Page 21 of Blood in the Water

They crossed the intersection near the courthouse and Nolan watched as she entered the glass doors at the front of the white brick building.

“She’s going to the courthouse,” Sean said.

“She’s a lawyer,” Nolan said.

“My dad said she works for Mexicans,” Sean said.

“She works for immigrants,” Will corrected.

Nolan was glad Will was doing the talking. He didn’t trust himself not to be defensive of Bridget, and Will was more than capable of holding his own. It wasn’t uncommon for people to underestimate him, to see nothing but a poor, uneducated kid from Southie when they looked at him, but Will didn’t even own a TV, preferring to spend his time reading everything he could get his hands on, from philosophy to history to science to classical fiction. Nolan’s money was on Will in any intellectual battle, and Sean Maguire wasn’t exactly a worthy opponent.

He waited as an SUV pulled away from the curb, then moved into its spot, close enough to the doors of the courthouse that they would be able to see Bridget when she left.

“Immigrants are the downfall of any country,” Sean said.

“I didn’t know Mein Kampf was assigned reading in Ireland,” Will said.

“I’m just saying, America hasn’t been the same since you let so many immigrants in,” Sean said.

Nolan wanted to punch the self-satisfied smirk off his face.

“It hasn’t been the same since a bunch of corrupt assholes looking out for their own interests took over,” Will said. “Immigrants aren’t the problem. Our parents were fecking immigrants. You think they’re the ones causing problems?”

“Not the same,” Sean said.

“Because they don’t have brown skin?”

“You’re being brainwashed by — ”

The ringing of Sean’s phone stopped him mid-sentence. He glanced at it like he might ignore it, then quickly put it to his ear.

“Dad, what’s up?” Nolan watched his face in the mirror, looking for more clues about the dynamic between father and a son he’d obviously had late in life, well after his glory days with the IRA. The relationships other people had with their fathers was always a source of fascination for Nolan, whose memory of his father grew more blurry by the year, his memories of his stepfather invoking the sterile if luxurious atmosphere of the house on Beacon Hill. “What the…? Want us to ditch the woman?”

Nolan sat up straighter, the urgency in Sean’s voice unmistakable.

“We’ll leave now.” He disconnected the phone and looked at Will, who’d turned around in the seat. “There’s been an explosion.”

Nolan met his eyes in the car’s rearview mirror. “An explosion?”

Sean nodded. “At Seamus’s house.”

10

Bridget had to park two blocks away from Seamus’s house, then make her way through a sea of emergency vehicles. Blue and red lights flickered on the pavement in the gray light of dusk, the area around the house cordoned off, uniformed officers pacing the area behind the police barricades.

“I’m Bridget Monaghan,” she said to a fresh-faced officer who looked barely old enough to shave, “the victim’s counsel.”

He moved the barricade enough for her to slide through and she started for the house, still on fire. Two engines were parked in front of the building, a yellow hose snaking across the grass and held by two firefighters in full gear. They shouted at each other to be heard over the rush of water.

She’d just filed her motion when she’d gotten the text from Seamus.

My fucking house is on fire. Get your ass over here.

She’d wanted to text Nolan to find out what he knew, but she didn’t want to risk it knowing he was with Sean. She’d looked for the Lexus when she emerged from thecourthouse, but she hadn’t been surprised to find it gone. All of Seamus’s top men would have been called in, and she’d raced back to the BRIC for her car, sending a quick text to Sheridan to let her know there had been an emergency and to apologize for not bringing her lunch.

She looked around the scene, trying to get her bearings. Her eyes caught on Nolan and Will, standing near a group of men that included Seamus, Mick, Baren, Sean, and Oz. She forced herself to ignore Nolan as she approached Seamus. She knew even before she spoke to him that he was enraged. His expression was tight, eyes wild, hair askew enough to make him look slightly unhinged.

“My god…” she said, shaking her head when she reached him, “I’m so sorry, Seamus. Do they know what happened?”

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