Page 24 of Retribution

“You only work for him?” I put the car in drive and check my blind spot before pulling out into the busy traffic.

“I work for them both—mostly Finn lately.” Antonio rubs his hands together and fiddles with the radio. He checks the mirrors and then glances behind him. “Truth is, I’d rather work for Lorcan.”

“Why’s that?”

“At least he’ll ask you if you did it before he shoots you.”

I flex my hands on the steering wheel and follow the soothing voice of the navigation system. It’s set to an Irish accent—my choice when I got in earlier. Hearing it now, it’s foolish. What must Antonio be thinking?

“You know the way back?” My hand is poised over the button to switch off the directions.

He gives me a sideways glance. “Yeah, I got you covered.”

We drive in silence for a while. The note in my pocket is acidic, eating away at my clothes, burning my skin. Why did Malik want to see me? What’s on the paper?

Antonio’s phone beeps, and he takes it out of his pocket. “Boss wants us to meet him at The Cage.”

“Finn?”

“Lorcan.” He checks the clock in the car before texting him back.

How does he know Antonio is with me? Instead of asking, I stay quiet. Sometimes you learn more by not asking in this business.

“You got weapons on you?” He puts his phone back into his pocket.

“Always. Why?”

“The Cage is an O’Malley establishment. Lorcan’s got a meeting with them.”

I frown, pressing my foot on the accelerator to pass an old woman in the wrong lane of the highway. Nervous drivers on multilane highways piss me off. Stay home. Take a different route. Get out of my way.

“What’s The Cage?” The Cage wasn’t in the file, but according to my information, the relationship between the Donagheys and O’Malleys is strained.

“Underground fight ring.”

“Is Lorcan trying to start something with them?” Maybe the intel is wrong, and Lorcan gets along with the O’Malley family. The crime syndicates in Boston need a road map to decipher the connections and old grudges. There’s so much I don’t understand yet.

Antonio laughs. “You think I know? He said come. We come. He said be armed. We make sure we’re armed to the teeth.” He eyes me with annoyance.

I’m asking too many questions. “The Cage it is,” I murmur.

“Don’t worry,” he says. “I’ll protect you.”

His condescending tone grates on my nerves. Instead of correcting him, I drive the rest of the way in silence. Mentally, I tick through the ammunition I have, hoping it’s enough for whatever comes next.

Chapter Ten

Lorcan and ten other men hover around vans and SUVs two blocks from The Cage. Even though we’ve been running errands together for weeks, this area is new to me because it’s in O’Malley territory. Being here causes my heart to beat an irregular rhythm. Sometimes I fear I’ll have a heart attack from trying to control my outward appearance while my insides go haywire. I need to dump the note in my pocket. There’s no way to know what it says with this many people near, and keeping it is too risky. Taking it out, I crumple it. On the way past a garbage can, I drop the paper in.

As we approach, Lorcan’s focus homes in on me. He moves aside and jerks his head for me to position myself next to him. I slip in beside him and survey the others, wondering how to bring up Finn’s sudden appearance in Newport.

As though he senses my unease, Lorcan’s focus turns to me. “Finn followed you.” His lips twitch with amusement.

I narrow my eyes. “You knew?”

“It’s why I let you go alone. Figured my incompetence would lure him into action.” He winks, and smugness leaks out of him.

Anger sparks in me, but I can’t say anything. He doesn’t know he could have gotten me killed. And, if he knew why, he’d kill me himself.

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