Page 93 of The Silencer

“It’s about Trace Harrington,” Ronan says.

“What about him?He’s dead,” Henry inputs.

“So, I had some of my men dig up the body.This shit has hit way too close to him.Everything they know was precise, like inside information.”

"What do you mean you dug up the body?"Maverick asks, his voice sharp.

Ronan's eyes narrow."I mean exactly what I said.We exhumed Trace Harrington's grave.And guess what we found?"

"An empty fucking coffin," Prior King finishes, his face grim.

The room erupts into chaos as everyone starts talking at once.I feel my blood run cold.If Trace Harrington is alive...

"Quiet!"Jer roars, silencing the room.He turns to Ronan and Prior."Explain.Now."

Ronan nods."We've had our suspicions for a while.Too many things weren't adding up.So we decided to check the source."

"And you're sure it was his grave?"Stephen asks.

"Positive," Prior confirms."We checked and double-checked.That coffin was empty."

"Fuck," I mutter, running a hand through my hair.This changes everything.

"If Trace is alive," Cesare Mariano says slowly, "then he's had years to plan his revenge.And he'd have the resources and connections to pull something like this off.His father is dead.He’d want revenge."

"But why now?"Dante asks."Why wait all this time?"

"To lull us into a false sense of security," Henry says grimly."To strike when we least expect it."

I think back to everything that's happened—Ava's death, Hustler's murder, the attempts on our women.It all fits.Trace would have the motive, the means, and the ruthlessness to orchestrate something like this.

"We need to find him," I say, my voice hard."Now."

Jer nods in agreement."We pool all our resources.Every contact, every lead.We find Trace Harrington and we end this once and for all."

I pull out my phone, sending a quick text to Clodagh.

Me: Stay inside.Don't open the door for anyone but me.I love you.

As I pocket my phone, I meet Maverick's eyes across the room.We share a grim nod of understanding.Whatever it takes, we'll protect our families.And when we find Trace Harrington, he'll wish he'd stayed dead.

"We need to increase security on all our families," Denis says, voicing what we're all thinking."If Trace is behind this, he won't stop until he's taken everything from us."

Henry nods in agreement."I'll have my best men on it.No one goes anywhere alone, and we double the guards on all our properties."

"What about Alastríona?"Makenna asks.

“She’s with Freddie,” Henry replies.“She’s safe with him.”

“His attention will be split,” Makenna sighs.“He’ll be out for revenge for Ava.He’ll choose to pursue that.”

"Freddie knows what's at stake," Henry says firmly."He'll keep Alastríona safe while we deal with this threat."

I nod, though I'm not entirely convinced.Freddie's been off the grid since Ava's death.His state of mind is a wild card right now.

"We need to move fast," I say."If Trace knows we're onto him, he might accelerate his plans."

"Agreed," Jer says."We'll split into teams.Some of us will focus on tracking down Trace, others will work on securing our families and properties."

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