Page 42 of Home Free

Ronan gestured to Finn and Elise. “This is my brother Finn, and my wife’s sister, Elise.” Ronan looked at Finn. “This is Farrell Black.”

Farrell’s dead-eyed gaze crawled over them, a mental parasite looking for sustenance.

Finn nodded. He had no desire to touch the man. “Nice to meet you.”

“Sit.” It was a command, and Finn found himself sitting in one of the chairs opposite Farrell Black’s desk.

Elise took the other one. Ronan, in true big-dick-energy form, remained standing.

Farrell didn’t seem to care. He lowered himself to a chair that was so big it looked like a throne. “What can I do for you?”

“We need a meeting,” Ronan said. “With Nico.”

Ronan studied him. "I'm sure you know where to find him.”

“We were already in London, and we don’t have time to go through the proper channels. I was hoping you could expedite matters,” Ronan said.

Farrell didn’t speak for so long Finn almost thought he’d gone into a trance.

“What is this regarding?” Farrell finally asked.

“We have… business with someone under the Syndicate’s protection," Ronan said. “We’d like to request a dispensation.”

“Is this individual here in London?”

Finn understood the root of the question because Ronan had explained it to him: Farrell Black was an equal partner in the criminal organization referred to as the Syndicate, but he also ran the UK territory.

MIS had worked with the Syndicate on a few occasions in the past, occasions when their interests had intersected, according to Ronan.

“No,” Ronan said. “In Scotland. And of course, we’re more than happy to take the business up with you if you prefer.”

Finn held his breath. It would be faster if Farrell Black approved their request, but he didn’t expect it to happen. Ronan had explained that the Syndicate had four managing partners, but Nico Vitale was its unofficial leader. Everyone deferred to him on the big decisions, and asking for permission to kill someone with protection — protection they’d paid for with blood or money — was a very big decision.

Besides, from what Ronan said, Farrell didn’t like dealing with what Ronan called “bullshit.” And Finn was guessing that to the man staring at them like a lion staring at a gazelle, trying to decide whether he was hungry, a rich fuck sitting in a castle in Scotland was the very definition of bullshit.

A ghost of a smirk passed over Farrell’s lips. “You should see Nico.”

“Can you arrange a meeting?” Ronan asked.

Farrell studied him for what felt like forever, silence stretching taut in the space between the two men.

He stood. “Someone will get back to you within twenty-four hours.”

“Thank you,” Ronan said.

Finn and Elise stood and followed Ronan to the door.

“What did he do?” Black asked behind them.

Ronan turned. “He murdered a man and a woman in front of their child.”

Farrell’s eyes hardened into chips of black ice. “Good luck.”

They stepped into the hall and started for the stairs.

24

Two days after the meeting with Farrell Black, they arrived in Rome. Elise had been surprised when Finn informed her they would stay at one of the Murphy’s apartments there, when he hadn’t tried to send her home or talk her out of going.

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