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“That might work,” Brody said. “What do you think?”
“I don’t know,” Shaun said.
“You’ve got to try,” Torin said suddenly, leaning forward. Shane sighed and ran both his hands through his hair. These guys were a mess, probably struggling with the fact that they were traitors and actively plotting their leader’s death with the opposition, but I couldn’t let that ruin things now, not when we were so close.
“I’ll tell him you’ll pay,” Shaun said. “And that you’ll give him some turf. That might bring him to the table at least.”
“That’s all we need,” I said. “The plan’s simple. You get him to a meeting, and we kill him.”
“Might get bloody though,” Shaun said.
“Definitely might,” Torin agreed.
“Would you two be quiet for a little while?” Sam said, glaring at them.
I held up my hands. “Easy,” I said. “No reason to get angry. We don’t want anyone to get hurt, other than Colm.”
“He won’t come alone,” Shaun said, jabbing a finger into the table. “Once you shoot at Colm, that’ll start everyone shooting.”
“It’s a risk we’ll have to take,” I said. “Maybe you guys can spread the word, see if anyone in the crowd might hold their fire when it goes down.”
Shaun snorted. “Fuck that,” he said. “Colm only brings his most loyal soldiers with him.”
“Weren’t you one of them?” Sam asked.
Shaun narrowed his eyes. “I guess you’re right,” he said. “But shit, it’s not that simple.”
“We have no other choice,” I said. “We want a meeting in the city, but not out in the open. Convince him to go to another bar, maybe somewhere in the suburbs again.”
“I’ll try,” Shaun said. “He might go to the pub again. He likes it there for some reason.”
“That’d work,” I said. “Small place, hard to pack guys inside. It’d be up close and personal.”
“You gonna pull the trigger?” Shaun asked.
I hesitated, then nodded. “If it comes to that, yes. We’ll try to set something more elegant up first.”
“Like what, snipers?” Torin asked.
“Exactly like snipers,” I said. “You guys have one job, and that’s to get Colm to a meeting. Can you do it?”
Shaun looked at Brody, who only shrugged. “Your call, man,” Brody said.
“We can do it,” Shaun said. “I’ll make it happen.”
“Good.” I pushed my chair back and stood. “You boys stay here and talk amongst yourselves. Figure out how it’ll happen. Eat, drink, whatever. Go enjoy the pool, if you want, but when you leave here, that’s it, this is happening. You all understand?”
I was met with grim faces, but Brody and Shaun both nodded.
“Good,” I said and gestured for Sam to join me. She stood and smiled at the boys, then followed me out of the room.
I led her into the hallway and paused outside of the living room. “What do you think?” I asked her softly.
“I think they’re scared,” she said. “But they’ll do it.”
“I hope you’re right.” I kissed her gently. “I’m glad we got married.”
“Even if it didn’t matter in the end.” She grinned up at me. “But I’m happy too.”
I pulled her close against me, and I knew our future was in the hands of the enemy, a bunch of kids that had lost way too much and were terrified to lose even more, but we had no other choice. The war had to end, and it had to end soon.
18
Matteo
The first problem happened two days after the meeting with Shaun and Brody.
“He’s insisting that you bring her,” Shaun said over the phone. He was calling from one of the few pay phones left in the city, an ancient relic from a simpler time. “Says he wants to see her face.”
I glanced back at Sam and grunted. “I’m not sure that’s acceptable.”
“It’ll have to be. He wants you to deny this so he has an excuse to avoid the meeting.”
I sucked in a breath and let it out. “All right, fine. She’ll come. But I’m keeping her away from the fighting.”
“If you do your job, it won’t matter. He’ll be dead.”
I wasn’t happy about it, but Shaun was right. We had to do whatever was necessary to get Colm to that meeting. I talked to Sam about it, and she agreed—if everyone else can put their lives in danger to end this war, then so can she.
Which was a respectable answer and made my heart swell with all sorts of complicated feelings. She was an incredible and strong person, and I almost felt as though I didn’t deserve her.
And I still didn’t want her anywhere near that meeting, but denying Colm his request would only tip my hand.
So when Shaun called back the next day, I told him Sam agreed. “She’ll do it, but her safety is a priority,” I told him.
“That’s good,” Shaun said. “Because Colm wants to meet today.”
I cleared my throat. “Excuse me?”
“Today,” Shaun said. “At the Glenside Pub again.”
