This Life II Read online

  “It’s a good thing your grandfather’s long dead,” I told Liam. “We have no way of knowing how far back this goes. For all we know, Ennis coulda told Gio every location of our old safe houses and transport bays.”

  “You’re preaching to the choir, lad,” he replied wryly. “But at least none of those places are still in…” He trailed off, and I was pretty sure the exception hit us both at the same time. “Ronan’s old place,” he whispered. “Shite.”

  No, not shite. This was fucking good. My grandfather used to have a safe house in the heart of Boston. Ronan would take my grandmother there for getaways sometimes too. And what if Ennis had told Gio? What we knew for a fact was that Ennis had tried to include Gio in the family well into Gio’s adulthood. Trust was a giant element, and it would make sense if Ennis divulged too much in his attempts to make Gio feel like a part of Ennis’s life. And knowing Gio’s reputation today… Christ, he must’ve milked Ennis’s desperation for all he was worth.

  “We have a place to start,” I said. “Tomorrow, we’ll head out and see if anyone’s got the place under surveillance.”

  The O’Sheas still owned my grandfather’s brownstone near the harbor, and if the Italians knew we were in Boston but hadn’t found us out here yet, the old safe house was our best bet.

  “It’s a plan,” Liam agreed. Then he smirked and put a hand on my shoulder when I turned toward the control room again. “You realize Ennis was your grandfather too, right? I mean, that’s how we’re cousins. He was your ma’s father.”

  I sniffed and brushed off his hand. “Don’t soil my bloodline with your filthy Murray facts…Murray.”

  Liam cracked up. “Fine, live in denial.”

  It’d worked splendidly for years, so yeah.

  4

  Finnegan O’Shea

  “Isn’t the house awfully quiet?” Emilia asked curiously. “I usually have a few guys asking when dinner is at this point.”

  I smiled faintly and took a sip of my coffee. I’d be drinking something stronger if I didn’t need to be alert.

  “I guess it’s because your brother and the others left,” she added.

  I hummed.

  It was only Emilia and me in the kitchen, and it was starting to get dark outside the window. She was preparing lasagna, and I was waiting. Impatiently. I checked my watch again and suppressed a sigh. I should’ve heard from Liam by now.

  Actually, I should’ve heard from Eric or Patrick by now, too. They should be back in Philly. They left this morning with my protesting father, Conn, and the Mikeys.

  Pop thought it would be unsafe.

  Did he not know what we did for a living?

  Then there was Liam. He’d taken off with Seán, Joel, and Uncle T. They were gonna scout the harbor and see if they could find any Avellinos lurking near my grandfather’s joint.

  Even though I knew those gigs could take forever, a report would’ve been nice.

  “Hey.”

  I glanced at Emilia and saw her watching me with a frown and concern in her eyes.

  “Something’s up.” She set down the knife on the cutting board and rounded the kitchen island. “Tell me.”

  It didn’t work that way.

  “Everything’s fine.” I draped an arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. “I have two crews out working, and I’m just impatient for an update.”

  “You? Impatient? Nah.” She smirked up at me.

  I chuckled, unable to help it, and dipped down to get those pouty lips instead.

  Then she reached out and smoothed a finger across my forehead. Her gaze softened. “You can’t always lie to me, baby. Most of the time, but not always. Sometimes, I see it.”

  I released a breath and rested my forehead to hers, closing my eyes. It was a strange, unfamiliar feeling to have someone who could read me so well. It was unnerving and yet not wholly uncomfortable.

  “Is everyone safe?” She eased a hand down my chest, along my tie, pausing at the buttons of my vest. When I cracked my eyes open a little, I peered down and saw she was wearing the bracelet I’d given her a few days ago. Baby-blue sapphires glittered along a thin, white-gold chain, matching her engagement ring.

  I missed the old days at times. Planning a heist was my favorite kind of rush, especially if there was a nice piece of jewelry or a car waiting for me at the finish line.

  “I hope so,” I replied honestly. “I think so.”

  Worry creased her forehead, and it stabbed at me. I shouldn’t have said shit.

  “We’ll work this out,” I murmured. “I hate the not knowing. That’s all. Once it’s over, I promise our life won’t be so uncertain.” I bumped my nose to hers. “There will even be days we’ll call mundane.”

  She finally cracked a smile, and she reached up and kissed me. “I love you, Whistler.”

  I sighed contentedly and hugged her tightly. “I love you more, princess.”

  An hour later, every ounce of contentment was gone. My brother had touched base, so I knew they were all right in Philly. If all went according to plan, they’d be back tomorrow after midnight.

  Still nothing from Liam, though.

  To err on the safe side, I’d asked Emilia to arrange a movie night in the basement for the kids. She’d brought down dinner, snacks, and drinks, and the other women were down there too. Only Emilia was allowed to come and go and pretend everything was all right. She knew it wasn’t, but she put on a show like she’d done it a million times before.

  The remaining guys were in the barn with the two Dobermans, waiting for instructions—or anything to do. Except for Colm. He was right outside on the porch. I heard him through the kitchen window, cleaning his gun.

  It left Kellan and me in the living room.

  “Remember our first gig in Europe?” I asked.

  Kellan slanted a lazy grin and nodded with a dip of his chin. “Still can’t believe we got away with it.”

  Me either. We’d accidentally stolen the wrong concept car, one that’d been easier to track and harder to sell, but we’d pulled it off. We’d found a buyer in Saudi Arabia, and my grandfather had cut his “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” speech short and offered us a good-job nod instead.

  If you fucked up but got a good result, you hadn’t fucked up.

  “You know what sucks?” I leaned forward and rested my elbows on my knees. “We’re gonna miss the Maserati show for this shite.”

  Kellan tilted his head. “Are you still gonna do the shows when this crap blows over?”

  I frowned. “Why the fuck wouldn’t I? I’m not John. I won’t sit on my ass and wait for next week’s payout.”

  He shrugged. “You might have a hard time finding a good crew. You’ve always wanted to surround yourself with mates you can trust with your life, but skippers don’t have mates. They have enemies and followers.”

  I shook my head. “You can botch quotes somewhere else, Ford.”

  “I’m serious,” he chuckled. “Everything will change when you take the big seat. Sure, you’ll have me, Pat, Eric, the Dubliners… Then what? You gonna do auto shows with a six-man crew? Good luck.”

  I sucked my teeth and scratched my elbow. We’d pulled off heists with smaller crews than that. Granted, the orders had been smaller then, too.

  Frankly, I didn’t wanna face the truth in Kellan’s statement. I wasn’t ready.

  “Change doesn’t have to be bad,” he pointed out. “Maybe you’ll—”

  “That’s enough outta you,” I griped. “I get it, I get—” My phone vibrated on the table with a call, and I reached for it, seeing Liam’s number.

  “Talk to me,” I ordered and rose from my seat.

  “I missed you too, lad,” Liam responded irritably. “Now how about some goddamn assistance? You’d think it’s Columbus Day in the city. Wops all over the feckin’ place. No—you cross the motherfucking bridge, Seán!”

  I flinched at the volume.

  Liam blew out a heavy breath. “They we
re waiting for us. We fell for the cheapest trick in the book and took the bait.”

  I ran a hand through my hair and fisted the ends as I screwed my eyes shut and cursed myself. “They didn’t know where we were, so they had us come to them.”

  “Aye.” He said something in the background to Seán, who I assumed was driving. “We’ve had a tail for two damn hours and can’t shake ’em, Finn. We have no choice but to head toward ye.”

  I swallowed hard at that and knew he was right, no matter how much I loathed it. My thoughts racing ahead to analyze different scenarios, I sparked up a smoke and headed for the hallway and the front door. Kellan went with me. Okay, heading toward us. Fuck. Motherfucking fuck. But I got it. We were in a remote place in the middle of nowhere, and we didn’t want witnesses. Christ, nothing was supposed to happen on US soil. We were too well-known to the authorities here.

  On the porch, Colm glanced over at us as we stepped out.

  “I’ll head out with five of the boys,” I told Liam. “Time for the Italians to take the bait. If we position ourselves along the road, we can take them out as they pass—and not have them come all the way to the house.”

  “That works for me.” The urgency in Liam’s voice kicked my ass into gear, and I gestured for Kellan to head to the barn. Four more, I mouthed. ’Cause he was coming with me. “Yer gonna want Sullivan to stay behind, mate.”

  “Why?” I flicked away some ashes.

  “Because he’s me best marksman.”

  I pushed down the bout of nausea at what he was implying. It wasn’t fucking coming to that.

  Or maybe I should let my arrogance and blind hope take a goddamn hike. Maybe I should prepare myself for the worst. There was a risk that they would find us tonight.

  I had to up my game.

  “Got it.” I cleared my throat and rolled my shoulders, knowing it was time to close myself off. It was that fucking wife of mine. She played on my emotions like an expert and made me be all open and whatnot. But this was work. This was the reality I faced. “Kellan!” I hollered toward the barn. It was dark, and I could only see the contrasts. He stopped. “Tell Sullivan to get in here with his gear.” Then I addressed Liam again. “I need an ETA and all the info you got.”

  “At least four vehicles following us in cycles,” he replied, all business. “Joel and Thomas are trying to head south toward Quincy and go around the city. They’ve got the same types of cars on them. Black sedans, inconspicuous except for the fact that they’re rollin’ with tinted windows. I don’t fucking get how they can track us so easily. We’ve checked for bugs. Nothin’.”

  “You reckon they’re bulletproof?” Movement caught my eye, and I flicked a glance at the kitchen window to see Emilia standing there. Definitely hearing every motherfucking word. I narrowed my eyes at her and suppressed the wave of anger that washed over me. Of fucking course my hellcat of a wife would be nosy.

  She didn’t give me the bitch brow in return. She merely stared at me with a blank expression. The only difference was a slight tightness around her eyes.

  Liam assumed the cars following them were bulletproof. He was also certain there were at least two to three guys in each vehicle.

  ETA, half an hour. That’s how long it would take them, approximately, to reach the off-ramp on the interstate that eventually would bring them to this private road. Once past that off-ramp, the area would be secluded enough to start taking them out. It would be a three-mile stretch of asphalt before they were on O’Shea-Murray property. The final dirt road leading to the ranch was about as long, two and a half, three miles long.

  We had six guys and six miles to take these fuckers out.

  Our last four guys, including Sullivan and Colm, would stay here and be ready to protect our women and children with their lives.

  Time to go tell the wife…

  She was waiting for me in the kitchen, and the first thing I noticed was that she was having issues standing still. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other and wrung her hands.

  “You don’t have good news,” she said and cleared her throat.

  I shook my head and walked over to her. This was fucking important. My heart began racing. “I want you to listen to me.” I cupped her cheeks and forced her to look me in the eye. “We’re gonna fix this, and I’m not gonna go into detail. What I need from you—and you better fucking obey me on this, Emilia—is that you stay in the basement with Colm and the others.”

  She swallowed audibly and exhaled shakily, her façade crumbling a bit.

  “We can talk about it later, or fight—whatever you want,” I murmured. “But right now, for my peace of mind—so I can do my job without worrying—you have to do as I say.”

  “Okay,” she whispered. The uncertainty shone in her beautiful eyes. Flecks of green, dark brown, and amber mingled near the center, and she closed her eyes as I leaned in and kissed her eyelids. “Are you sure everything will be all right?”

  “Aye,” I said with conviction. “This may not have been what I grew up doing, but we trained for all of it. We know what to do.”

  She nodded minutely and looked down between us. “I’ll stay in the basement, and you fucking come back to me so I can kick you in the shin.”

  I grinned and captured her mouth in a hard kiss. “You can give me all kinds’a shit later, I promise. I swear this is only temporary, princess.”

  “I know.” She slipped her fingers around my wrists and turned her face to kiss the inside of one of my hands. “I’m not gonna run, Finnegan.”

  I breathed a laugh and shook my head. Of course she knew my fears, and why I felt the need to reassure her this wasn’t the life I wanted for us. We’d get there soon.

  “I love you,” I said. It was time to wrap up. “Be strong, eh? I’ll be back soon.”

  She inhaled deeply and gave me a firm nod. “I’m not gonna freak out. Yet.”

  That’s my girl.

  Now, I only needed two minutes with Colm and to gear up.

  Liam could kick my ass later—or try—but Kellan and I had a perfectly good reason for picking two of the cars in his underground garage that he probably didn’t want us to take.

  They had custom-ordered bulletproof glass; that was good enough for me.

  The fact that they went from zero to sixty in four seconds was a bonus.

  The other boys had to settle for a Jag and an armored Mercedes. I didn’t think they were complaining.

  Fuck, how I loved this car. The engine of the black Gallardo purred as if she was seducing me, and Kellan followed close behind me in an orange special edition of the car. God bless Lamborghini. I remembered being so fucking jealous of my pop when he went to the Geneva Auto Show in 2008 for the launch of the newer models.

  “I wanna fuck in this car,” I muttered as I drove out of the gates.

  Kellan chuckled. We’d brought two burner phones so we could communicate on speaker while we drove, and still keep our regular phones open for Liam and the others. On a good stint, we could go through dozens of burners, and we always had several with us. Back in the day, before I went to prison, they’d been more expensive. Today, we could get a decent phone for thirty bucks.

  “I’m serious,” I said, fiddling with the stereo. “The leather scent alone…? Viagra’s got nothin’ on this.”

  “You got a lot of experience with Viagra, boss?”

  I threw a quick glare into my rearview. “Shut the fuck up, chuckles. We have a job to do. You can tell Lachlan and Flanagan that I want them to head for the interstate. You and I will find a place past the dirt road, and Mundy and Mack can stop here somewhere.”

  The latter two had stellar aim. Almost as good as mine. If anyone got past us, I wanted them to take care of ’em.

  While Kellan followed my order, I connected my regular phone to the dash and called Liam.

  “We’re comin’ in hot, cuz,” was his greeting. “Four cars right behind us. Youse ready?”

  “Aye.” I white-knuckled the whee
l and stepped on the gas. As I told him where we’d be positioned, I checked and rechecked that I had easy access to my guns. The short-barrel rifle I’d strapped to my calf would be my best choice if I came close enough to those sons’a bitches. Otherwise, I had two handguns. My trusty Glock, a gift from my father from when I turned seventeen, and a Sig I’d purchased once I got out of prison and became serious about going to the shooting range.

  Extra mags in my pockets and on the passenger’s seat.

  Kellan and I slowed down as we reached the end of the dirt road, and we let two of the boys pass us. Kellan pulled over on the side of the road that faced a field, and I went with the side that faced the forest. Then we got the strip of tire shredders ready before he joined me behind my car.

  I kept the door open so I could communicate with Liam.

  “We should’ve started using the mouth- and earpieces sooner,” I muttered.

  Kellan nodded and put his phone on speaker.

  “In position,” Lachlan said. “I think we see them. They haven’t reached the exit yet.”

  “Status, Liam,” I requested.

  “Almost,” he replied. “Two more cars are joining at the end. Next exit’s ours.”

  I shook my head and zipped up my hoodie. I’d had to change clothes when putting on my Kevlar vest. “We’re missing something huge,” I said. “They’re too fucking organized.”

  “They know a lot.” Kellan furrowed his brow and side-eyed me. “We can trust everyone at the ranch, right? I mean, that can’t be it.”

  “Not a chance,” I answered. “They’re all good. Everyone’s been directly affected by either John’s shitty management or the Italians tryin’a fuck us.” I trusted Liam’s word—and I trusted my own. There had to be something else. We didn’t have a rat.

  “Coming up, boss,” Lachlan told us tightly. “We’re gonna take the last three cars. They’re coming in too fast.”

  “Copy that,” I replied. “Aim for the tires. Liam, you keep driving—past us too. Get to Mundy and Mack. We’ll throw out the shredders as soon as you’re through.”