Page 131 of Mob Bride

“Someone paid you to infiltrate the Poles for their personal gain.”

I see the surprise in her eyes, even though the rest of her expression remains neutral.

“Whoever this is wants something from the Poles, and they wouldn’t mind punishing me or maybe my entire family while they’re at it.”

She controls her reaction this time. I pull her head back farther and pour more liquid down her throat. I let her go and let her cough.

“Let me guess, getting paid by one syndicate was good, but getting paid by two was great. You told Jacek about Carys. You’re why he attacked her the first time. You’re why Bartlomiej signed off on the hit, and Jacek ordered it. Did they know you were selling secrets to someone else?”

I look over her head at the men who were with her. They’re taking punches to the head and torso, but none to the face. Not yet. We want to read their reactions. The guy closest to her doesn’t hide his surprise like she does. He mutters something in Polish.

Finn exhales a derisive huff. “Seems she was fucking Jacek.”

“Really now? Interesting considering what you wanted me to believe this morning. Jacek was a sick and deranged fuck. Was it just for the info or did you enjoy it? Did you get off on the torture? Oh yeah, we all know how he liked to torture the women whether or not they wanted it. He said ‘was fucking’ not fucked—as in ongoing. It wasn’t a one off.”

“Jacek’s dead, so he can’t tell you, and I won’t.”

“Oo. A little too much vitriol there. You had feelings for him. Does whoever sent you in there know you were getting off on company time?”

“It’s not a job when you love the work.” I want to smack that sneer off her face. “They don’t give a fuck.”

“You either blame Carys for Jacek’s death, or you wish she’d died with them. It got personal when that happened. It wasn’t about a job anymore.”

“So smart.”

“I graduated summa cum laude, so yeah, so smart. What made you turn on Carys before the plane crash?”

“You. Jacek told me about the lumberyard. Carys being with you was going to ruin it all. It did. They didn’t get what they wanted, so they blew up Bartlomiej and Jacek.”

“I’ve got the why and part of the who. Now I want to know all of it.”

“Fuck off.” She tries to spit at me, but I pour vodka over her face, making sure to get some in her eyes.

“Shane, look at this.” Sean holds out his phone to me.

Seamus frisked her while I poured the first round. I saw him hand the phone, badge, and wallet to Sean while he emptied her gun’s clip. I don’t know when he got the rubber gloves from the back of the vehicle. He kicked the bullets around and tossed the gun over the rail after he made her hold it one more time. If we need to, we’ll put a bullet through her head and let her drop over the cliff. Anyone finds her, and it’ll look like suicide. I kept her focused on my interrogation, so I doubt she noticed what her hands touched.

Now, I’m looking at an ancestry website. Her driver’s license gave Sean her name and birthdate. From there, he probably got her birth certificate and social security number.

“Which one?” I turn the phone for her to see.

The first real flash of fear registers.

“Not that close to your family after all?”

“Nothing you do can be worse than them.”

“You keep inviting me to make your death more and more painful. They didn’t send you in because they trusted you to do them a solid. Someone in your immediate family owes money to these distant relatives. Didn’t you know lending and borrowing make for bad blood in families?”

“It wasn’t about money.”

I hand the phone back to Sean and put my gun back to the artery in her neck. “Keep sharing, and I’ll be merciful. Force me to wait for my brother to discover this shite, and I’ll make you pay for every minute you waste.

“No need.” Finn puts a bullet through the guy’s head who spilled the beans. “Her brother made a pass at the wrong woman.”

I look at Angela, then back at Finn. “Is he dead already?”

She nods.

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