Page 29 of Shattered Empire (Shattered World)

She chuckled on the other end of the line.

“Hell, no,” she assured me. “Who the hell do you think I am? My precinct is dirtier than a fat man’s undies on cardio day.” That was an image I could have lived without. “I sent out a false package to see what would happen to it. My instincts were right. Some fucker grabbed it up, shot my courier, then tried to come after me.”

“Hope the motherfucker is dead.”

“Oh, he is.” She paused, the gears in her mind working overtime as she thought through what to say next. “Look…you sure you want to go digging around in this, Ava? Whoever is trying to get this evidence, they mean business. I can help but…”

“You want something.” There was no anger or resentment in my voice. I understood where she was coming from. The woman cleared her throat uncomfortably.

“My uncle wants a sit down with you and Liam Kavanaugh.”

“And who is your uncle?” Seeing as how it had been the O’Malleys who had delivered the phone I could almost guess, but I wanted to hear it from her.

“Sully O’Malley.”

“Please hold.” I put her on mute and turned to my father.

“Sully wants a sit down, doesn’t he?” I nodded, not even bothering to ask how he knew who I was talking to. My father had been in this business so long he didn’t need me to tell him what was going on. He’d put the pieces together the moment the box was delivered. “It’s smart.”

“I don’t care about smart,” I told him. “What do you want? He’s most likely going to want to build an alliance with you.”

“Us,” my father corrected. “Sully knows it’s a smart move to side with the first female head of theBratva. I’m just a consolation prize.”

“Do you want to?”

He shrugged a shoulder. “Wouldn’t be the worst idea. The O’Malleys, although brash, would make powerful allies. They know everything that goes on in their territory. You might find some answers from them.”

Unmuting the phone, I said, “You have a deal.”

The woman sighed in relief. “Thank you,” she said. “How is tomorrow at two p.m.? There is a warehouse in the Eliot district we use. That’s where I put the evidence for safekeeping.”

“Text me the address.”

“Okay.”

“What’s your name, by the way?” I asked her. “Should probably know it if we’re going to be doing business together.”

“Aine,” she told me. “Aine O’Malley.”

“Well, Aine O’Malley—” I shifted the phone to my other ear. “It’s nice to meet you officially. Let’s talk about that precinct of yours.”

* * *

Things were fishy with Mark and Dima. Mark had been on edge when I walked into his office at the compound to find him on a video call with Dima, who still refused to tell me what he was up to. The two of them looked guilty as they interacted with me, rushing me out of the room. Mark all but pushed me out the door like a madman after I asked him to dig up some dirt on Sully O’Malley for our meeting today.

We left him to watch over things remotely from the compound. The warehouse address Aine had given me was now fully covered by surveillance cameras, satellite imagery, and a few dozen soldiers. We weren’t taking any chances. I didn’t doubt Aine’s sincerity when she informed me that her uncle was truly looking for an alliance, but just because she believed him didn’t mean I had to.

Sully O’ Malley was nothing like what I expected him to be. From the long list of dirty laundry Mark aired out about the man, I expected him to be older. Closer to my father’s age than my own. He sat at the head of the small metal table, head held high like he was the king.

We were certainly not his subjects.

The man had short black hair and brilliant blue eyes. The angles of his face were outlined by a rough stubble that gave his features a dark edge. He looked like the young pirate Hook from that silly modern fairy tale show Bailey insisted I watch with her.

Aine, or who I assumed was Aine, stood next to him, her head bowed slightly as she whispered angrily to her uncle. Her soft features didn’t match the rugged tone of her voice when we’d spoken on the phone. I half expected her to be wearing ripped jeans and an AC/DC top. Instead, she stood demurely next to Sully, wearing a collared lace blouse with peasant sleeves tucked into a gentle peach tulle skirt with a pair of white flats.

Her long raven hair was braided back loosely, a few strays framing her gentle porcelain face. When she looked up at me, her ocean blue eyes were anything but submissive, and I loved it. Aine O’Malley may have been forced to play dress up, but that didn’t mean she liked it.

“Welcome.” Sully’s voice was strong, dripping with honey. His gaze roamed over me. Not leering, just curious. He tilted his head and studied me. My red hair hung in loose waves around a makeup free face. I’d chosen to wear black leggings that I tucked into a pair of low-heeled leather boots. A loose olive wrap completed the ensemble.

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