Page 67 of The Thief
The words taste like ash in my mouth. Tomorrow night, when Alastríona will be sitting at Henry's table surrounded by people she's just learning to trust.
"Sullivan's role?"
"He's supposed to disable the security system at exactly nine-thirty, creating a fifteen-minute window for Trace and his men to get inside."
"And instead?"
"Instead, he gives us the window. We get inside first, set up an ambush. End this before it starts."
Stephen drains his glass and sets it down with deliberate care. "What about the mole?"
The question I've been dreading. Sullivan was certain someone in Henry's inner circle has been feeding information to Trace. Someone with access to family schedules, security protocols, and personal details about our operations.
"He couldn't give us a name," I say. "But he described the information Trace has been receiving. Detailed stuff about Killian's life in Belfast, about Alastríona's daily routine, about our security measures."
"Someone close to Henry."
"Has to be. The level of detail, the access required… it's someone Henry trusts completely."
"Marcus?"
The name hangs between us like a loaded gun. Marcus Devlin, Henry's right-hand man for forty years. The man who's been questioning Alastríona's place in the family since the day I brought her home.
"Makes sense," I admit reluctantly. "He's got access to everything. He's been acting strange since Alastríona arrived. And he clearly resents her presence."
"Forty years of loyalty, though. Why betray Henry now?"
"Maybe he thinks Henry's been making mistakes. Maybe he believes Trace is the stronger horse. Or maybe Trace just offered him enough money to overcome forty years of loyalty."
Stephen goes to refill our glasses. When he returns, his face is filled with anger. "If it is Marcus, this is going to destroy Henry."
"Can't be helped. Better a destroyed Henry than a dead one."
"How do we handle it?"
"Carefully. We need proof before we make accusations. But we also need to move fast—if Marcus knows about tomorrow night's dinner, he'll tip Trace off."
"Sullivan didn't mention Marcus specifically?"
"No. Just said someone high up in the organization has been Trace's source. Could be Marcus, could be someone else entirely. Not to mention, it could be someone within our organization. Someone who knows way too fucking much about everything."
"But you think it's him."
"I think he's been trying to undermine Alastríona since she arrived. I think he sees her as a threat to the status quo he's comfortable with. And I think he's exactly the type to convince himself that betraying Henry is actually protecting him."
Stephen nods slowly. "We need to tell Henry. Tonight."
"Agreed. But how do we do it without tipping off Marcus?"
"We don't. We tell Henry privately and let him decide how to handle his oldest friend."
The weight of what we're planning settles over me. In a few hours, we're going to accuse Henry's most trusted advisor of treason. We're going to shatter a forty-year relationship based on suspicion and circumstantial evidence.
But the alternative is letting Trace walk into that house tomorrow night and murder everyone inside.
"There's something else," I say. "Something Sullivan mentioned about Trace's obsession with Alastríona."
"What about it?"
