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“I will,” I said softly.
“Good.” She dropped my hands. “Good, I want you to do it. A lot of us want you to do it. For Kieran but also for all the other boys that aren’t dead yet.”
I stood up and fought to keep my expression neutral. Nessa nodded at me, a sad smile on her lips.
“You see why I wanted you to come?” she asked.
“I get it,” I said. “Deirdre, thanks for talking to me. I was having a hard time with everything, but you’re right. Colm’s got to go.”
“Good for you. Kill the fucker for me.”
I laughed once, sharp and shrill, then waved and left them there. I joined Matteo and he touched my hip gently. “You okay?” he asked.
“That woman’s son died in the family,” I said. “Killed by the Valentinos. Dead because of some bullshit war. Can you imagine how she feels?”
“Not even a little bit,” he said, glancing in their direction. “But you needed to talk to her, didn’t you?”
“I needed to hear all that, yeah,” I said. “These guys have moms and brothers and fathers and sisters. And every time one of them gets killed, it ripples out and hurts so many more people, and we can stop it. We have to stop it.”
He pulled me into his arms and hugged me tight then kissed my cheek gently. “Come on, let’s get back,” he said, and we turned to leave.
But Nessa walked over, leaving Deirdre on the bench.
“You okay?” she asked.
“I’m fine. Thanks for bringing her here, I really needed that.”
“She’s not the only one I’ve talked to,” Nessa said, glancing at Matteo. “Half the family’s like her, lost someone and is pissed about it.”
“You’re being careful though, right?” Matteo asked. “I don’t want you putting yourself out there too much.”
“I’m good, don’t worry about me.” She grinned and ran a hand through her hair. “Listen, Brody wants you to meet with a few of his guys.”
“Can they come to the mansion?” Matteo asked. “We can meet somewhere neutral if they’d rather, but the mansion will be safest.”
“I can try to arrange it.”
“Tell him only to bring one or two guys and keep a low profile.”
“I’ll see what I can do.” Nessa smiled at me and waved once. “See you soon then.” She left, walking over to Deirdre, and spoke to her softly.
Matteo steered me away. We walked through the park together and I leaned against him. It was strange and surreal that we were meeting to plan a man’s execution in a place that was so full of life—older folks walking their dogs, young kids running around with their parents, buskers playing instruments, college kids sitting on blankets in the sun. Rittenhouse was a tiny oasis in the city, and it seemed miles away from the death that was coming for me soon.
“I never thought it would be like this,” I said softly.
“I know,” Matteo said. “But once Colm’s gone, the war can end.”
“And then what?” I looked up at him, frowning. “What happens then?”
“Then, who knows.” He shrugged. “We’ll figure it out. Now come on, little wife. We need to get planning.”
I let him steer me away and felt more sure about all of this than I ever had.
17
Matteo
Brody showed up three days later with two young guys in tow. They stood on the front porch staring at the mansion with wide eyes, and honestly, that was half the reason I wanted them to come there in the first place.
“I’m glad you made it,” I said, shaking his head.
Brody grinned at me. “Fuck, for a chance to see this place, it was worth the trip.” He nodded at his guys and I looked out past him. “This is Shane and Torin. They’re cool.” Shane had a flop of dark, fluffy hair, and Torin sported a thick beard and his hair was pulled back into a tight bun.
And standing behind them was Shaun.
I recognized him from that meeting. I reached for the gun in my belt but Brody quickly put his hands up to stop me. “Hold on,” he said.
“What the fuck is he doing here?”
Shaun leered at me. “Not happy to see me?” he asked. “I came here just for you.”
“He’s cool too,” Brody said.
“He was the one pushing hard for a fight the last time I saw him,” I said. “Why the hell would you bring him?”
Brody grunted and looked back at Shaun. “You talk to him, and don’t be a dick.”
Shaun held up his hands and stepped forward. “We got a bad start back there at the pub, all right?”
“You were practically begging for a war,” I said. “Why in the hell would I ever think you’d want something different now?”
“I get it,” he said and his smile faded away as he looked me in the eye. “But everyone in my family’s lost someone. I used to think Colm was right about everything, but I’m starting to see that the bodies are piling up, and we’re not getting anywhere.”
