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I turn to them and frown. “Eva is gone. She was threatened unless she left.”
Oliver’s eyes flash dangerously. “Who did this?”
“Declan,” I say with a scowl. “She went to see him today without us. Whatever he did or said had her running scared. I convinced her to go to the nightclub apartment. She’ll be safe there.”
“Let me at him,” Oliver says, balling his hands into fists. “I’ll make him sorry he ever went after her.”
Theo throws a hand out, pushing him back. “We can’t do shit to him and he knows it. If we go at him now, not only will he know that Eva told us what happened, but he might actually kill her this time. He’s got us right where he wants us.”
“What are we going to do, then?” Oliver demands. “Every step of the way, we’ve tried to beat him and he’s come out on top.”
“We need leverage on him,” Theo decides. “I’m going to break into his office and find whatever I can. I’m not sending anyone else in after him. This time, it’s on me.”
“You don’t have to do this alone,” I say, standing up. “The three of us can take him down together. If we work together, we can stop him.”
I swear on Eva’s life that I will stop at nothing until Declan is brought to justice and Eva is safe from harm.
42
THEO
As I sit in the corner of the café, ball cap slung low over my forehead, the low, rhythmic hum of conversation provides a comforting backdrop as I carefully execute my plan. Determination etched into my features, I pull up my phone, beginning to type a carefully worded message, each keystroke a calculated move in the intricate game I’m starting.
Shooting off a quick text to Liam Gallagher, I manufacture a fake emergency that requires Declan’s immediate attention, all designed to lure him away from his office.
With a satisfied nod, I stand up and pocket the phone, mind already racing ahead to the task at hand as I slip seamlessly between patrons and make my way into the alley behind Steeler Tower.
A surge of adrenaline courses through me as I approach the back entrance to the building, anticipation mingling with nerves as I grab a box from a delivery truck and slip inside, keeping my head down as I pretend to be a delivery person and head for the top floor.
Declan doesn’t even notice me as he hurries past, fingers flying on his phone screen as he attempts to put out the fire I started with my text to Liam. I smirk to myself and drop the box off at the reception desk, keeping a close eye on the elevators. They shut with a ding, and I check my watch.
Perfect timing. Declan’s secretary leaves for her lunch break, leaving me entirely alone in his office. It’s just a matter of picking the lock on his door before I slip inside, zeroing in on his file cabinets.
Surely, he’s got to have something here that will give us some kind of leverage on him. He’s smart, but he’s also arrogant enough to think he’s untouchable. As I sift through the contents of the file, my heart quickens with each damning piece of evidence I uncover.
First, there are the financial records—meticulously detailed accounts of transactions that trace back days before our father’s death. Payments made, debts settled, all with Declan's signature boldly stamped at the bottom. It's clear as day. He orchestrated our father’s demise, manipulating the strings of power with cold, calculated precision.
But the revelations don't stop there. Buried within the depths of the file is a stack of documents that sends a chill down my spine. Clear as day are the plans to work with Francesca DeLucci, to double-cross her after getting rid of Giovanni and seizing control of their empire, leaving her powerless in the wake of Declan's ambition. It's a brazen scheme, one that reeks of treachery and deceit.
As I read through the incriminating evidence, a sense of disbelief washes over me, mingling with a simmering rage that threatens to consume me whole. Declan's betrayal runs deeper than I could have ever imagined, his thirst for power driving him to unspeakable acts of cruelty and malice.
With each passing moment, the weight of the truth bears down upon me, driving home the gravity of what I have uncovered. Declan is not just a criminal. He's a master manipulator, a puppeteer pulling the strings of fate with callous disregard for the lives he destroys in his wake.
And as I clutch the damning evidence in my hands, a fire ignites within me, burning with a fierce determination to bring Declan to heel, to stop him before it's too late.
Stuffing the documents in my bag, I pull the cap brim back down low and rearrange everything to the order it was before I came in. I then take off, sneaking out and back down to the side entrance once more.
“Ryder? It’s Theo. Meet me at the warehouse by the docks.” I hang up and jump into the black sedan, taking off for the meetup location.
Once my brothers arrive, I pull out the files and show them. “We finally have the leverage we need,” Ryder says, eyes narrowed. “He’s not getting away with shit anymore.”
“His sins have finally caught up to him,” Oliver agrees.
“We need to bring this to Giovanni,” I say. “We can stop this war before it starts if we act now.”
The three of us load into my car and head for DeLucci territory, ready to end this before it gets out of hand. If we can stop the DeLuccis from making their deal with Declan, it could not only save Eva from being at his mercy, but it could save the Callahans from losing everything to our enemies.
We head for Havencrest Park, smack in the middle of their turf. Giovanni is sitting at a chess table when we approach, his men flanked behind him at attention.
