“We’ve got a helicopter standing by on the front lawn,” Mark informs me. He must be monitoring our signals.
“Inform Dr. Radick that he needs to have a team meet me at the Kavanaughs’ within the hour,” I instruct him as I stride through the front door of the mansion. “Tell him I’ll pay him double his usual rate.”
Mark curses. “Will do.”
“We’re ready to go, Matt.” Vas motions for me to follow him to where our transportation waits, ready to take off. It is a hot load. We keep our heads low, avoiding the blades. Liam nods at his two sons as he trails behind me. Once we reach the helicopter, he loads himself inside, motioning for me to hand Ava to him.
I hesitate to let her go, even to him, but it is foolish to think I can get us both inside with her in my arms.
“It’s okay,” Liam yells over the whir of the blades. “You’ll get her right back, I promise.”
Swallowing back the lump of anxiety in my throat, I nod, carefully placing my wife in his arms before climbing up myself. Liam gently kisses her forehead before he arranges her on my lap. When we are all settled, Vas signals the pilot, and we are off, the ground fading fast below us.
Vas positions a pair of headphones over my ears that hold a mic so we can communicate. Helicopters aren’t quiet by any means.
“No sign of any Seamus look-alike,” he informs me, a scowl covering his face as he takes in my wife’s battered state. “But we did take some of the guards alive.”
“You can use my place if you need to,” Liam offers, but Vas shakes his head.
“Thanks, but we have a special place just for this.” He smirks cruelly. “And trust me when I say we’re all gonna take pleasure in what comes next.”
I agree.
“Have Mark check to see if he can get any footage from the cameras inside the house and basement. There were several set up.”
Vas nods and takes out his phone.
Leaning my head back against the seat, I close my eyes and let the comfort of having my wife in my arms wash over me.
“She’ll have a long road ahead of her.” Liam sighs. “Ava might try to push you away, but she’ll need you.”
I am well aware of my wife’s stubbornness, and I have no intention of letting her block my help at every turn. I will be there for her every step of the way, whether she likes it or not.
“Who is Noah Kelly?” I ask my father-in-law. Liam tenses in his seat, just like he does at the mansion.
“A ghost,” he snarls. “A dead one.”
“How dead?”
“Shot him point blank through the head with a forty-five.”
“That’s pretty dead,” I agree. Liam nods.
“Who was he to you?”
Liam Kavanaugh is not known for being easily rattled, but the mention of one man’s name shakes him off balance.
“A long time ago, the McDonough clan was split in two.” He lets out a frustrated sigh, running a hand down his face, looking defeated. “There had been a long bloody war between two brothers. Twins, funnily enough.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
Liam blows out his cheeks. “Ava belongs to the McDonoughs of the north. What many in Ireland consider the ‘true blood’ clan. Noah Kelly is the descendant of the second clan. A clan so far removed from McDonough blood that they are barely recognized anymore.”
I keep silent, letting him continue. “We grew up together in Boston. Noah and I. We were best mates until his father and Katherine’s arrange for them to be married.”
“Because you loved her.” It doesn’t take a psychic to know that.
Liam nods. “We’d been seeing each other for some time behind our families’ backs,” he admits. “They were friends, but my family doesn’t come from wealth and prestige like Ava’s. My grandfather is her grandfather’s second. A soldier. And my father followed suit.”