Page 36 of The Thief
"Someone close to Trace. Someone who might be willing to flip."
"Who?"
"Won't say yet. But Lorenzo thinks it's promising. Someone with access, someone who's been watching Trace operate."
Good news, finally. Lorenzo Mariano's got connections throughout Boston's underworld. If anyone can find us an inside man, it's him. His father is the head of the Mariano Famiglia. The family is part of the Boston Elite Syndicate. Trace killed Lorenzo's ma not that long ago—yet more deaths caused by the bastard. He's got enemies queuing up to kill him.
"Timeline?" Emmanuel asks.
"Soon. Days, not weeks."
"Not soon enough," Maverick says. "Jer's dead now. Every day we wait is another day Trace thinks he's untouchable."
"Rushing gets people killed," I point out.
"So does waiting."
True enough. But there's a difference between moving fast and moving stupid. Jer taught me that, back when I was young and thought every job needed to be a smash-and-grab.
"We do this right," Stephen says. "The way Jer would've wanted. Clean, professional, no unnecessary risks."
"Jer would've wanted Trace dead by now," Maverick argues.
"Jer would've wanted us to survive long enough to enjoy the revenge."
Can't argue with that. Jer was always about the long game, about building something that lasted. He'd have hated the idea of us throwing our lives away on a suicide mission, no matter how satisfying it might be.
"What about the girl?" Emmanuel asks. "Henry's granddaughter. Is she being protected?"
"She is," I confirm.
"By you?"
"Doubt it. He has his own men to guard her. But if he needs me, I'll be there."
Maverick snorts. "You can’t see it, can you, Freddie? You’re invested in this girl already. Henry’s got enough men to watch her. Why would he need you? What's she to us?"
Good question. What is Alastríona to us? To me? She's Henry's blood, which makes her valuable. She's Killian's daughter, which makes her a symbol. She's a beautiful woman with sharp edges and blue eyes, which makes her dangerous in ways that have nothing to do with the job.
"She's family," I say finally.
"She's a stranger; a Belfast bar girl who's been living outside the life for eighteen years. What does she know about loyalty? About sacrifice? About doing what needs to be done?"
"She knows more than you think."
"Does she? Or are you seeing what you want to see?"
Maybe I am. Maybe I'm projecting strength onto her because I need her to be strong. Because I need something good in this fucked-up world, something that isn't built on blood and bullets.
"Doesn't matter," Stephen says. "Henry wants her protected, so she gets protected. End of discussion."
But it's not the end, is it? This tension between the job and whatever I'm feeling for Alastríona—that's just getting started.
Family or the girl? The life or something that might be better?
I hope it doesn't come to that. I hope I'm strong enough to do the right thing if it does.
"Meeting's over," Stephen says. "We all know what we need to do. Let's do it."
