“What? How?”
“I didn’t have time to ask. Things went south very quickly.”
Finn knew enough not to ask details over the phone, and Cian wouldn’t have been at all surprised if the feds had access to his cell phone calls.
“What do you need from me?” Finn asked.
“Your usual,” Cian answered. And that told Finn everything. He was the family cleaner for a reason. Brilliant, exacting, calm, and collected. Some days, Cian thought Finn had gotten all the sense and Connor all the fire. They balanced each other, but alone, each lacked something.
“I’ll get a couple of guys and go right away.”
“You need to be really careful. The other side might show up at any point,” Cian warned. “Go fast and go safe. Meet us at Pop’s after.”
Finn agreed and disconnected.
Cian dialed Liam next, instructing him to get their six most experienced men together and meet him at their parents’. Once he was done, he took a deep breath, trying to calculate what he’d need to say to his father to get the best response. He didn’t think his father would have a major issue with Connor killing Vasquez, but he’d have a big issue with Connor disobeying orders. Cian had spent almost half his life protecting Connor and Finn from their father’s worst traits. He wasn’t about to let Connor get a primer now.
When he arrived at the house, several of the men were at the gate, looking extra cautious.
“Connor here?” he asked as he pulled up to the gate and one of the men opened it for him.
“Yeah. He didn’t tell us what’s happening but said to step everything up a notch.”
Cian nodded. “Good. Step it up three or four notches, and I’ll be down to talk to you guys as soon as I can.”
The man nodded, holding his AR-15 across his body, barrel pointed at the street.
“We got this, Mr. MacFarlane, don’t worry about a thing,” he assured Cian.
Cian drove on through, noticing Liam had also beat him there and was waiting outside the house, leaning against the side of one of their father’s cars in the front driveway.
As Cian got out of the car, Liam stalked over, his face tight with worry.
“What the hell happened?” he said quietly.
“Connor found out where I was and came in gun blazing.”
Liam’s expression turned to horror. “Please tell me he didn’t.”
Cian shook his head, his temples throbbing. “He did. Vasquez is dead.”
“Son of a bitch!” Liam whisper yelled before kicking one of the tires of Cian’s car. “How did he find you?”
“I don’t know yet, but it was classic Connor, all emotion, no thought. He probably feels like hell about it now—”
“Like always. For all the damn good it does us. He has to be punished, Cian. You know you can’t keep coddling him, or he’ll never learn.”
Cian sighed. As family enforcer, it was technically Liam’s job to discipline Connor and prepare for an attack from the Vasquez organization. The Dublin Devils had been in only one war since Cian was a teenager, and it was long before he took over his father’s role. He’d never run the organization during war time, and none of his brothers could even remember when they’d been under siege.
“I hear you, but for now, I want to focus on making sure Pop doesn’t find out Connor disobeyed, and getting ready for Vasquez’s people. My guess is they’ll try to hit fast and hard. I need you to prepare us for that.”
The front door opened, and Cian heard their mother’s voice. “Cian? Liam? Is that you boys out there?”
“I’ll text Ricky, tell him to start getting extra security everywhere.”
“Double up whoever’s at the hospital with Jess,” Cian instructed. Then his mind flew to a pair of beautiful dark eyes, and a long, elegant leg practicing roundhouse kicks. It seemed like it was months ago rather than a day, and Lila was still vulnerable. “And make sure the Rogue girl, Lila, is being watched.” Cian tried to sound casual about it, not wanting to admit to anyone that he’d developed some sort of what…a crush? On the woman.
“Done and done,” Liam said as he texted madly.
“Boys?” their mother called again.
“Right here, Ma,” Cian answered.
“We’re coming,” Liam said at the same time.
“They should have stopped at three kids,” Liam muttered as they walked inside.
All Cian could hope was that they still had four when morning came.
Chapter 12
“So, you shot the Mexican?” Robbie asked Connor as he slid a bottle of Connemara across the desk to him, followed by a glass.
Connor glanced at Cian. “Yes, sir,” he answered, pouring himself a healthy amount of whiskey.
“You approve that?” Robbie asked Cian.
Cian stood behind Connor’s chair, his hands on the back, white knuckling the damn thing. Liam leaned against the door, quiet, but Cian knew his brother had his back like he always did.
“No, but that’s on me. I didn’t get a chance to tell Connor what we were doing. He heard I was with Vasquez and assumed the worst, came in to protect me.”
Robbie looked hard at Connor. “That true?”
“Vasquez was a snake,” Connor said, evading the question. “I wouldn’t trust him with my dog, much less my brother.”
Robbie nodded, taking a sip of his own whiskey.
“So, your first time.” He lifted his glass. “Sláinte,” he toasted.
Connor lifted his own glass and Cian noticed his brother’s hand shook when he did. “Drink that all up now,” he said quietly, giving Connor’s shoulder a squeeze. Connor nodded and drank.
“So we got a war on our hands.” Robbie’s tone was neutral, which always worried Cian. He preferred when it was obvious what his father was going to do. Cruel or charming, as long as he could predict which Robbie he’d get, Cian could manage him. But the unknown Robbie was always a danger.
“Headed that way,” Cian answered.
“You ready for that?” Robbie asked Liam.
Liam nodded thoughtfully. “I already have the guys preparing,” he answered. “We’ve moved any product that was being stored close to Vasquez territory. We’re doubling up protection at all the family businesses.”
“Defensive, that’s all defensive,” Robbie said, his jaw set. That told Cian what he needed to know, so he jumped in to preempt the old man and hopefully prevent someone getting hurt.
“Not so defensive since we just killed the head of their organization,” Cian said calmly. “The next move really is theirs.”
“Bullshit!” Robbie’s fist came down on the desk. “You declared war, you make war.”
Connor took another long drink of his whiskey, and Cian heard Liam shift behind him.
“Maybe I should have said ‘we still have the hostage and we killed their boss.’ We have the upper hand here, Pop. I don’t want to take a bunch of our guys into Vasquez territory and risk lives if we don’t have to. If we wait to see how they’re going to react, then we can make some better choices about what’s next.”
Robbie stood, his face red as he stepped out from behind the desk. He moved fast for a man who was nearly seventy and had a heart condition, grabbing Cian by the front of the shirt.
“You listen to me,” he snarled. “No son of mine is going to wait around for someone else to make the decisions. You’re in a war, you act like a damn general instead of a scared little pussy.”
Cian put his hands up, letting his father rage. One punch and he could flatten the old man, but he’d never done it, and he knew it would only make things worse. His hatred of Robbie had passed the red-hot variety years ago. It was cold as ice now, and that meant it waited patiently for the right opportunity. Someday, Cian would finish Robbie, but until then, he played his part.
“All right,” he said. “What would you like us to do? Send some guys down there and do a drive-by? Maybe go after one of their storage facilities, set a fire? You tell me. We’ll do it
.” His words were submissive, but his tone was like the ice that wrapped his heart whenever he thought of his father.
Robbie shoved Cian away like so much garbage he couldn’t stand to touch. “You hit ’em fast and you hit ’em hard. Finish the hostage, dump him somewhere they’ll see him. And knock off some of their other men when you do it. In a war, you never make a move that doesn’t include taking some of their soldiers out. The fewer men they have, the less firepower.”
Cian’s stomach turned at the idea of losing more lives. “You want this done tonight?” he asked.
Robbie snorted in disgust, but Cian could see his outburst had cost him. His skin had paled, and he was breathing heavily. “Yes, I want it done tonight. I want it done two hours ago.”
Cian subtly adjusted his shirt collar. “Okay, we’ll get right on it.”
Robbie’s attention turned to Connor. “I’m proud of you for defending your family,” he said, cuffing Connor upside the head. “Your brother wasn’t half the man at your age.” He stared defiantly at Cian, baiting him, looking like he’d welcome nothing more than a chance to take on his oldest son.
Connor nodded awkwardly, and Liam let out a sound of disgust with a muttered “Come on, Pop.”
Cian simply strode to the door and opened it, his mind already on his next move. The constant chess match that was his life had no room for bitter old men and their approval—or lack thereof.
“Let’s go, Connor,” Cian said. “We’ve got places to be.”
Connor stood and walked to the door.
“You’ll tell me after it’s done,” Robbie instructed. Cian nodded, but then his mother appeared in the hall.
“Robert Patrick MacFarlane,” she said. “I could hear you shouting in the kitchen. How many times do I have to tell you to calm down or you’ll give yourself a full-blown heart attack?”
Cian let his mother slip past him, looking down when she paused to give him a sad smile and a pat on the cheek before she bustled in to fuss at his father more.
Liam and Connor followed him out to the kitchen, where they found Finn waiting.
“Were you able to do it?” he asked Finn.
“Yeah, nobody else showed. It was quick and smooth.”
A sigh of relief washed through Cian then. The Vasquez people would know they’d killed Alejandro, but at least the feds and the cops wouldn’t have a murder to investigate.
“What happens now?” Finn asked, his voice low as all four men clustered together near their mother’s kitchen table.
“Pop wants us to hit ’em tonight,” Liam answered, his brow furrowed.
“Is that what you want?” Finn asked. Cian shook his head. “Good,” Finn said, “because I have a better idea.”
Cian took a deep breath before stepping out of the car under the street light. “You want me to come in?” Danny asked as he held the car door open.
“No, just wait here.” He looked at his man on the stoop guarding Lila’s door. “Why don’t you take a break?” he said. “Danny will be here. Come back in about thirty minutes.”
The guy nodded. “Thanks, Mr. MacFarlane. Can I grab you anything at the Starbucks down the street?”
Cian declined and then walked up the steps to knock on the door of Lila’s simple brownstone.
The door swung open, and there she stood in a tight T-shirt, yoga pants, floppy bun, and bare feet. He’d never seen her without shoes. She was even smaller than he’d realized.
“Sorry for the late visit,” he said, nudging past her and into the tiny foyer.
“Uh, did you need something?” she asked, still holding the door open.
“Yeah,” he answered, moving into the living room. “Why don’t you come have a seat?”
She stared at him for a moment, probably something to do with the fact he’d just invited her into her own house, but then she sighed, waved weakly at Danny, and shut the front door before she sat stiffly on the sofa across from the chair he’d taken.
He felt a slight sweat break out on the back of his neck beneath the dress shirt he wore. He’d tried to figure out a way to avoid this discussion, but his choices seemed to be diminishing with each day. He had to either strike the Vasquezes before sunrise or get them to agree to a deal. Finn had provided that proposed deal, not realizing the danger he put Cian in with the idea. Now Cian had about six hours to figure it out, and he needed information that only someone like Lila could get him.
He’d debated going to a stranger, someone who didn’t have a vested interest in what he did and with whom, but that was one more loose thread out there he’d need to keep track of. Lila was a fish in his tank already. It would be easier to ensure she kept her mouth shut than it would be some mercenary hacker he’d hire on the dark web.
He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, and gave her his most earnest appeal. Because he was earnest; everything he was telling her was true, and he needed her to see that.
“I need help,” he began. “I’ve been trying to negotiate something with the rivals who attacked you and my brother’s girlfriend the other night.”
“The Vasquez family,” she said.
He should have known she’d be up to speed on it. She was smart and had access to vast quantities of information.
“Things between our families have been tense for a long time. And tonight, they snowballed. I’m down to two options—one is to go to war, which will cost lives and money and draw unwanted attention to the business.”
She nodded in understanding, pulling her feet up underneath her and relaxing back into the sofa, seemingly lulled by his frankness.
“The other option is to try to trade some information for a peace agreement.”
Her eyes widened in understanding. “And you need help getting the information?”
“I do.”
They looked at one another for a beat longer, then he broke the gaze, standing and rubbing the back of his sweaty neck as he paced her small living room floor.
“Word has it there’s an FBI informant deep in the Vasquez organization.” He heard her small intake of breath. “I need to know who that person is so I can trade his name for peace.”
He turned and looked at her.
“You want me to hack the FBI?”
He nodded. “Can you?”
She snorted softly. “Of course I can.” Then she paused. “But I’d basically be signing the guy’s death warrant, wouldn’t I?”
He shrugged lightly. He wasn’t going to tell her that death would be the easy part of what the guy got. The torture that preceded it would make him grateful for the execution.
She folded her arms across her chest, and he tried not to smile at the frown that appeared between her delicate brows.
“So you need the name of a confidential FBI informant?”
“Yes.”
She sighed. “I can probably do that.” She moved toward a desktop on the far side of the room.
“There’s something else,” he added, clearing his throat as she paused midway to the desk. “You might see something—on that list. You might see another name, and if you do, you could do some serious damage to my family.” He breathed deeply, leaning back against the wall as he pinned her with his gaze. “You could cost other lives—my life.”
Her eyes widened as she swallowed so hard, he could see her throat work from across the room. He knew when she got it. Watched as her face went through the full array of responses—shock, disbelief, fear, confusion. Then, as if she’d put on a mask, she nodded once, sharply.
“Okay. I’m going to get to the file you need, and I’m going to step away from the computer, and you’re going to look at that file and you’re going to get whatever information you need from it. I won’t know what’s on it—who’s on it. I don’t want to know.”
“This is the part where I’m supposed to threaten you.”
“Yeah, I know,” she answered, sarcasm tingeing her words.
“I don’t give a damn about myself,” he said truthfully. �
�But I care a hell of a lot about my brothers. Everything I do is for them. If anything were to happen to them because of this, I would do what I had to.”
She stared at him, and she looked so sad, he almost took it back, almost told her he’d only ever killed one man, and that had been under duress. He couldn’t even begin to imagine killing a beautiful, sharp, tough little woman who hacked computers. He was a damned liar.
But admitting he had a weakness wasn’t how he played the game, and he’d been playing it a lifetime.
Lila tried to control her shaking hands as she sat at her desktop computer. She’d built it herself, piece by piece, insuring it had every single component exactly as she wanted it to be. It was her pride and joy, but now it seemed more like a device to insure her eventual demise.
He’d threatened her. After saying he didn’t hurt civilians. But of course, hacking the FBI so he could give information to a rival gangster probably took her out of the civilian category. She wasn’t Lila from Rogue working on setting up secure sales systems. No, now she was Lila the expert hacker in the middle of a potential gang war.
Yeah, he’d threatened her, and while part of her was warning her not to ignore it, because he wasn’t the head of a ruling crime family for no reason, another part of her simply couldn’t believe it. The man she’d come to know was so…decent, she struggled to believe he’d kill her simply because she knew something he didn’t want her to.
As she set up the cyber walls she’d need to surround her as she entered the FBI’s servers, she took a deep breath, letting it out slowly, willing her heart to settle into a normal rhythm.
Dammit, Lila, she warned herself. Just because he was sexy as hell didn’t mean he wasn’t dangerous. And truth be told, men like him were master manipulators, letting you see only what they wanted you to. And if anyone should know that, she should. How many times had her father seemed like the caring, attentive parent, only to end up missing her science fair or class play because he was at the track? How many times had he offered to take her for ice cream only to end up dragging her to the track so she could look at stats and odds to tell him which horse to bet on?
Breath of Deceit Page 11
