Page 89 of Dirty Padraig: Dirty Dusters

Her attention flicks back to me. “Jaine will do just fine, Padraig.”

I clutch my chest to pretend I’m mortally wounded that she’s no longer referring to me as her Irish and that I’m no longer allowed to call her darlin’. I can’t help but notice her lips twitching upward.

We’ll repair. We always will.

Eoin glares at me. If looks could kill, I actuallywouldbe mortally wounded. What’s got his panties in a bunch?

Jaine makes eye contact with each of us before continuing.

“I explained that I had some west coast clients who were experiencing a little unrest and raised my concern that the drive-by shooting in New York and outside Cillian’s apartment could well be related.”

Da frowns at her, no doubt concerned and curious as to why she’d want to involve the District Attorney, more so when he’d be after every one of us if the opportunity arose. Or then again, maybe not.

“Why would you do that, Jaine?” My eldest brother poses the next question.

“My concern, Eoin,” she smiles politely at him, “is that this faceless faction may well be a larger entity than we first thought. The New York shooting may mean that their reach extends coast to coast. What we can’t do is expose them and then not have the capabilities or manpower to deal with the numbers involved. We can’t have any of their high rankers escaping the net then spreading out like a cancer, especially if they then find out who cast it in the first place.”

“And what’s Hawke going to do?”

“As they’re now encroaching on his territory, I offered Nate a deal to work together to bring them down. He can handle the additional throughput by handing out convictions and jail time.”

“So, by issuing death sentences you mean?” I toss in.

We all know that any high ranker in our life who earns himself a holiday spot on Rikers Island will quickly be welcomed by a wealth of enemies who are already sunning themselves there. Enemies who will be only too happy to ensure his extended vacation quickly turns into a mini break.

She nods. “He’s agreed to do so, but on one condition.”

“And what condition is that?” We turn to look at Da, but his face is giving nothing away.

“He wants exposure. Nate is all about enhancing that impressive legal resume of his and getting his face in the press. His argument, which is valid, is that if he’s only handling the lower hierarchy, it won’t earn him a great deal of publicity, or at least not enough for the amount of work he’d have to put in handling the potential numbers involved, so he wants their leader.”

“And is that all he wants?”

“Yes.”

“And do you trust him?” Eoin looks at her, but it’s with admiration now because this is a solid plan, and everyone sitting here knows it.

If we can get Nate to work alongside us covertly, then maybe we can stop filling up the Hudson with so many bodies, and he can reap the rewards by destroying them legally in court.

Win-win for everyone, and the same end result for the dead person walking.

“I don’t trust anyone, so why would I trust him?” She stares at him. “But I do know that Nate wouldn’t lie to me about something like that. If he says that’s all he wants, that’s all he wants. It won’t stop him from trying to pin anything he can on anyone else, so you do have to bear that in mind.”

“So, this would be a case of good lawyer, bad lawyer?”

She smirks at me. “That’s exactly the way I saw it too. Sometimes Robin has to work with The Joker and not Batman in order to get the job done. She smiles between Dylan and me, and Dyl lets out a laugh, earning himself a glare from Eoin, whose nose is out of joint as he’s not party to the private joke. “Anyway, digest what I’ve said. I have to go as I have another meeting I need to get to.”

“So, now we just need to work out who it is.” We all look at Da again. He’s shriveling away more and more each day. I reckon once this situation is resolved, we’ll need to force him to retire and let Eoin take over the reins. He’s more than capable. The only problem is that my parents won’t be keen for him to do so without a wife.

“I have Molly’s phone.” We all turn our attention back to Jaine. It’s never been openly discussed, but we’re all fully aware of who ended the other girl’s life.

“And what do you propose to do with that?” Eoin frowns at her.

She stares at him. “Molly shared a secret. I want to see if there’s proof of who she shared it with. If there is, I want to know what else she shared.”

Aidan snickers. “I’m sure she’ll have shared plenty with our Eoin.”

“I’m sure she will have,” Jaine mutters, her eyes never leaving Eoin’s.

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