Page 16 of Dirty Eoin

“Are we any closer to finding out why Jaine was meeting with Leoluca?”

“No.”

“Something to do with Sophia and Luc, maybe?”

“It was something of great importance if she flew in just for that meeting. It was a fleeting visit as she had a flight chartered to take her back to LAX straight after.”

“If you hadn’t fallen out with her, you might have been able to find out.”

“I realize that!” I snap, but he ignores my spike in temper.

“Listen, I’ll see what I can find out, but I wouldn’t hold your breath that she’ll speak to me, let alone furnish me with any intel.”

“I’m not.”

“Maybe you should contact her.”

“To exacerbate an already toxic relationship?” I mutter. “Anyway, on a more positive note, our Aidan will be arriving in the next couple of days. Once he’s settled, he’ll be learning the ropes from Cillian then helping to ease the burden on the frontline day-to-day issues.”

“That’s good to know.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Dylan.”

“Later, brother.”

CHAPTEREIGHT

JAINE

Jaine’s Home, Rising, California

“I don’t care, Delaney!”

I’m sitting at home on the old cream sofa, trying to absorb the memories of Ace that it holds. It’s not working. I’m worried I’m already starting to forget the small things and it hasn’t even been two weeks. What if I forget everything and have no memories left to pass on to little JJ?

Guilt swallows me up, then tears of self-pity prick my eyes at the unfairness of my situation. Both are quickly swept away by the now all-too-familiar wave of rage.

We still have no clue who carried out the deliberate attack on Ace, despite Delaney asking discretely via the usual sharpshooting channels. There’s not even a whisper, which has us both suspecting that the snipers were employed rather than contracted. Either that or they weren’t fully-fledged marksmen, hence why they aren’t available for hire. Maybe that was why they had to get up close and personal.

To make sure they didn’t fucking miss.

I’ll find them. Both monkeys plus their organ grinder. If it’s the last thing I do in this life, I will find them, and I will end them.

“You do care, Jaine. You’re not thinking straight. It’s understandable.”

“Well, Ace is dead, so my apologies for not having two flying fucks to give.”

He’s right. My mood changes like the flick of a switch these days.

Guilt. Sadness. Disbelief. The overriding one being anger. I doubt I’ll ever reach the heady heights of acceptance.

I will never accept Ace’s death.

“You’re grieving, Jaine.” His tone is sympathetic. He gets it. Having gone through what he has in the past, he understands better than most, but I don’t want his fucking pity. I want my revenge. And right now, he’s wrong. Right now, I actually don’t give a fuck.

Why should I care about the news that he did manage to unearth on the sniper grapevine? That rumor has it someone is threatening to end an O’Connell life? It’ll be well-deserved given the target must be the current king or the future one.

Hopefully, it’s the latter. If that’s the case, it’ll save me the goddamn bother.

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