Page 78 of Líadan's Code

Half an hour later, I have a pickup location for my identification with both a fake name and my real one, an extended rental that allowed a cash payment, and a log of the last known location of Líadan’s phone before she ditched it.

The last one wasn’t very helpful, but the last few numbers she called were. I know where she’s having her meetings at, and a quick glance at the cameras near that location later will tell me if the little brat changed it.

If she wants to stay hidden from me, she’ll change everything. I’ll search for her and Brendan’s faces later on my facial recognition program through the cameras in the city to find them.

I’ll let them hide for a day at least while I sort my affairs. It’ll give me a chance to put together her birthday present. I found a folder in Seán’s virtual storage networks of non-disclosure agreements from the people who took part in the auction on Líadan’s seventeenth birthday.

Skyler, the punk that Seán hired to watch over his computer and virtual information, should have paid more attention to where those were stored. It was child’s play to find them. I know I didn’t trigger any kind of alarm when I came across them, either, so I wonder if the kid cut and ran.

I’ll need to do a little digging to see if he did and who he’s working for if he stayed. The punk certainly hasn’t offered his services to his cousin Líadan, so it’s worth a look. Skyler is good at what he does, but I’m a better hacker when I’m not being a reckless idiot.

There’s a lesson in that, and I plan to heed it as I work through my present to Líadan. I also plan to give the woman I love a piece of my mind. I don’t fucking quit. So neither should she.

Dr. Kurtz is true to his word and brings me breakfast and coffee as I work, though he doesn’t speak to me again outside of asking me to leave the dishes where they are when I’m done.

It’s just as well because I’m in the groove as I finish up my work.

Belly full and body caffeinated, I put my computer away so I can meet my contact for my identification. I’ll wire the money after I confirm that it’s not trash work. The dark web is filled with scam artists and con-men, and while I am a good judge of character, it doesn’t mean I won’t be careful.

Crossing the strap of my bag over my chest, I leave the basement, walking to the stairs.

“Thank you for everything,” I say when I see him dressed and ready to leave as well.

“Doesn’t make sense to patch you up and then throw you out,” Dr. Kurtz says with a shrug. His salt and pepper hair is now covered with a knit hat, and he’s wearing a long coat to combat the frigid weather.

I’m going to freeze outside while I’m traveling through the city, but my contact isn’t far from here. I’ll be able to go into a bank to get a new card and access to withdraw cash soon enough to buy new clothes.

Walking out the front door ahead of the doctor as he locks up, I raise my hand to say goodbye as I head out. I have plans for my brats, but there are things I need to do before I can show them that I’m not fucking going away.

Chapter Eighteen

Brendan

“Gentleman, I am not my father, therefore I am not going to behave the way he did when someone disagrees with me,” Lía says, raising an eyebrow.

After leaving Dr. Kurtz’s home, we got a hotel room in a shitty part of Chicago and paid with cash under a fake name. The woman at the desk didn’t seem too worried about any of it, and was watching porn on her phone.

Clearly a swanky establishment.

However, the sheets are clean and there aren’t any roaches, so it’ll work for what we need. Now, hours later after a trip to buy new clothes, food, grab a nap and shower, we’re back in business.

It’s hard to believe that it’s still Tuesday and we’ve survived so much.

Lía leans back in her chair in her leather skirt, her smooth legs covered in dark-purple tights. Her white shirt that’s tucked into the skirt ties everything in seamlessly, mixing the demure with an edgy vibe. Her high-heeled boots are vicious enough to maim if necessary, and she has a new knife tucked into one of them.

They can knock us down, and we’ll still come back swinging.

“I’m aware you’re not the same person,” Joe Macdonald says gruffly. “I’ve always disliked your father, but you’ve been nowhere to be found for years. Where has he been hiding you your entire life?”

“Hell,” she sighs. The Macdonalds and Mickey O’Brien wait for her to expand and Lía takes a deep breath. “I stopped attending school my senior year. He hid me from the world, because then he wouldn’t have to explain the bruises or the multiple broken bones. I doubt anyone would have cared with the way the families see human life.”

“There were points I couldn’t see her either,” I say, picking up where she left off. “When she was twelve, my father shipped me off to Ireland for the trials and to test my ability to be Seán’s enforcer. I refused to leave Chicago after that.”

“Why? What happened?” Mickey asks, eyes wide.

“He beat the shit out of me,” Lía says with a shrug. “It’s not the worst thing that’s ever happened to me. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and they took turns hitting me.”

“You were twelve,” he growls.

---