He wants Christian dead for what he did to Libby. As much as I don’t want to stop him from putting that asshole’s head on a spike; we need him alive still.
Only for a little while.
“Focus Ava.” Seamus reprimands me when his kick makes contact to the side of my head. I stumble to the side, wincing at the bounding pain, before cracking my neck and hunkering back into position. “You’ve been too distracted lately.”
“Got a lot on my mind,” I mumble before throwing my uppercut at the pads.
“If you lose focus in a fight,” Seamus scolds. “You die.”
My lip curls into a snarl. “And if you keep pushing me,” I taunt. “So will you.”
“Feisty today.” Kiernan laughs from the doorway. I keep my focus on Seamus but a slight movement from behind my brother draws my attention.
“Fuck.”
I am pretty sure I see stars when Seamus lands a punch to my jaw, knocking me off balance and sending me careening to the floor.
“Seamus!” Bailey’s voice is panicked. “You need to be more careful.”
The motherfucker shrugs as he watches his girlfriend peel me off the floor.
“She should have been paying attention,astoré.”
Bailey rolls her eyes at my brother then turns back to me. “Ava, there’s a delivery for you upstairs.”
“Wait,” Seamus calls out. “I’m not done kicking your ass yet.”
I flip him off as I head up the stairs to the main floor.
The bar is empty at this time of day. None but my father, the twins, and Bailey are usually around except the few kitchen staff that come in early to prep for the night’s crowd.
Marianne is blissfully never around unless my grandmother forces her to help, which isn’t a lot because Liam can’t stand the bickering between the hotheaded pair.
A small, unmarked box sits on the bar top. I am not expecting any packages except the one from Portland, but it is too tiny to be filled with evidence.
“Came by special courier,” my father speaks up from behind the bar where he is polishing glasses. “O’Malley’s boys dropped it off. Said it was urgent.”
I wince. My father isn’t on the best terms with the O’Malley’s.
“Want to tell me what is so important that it has them risking their lives to deliver it here?”
There is only one person it can be. The officer from Portland where the O’Malley’s are based out of. No one else knows I am here.
“It was supposed to be evidence from the night my mother was murdered.”
Tilting his head, he studies the box for a moment before his mouth shrugs. “Seems a wee bit small for that.”
A smile tilts my lips.
We really are alike.
I shrug. “Might as well find out what she sent me.”
Liam nods and grabs a pair of scissors, cutting away the tape in a few quick slips. I open the flaps to reveal a small black burner phone nestled amongst some foam.
Picking it up, I turn it on.
There is only one number programmed into the directory. Before I can second guess myself, I dial it.