Page 110 of Shadow Of Sin

I nod. “Eva memorized the guy’s number from Sal’s phone screen at Rosario’s. She texted it to me before we left for the cabin. I’m going to spoof a call from Andersen’s number Thursday morning and reschedule the meeting to next week. Sal will think his investor had a conflict. By next week, Dmitri’s operation won’t exist anymore, and the meeting won’t ever happen.”

“Nice,” he says. “Clean.”

“It has to be clean. Sal can’t suspect anything. If he finds out Eva is in the middle of all this, the plan blows wide open because he won’t just sit around while his sister is targeted by Russian mobsters. Eva was very clear about keeping him in the dark because it’s safest for him.”

“She’s always very clear.” Cillian grins. “That woman has a way of making sure you understand exactly what she expects and exactly what happens if you don’t deliver.”

“She must’ve picked up that skill in prison.”

He’s quiet for a second. “You know what I like best about her? She doesn’t try to be someone she’s not. Every other person who walks into our family’s house wears a mask to cover who they really are. They become who they think we want them to be. But Eva was never like that. She’s fucking real, bro. Always herself, no matter who she’s going toe to toe with. She’s the same woman with Ronan as she is with Gavin as she is with you. She doesn’t bend, doesn’t put on a show.”

“No. She doesn’t.”

“That’s why Ronan can’t stand her. He can’t make her cower, and he fucking hates not having that kind of control.”

I look at him. “Ronan respects her skills.”

“Ronan respects her usefulness. That’s different. He can’t control her, and he knows it and it makes his balls itch.” Cillian shakes his head. “He’s been on you about her. I know he has. It’s obvious, bro. Every time the three of you are in a room, you and Ronan are having a conversation with your faces, and it ain’t about Dmitri.”

My shoulders sag. “He wants her out after Thursday.”

“Yeah. I figured.”

“I told him she stays.”

“And what did he say?”

“That the conversation isn’t over. And it gets dealt with after Thursday.”

Cillian lets out a low whistle. “That’s Ronan-speak for ‘I’m going to keep pushing until you break or I do.’”

“I’m not going to break.” I flex and unflex my fingers.

“I know you’re not. That’s what worries me the most. Because Ronan doesn’t break either. When you guys go head-to-head, someone’s gonna get caught in the middle. And right now, that someone is Eva.”

My thumb taps against my thigh. He’s right. The fight with Ronan isn’t going to be a conversation. It’s going to be a war. And Eva will be standing in the middle of it whether she knows it or not.

“He’s not wrong about the risk,” Cillian says. “She does know everything about our operation. About the DiMichelis. About Dmitri’s entire network. That’s a lot of information in one person’s head.”

“You think she’s a liability, too?” I slowly turn to look at him, dread coiling in my gut.

“I think she’s a person who knows too much about very dangerous people. That makes her a target, not a liability. There’s a difference.” He taps his thumb against the steering wheel. “Ronan sees liabilities. I see my brother’s girlfriend. And I’d rather figure out how to protect her than figure out how to get rid of her.”

The invisible chain wrapped tight around my lungs loosens enough for me to breathe, at least a little easier.

“So,” Cillian says, keeping his eyes on the road. “Have you told her?”

“Told her what?”

He lets out a snort. “Come on, Wolfe.”

I adjust my glasses, ignoring his question.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought. Why not?”

“Because every time I try, my mouth just...” I make a fist and then open it. “Nothing comes out.”

“Nothing comes out. The guy who can explain quantum encryption in his sleep can’t say three words to the woman he’s sleeping with.”