by Zara Keane
“How did they approach you?” Gen asked, her elegant fountain pen poised to take notes. “Did they do so directly, or use an intermediary?”
“Directly. Straight after a fight I’d lost.” Ruthie’s smile was grim. “These people know how to find weak spots. I was stressed over Kevin’s phone call and upset that my career had crash landed. Anyway, the agent explained that he worked for an off-the-books international collaboration between several western nations. Ireland is one.”
Shane whistled. “Holy fuck. What do they want with us?”
“They asked me to spy on you and your family. Inveigle invitations to Delaney family events, that sort of thing.”
“Which you’ve done rather successfully,” he said dryly.
“Yeah.” She bit her lip. “I’m sorry I lied to you, Shane. You have no idea how many times I wanted to confide in you, just blurt it all out.”
“Why didn’t you?”
She blinked back tears and held her trembling hands in her lap. “Because, for better or worse, I signed a contract with the agency, and I agreed to take this job.”
Shane and Lar exchanged significant glances that Ruthie couldn’t interpret.
“And in return, they agreed to cover your brother’s debts?” Lar asked, eyebrow raised.
“More or less. I’m being paid my regular salary, plus expenses. However, I was offered a substantial bonus if I uncovered information that they considered useful. That bonus would cover the second installment of Kevin’s debt.”
“Doesn’t that strike you as an odd arrangement for an agency to make?” Gen asked. “I don’t recall ever being offered a bonus of that nature, and I worked for MI6 for years.”
“This is my first solo assignment, so I can’t say. I thought the incentive of a bonus might be because my situation was unique. I’m from Kilpatrick and I was already known to you and many members of your family. They didn’t even need to create a legend for me. They knew I was the ideal person for this assignment and were therefore willing to make an unusual deal with me.”
Shane shifted in his seat. “Was the deal your suggestion or theirs?”
“I…” Had it been her suggestion? She’d been flabbergasted to be called into Travers’s boss’s office and stunned to be informed her first real assignment would be in Dublin. She screwed up her forehead, replaying the interview. “No, I brought up needing a specific amount, but they didn’t seem surprised. Mind you, they probably already knew all about it if they’d researched my family.”
“It’s an odd scenario, though,” Lar said. “I can see why they might feel you were ideal for the job, but I don’t understand why an international agency wants to spy on my family. What, exactly, are they hoping to discover?”
She took a deep breath and looked at them each straight in the eye. “I don’t know why they want certain information about you and your family, but I do know what I was sent to discover. They want to find out how far you’ve gotten with your investigation into the attack on The Lucky Leprechaun.”
Shane scrunched his forehead. “Why? Apart from it being a personal tragedy for the families who lost loved ones, why would some anonymous international agency care whether or not we find who was responsible?”
“Why indeed?” She sighed. “Look, I’m sorry for the subterfuge, Shane. For what it’s worth, I regretted accepting the job the moment I met you at Power’s.”
“That’s not much consolation to me, Ruthie,” he said in a low voice that exuded a resigned hurt. “You lied to me, repeatedly. You let me care about you, and you fucking lied to me.”
Her throat constricted and she could barely squeeze the words out. “Shane, I’m sorry. I truly am.”
“When was this?” Dan asked, drawing her attention away from Shane. It was the first time he’d spoken since she entered the room.
“Last November. I had several months of training. This is—was—my first solo assignment.”
“November, eh?” Dan drew his brows together. “That was long before we started taking another look at what happened at The Lucky Leprechaun.”
“I don’t think her recruitment was connected,” Gen said. “Ruthie is the type who’d interest an intelligence agency. She’s smart and she has fighting skills.”
“But when the agency discovered we were digging for info,” Lar added, “they decided Ruthie would be the ideal person to infiltrate the team.”
Gen nodded. “Exactly.”
“For what it’s worth, I haven’t told them anything yet. I haven’t had enough time to find out anything of relevance.”
Shane snorted. “You would have if I hadn’t caught you trying to hack my laptop.”
A tense silence descended, and Ruthie’s cheeks burned with shame. “I’m sorry, Shane. Truly I am. I’d never have agreed to the assignment if I wasn’t desperate.”
“I can’t believe you’re a secret agent.”
She gave a rueful laugh. “You’ve stripped the secret part out of my job description. The agency must have been desperate to send me here. My training concentrated on fighting, not actual spying.”
“That makes sense,” Gen said. “There are different types of agents. Not all create legends and conduct undercover work as I did.”
“In other words,” Shane bit out, “you were prepared to sell us out for money.”
“If I could have found the money any other way, I would have done it. Involving Dad would have led to disaster. Settling the first part of Kevin’s debt wiped my savings. I was desperate.”
“I understand the impulse to protect your family,” Shane said, “but—” At that moment, his phone rang, cutting short whatever he’d been about to say. He stared at the screen. “Shit,” he said. “It’s Kaylee. I have to take this call.” He held the phone to his ear. “Kaylee?”
Shane’s eyes widened as he listened and his knuckles turned white from the force with which he was holding the phone. “You fucking bastard. If you hurt her—” He held the phone in front of his face and groaned.
The others were all on the alert. “What’s happened?” Lar demanded. “Is Kaylee okay?”
Shane turned to face Ruthie, riveting her in place with the intensity of his gaze. “That was Reuben. He says Kevin is holding Kaylee hostage.”
28
“What the hell?” Ruthie leaped to her feet and stared at Shane in disbelief. “Are you sure? Kevin has his issues, but I’ve never known him to be violent to women.”
Shane glared at her, and all the anger and resentment that had been building since yesterday came tumbling out. “If you hadn’t come sniffing around, none of this would have happened. If you hadn’t made me trust you, I wouldn’t have let my guard down. You made me love you, Ruthie. You made me imagine a future with you in it.”
Tears streamed down her cheeks. “I’m sorry, Shane. I never meant to hurt you.”
Aw, crap. He hadn’t wanted to make her cry. “Look, Ruthie, I—”
“Enough,” Lar said, standing. “You two can fight another time. Where is Kevin allegedly holding Kaylee?”
“At the cottage, but I don’t buy it.” Shane looked at Ruthie, and then back at Lar. “Ruthie’s right. Kevin is mentally ill, but he wouldn’t do something like this. I think Reuben is setting a trap for us.”
“Trap or not, we can’t leave Kaylee in the lurch,” Lar said in a grim tone. “We have to find out what’s going on.”
The thought of Kaylee in danger was like a blow to the solar plexus. She might not be his sister by blood, but she was in every sense that mattered. “How fast can we get there, Dan? I don’t give a shit if we break the speed limit.”
Dan, the logistics specialist for the Triskelion Team, checked his watch. “If we floor it, we can be at the cottage within an hour.”
“I’ll call my father,” Ruthie said. “Check if Kevin is missing.”
Shane frowned. “Was he there when you left the house this morning?”
“His bedroom door was closed, but that doesn’t mean
he was in there. I thought I heard the front door close when I was in the bathroom, but I assumed Dad had gone out to buy a newspaper.”
“Okay,” he said. “You call Big Mike and try Kevin’s phone as well. I’ll try reaching Kaylee.”
“And I’ll phone the security team at the cottage,” Lar added.
The next few minutes passed in a tense round of phone conversations and attempted calls. Neither Kevin nor Kaylee answered their phones, and Big Mike confirmed that Kevin wasn’t at home. Ruthie gave him a truncated version of events, and he agreed to gather his troops and meet them at the cottage in Wicklow. To Shane’s alarm, none of the bodyguards on duty were answering their phones.
After stocking up on firearms and ammo, they donned bulletproof vests and piled into two of the Triskelion Team’s SUVs. Flash stayed behind with Imelda. Shane sat in the back of one of the vehicles, next to Ruthie. She sat stiff as a board, oozing tension. Being this close to her stung. Part of him wanted to kiss her worries away, and the other part of him wanted to scream and roar at her for making him feel emotions he didn’t want to have and then ripping his heart out. Neither kissing her nor shouting at her was a smart move. He settled back in his seat and counted bullets for the nth time.
The journey down to Wicklow was a blur. No one spoke. Shane checked his weapons, the routine helping to calm his nerves. By the time Lar turned into the narrow road that led to the cottage, Shane could barely breathe. If Reuben had hurt Kaylee or the boys, he’d rip his fucking throat out.
Ruthie fought nausea for most of the journey. By the time Lar pulled up beside a black SUV and killed the engine, she was ready to hurl.
“Big Mike’s not here yet,” Shane said. “I’m assuming that’s Reuben’s car.”
Sure enough, Shane’s loathsome brother-in-law emerged from the side of the house, gingerly stepping over the prone figure of one of Kaylee’s bodyguards and dragging two little boys behind him. Shane leaped out of the car, and Ruthie tumbled out after him.
“Finally,” Reuben snarled. “You lot took your damn time.”
Shane ran to the boys, and they hurled themselves into his arms. “We got here as quickly as we could,” Shane said, picking up his nephews and scanning his surroundings. “Where’s Kaylee?”
Ruthie followed the direction of his gaze. Apart from Reuben, she couldn’t see anyone. A shiver went down her spine. The whole business stank. No way would Reuben hightail it to a hostage situation without backup. Heck, he’d dragged four flunkies with him to tackle Lar and Shane the other night.
“Kaylee is still in the house with that lunatic.” Reuben turned on Ruthie. “That fucker invaded the cottage and took my wife and kids hostage. He only let the boys go when Kaylee agree to stay.”
Ruthie ran a hand through her hair. “What do you want me to do? Talk him down? If Kevin is holding them hostage, isn’t this a job for hostage negotiators?”
“No police,” Reuben was up in her face. “You call them, and I’ll make damn sure your brother dies.”
Burning rage scorched her throat. She was in no mood to let a psycho wife-beater bully her. “Threaten my brother one more time,” she snarled, “and I’ll rearrange your face.”
“Your brother is holding my wife prisoner, and you’re threatening me? He’s a deranged lunatic. He’s been stalking Kaylee for months.”
Ruthie locked eyes with Shane. “This is the first I’ve heard of Kevin bothering Kaylee. You?”
Shane shook his head. “She said nothing about Kevin to me. The person she’s afraid of is you, Reuben. How did you find the cottage, anyway?”
“Because I’m not stupid.” Reuben glared at his brother-in-law. “I’m not a model husband, but I wouldn’t threaten my wife with a power drill.”
What the hell? “That doesn’t sound like something Kevin would do,” Ruthie said to Shane. But how well did she know her brother? Or rather, his illness? Would he be capable of hurting people while high on drugs and a bout of paranoia?
She turned back to Reuben, who was impeccably dressed as always. Even in the midst of a crisis, the creep didn’t have a hair out of place. “If you think your wife is in danger, we need people with professional experience in dealing with these situations.” She reached into her pocket and took out her phone.
“I said no fucking police.” Reuben grabbed her phone and hurled it on the ground, where the screen shattered.
“You dickhead.” Ruthie went for him, and he twisted her arm. She bit back a scream of pain and kneed him in the balls. The man fell back, roaring. “Touch me one more time, and I’ll shove your balls so far up your arse that you’ll need surgery to remove them.” She turned to the Delaneys. “The prick broke my phone.”
Shane hauled Reuben into a sitting position and held him by the scruff of his neck. “Have you not learned your lesson yet?” he growled. “Never hurt a woman. Not on my watch.”
With those words, Shane’s eyes met Ruthie’s, and her heart performed a flip. She loved this man. She loved him with every atom of her being. And judging by the haunted expression on his face, he felt the same way. If only she’d pushed past her fears and confided in him days ago, while there was still a sliver of hope that he’d understand.
She drew in a shaky breath and turned to the others. “I’ll deal with Kevin. Out of all of us here, he’s most likely to talk to me.”
Lar nodded. “Fair enough, but take a gun with you.”
She bristled at his words. “I’m not shooting my brother.”
Shane released his grip on Reuben and stepped closer, so that only she could hear his words. “It’s not Kevin we’re worried about. Do you have your gun with you? I’d feel better knowing you’re armed.”
“I have my pistol in my holster. I can look after myself.”
A tentative smile broke through his grim expression. “Oh, I know you can.” He pointed to his teeth. “I’ve seen you in action.”
Her eyes met his and, for a brief moment, the familiar spark was there, the sense of mutual longing. He stepped back and the spell was broken. “Be careful.”
Her vocal chords didn’t seem to want to cooperate. “I will.”
Ruthie trudged over the gravel to the front door, feeling the weight of the world on her shoulders. Surely Kevin wouldn’t threaten a woman and her children? But how well did she know her brother, truly? She’d been away for years, and there was no denying that Kevin’s condition had deteriorated. No, this had to be a trap set by Reuben. And if so, she was walking straight into it.
Ruthie rang the doorbell. “Kevin, it’s me. Please open up.”
Beyond the closed door, she heard a shuffling sound. “Ruthie?”
She placed a hand on the door. “Yeah. Let me in, Kev. It’s just me. No one else is coming in.”
The door opened a crack. “Just you?”
“Just me. Come on, Kev. Let’s talk.”
Her brother grabbed her arm and pulled her inside, slamming the door behind him. He held the infamous power drill in one hand and a piece of plywood in the other. “Where’s Reuben?” he demanded, looking around him furtively, as if the man had somehow snuck in. “What’s he doing?”
“He’s outside with Shane and his cousins.”
Kevin frowned. “Anyone else with him? He didn’t come alone.”
“Is that a question or a statement? Apart from the unconscious bodyguards, I didn’t see anyone but Reuben.”
“Where are they?” Kevin asked, more to himself than directed at her. “It makes no sense.”
She put her arms around her brother, felt his trembling body stiffen. “It’s okay, Kev, I’m here now. But there’s something I have to ask you. Reuben says you’re holding Kaylee prisoner. Is this true?”
Kevin pulled out of the embrace and gave a violent shake of his head. “Of course not. It’s all wrong, Ruthie. Don’t you see? It doesn’t add up. Where are they?”
“Where’s who? Who did you see?”
Kevin wrapped his arms around his thin body and roc
ked back and forth, his eyes unfocused. “They’re hiding, but they’re watching us. I know they’re there.”
Ruthie took a deep breath and willed calm. Whether Kevin’s mysterious they were real or a figment of his fractured imagination, she couldn’t tell. “I agree with you that something’s off, but before we deal with Reuben, I need to know that Kaylee is safe.”
Kevin pointed to a closed door. “She’s in the living room. I didn’t touch her, honest. Go see for yourself.”
Ruthie stepped up to the door and knocked before entering. Sure enough, Kaylee huddled on the sofa, her arms wrapped around her legs. Her head jerked up when Ruthie entered the room, but her panic subsided when she registered who it was—or rather, who it wasn’t.
“Hello, Kaylee. Do you remember me? I’m Ruthie Reynolds, Kevin’s sister.” Ruthie took in the other woman’s fading bruises and the stitches above her eyebrow and sucked in a breath. Even if Reuben hadn’t set up this hostage situation, he deserved to get his arse kicked. Only an animal would batter his wife.
“I remember you,” Kaylee said. “You were a skinny kid, but well able to give the boys hell if they pissed you off.”
Ruthie laughed and perched on the edge of an armchair. “That sounds about right. Listen, Kaylee, can you tell me what’s going on? Reuben called Shane and said Kevin was holding you hostage.”
“I don’t know what’s going on,” she said. “Reuben burst in here a couple of hours ago and grabbed the boys. He was ranting and raving about Kevin trying to kill us. I tried to stop Reuben leaving with the boys, but Kevin tumbled into the house, causing a commotion. During the confusion, Reuben legged it with RJ and Robbie. Kevin was in a terrible state, shaking and crying and saying we needed to protect ourselves because they were outside. I’ve tried to pump him for details, but he’s too wound up to make any sense. All he wants to do is board up all the windows and doors.”