Cian nods, understanding why I’ve asked this.
The safest way to deliver a message is face to face. I can’t assume Sean doesn’t have access to her phone. I’ve learned that everything is possible when Sean Kelly is involved.
“Aoife doesn’t live far from me. I can do that.” He doesn’t ask questions as he knows it’s best this way.
I hang up, hopeful this will work.
Throwing back the rest of my whiskey, I decide to call another person—Ron Brady.
He wasn’t at the meeting with Sean, but the fact he’s called me numerous times means he still believes I can pull off what we agreed on before shit hit the fan.
“Punky?” he answers, his surprise evident.
“Hi, Ron. Thanks for answerin’.”
“I thought we’d lost ye, lad,” he says. “Can ya meet at Bull and Crow in an hour?”
I’d forgotten about the conversation I had with Ollie Molony, the pub owner. He made it clear he wanted nothing to do with the Doyles as they were exploiting him and many others. With Brody now gone and Sean back, I wonder if his stance is the same as Ron’s.
“Aye. I’ll be there.”
With that organized, I decide to call a taxi, seeing as I don’t have a truck anymore. But Cian shakes his head.
“I’m comin’ with ya.”
“Naw, Cian, y’ve done more than enough.” I don’t expect him to fight with me.
“I just want this done,” he reveals, tossing me his car keys. “None of us are safe until this is sorted. Once and for all.”
He’s right.
I don’t know how this will end, but I’ve got to try.
I nod, grabbing my gun and placing it in the small of my back. “I wish I could promise ye we’re gonna win this, but I don’t know that.”
“Then we’ll die tryin’,” Cian says. “This is it this time. This is our last chance.”
“Aye, so it is.”
With nothing left to say, Cian and I leave my gaff and make our way to Bull and Crow.
Sean hasn’t summoned me—yet. So I want to make this quick. If anyone sees us, the cover of having a pint will be believable.
I park the car, unbelieving how quiet things are. This place used to thrive, but thanks to the closed down shopfronts which are bricked up, it’s a shell of what it used to be. Cian and I enter the pub, and when we make eye contact with Ollie and Ron, Ollie gestures we’re to take a seat in a booth.
There are ten patrons, drinking and playing pool, harmless enough. But I treat everyone as the enemy.
Ollie places four pints on the table and takes a seat near Cian. We reach for our glasses casually.
Ollie leans in close. “I’m happy to see ye, Puck. I heard what happened. What can we do to help?”
Ron takes a seat near me, examining our surroundings before speaking softly. “He has Camilla, does he not?”
Ron isn’t stupid. He knows the only reason I would side with Sean is because he has something I want more than life itself.
“Aye,” I reply, sipping my pint. “I don’t know where she is. Until I find her, I’m forced to do Sean’s biddin’.”
“That bleedin’ arsehole,” Ron mumbles under his breath. “I knew it. I knew ya wouldn’t do this without reason. Have ye any idea where she is?”
“None,” I reply, gripping the glass. “I don’t even know if she’s alive. I want to believe she is, but I can’t assume anythin’ when Sean is involved.”
“Fuck,” Ollie says, leaning back in his seat. “How’d he get to her?”
Cian’s jaw clenches as he turns to look away.
“Rory,” I reply with regret. “He sold us out.”
All men are silenced by my admission.
“What can we do?” Ron asks once he gets over the shock of Rory betraying us all.
“We can’t let Sean know anythin’ is wrong. Cami’s life is at stake.”
“Yer just expected to do his dirty work then, until he decides to tell ya where she is?”
I shrug because acting with violence is what got me here.
But as Ron peers around once again, I realize he may have the answers I need. “I might have an idea.”
We wait for him to continue.
“Austin Bailey is a friend of mine. He used to be a little fish, but his dealings with a Russian drug lord have made him a feared enemy ya do not want to have.
“I believe he will want to help us.”
“Why would a complete stranger want to help?” I ask, arching a brow.
“’Cause his boss doesn’t take too kindly to men like Sean imprisoning women.”
“What’s the catch?”
There is always a catch.
Ron leans forward, eyeing us all sternly. “He’ll want a cut. He’ll help ya take out Sean, but at a price, of course.”
“What’s his boss’s name?” I want to know who I’m dealing with before I sign my life away.
“Aleksei Popov, one of the most powerful men in all of Europe.”
Never heard of him.
“I’ll tell ya what,” I state, running my finger around the rim of the glass, suddenly struck with an epiphany. “If he finds Cami, he can have the whole fucking thing. I am done with this life. I want no part of it anymore.”
And I mean it. I want out.
Ron and Ollie are surprised by my admission, but they understand how this life has done nothing but take from me.
“I’ll make some calls,” Ron says. “In the meantime, yer to go on like normal. We will beat this cunt. I promise ya that.”
We’ve learned from our mistakes, but I won’t get my hopes up. Sean has his claws so deeply imbedded into this place, I have lost trust in everyone. But that doesn’t mean I won’t try anything at least once.
We’ve stayed here long enough, so Cian and I finish our drinks and shake Ollie’s and Ron’s hands. This is the first plan we’ve hatched. I can’t help but feel apprehensive.
“Do ye know who this Aleksei mawn is?” Cian asks as we walk to the car.
I shake my head. “No, I do not. But if Ron thinks he can be trusted, that’s good enough for me.”
“And yer okay with givin’ everythin’ to him? Everythin’ our fathers worked so hard for?”
“This life is what killed our dads, Cian,” I bitterly spit. “He’d be doin’ me a favor.”
And I mean it.
As we get into the car and I drive away, I sense Cian’s silence is filled with anything but.
“Spit it out, will ye?”
He turns to look at me, a heavy sigh leaving him. “I just want this over with,” he confesses. “But on the other hand, I’m angry it’s come to this. This was supposed to be our legacy, but now, I can’t help but feel like I’ve let my dad down.
“There doesn’t seem to be an outcome where we win.”
“There are no winners,” I state, clenching the steering wheel. “Merely survivors.”
“That’s right.”
“Not everyone will survive this, though. Sean has asked I kill Liam. That was a given. But not after some party he’s throwin’.”