Page 57 of Guarding Salvation

Bram tipped his head and the three of them headed for the Range Rover. Titan would drive them to a rendezvous point on the English border and a known safehouse they used where the others would meet them.

Duchess was still in London with Reaper and Bishop working on the Cavendish brothers but Watchdog, Bás, Hurricane, and Lotus would be there. Apparently, Lotus was also bringing Rykov Anatolievich with her, who’d agreed to help them.

Bram didn’t know him well but after hearing how close Hurricane had come to getting captured in Ireland a few weeks earlier, he was happy to take all the help they could get to end this once and for all.

Doyle clearly had more people loyal to him than they knew of, but what he wasn’t sure of was whether it was adoration or fear which fuelled their loyalty, and the difference could be huge for how they proceeded.

The motorways were clear this early as they pulled off and waited at a service station for the allotted time to make sure they were clear of a tail. Titan pulled back on the road and continued until they hit Berwick-upon-Tweed, a small town of about twelve thousand people on the east coast. Pulling into a family suburb where people were just getting ready for the workday, Bram, Snow, and Titan headed inside, knowing from the text that Bás and the others were already waiting for them.

Straightening his spine for whatever was to come, he shucked off the cloak of Bram and allowed Bein to take over.

The dining room had been set up like a conference room, the windows on the unassuming house were bullet proof so they had no concerns about that as they sat around the table and waited for Bás to speak.

“Firstly, how is Aoife?”

He had to stop the sappy look he could feel edging over his features at the thought of her. “Fine. She took a tumble in the woods and fractured her metatarsal, but it turned out to be a good thing. Without it, we would’ve been chasing our tails looking for a leak that never was.”

Bás linked his fingers together on the table. “Yes, and because of that, we’ve cleared Peyton. She’s staying with Smithy and Lizzie until this is over. I think being stuck unable to see her patients was taking a toll on her. Now, back to business. Hurricane, do you have an update for us on what you learned in Ireland?”

Bein glanced around the room at his friends and noticed Rykov watching Lotus. It was no secret to anyone how he felt about Lotus, but she wouldn’t have any of it. He also knew she was the reason he was helping them out and he’d take it.

“His operation is bigger than we realised. He owns that city. Nobody gets in or out without him knowing about it. He owns The Smugglers Rest pub in Dublin and it’s his main haunt. He spends some time at his home which is guarded twenty-four-seven, but he’s mainly at the pub. He’s there every night and surrounded by guards, all armed, but it’s not them that concern me, it’s all the others. He seems to control everyone, from the shop owners to the homeless guy who lives in the alley. It’s like his own network, which is why nobody can get near him. I was minutes from getting caught when I got on that flight out. Another fifteen minutes and he would’ve had me.”

“Did you learn anything about the operation?” Rykov asked, his accent thick.

Hurricane shrugged. “We know he runs the docks and from the access he has to the airfield, my guess is he has people from customs and security at the airport on his payroll. It’s so dirty, it’s hard to see where his stink doesn’t touch. He has judges, cops, officials of every kind on his books or he has dirt on them. I also think he uses a double sometimes.” Hurricane sipped his cold coffee and grimaced before he continued. “So basically, un-fucking-touchable.”

Bein could feel his frustration growing with every second and revelation.

“Not necessarily.” All eyes turned to Rykov who had unbuttoned the jacket of his bespoke handmade suit and leaned forward. “I’ve spoken with my contact in the US and I’m expecting a call from Igor Popov later today. I’m going to offer him a deal he won’t refuse to walk away from his deal with Doyle. If you take Doyle and his closest men from the equation, then I have people who can take over his territory.”

Bein felt his lip curl in disgust. “Are you fucking with me? You want us to take out Doyle, so you slip in and take over his drug trade?”

Rykov regarded him silently for a minute. “Yes. Doyle is an unknown and out of control element but what I’m proposing isn’t the Bratva taking over, but the Diablo Riders.”

“Excuse me, but you want a biker gang to take over and you think it will be better?” Bein clenched his fists on the table, his feelings on this mirrored around the room.

“Yes, I do. Diablos are all made up of ex-military. They run drugs and guns but don’t touch sex trafficking or tolerate abuse of women. They also have the knowledge and manpower to handle this coup when Doyle goes down.”

“So why haven’t they?” Bás asked the question they were all now thinking.

“Because with Doyle alive people are too scared to back them. He has everyone in that city afraid. He doesn’t just run his personal life with fear, he runs the entire town. You either do what he says or suffer, and he’s cruel.”

Bein snorted. “You don’t need to tell us that. He did hideous things to his own child and allowed his men to torture and abuse her.”

Bein saw the sympathy and while he didn’t know Rykov’s story, he saw the anger and passion with which he’d defend women against crime. “I’m aware, which is why he needs to die.”

“I’m still not sure an MC gang taking over will leave the city better off,” Titan began, his own history as a gang leader making him the best person to weigh in on this.

“I understand that, but you and I both know if you leave nothing in place the void will be filled by someone. At least this way we control the narrative and I have assurances from the president of the club that they will be fair and clean up the city.”

“Let me speak to my contact in Ireland before we approve that, but I agree our only plan is to take out Doyle.” Bás pointed at Watchdog, aka Jonas Mason, who as usual had his head buried in his screen. He was the kind of man who never seemed to be off, always working either on his screen or in the gym. For that reason, he was as far away from what anyone would expect a geek to look like as they could get but without a doubt, he was the best.

“I want a weakness. Find me a way in so I can take down Doyle and weaken him.”

“You know the quickest way is to draw him out.”

Bein glared at Lotus knowing exactly what she was suggesting. He pointed his finger her way. “No fucking way.”