Page 68 of Illicit
Isla holds out her hand to me and we join the uncomfortable little triangle of our parents, but after a glass or two of Macallan, everyone’s laughing a little louder.
At the dinner table, Lachlan and Gavin sit together, reminiscing about their time at the Ares Academy.
“I always heard, ‘Why can’t ya’ have the aim your sister does?’ from my professors,” Gavin complains. “Christ! I wasn’t even in the Spy Division like her and I still never heard the end of it.”
Lachlan taps his glass to Gavin’s. “Now imagine having to hear that shite about three older brothers.”
As our cook brings in a huge platter of lamb and roasted potatoes, I stand, raising my glass. “To see two clans brought back together is a grand thing. Thank you, Da and Bruce, for settin’ aside the past for our clan’s future.”
They nod at each other gravely. I’m not simple enough to think nearly forty years of enmity can be gone in one night, but it’s a start. Everyone clinks glasses.
“To family!”
After dessert, we’re all gathered in the great room, and Cormac turns to Isla. “Explain to me again why it is that LuisMuñoz is still breathing, albeit alive with six bullet wounds?”
“Killing him would have been too merciful,” she says sweetly. “As Ian and I were downloading the virus that gave us access to the Wallace side records, the ones the bank never sees, we discovered that the Muñoz Cartel was also laundering money for other organizations. A couple of particularly malevolent cartels, the Barinov Bratva and… the Conti Mafia.
Luis was skimming off the top of all of their funds. We released the records to everyone he’s stolen from, but we gave the Contis’ the information first and where to find him. They’ll be most likely to recover their money that way. There’s no one on that list who won’t kill him on sight.”
“Well played,” Cormac nods, and she mock curtsies to the round of applause.
Isla’s father pulls out a briefcase. “This is the reason Gavin and I were late.” He opens the case and there, nestled on a bed of dark blue velvet, is The Queen’s Eye, restored so expertly that no one could have guessed it was ever in two pieces.
The significance of the moment hits all of us, looking at the jewels that created such a disastrous rift.
“What do we do with it now?” Cameron says.
“Well, about that,” Isla smiles diabolically. “I have a plan.”
