Keira slaps his shoulder. "Don't be an idiot."
"No, very funny, Declan." I turn in the chair to look up at him. "I just want to be thorough. I've never done anything like this, and with you two involved, I don't want to phone it in. It's your lives, mine, my brothers', on the line."
"Feel good now making a joke?" Keira asks. "When she's trying to protect all our asses?"
"Alright, alright," Declan says, raising his hands in surrender.
I turn back to the screen and click on a link. A detailed map of the Greek islands opens, zooming in on one particular location.
"The gala is on Spetses." I point to the small island on the screen. "About a ten to fifteen-minute water taxi from the town of Kosta. The event is spread over three mansions on the north side, connected by a large garden that stretches down to the water."
Keira leans in, looking at the image. "How many guests?"
"Around two hundred, maybe more. Mind you, I've had to find all this out while keeping Niko in the dark."
The guilt of that admission sits heavy in my chest. Niko thinks I'm just nervous about meeting his father officially. He has no idea I'm planning to murder the man.
"Makes sense," Declan says. "Wouldn't want your boyfriend to know you're planning to kill his father."
I glare at him but don't respond. He's not wrong. But still. Stavros killed my father and now threatens everyone I love.
"Security will be tight, but since this is invitation-only, and everything is vetted through Stavros, they'll be focused on external threats. Not internal ones."
I've thought about this constantly over the past few days. Stavros trusts his system. He believes his power and reputation are enough to keep him safe among his own guests.
"Meaning they won't expect an attack from a guest," Keira says, understanding immediately.
"Exactly." I pull up some photos showing the interior of the houses Stavros will be using from an architect magazine feature that ran two years ago. The images show fancy rooms with marble floors, crystal chandeliers, and priceless artwork. "The layout is fairly straightforward," I continue. "The biggest house is where the main event will be held. Its ground floor was converted into a ballroom. The house next door is where the kitchen is, and the third is mostly bedrooms and a private study. This is where Niko and I will be staying. I'm assuming Stavros, too."
"Assuming?" Declan's eyebrow arches.
I shrug. "Well, I can't ask him. But Niko told me that every year, about halfway through the event, his father heads to a room to conduct meetings. It's the whole point of this stupid gala, and that's when we'd probably meet him."
The cursor hovers over a photograph of an elaborate study with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and a massive mahogany desk. Persian rugs cover marble floors, and heavy curtains frame windows that overlook the sea.
"Okay, so where do you plan to do it?" Keira asks.
The question I've been dreading. Because the answer requires me to fully become someone I've never been before. Someone who can look a man in the eye and end his life.
"Here." I zoom in on the study on the second floor of the third mansion. "This is the largest office of the three houses, and I bet this is where he'll be. During the party, when everyone's distracted, and before I'm supposed to meet him with Niko. I'll excuse myself, slip upstairs, and wait for him."
"I mean, this sounds good-ish, but how exactly do you plan on doing this?" Declan's voice is carefully neutral. "Gun's loud, I guess you could get a silencer, but you'd have to conceal it which is tricky. A knife's too up close, personal."
"He's right, Cal. And you can't fight this guy," Keira adds.
"I agree. I need something quiet. Fast. Something I can do up close and walk away from like nothing happened."
Declan nods slowly. "You mean poison."
I turn to face him. "Exactly. And that's where you come in."
He laughs. "Ah, how lucky."
"Look, I know you move pharmaceuticals in Boston, and here a bit with my brothers. I try to stay out of all that, but I'm not stupid."
It's an open secret in our world that Declan handles the Killaney family's drug operations on the East Coast. He's clean and efficient. He's never been caught because he's careful and smart.
Declan doesn't confirm or deny it, just watches me with those eyes of his.
