Deklan

“I was just a kid,” I whisper. I can’t look him in the face, and he’s blocking my view of Deklan. “I had no idea what was happening.”

“But you knew this Grange guy was involved?”

“I don’t remember him being there. The first time I saw him was at the coffee shop.”

Sean raises an eyebrow at me before looking at Deklan.

“But you think he has a contact here in my organization.”

“I think he must have,” Deklan says to Sean. “How else would your father have known where to send me to pick her up?”

“That is a damn fine question!” Sean leaps up from where he’s squatting in front of me and turns to Deklan. “And who the fuck is that, huh?”

“Well, Neil told Dad where she was held,” Teagan says, glancing up from her phone.

“What? How do you know that?” Sean takes a step toward his sister. “You were still in high school back then.”

“I was there,” Teagan says with a shrug. “I was working on the books when Dad and Neil were talking about O’Conner coming over here. Neil gave Dad a piece of paper with an address on it, which Dad gave to Dek after O’Conner left.”

“Call him,” Sean says to his sister. “Call him right now, and tell him to get his ass over here.”

Teagan lets out a long sigh before calling their cousin and informing him that he was needed immediately.

“Why didn’t you tell me about this before?” Sean asks when she’s off the phone.

“You never asked,” Teagan replies. “Neil always got information for Dad. I didn’t think anything about it.”

Sean grabs the phone from Teagan’s hand and throws it across the room. It hits a lamp on a side table, causing the light to topple to the floor and shatter.

Teagan doesn’t move, and her expression doesn’t change.

“From now on,” Sean says as he points his finger at her nose, “you tell me fucking everything. I don’t care if you think it’s relevant or not.”

“Shall I start with the time I ate the last cookie out of the cookie jar and lied about it?” she asks.

“Don’t be a bitch,” he replies.

They stare at each other for a long moment. No one else moves or speaks. When I look at Deklan, he’s staring straight ahead with his hands clasped in front of him.

“Did you fix that shit with Longbow?” Sean finally asks.

“Well, he’s no longer suspended, but the whole promotion thing fell through,” Tegan replies, and the tension is abruptly lifted. “Warren blocked it.”

“How the fuck is he supposed to get shit done for me if he ends up sitting at a desk?”

I recall Officer Longbow from my previous encounters with him. From the way Deklan had spoken to him, I’d had the impression he was on the Foleys’ payroll. It’s good to feel like I’m in the loop for once. I sit up a little straighter and listen intently to everyone’s words, trying to take in as much as possible without asking any questions.

“It’s manipulating evidence against us that got him stuck at that desk,” Tegan says. “He’ll figure something out. He is quite aware of the consequences if he fucks up.”

“I think Longbow has outlived his usefulness.”

“He already ‘lost’ Dek’s Beretta out of evidence,” Teagan says, “not to mention he got it done while he was on suspension. I’m not sure what else you think he’s supposed to do at this point. All the charges were dropped.”

“Maybe if you did your job right, this wouldn’t have happened.”

“Sean, don’t be ridiculous.” Teagan sighs. I get the idea she’s had enough of her brother’s ranting. “I can’t control who the cops decide to hire and fire.”

“You hacked the system.”