When we arrive in Boston, it’s pouring rain. The weather is so bad, the jet has to circle the airport for an hour before we get clearance to land. When we do finally land, it’s with a violent jolt that makes me bite my lip so hard, it bleeds.
I try not to take that as a bad omen.
But suddenly, everything feels like a bad omen. From the moment we lifted off in Bermuda, I’ve had an unshakeable feeling of doom.
The brutal turbulence during the flight didn’t help. Neither did the flock of geese we murdered on our descent into Boston. I looked out the window and saw a blizzard of feathers and bloody bird parts flying past, and white-knuckled the arms of my seat until we landed.
Now we’re here, and Spider’s hustling me down the aisle toward the opening cockpit door with such impatience, it would probably be easier if he picked me up and carried me instead.
“Hurry, lass,” he urges from behind me, propelling me forward with a hand between my shoulder blades.
“I can’t hurry any faster than I already am.”
He gives me a gentle shove. “Try.”
That he’s so nervous makes me more nervous. He’s the one with the gun!
Outside, another black SUV awaits on the tarmac, engine running. Spider throws his suit jacket over my head to shield me from the downpour, then follows me down the airstairs, right on my heels.
He whisks me into the car, climbs in behind me, and slams shut the door, all with the speed of a tornado.
“Kieran. Good to see you, mate.” He nods at the big brute in the driver’s seat, wearing a black suit identical to his own.
The brute sends him a chin lift in return. “Spider. Bout ye?”
“Minus craic. You up to date?”
“Aye.” He shakes his head. “Declan had a quare gunk when he got yer call.”
Spider mutters, “And no wonder. It’s bloody ogeous handlin’.”
“Desperate altogether.”
In the rearview mirror, Kieran glances at me, pulling the jacket off my head and around my shoulders, shivering from the cold.
He says, “Hullo, lass.”
“Hi, Kieran. I’m Riley. I have no idea what you guys are saying, but it sounds bad.”
“Tis,” he replies, nodding. “But don’t ye worry. Things’ll perk up now that yer not spendin’ all yer time with this bleedin’ melter.”
He jerks his chin again in Spider’s direction. Spider says something in Gaelic that sounds unflattering.
They share a wry grin, then we’re off, speeding away from the airport like we’re being chased by an army of demons.
We drive in silence for about ten minutes until Kieran makes a turn off the road. We’re in an industrial area not far from the airport. Huge warehouses line both sides of the street. We pass dozens of them, then slow for a chain-link fence topped with barbed wire that crosses the end of the road.
Kieran punches a code into a small black box on a metal stand beside the roadway. In a moment, the gate rolls to one side, allowing us to pass.
Directly ahead of us is a four-story square red brick building. It has no windows on the first floor. The windows on the upper floors have iron bars and dark tinting. Smoke billows from three cement stacks on the roof.
It looks creepy, like a crematorium.
“What is this place?” I ask Spider.
“A safe house.”
He offers nothing more, which I also find creepy. Shouldn’t he be reassuring me we’ll be safe in the safe house?
Or does he have doubts?
We drive around back, stopping in front of a huge roll-up metal door. Kieran enters a code into another small black box. Mounted on either side of the door near the top are cameras, their red eyes burning.
I notice a curious opening in the center of the wall above the door. It’s about three feet long and maybe six inches high. “What’s that hole in the wall for?”
Kieran says, “The machine guns. They’re remote controlled. Fifty rounds a second. Press of a button, and there’ll be a bloody grand hole in the ground where a trespasser used to be.”
When he sees my expression, he chuckles. “Did ye think we’d be tossin’ water balloons at our enemies?”
“No, I suppose not.” Then I smile. “Though it might be kind of fun to throw them afterward. Go up to the roof and see who can get the most balloons inside the bloody grand hole.”
Spider gives me a strange look.
“What?”
“Not much scares you, does it?”
Kieran snorts. “The wee lass takes after her sister, then.”
The next person who says I’m like my sister is danger of losing a testicle.
The door opens, revealing the space inside. The walls are raw brick. The floor is unpolished cement. A single bare bulb hangs from the ceiling.
The entire first floor of the building is empty.
We pull inside and stop in the middle of the space. Kieran puts the truck into Park. The metal door we entered through rolls back down, slamming against the concrete with a boom that echoes off the walls. Nothing else happens.
When I look over at Spider, he says, “Wait.”
I’m about to ask For what? when the ground moves beneath us. With a jolt, the SUV starts to sink. Within seconds, the entire vehicle has sunk below floor level. We’re surrounded on all sides by cement block walls.
We’re on a hydraulic lift, descending underground.
“Whoa,” I say, deeply impressed. “This is some Batman shit right here.”
“The living areas are all underground,” says Spider.
“What’s on the top floors?”
Kieran chuckles. “Lots and lots of ammo.”
I exhale and press my fingertips against my closed eyelids.
In a low voice, Spider says, “You don’t have to worry. Nothing and no one can get inside this building unless they’re invited in.”
I bet that’s what he thought about the castle on Bermuda, too. “Are Declan and Sloane here?”
“No. They’re in New York. They think it’s safest if you’re not together for the moment.”
I drop my hands from my face and look at him. “Safest for me or them?”
“You, lass. Declan’s the one with the target on his back.”
Then I hope wherever they’re staying in New York is as secure as Fort Knox. From what Spider told me about Malek, Declan won’t be safe anywhere else.
Watching me think, Spider says gently, “Sloane feels awful.”
“That she didn’t believe me about a man being in the bathroom at the restaurant, you mean.”
“Aye. Declan says she’s inconsolable. Blames herself for not taking you at your word, how she spoke to you in front of the lads, everything.” He pauses. “I’m probably not supposed to tell you that.”
I mutter darkly, “Don’t worry. I won’t ever be speaking to my sister again, so I couldn’t repeat it, anyway.”
He smiles at me, shaking his head.
“What?”
“The two of you are so much alike.”
“Say that again, and I’ll make sure you’ll never be able to have children.”
Kieran snorts. “Yer just provin’ his point, lass.”
“Oh, no. Don’t tell me you’re as much of a pain in the ass as he is.”
Spider pretends to be hurt. “Oy! I’m sitting right here!”
“Calm down. I called you that already. To your face.”
“Aye, but you were joking before.”
I say acidly, “Was I?”
Trying not to laugh, Spider pulls his lips between his teeth.
Our descent ends with another jolt. Kieran drives off the pneumatic lift and parks the SUV against a wall, then hops out of the driver’s seat. Spider exits, too, coming around my side to open my door. When I step out of the car, I see that we’re in a small garage area, with parking for maybe a dozen vehicles.
Ours is the only one here.
“This way,” says Kieran, holding open a door.
The three of us enter a short, lighted passageway. At the end of it is another door. Kieran enters a code into the keypad on the wall, and the door unlocks.
“Ladies first,” says Kieran, gesturing for Spider to proceed ahead of us.
“A pox on your mother, you spanner.”
“Shut up about my ma, ya feckin’ gobshite, or I’ll burst ya.”
Their friendly, incomprehensible insults end when I push past both of them through the door. They protest loudly, like I’ve broken some ancient, ironclad, macho rule.
“We have to clear the place, lass!” says Kieran, all in a huff. “Ye can’t just waltz in like the bloody queen!”
“Wait, what? You have to clear a safe house?”
“Aye!”
“Then by definition, it’s not safe!”
Spider is doing that lip-biting thing again. I know he’s thinking that’s exactly something my sister would say and send him a look that conveys in no uncertain terms that the wee rabid badger is about to give him a smack.
He holds up his hands in surrender. “I didn’t say a word.”
“Smart man.”
“Wait here a moment, lass. We’ll be right back.”
“Can you bring me a sandwich when you come back? I’m dying of hunger. I haven’t had a proper meal since we met. I’ve been living on the candy I brought with me.”
Kieran is scandalized by that nugget of information. He turns to Spider, aghast. “Are ye tryin’ to starve the poor cailín?”
“Yeah, Spider. Are you trying to starve me?”
He ignores us both and heads inside, shaking his head.
Kieran watches him go, tutting. “Don’t worry, lass. I’ll get ye fixed up as soon as we’re done sweepin’ the place.”
“Thank you, Kieran. I knew I liked you from the get-go.”
He puffs out his big chest and proudly lifts his chin. “I’ve been told I’m very likeable.”
Then he struts off after Spider, leaving me wondering if it was Sloane who told him that.
With the way my luck is running lately, it’s probable.
Spider returns in about five minutes, just as I’m about to sit down on the floor. “All clear. In you go.”
“Will you give me a tour?”
He looks surprised. “Aye, if you like.”
“It’s just that I’ve never been inside a mafia safe house before. Hey, is there cash hidden inside the walls? Gold bars? Drugs?”
He snorts. “No.”
I’m oddly disappointed by that.
I follow him inside the place, looking around in curiosity. It’s like a regular home inside, only with a lot more bedrooms and no windows.
One other thing I don’t see is an exit.
“Is that garage the only way in?”
Showing me around the bedroom that will be mine, he says, “There’s a tunnel we can use in an emergency. It runs underneath this block and ends on the other side of the industrial park.” He turns to look at me. “Why? You gonna threaten to run away again?”
“I’m not running anywhere. I just feel a little claustrophobic not being able to see outside.”
“You get used to it after a few weeks.”
Hearing that, I start to panic. “Weeks? Hold on a minute—are you telling me I’ll be stuck in this underground bunker for that long?”
He says gently, “It’s not up to me how long you’ll be here, lass.”
“That’s not what I asked!”
“The priority is your safety, whether it takes a few days or a few weeks.”
“It?”
His expression darkens. “Dealing with Malek.”
From Spider’s tone, I get that “dealing” with him won’t be pleasant. Or easy.
I remember the look of revulsion in Malek’s eyes when I told him who I was, and a shiver of fear goes through me.
Maybe when he said I was in no danger from him, it’s because he thought I was a prostitute.
Maybe being Declan’s almost sister-in-law changes the game for the worse.
And maybe I should’ve kept my big fat mouth shut, because maybe the notorious Russian assassin would like to wipe Declan’s entire family off the face of the earth.
“Oh, shit,” I say, wide-eyed.
Spider frowns. “What is it?”
“Is Malek after Declan for anything in particular?”
When that muscle in Spider’s jaw flexes, I know it’s going to be bad. But I never could’ve guessed exactly how bad it would be.
“Aye. Declan killed Malek’s brother.”
And I’m going to kill my sister for dragging me into all this.
When I only stand there staring at Spider in horror, he takes my shoulders in his hands and says firmly, “You’re safe here. Nothing ties this place to Declan. No one knows it exists. You’re safe, lass. I promise.”
He’s convinced what he’s saying is true, but there’s a worried voice inside my head reminding me that promises are made to be broken.
And in only a few hours, I’ll be proven right.
Because I wake up with Malek’s huge hand clamped over my mouth and his furious green eyes glaring down into mine.
