The Walsh brothers assumed we’d already left from Leth Sholas to make what was a twenty-five-hour boat trip to the meeting point off the coast of Dublin. They’d planned our route for us so we could avoid official boats that policed the waters.
However, since Fraser and I had the police on board with us, we traveled to the mainland in the wee hours of the morning instead and had driven four hours from Oban to Cairnryan, a small port town on the southwest coast. It would cut the boat journey down to only a few hours and the Walshes wouldn’t know any better. We’d slapped one of my boat registrations on the long-liner we were using to cover our arses in case they checked it.
The Irish Sea was choppy, the long-liner boat bobbing roughly in the water as we waited off the coast of Ireland for theIris. The undercover cops were dressed in typical fisherman gear, all of us wearing thick weatherproof jackets and beanies to fight off the chilly breeze. My stomach roiled and not with the boat. I’d had my sea legs since I was a boy and a strong stomach because of it.
Usually, however, a fishing expedition was filled with machine noise and loud communication among the crew. Allthat could be heard out here was the whoosh of the water beneath us and the racing pulse in my ears. And there was the small matter of having never had to face dangerous criminals and pretend to traffic drugs for them with a bunch of undercover police officers whose mere presence could get my cousin and me killed.
It changed everything. I’d always felt at home out on the water. Even with all its dangers, I’d found more beauty in it than threat. But today, all I felt was its chill. Its dampness seemed to seep into my very veins, filling me with its vast, empty loneliness.
I wanted more than anything to abandon it.
To be on land, with Kelly and London.
Seconds bled slowly into minutes as we waited.
Finally, I spotted a trawler heading toward us. “There.”
The officer in charge, Detective Sergeant Davis, gave me an abrupt nod. “Remember, he won’t suspect anything if you’re a wee bit nervous. But act like we’re just your crew. You’re in charge. Don’t look at us for guidance or protection because while we will protect you, you seeking assurance from us will give us away.”
Fraser and I nodded. My cousin was pale, but his eyes were hard with determination.
I tried not to think about Eileen or the twins, Kelly and London, and how much they were all counting on me to get this right.
The wait for theIristo approach seemed to take forever. I could feel the stress pressing on my bladder and fought off the desperate need to pee out my nervousness.
London flashed across my mind. She’d hardly slept and had woken with me in the wee hours of the morning. My last image of her was standing in our driveway, waving me off with a brave but trembling smile.
Kelly was still asleep, thank goodness, so I didn’t need to pretend with her. My last image of her was her sleeping peacefully in her bed, her e-reader abandoned beside her pillow.
I’m coming home to them.
I steeled myself as theIrisdrew to a stop starboard side. Approaching the edge, I watched warily as a huge beast of a man, even taller and broader than me, stalked to the edge of theIris. “I’m Russo,” he announced in a thick accent.
“Shaw,” I stated grimly. “Let’s do this.”
“We need to check boat first. Make sure no weapons, sì.”
DS Davis had already warned me this might happen, so I just jerked my chin up in agreement.
Two lithe men boarded our long-liner, and I gritted my teeth while one of them patted me down as the other patted down Fraser. They moved through our small crew, the undercover police officers doing a good job of looking just the right amount of nervous.
“All good!” one of them shouted back as the other checked over the boat.
Without a word, they worked with the crew of theIristo unload crates of fish that we knew had drugs buried inside them. Rage burned in my chest at the realization these people had intimidated others into crime. But they weren’t going to get me. They’d chosen the wrong fucking man.
After it was done, the men disembarked the long-liner onto theIris. Russo’s expression was hard, cold. “Anything goes wrong at port, you are a dead man, sì?”
I stared blankly at him and he smirked, giving me an approving nod before he waved his hand imperiously. “Move on. We stay, watch you leave in right direction.”
Without another word, I turned and gestured to Fraser. He moved into the cabin and the engine started back up. Carefully, he maneuvered us away from theIrisand toward Dublin.
Once we were out of earshot, DS Davis approached. “You did very well.”
“It’s not over. Should we check the crates?”
Davis checked his watch. “In a minute. Right now, theIris’sradio systems are all being blocked so they can’t radio out, and they’re about to be surrounded by the Gardai.” He tapped my shoulder. “See.”
Sure enough, in the distance, I could see multiple police speedboats heading toward theIris. We watched as she tried to flee, but theIriswas an old trawler and there was no way she could outrun them.
