Page 86 of Líadan's Code

Scooting to the side, I run out of the restaurant, looking around wildly for Jordan.

“Fuck,” I growl as I rip my hood off my head. Fingers dragging through my hair, I identify all eight places he could have ducked into to leave.

The subway is twelve paces to my left, and there are an abundance of side streets off this road.

Beginning to walk away in frustration, I pull the hood over my head. Just because Skyler is taking a permanent vacation, doesn’t mean there isn’t still an order to hunt and drag my ass to Cormac. It’s not until I’m sitting in the train at the subway station that I pull out my phone to see the document that Jordan sent me.

Except, instead of just one file, there are quite a few. Opening one, I find that Jordan managed to bug Cormac’s phone somehow, and he’s running transcripts of the most important of his conversations.

Plans, allies, and meetings all are in the palm of my hand. There’s also a triangulated map of where he may be staying in Englewood.

Leaning my head back on the cool glass behind me, I send up a prayer to a God I’m unsure exists. Everything is here to help us stay ahead of Cormac, and I’m sure anyone else who is plotting to kill us. I’m sure we’ve managed to put ourselves on quite a few hit lists.

Lía and I knew what we were getting ourselves into, but Lía worried Jordan wouldn’t want to be in the thick of everything. Or most importantly, that he wouldn’t be able to hack it.

The irony is the man in question just threw down evidence that he can, but left very little to show that he wants to stick around.

We left him behind in his eyes, and Jordan is a proud man. Lía’s heart is going to break right in two over this. I can’t say I’m surprised. I knew the second I agreed to her plan that I would regret it. I didn’t expect Jordan to digitally throw shit in my face to show me exactly how badly we fucked up though.

The saying goes ‘if they wanted to, they would,’ and Jordan Miles is the total package. Not only did he understand the assignment, he didn’t wait to see the full weight of what he did hit me.

All that’s left is to speak to Lía and throw my weight behind Jordan. I know I can’t not have him in my life, and the nightmares she’s been having means she feels the same way. My love is being a stubborn brat. It’s time for me to show her the error of her ways.

Chapter Twenty

Líadan

Sitting in the motel room, I sigh as I toss the pen I’ve been fussing with as I wait for Brendan. Silence has never bothered me, but it’s not quiet. There’s a working girl fucking her john next door and based on the sounds, she’s been coming for the last fifteen minutes.

It’s kind of impressive, honestly.

I’m all for people making their money, but the bed is hitting the wall and I can’t think. I miss my townhouse, having my own space, and not having to move from place to place. I feel tetherless.

A man with hazel eyes and sun-kissed hair floats through my mind, making me shiver with regret. I’m questioning my choices more and more, even though I keep telling myself that I’m being selfish for it. I should be perfectly happy having Brendan at my side, loving me.

I can feel his clear disapproval and second guessing our choice to leave Jordan behind. Except, he didn’t choose. He followed along with my decision, because I don’t want our darkness to mar Jordan’s soul.

I took away both their choices, something that is gnawing at me fiercely. Am I no different from my father?

The sound of a key card opening the door has me lifting the gun in front of me that Brendan insisted I keep near me. Tomorrow I’m meeting with forty of the most dangerous people in our family.

I use the term loosely, because some of them are related by marriage, business, or very extended family. They won’t receive the address until thirty minutes before we begin, though they were given the general vicinity.

All in all, they’ll never change their minds about human trafficking and how it destroys people’s lives, which means to protect the world from their evil, I have to kill them all. Murder, even cold blooded, doesn’t bother me in the least.

There are no butterflies in my stomach or worry that I may be doing the wrong thing. There’s a warehouse I’ve been hearing rumors about that Daddy gave to The Carnal Auctions. I want to disband it completely, yet no one knows where it is.

Well, no one who’s willing to give up the information, anyway.

Cormac knows, which means the hunter is about to become hunted. I refuse to be chased like a scared rabbit from place to place. I need to know there’d be people who would have my back when I make my move against him. I need to deal with the weasel who is helping him find us as well.

Brendan comes in with the food and closes the door behind him. There’s a shrouded dark cloud over him, but his face is blank as he brings everything over to the table.

“Weather doesn’t look like it’s going to get any better,” he murmurs as he takes the food containers out and pulls off his layers until he’s wearing a simple undershirt and pants.

Despite the eye candy he’s presenting me with, I feel a flicker of anger. Is he seriously telling me about the weather? I glance out the third floor window where the snow is falling faster. Chicago has as many mood swings as my father did. Anyone who lives here knows that.

They’re going to have a hell of a time burying my father in a few days. The thought of the bastard’s dead body cooling his heels while waiting to be buried makes me internally roll my eyes.

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