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“You did everything you could. This isn’t your fault.”
I all but flinch away from her kind words.
“But it wasn’t enough,” I bite back bitterly.
The silence my words leave behind is almost deafening.
No one bothers to correct me, and I already know the truth.
If Roisin dies, her blood is on my hands.
“There’s no point dwelling on it now. We need to establish a rescue plan,” Kate steps in suddenly, instantly taking charge of the room. “Jack, Aimee, you’re not coming.”
“There’s no way–” Aimee begins.
Kate cuts her off by showing them a picture on her phone. From a glance, I can tell it’s a screenshot from the dark web, broadcasting both Jack and Aimee’s faces with a hefty reward underneath.
“Ray sent this over to me earlier,” Kate explains as Jack’s face pales slightly.
The techie shrugs apologetically. “Everyone and their mother is going to be out looking for you guys.”
Aimee runs her hands through her auburn hair. “Jesus Christ.”
“Padraic knows how to hold a grudge,” Jack mutters in agreement.
“So if we can’t go,” Aimee clarifies with Kate. “Who do you propose?”
“Me,” I say firmly. “I’ll go.”
“Me too.” Kate nods her head at me in confirmation of her words. “Ray’s got us an address. We’ll treat it as a stealth mission. I hear you’re fairly comfortable with discretion?”
“Two people won’t be enough,” Jack counters. “Last I heard, the Romeros weren’t exactly stingy when it came to personal protection.”
“We’ll be extra quiet then,” Kate jabs back.
“Can we spare reinforcements, Jack?”
We turn to look at Aimee, a little surprised by her contribution.
She clears her throat before continuing. “If Kate and Arnie are our Plan A, we could also station our men just outside the perimeter in case anything goes wrong.”
“It could be a bloodbath if they do end up getting involved,” Jack replies, clearly weighing the option in his mind. “And I can’t predict how well Eda’s men will hold up in a fight.”
“What choice do we have?” Aimee challenges right back. “At least with Kate and Arnie on the inside, they might be able to gather intel that might skew our odds in our favor.”
Kate nods at this. “We can keep an open line of communication.”
I look between the three of them, clearly already plotting sixteen moves ahead. “So, what, you’re going to give us a big red ‘emergency use only’ button to call in reinforcements?”
“It’s called a phone, asshole.” Kate rolls her eyes. “And it’s the best plan we’ve got.”
“I can get you blueprints of the house if you give me ten minutes,” Ray pipes up. “There will be paperwork on Padraic’s drive about the last scouting mission there if you want me to hack into that too?”
A memory stirs in my mind. “Could you see if Padraic has anything on theBlack Coats?”
I direct the question at Ray, but it’s Jack’s head that snaps up. “Why do you ask?”
“Mercenaries in black aided theDead Eyesin burning down my home,” I explain as I try to read his expression.
