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I didn’t fucking know what she was.
I really didn’t. I just knew she was something, and that something routinely popped into my thoughts even though I hadn’t seen her in a goddamn lifetime.
Hopped up on Oxy, I’d still thought about her. Thought about what she’d uncovered. The secrets in the family, the truths and lies that were burrowed within the O’Donnelly clan.
Filthy secrets and filthier lies.
She’d become tangled up in them in my mind, and it messed with my head. As much as I needed to protect those secrets and lies from ever seeing the light of day, I needed to protect her too. They all went hand in hand.
Mouth tightening with frustration, I got on my way.
At this time of the morning, the traffic wasn’t as bad, but somehow, as I drove off the island and into Brooklyn, I got caught up in a traffic jam and it took me about twenty minutes longer than I’d have liked to make it to Brennan’s territory.
As was often the way when I had the misfortune of coming into this part of our world, I waved my hand at the corpses Da had buried in one of the lots here. There were pigs and a politician or two buried within that ground, earth that would forever be untouched no matter how much the value of it soared. Not that I could imagine that happening in my lifetime. And when I was dead, and Da was gone, who the hell would care about some rotten old bodies that were secretly buried?
A guard visually tagged me and bagged me the second I showed up on the compound, so I drove in and parked with little to no fuss.
Wasn’t it fitting that I was in Paddy’s old stomping ground?
This had been his home away from home before Brennan had taken over it, and my brother hadn’t done anything to improve the place.
It looked decrepit, derelict. Barely functioning, in fact. Inside, it was like a bordello, because Paddy’s taste ran as deep as his flighty nature.
Grimacing at the thought, then grunting as my knee started to buckle when I was standing, I huffed out a breath, tried to inhale and exhale to get the pain back down to manageable levels, before I accepted that wasn’t going to happen and that I needed to struggle through it.
As I pondered which would make me look weaker, a cane or walking like this, I forced myself into the mindset required for what was about to go down.
Mostly aware that I was being watched by the guards monitoring the area, I knew I couldn’t stick around for long. They’d figure out something was wrong, and while I knew the family was aware of my addiction, my brothers, by some miracle, had managed to keep a tight lid on it. That was probably helped by the fact that my position in the Points was managerial rather than hands on like Brennan. I’d done my time, served on the frontlines, had handed many a man’s ass to him. That was it for me.
I only got involved when it was personal.
Tonight was the definition of personal.
While I limped over to the warehouse, the door opened and I saw Forrest, one of Bren’s right-hand-men, waiting for me.
His crew was unlike the one I had, most of my brothers’ in fact. Brennan’s were like secondary brothers or something. They were closer than close, whereas my crew were mostly autonomous. They knew when I called on them, they had to act, but I had a good Captain in charge, so Lucas handled most of the shit for me. That had been the way even before the accident.
Dipping my chin at Forrest, I asked, "He’s expecting me?"
"Yep, told me to wait on you to guide you toward the main event."
I shook my head. "I don’t want to go to the office."
"You want to get your hands dirty?" Forrest arched a brow, then scanned me. "You’re not exactly dressed for the part."
"Aren’t I?" I replied grimly as I stepped through the doorway, letting him close the door behind me.
"Not like you to get involved, Aidan," Forrest rumbled, frowning at me. "Everything okay?"
Because I knew how much he meant to Brennan, I cut him more slack than I would usually. "I’m fine, Forrest. Seriously."
He shrugged. "If you say so. You look wired."
I almost huffed out a laugh. I looked wired now? Christ, the only thing I was hopped up on was adrenaline and fury.
As I limped through the gaudy offices, following Forrest even though I knew the exact route to where Brennan tortured our enemies, I grimaced as the stench hit me.
"Jesus," I rumbled.
