Sergei and his men slaughtered at the whorehouse?”

  “You can believe whatever you’d like, but my brother is gone, and you’ll never see or hear from him again.”

  Bruce leaned forward next to Cian’s ear, suddenly anything but bored. “A private jet took off from a private airstrip last night. It had filed flight plans for Florida but never showed up and hasn’t been heard from since.”

  Cian let his eyes shut briefly. He could hide the smile that wanted to spread across his face, but he couldn’t do it and maintain his stoicism. He was just too damn tired.

  “I don’t know anything about a private jet. All I know is my brother is gone, and if you want me and the MacFarlane organization, you’d better get Finn out of jail quickly.” He turned and looked Don in the eyes first, then Bruce. “You can have me, and I’ll serve up myself up on a platter along with a list of evidence so large you’ll spend the next decade doing nothing but listing the charges against me. But I need two last things—immunity for Finn, and seventy-two hours to clean up some personal business.”

  His head throbbed as he thought about where Lila might be and what his father’s men might be doing to her. But he swallowed it down and breathed deeply, exhaling slowly as he waited to hear a response.

  “You can have your seventy-two hours,” Don answered curtly. “But we hold on to Finn until then.”

  “He has a bond hearing this morning—” Cian began.

  “He’ll be ordered held without bond,” Don interrupted. “He’s a flight risk.”

  Cian nodded. It was to be expected. No judge was going to grant Finn release with the FBI recommending against it. “All right, then, you have Finn as collateral, and I’ll be in touch within seventy-two hours.”

  “What about the old man?” Bruce asked.

  Cian’s jaw locked like iron. “He won�
��t be giving you any trouble. Do we have a deal?”

  Don glanced at Bruce in the rearview again, and they seemed to come to a conclusion. “It’s a deal.”

  Cian reached for the door handle immediately, desperate to get out of the car and start the search for Lila.

  “MacFarlane?” Don asked as the door swung open.

  Cian turned and looked at him.

  “You’re not going to off yourself or something to avoid going to prison, are you?”

  Cian snorted in derision. He looked out the window for a moment, then climbed out of the car, leaning down to look at the two federal agents. “Not a chance.” I have far too many scores to settle to leave this earth yet, he thought.

  He slammed the door, and walked away. Cian MacFarlane wasn’t done, and he never would be as long as the woman he loved was out there. He’d find her, he’d protect her, and then he’d make sure anyone who’d touched her paid…permanently.

  About the Author

  Selena is an award-winning, USA TODAY bestselling author of Thrillingly Ever Afters and a teacher of English as a second language to students around the world. She’s a coffee lover, community builder, and world changer who lives in the mountains of Colorado with her family and her goldendoodle. Her favorite city is Edinburgh, her favorite color is purple, and her favorite shoes are Converse.

  Selena’s books have won the national Reader’s Crown award and the Bookseller’s Best award, and finaled in the Award of Excellence, the Holt Medallion award, the I Heart Indie award, the Kindle Book Review award, and the InD’tale awards.

  When not writing or teaching, Selena volunteers with preschool children at her local refugee assistance center, and dreams of new ways to change the world one word at a time.

  The easiest way to find out about Selena’s newest releases: Follow her on BookBub HERE.

  www.selenalaurence.com

  author@selenalaurence.com