“Seems like Bre might be a pretty amazing fit for you, Rave. Don’t you think?” Bran asked carefully.
Raven sighed, the caving inevitable. “She does. Thank you, Hugh.”
From the front seat, Patrick only heard a grunt. It was decided that Raven and Bran would be dropped off at their leased house to meet Bre. Since Patrick said he wouldn’t make any changes to what River had decided for his floor in the building, Rowan would head on to Triskelion while he and his dad checked on the building’s progress.
Tim Daniels had done a damn fine job on his first monster contract. Patrick already knew that if they bought the distillery outside of Dublin, Daniels would be involved. He and his dad stopped in the foyer to admire the giant metal wolf sculpture. “I had thought I might do some research on the distillery while I’m at Bébhinn’s. Perhaps set up a meeting to meet with the seller in a few weeks. Would you be able to meet me?”
“I don’t want you to leave town,” was his answer.
Patrick blew out a deep breath, shoving his hands in his front pockets. “I don’t want to leave, Dad, but Rowan’s plan has merit.” Dad continued to stare at the sculpture. “She won’t talk to me in person or by phone. She refuses to be near me, but I’m hoping she’ll read my letters and that they might soften her toward me. Rowan promised to give her the letters.”
“Raven and Rowan surprised me today. I had no idea they planned on speaking with you. I didn’t expect them to give you a chance to contact River.”
“I didn’t either. I fucked up. The sisters are my only hope at the moment.”
“I still don’t want you to leave.”
Dog with a bone, as usual. “Maybe in two weeks you’ll meet me in Longford, and I can brief you on the distillery?”
“Fine.”
“Dad, can I ask you something?”
Hugh stopped staring at the wolf and focused his dark eyes on his son. An eyebrow lift was Pat’s consent to ask. “Are you... I mean... Christ. Are you and Rowan together?”
Patrick didn’t think he’d ever seen his dad turn such a dark shade of red. Various emotions crossed his features— surprise, embarrassment, and finally, shame. “She is younger than my children. Absolutely not.”
So, he was in denial. Interesting. He’d never seen his father back down from anything or anyone. “I can’t speak for Bran, but I think she’s good for you.”
“The subject is closed,” Dad growled ominously.
Patrick dared to add, “I was a coward with River, and I’ve lost her. I’ve never known you to run away from something you wanted.”
No answer. Patrick didn’t expect one. He did hope that his dad would rethink his stance. He deserved happiness. It had been a long time coming.
* * *
At one that afternoon,MacGregor used the flat screen on the conference room wall at The Fitzwilliam to connect with Mr. O’Connor and James. None of MacGregor’s team was there. They’d already been briefed. Thomas decided he didn’t want to pull any of his men from their stations unnecessarily.
O’Connor nodded to Dad, “Hugh.”
“Dean.”
As Dean O’Connor was the first person to hire MacGregor, he began with, “Where is Josephine?”
Thomas seemed to swell twice his normal size. As if Dean were calling his abilities into question. “Safe.”
O’Connor nodded. “Tell me everything you’ve learned.”
“It seems Delton has been creating more rape videos for his dark web account. The FBI has gotten close several times, but the bastard has managed to elude capture. The Tulsa detective I work with hoped that Delton had moved on from stalking you and the O’Faolains. However, after the photos surfaced from New Year’s Eve taken at Wolves, we believe that he was there that night.”
“You believe he took the photos of Patrick?” His dad was a breath away from exploding.
“Yes. The Tulsa newspaper editor of the social column received an email with the pictures. The photographer led her to believe he’d been hired by Hugh. The pictures were all typical grand opening stuff. There were a few of all of us and only one of Patrick and the woman he took to the garden as they were about to walk out.” At Patrick’s flinch, Thomas dipped his head in apology.
“The detective sent me pictures of who he believes is Samuel Delton.” Here, MacGregor pulled up several security camera stills taken from inside Wolves. It was of an older woman with big hair and loud clothes. There were several pictures of her, or him rather, standing around all of them. Jesus. They had stood right next to a predator. Rowan was at the bar, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with him at one point.
“Obviously, he hasn’t moved on. The blogger that posted the pictures of Patrick got them from a new photography business hoping to grab clients’ attention. They only asked to be given credit. The blogger,SocialOK, immediately handed over the email address, which was no longer valid, and the name of the business,Event Photography, which has also been erased without a trace. They shared the information with the FBI. There’s a chance they might be able to trace it back to Delton. Even without the confirmation, everyone believes it’s him.”
