Raiden: A Stand Alone, Irish Mob Crime Romance (The Kent Brothers Book 2)

by A. M. Hargrove

  “Of course it does, but business is business.”

  “You’re a bastard. Is that what happened to my mother? Is that how she really died?”

  “Shut your mouth if you want to see that brat of yours live.”

  “Where is he, Da? Where did you take him?”

  “You tell them we’ll make a trade. You heard me. An eye for an eye. Oh, and Sinead, this offer won’t stand for long.” The line went dead.

  She handed me back the phone. “Call in your team. I know his secrets and this time I’ll give you everything you need, in exchange for making sure my daughter lives.”

  “Done.”

  I went to inform the others.

  Drex flew to his feet. “You did what?”

  “It worked so calm down. She wants everyone downstairs because she’s giving up the facts this time. I heard their conversation. The phone was on speaker. It wasn’t an act.”

  “And you know this how?” Drex asked.

  “I told her I gave Aisling cyanide, and she didn’t have long to live.”

  At first, it stunned everyone into silence, then one by one, they chuckled. I didn’t find it funny, though.

  “Stop it. My brother is in danger and if we don’t act quickly, he may end up in the same boat Acer did.”

  The laughter came to a screeching halt.

  “Come on. Let’s hear what she has to say,” Acer said.

  “Huff, grab your computer,” Drex said as we traipsed downstairs.

  Sinead stood where I left her. When everyone positioned themselves, I said, “Talk.”

  Huff opened his computer and was ready.

  “I told the truth about New York, except the place is in Lake Placid.”

  Bingo. We were right on that one.

  “But that’s not where he’d hide your brother. It’s too far. He may be there, but his men would’ve taken him someplace closer to us,” she said.

  “Where?”

  “I can’t tell you that without knowing where we are.”

  “The Colorado mountains,” I said. Aiden knew it, so why shouldn’t she?

  Huff stepped in then. “How would we find him here?”

  She chewed on her lip for a second. “I told you before I have information on him because I hired someone to hack into his accounts. That’s true. I can give you the login information and send you to the correct files. I’m not sure if he’ll have anything on Colorado.”

  “It’s worth a try,” I said. “Huff?”

  “What is it?”

  She gave him the details, and he accessed the files. As he did, she asked, “Since I’m cooperating, can you make sure my daughter is okay?”

  “Scottie, can you handle that?” I asked. Scottie nodded and left the room. I backed away from the crowded area and sent her a text, telling her to Google the antidote for cyanide. She sent me some laughing emojis. About a half hour later, she returned.

  “Aisling wanted you to have this.” Scottie handed Sinead a chocolate chip cookie.

  “Is she okay?”

  “She is. We’ve given her the antidote with no side effects.”

  “Thank you.”

  A twinge of guilt socked me in the gut. I caused her major anxiety, and Aisling was upstairs watching movies the entire time. But it benefited us, and that was immeasurable. Sinead cooperated, and maybe she saw what a horrible man her father was. I took a chance and asked, “Sinead, what happened to your mother?”

  A sorrowful expression coated her features. “She was killed while we were eating in a restaurant. A man walked by and shot her in the head. I was twelve when it happened.”

  Christ, what type of man allowed this to happen and kept doing this kind of business? He was deranged.

  “What happened after that?” I asked.

  “My father sent me back to Ireland where I stayed until I went to college in the states. Boston. I met Aisling’s father there. We kept our relationship secret. Or so I thought. Dad found out about it and sent me back to Belfast. Aisling was born, but I wanted to return to Boston so Michael and I could resume our lives together as a family. I kept calling him, but he never returned my calls. I was so damn naïve. I figured Dad had gotten to him, warning him to stay away. It was far worse. Two years later, I found out that Michael was dead. Hunters discovered his body in a shallow grave. Their dogs dug it up. That’s when I knew exactly how lethal my father was, and I’d never have a life of my own. So I hired the computer geek to hack into his accounts. He’s been doing it every six months since, just so I can keep up with Dad’s business. I had to have something on him when I made my move to leave.”

  “You were basically a prisoner,” I said.

  “Yes, I was. I had his security team twenty-four seven. I wasn’t able to leave the house without them. They reported on everything I did. I read about it in his emails. That’s how I learned my acting skills. If I didn’t, he’d know. I was an obedient daughter. Not anymore. Not since he bargained with my daughter’s life.”

  Huff was typing away when his voice interrupted us. “There are three locations in Colorado that keep appearing here. All of them are close to Denver. We should check them out.”

  Drex looked over his shoulder and agreed. “I’ll call in another three teams. Sinead, do you know how many men he usually sends on an assignment.”

  “At least five.”

  “Thanks.”

  Drex jumped on the phone and made the call. “We should have an answer in a few hours.”

  Scottie asked, “Sinead, what are you going to do about your father?”

  She shrugged. “I’ve siphoned off some money, enough to set me up for a few years. I’ll take Aisling, if you let us go, and try to find a safe place somewhere.”

  “I may have a better idea,” Scottie said. “Have you considered WITSEC?”

  “No way. He’d find me.”

  “Not if he was in prison and they shut his entire organization down.”

  “If he goes down, his underboss will step in to take his place. And add the captains and foot soldiers. This isn’t a one-man operation.”

  “But with your intel, we could get them all.”

  “I don’t know. I’d have a huge target on my head.”

  Scottie whispered something to Drex, and he nodded. She went upstairs and returned with the key to the cage. “Let’s go upstairs and talk.”

  Sinead said, “You’re letting me out?”

  “Yeah, you’ve given us valuable information that could get you burned, so why not?” Scottie asked.

  She followed us up the steps, and we went to the kitchen. I asked if she cared for anything to drink.

  “Coffee?”

  I brewed her a cup, and we pulled up seats around the island and chatted.

  Scottie began discussing WITSEC. “They’ll give you and Aisling new identities, passports, social security numbers, even alter your looks if necessary. They check in to evaluate your safety, if you need anything, and you have a hotline to the US Marshalls for emergencies of any kind.”

  She was not onboard. “They won’t get everyone, and I’ll be a dead woman within a year.”

  “How do you know that won’t happen, anyway?” I asked. It was a legit question because if she left and didn’t tell her father, he’d be furious.

  “I’ll take my chances.”

  I tapped her hand. “Think, Sinead. Turn in the evidence and make sure he gets punished. Let us help you. Think of Aisling. If he kills you, do you want him raising her? Wouldn’t she be better off with you and him in prison?”

  She placed her hands on her temples. “Yes, probably. I don’t want her around him, since he placed no value on her life. I have to think about it.”

  Gemini went to retrieve Aisling. When they came into the kitchen, she shouted, “Mommy!” Then she ran straight into Sinead’s arms.

  “My darling, are you okay?”

  “Yes, Mommy, I’m fine. I had cookies. Did you get the one I sent?”

  “I did.” Sine
ad hugged her again and looked at us over her head. Then she inspected her face. A chuckle came out of her.

  “You didn’t hurt her, did you?”

  “See for yourself.”

  Sinead laughed again. “But the blood?”

  Scottie held up her arm, displaying her bandage. “That doesn’t mean she didn’t retaliate. The blood was mine. She bit me.”

  “Aisling,” Sinead scolded.

  “They scared me, Mommy. I thought they would hurt me.”

  “It’s fine. She fought as she should have,” Scottie said.

  Sinead surprised us when she said, “You’re right. I don’t want her to be afraid anymore. I’ll do it. But I need to call my geek first. I’ll need more information on the corporation. I only have documents and emails on him. I need details on the underboss, the captains, and anything else he can grab on all their operations. He has his hands in so many businesses, you can’t even imagine. And most of them are legitimate.”

  Huff’s brow creased. “If you give me the proper login codes, I may get all the information your geek provided, and then some.”

  “You have a deal. If I’m satisfied on what you can gather, I’ll agree.”

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Scottie

  Raiden pulled off what none of us had. His mind came up with an ingenious plan. Fake poisoning. What mother wouldn’t want to save her child, but it turned out even better than we could’ve hoped for. Sinead was cooperating with us on relaying all of O’Brien’s information. He pissed her off and there was no going back for her. I saw the fire in her eyes and recognized it. I’d been there myself. I’d considered telling her my story, but too many people already knew it. It was too risky letting someone else in, especially someone I didn’t know and trust.

  Poor Huff. He’d been hacking away since the early hours and the man had to be exhausted. Only the excitement that glowed in his eyes said otherwise. He thrived on this. Raiden sat next to him, observing and commenting. Raiden was a computer whiz too, but Huff had hacking skills like no other.

  Huff pointed to something. “Here. I have the current chain of command and it runs back three years. Looks like there was a change about a year ago. That was when he removed Danny. He and Aiden were at the top with two underbosses. They arrested one of them. And then one of the foot soldiers was Thomas, the one who was your fed, Isla.”

  Raiden nodded. “Right. That’s when Aiden took it to a single silo. He’s been the only one heading the corporation since.”

  It annoyed me not seeing what they were commenting on, so I stood behind Raiden. The diagram was actually there, and each block filled in with a name. “That was dumb of him.”

  “What?” Raiden turned to ask.

  “Writing in all the names.”

  “True, but remember, he expected no one other than those he gave access to see this,” Raiden explained.

  “I get that, but in case of a break-in, which is what we’re doing, it reveals everything he holds sacred.”

  “Aiden is arrogant and believes he’s infallible.” Raiden was right. Aiden thought everything he did was perfect. We’d proven him wrong on most counts, since none of us were eating dirt yet.

  Sinead overheard us. “He is the most arrogant man alive. According to my father, nothing on earth is superior to him.”

  “We already figured that out,” I said.

  “Let’s print this,” Raiden said. “Is there a printer around?”

  “I believe so. Let me search,” Huff answered. He found one, added it and hit print. “Now to find it in the house.”

  I went off in search of it and located it in the office. I pulled out the copies and looked at them. Listed were over twenty men we’d have to get, but it was workable. This could mean pulling a lot of drugs and guns off the streets. As I was scanning the document, Raiden walked in.

  “What do you think?”

  “I count twenty-three, which is doable. We need to find out where they’re located.”

  “Huff is on it now.”

  “This could be a real coup, bringing down the entire organization. And then Sinead could be free. What do you think?”

  “She’s not happy with him,” Raiden said. Then he explained about her phone call. “When she hung up, her expression was frightening. I felt sorry for her.”

  “Yeah, it has to be a bucket of cold water in the face when your father lets you know he doesn’t give a damn about your daughter.”

  “I can’t imagine.” Raiden put his arms around me. “That will never happen to us.”

  I stiffened in his arms. “What do you mean?”

  “If we ever decide to have kids, my dad will love them with all his heart.”

  “Er, what if we decide not to have them?”

  “That’s fine too, but Scottie, I think we should wait to make that decision. You’ve been through a tough time and you may change your mind later.”

  “And what if I don’t?”

  “Then it’ll be you and me, babe.” He kissed the top of my head, which reassured me. I didn’t know what I wanted, except if I had another child, I couldn’t lose them. Not for anything. It would destroy the remaining pieces of me.

  We took the papers to show the others. After another conversation with Sinead, we agreed to call the FBI and the US Marshalls the following day, after Huff did an exhaustive search on all Aiden’s files.

  Early that evening, we got a call from one team that went to New York. O’Brien wasn’t there, but had been recently.

  We asked Sinead if she thought he knew we were coming.

  “I’m not sure. He’s a sneaky bastard. You should probably check this place for wires. That employee may have done it.”

  “Why the fuck hadn’t we considered that?” I asked.

  “We did. The place is clean,” Drex answered.

  “Maybe he got it out of Cruze. His tactics are vile,” Acer said, and he would know. “They’ll drug, then question him. He’ll have no choice but to answer. Cruze may have disclosed that part to him.”

  I asked Sinead, “Do you have any idea where he’d go next?”

  “One of his other houses nearby or a hotel. He enjoys the fancy ones.”

  “What are his favorites?”

  She rattled off a few names and suggested we look in Manhattan. “He has a ton of business associates there.”

  “You mean drug kingpins?” I asked.

  “Exactly. His biggest dealers are there and in Chicago. Try that next if he’s not in New York.”

  Huff shouted, “Wait, he just logged into his computer.”

  “Won’t he know you’re in too?” Sinead asked.

  “Nope. I’m behind a wall I installed.”

  We scrutinized Huff as he typed, and soon he was grinning. “I’ve got it. He’s in New York, all right. But in Brooklyn.” And then he named the hotel.

  Drex called the team back and told them to head straight there. I hoped Aiden didn’t leave by the time they arrived. He was as slippery as an eel.

  Huff shouted again. “I think I have Cruze’s location.” He kept typing and then said, “Aiden’s contacted a house near here. About a thirty-minute drive away. It has to be it.”

  Raiden shouted, “I’m going.”

  I stopped him. “No, you’re not. We’re about to get one of us back. We’re not losing you in the process. You’re too valuable to them.”

  “I don’t care. It’s my brother they have.”

  “Don’t you think I know that? But putting yourself out there makes this even more risky. Stay put and let the team handle it.”

  He acted like he would argue, but he didn’t. He plopped his angry ass down and pouted instead while Drex phoned in to another team. Then Gemini, Drex, and I got ready to go.

  Raiden grabbed me as I was leaving, “You’d better come back to me Scottie Sullivan or I will kick your ass to the moon and back.”

  “Did you play soccer?”

  He looked confused. “No, why?”

&nb
sp; “Sounds like you have mad kicking skills.” I winked, pecked him on the cheek, and joined Drex and Gem. I heard him calling out to be careful as I closed the door. God, I loved that man.

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Scottie

  On the drive to the destination, Gem turned around and said, “Seems you and Raiden are getting along well.”

  “We are.”

  “Is that all you’ll say?”

  “Yep.”

  “Oh, my God. Leaving me in suspense.”

  I waggled my brows at her. It killed her. But I didn’t want to talk romance in front of Drex.

  “Ugh, okay. Guess I’ll wait.”

  “Ladies, let’s focus. We have a job to do,” her husband chimed in.

  She scowled at him. “You would have to ruin it.”

  He gave her a sidelong glance. “What are you talking about?”

  “Girl gossip, that’s what.”

  He glanced up and asked, “Why now? Of all times.”

  “Drex, I’ve had no time alone with Scottie.”

  “Are you two a thing now?” He held back a laugh. By nature, he was not a humorous sort.

  “You’re so funny.” She punched his upper arm.

  “Hey, take it easy there, Popeye.”

  “Don’t be such a pussy.”

  “Pussy, huh? Remind me of that later.”

  “Count on it.”

  “Hey, you two, remember me? I’m still back here.”

  “Yeah, what?” Gem answered.

  “Do you really think we can bring Aiden and his entire network down?”

  Drex’s eyes met mine through the rearview mirror. “I do. If Isla contacts the feds and we can arrange a group meeting, getting their true cooperation, I believe we can dismantle his operation.”

  “I don’t want to get my hopes up too high. This has been a struggle for everyone. To breathe again would be a dream.”

  “And to live on our own,” he said.

  “I’d miss you guys. You would miss me,” I chirped.

  “Right.” The salty reply told me his true thoughts. Reaching out from the backseat, I patted his shoulder.