Page 95 of Líadan's Code

“Is there anything else we need to know?” I ask, looking longingly at my matches.

“No, fuck, I don’t think so,” he groans.

In unison, Lía and I pull down our masks to search for booze, upending the bottles over the men, curtains, and the entire room.

“You promised!” Cormac screams.

“I said it was an option, not that I’d go through with it,” she grunts as I lead her out of the room. The other men can smell the liquor despite being very out of it, they begin to look around.

“Well gentleman, it has not been a pleasure. Say hello to the devil for me.”

Lighting the match, I toss it into the room, straight into a puddle of whiskey. The room begins to go up in flames, and Lía and I take steps back, lifting our hoods and pulling off our gloves.

Tossing them into the room, we turn and walk toward the side door, unlocking it and slipping outside.

The heat is quick to build, and the cool air feels amazing on my skin. Moving quickly, we move toward the front of the building, leaving the same way we came in. Lía loops her arm through mine, our hands bare as we walk.

Pulling out our gloves, I hand a pair to her to put on.

The screams can barely be heard as we walk away, the streets still quiet for a weekday. Glancing over my shoulder, I see the smoke slowly beginning to rise. Checking my phone for the video camera feeds, I can clearly see the flames from the back of the house. No one exits, not that I expect them to.

After walking for twenty minutes, I call the emergency line to report the fire. Lía merely leans into my body, our masks now put away as we enjoy the day, basking in the joy of putting scum down in a blaze of glory.

“How do you feel about breakfast, milseán?” I ask her. Her cheeks blush, and I see through her.

“As if I skipped it and now I’m hangry,” she admits. “Do we have time to get something?”

Checking the time from my phone still in my hand, I nod. “We can go and have a sit down meal, I expect. Wonderful excuse for an alibi, too.”

Sighing, she nods.

“We need to get those people out of that warehouse, Brendan,” she says softly. “It’s been days…”

“We can’t go, but we can talk to people who can help,” I remind her.

Finding Mickey’s number, I click on his name to connect the call.

“Hey, how did it all go?” he asks immediately when he picks up the phone. I know they’ve been worried, and it’s an odd feeling to know people are pulling for you.

“It’s a bright, fiery ball,” I tell him. “We got all the intel we were looking for, which is the reason I’m calling. I need you to go to an address for me, possibly two. One has inventory that needs to be removed from the buildings, and the other needs to be placed on ice until we can handle her.”

“Understood,” he grunts, understanding my need for code. “I’ll bring my rig to the first location and supplies. My sister, Jana, would be good to help me, as she’s not nearly as scary as I am.”

“Good, good,” I sigh. “The other address is of the woman who runs the auctions.”

“Joe is free,” he says. “I’ll get him on it. Rory has everyone he needs for work today.”

The “work” is holding people hostage, and as we head into the subway station, I’m glad for his prudence in his speech. Exchanging the information needed, I disconnect the call.

“Well, baby. We worked up an appetite, let’s get you fed,” I murmur, kissing her forehead before we board the train.

The pieces are falling into place, we’re almost home free.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Líadan

I’m watching people saunter into the warehouse from an alcove, hidden from searching eyes. I’m people-watching as I let them talk, but only because I want to listen to what they have to say when I’m not around.

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