“Those too,” he admits shamefully. “I missed them. All those fucking signs being waved in front of my face, and I missed every single one. When he refused to send aid, my father defected and took more than half of McDonough’s army with him.”
“Half?” Pride and warmth bubble in my chest. “That had to be more than a hundred people.” My father and brothers now have more than five hundred loyal soldiers.
“More like two.”
“But why?”
“Because your mother was a beacon, Ava,” Sully speaks up. “It wasn’t just information your mother gave to my father. Your mother was pure Irish Mafia. Straight from the homeland. Your family, the McDonough’s, led the Boston Irish since its inception.”
“So? How does that make her a beacon?”
“Because she wanted change,” my father answers for him. “Genuine change. More opportunity for Irish immigrants. She wanted to make us legit. All of us, across the country, making legitimate livings.”
“No more drive-bys’,” Sully lists somberly. “No more being knifed in a dark alley or shot at while delivering dope. No more prison sentences. We would still work in the shadows, but instead of running guns and drugs, we would build casinos. Launder money.”
“So not quite legit,” I deadpan. But it doesn’t bother me. You can domesticate a lion, but the savage beast will always lurk just beneath the surface.
“More legit than we’ve ever been.”
“Even more motive than before,” Aine ponders a thought, her finger tapping against her chin thoughtfully. “Does the file contain the names of everyone at the north precinct who worked on her mother’s case?”
Sully nods. “Yep,” he confirms. “Some of them are dead. Tragic accidents, according to my father. But the coroner, the chief of detectives, and the evidence officer are still alive and thriving. In fact, they lead some pretty cushy lives now.”
“How cushy?” my father asks suspiciously.
“Chief of detectives is now the chief of police. The coroner is now the chief medical examiner, and the evidence officer owns a security company here in the city.”
Vas perks up at that.
“Which one?”
“Platinum Solutions.”
Vas’s smile drips with malicious intent, eyes flashing dangerously.
“Excellent,” he crows. “I’ve been needing a reason to take them down.”
“Would you like to fill me in?”
Vas’s smile drops.
“Well…”
Liam barks a laugh. “You didn’t tell her, did you?”
“Tell me what?” Why the hell do I always feel like I am out of the loop on everything?
“Um…”
“Start talking, you hippie haired Russian,” I snarl.
“Platinum Security is our firm's greatest rival in the security industry.”
“Our firm?”
“Yeah…” Vas hesitates. “Arctic Security and Associates.”
“I thought that company was just a cover?”