For Love & Bourbon (40 page)

“Yep.” Cooper put him on speaker phone so Marco could hear. “Ava just got the call. Ned is heading to her house to meet with her as we speak. He told her he’s got men, likely one of his sons, keeping watch on us here at the hotel to make sure we don’t go help her.”

“
He’s a ballsy sonofabitch, isn’t he?
” Horvath replied. “
Broad daylight. Obvious location. He’s just asking to get caught. I’m gonna be honest, something about this doesn’t feel right.
”

“My thoughts exactly.” Cooper stopped moving and lowered onto the edge of the bed. “I would call for backup and have the troops storm the house but if we scare him off and he gets away, we miss our chance.”

“We can send in units on foot, have them keep out of sight until Ned is within reach,” Marco suggested.

“
Hmm…
” Horvath fell silent, clearly thinking it over.

Cooper buried his face in his hands. “We have to act fast. He could be there any minute, and Ava’s by herself—”

“
I know this case and the people involved in it are important to you, kid, but we can’t be brash,
” Horvath replied. “
Years of meticulous man-hours have gone into this investigation. I won’t have that compromised when we’re this close to the goal.
”

“So what’s the plan then? What should we do?” Cooper asked.

“
I want you to stay put. If Ned’s got someone watching the building, then any movement from you two will indicate that we know what’s going on. I’m going to send one of the team over dressed as a civilian and see if he can spot the watchdog. I’ll have the others keep a discreet eye on the Brannons’ property for confirmation of when Ned arrives. Just hold tight for now.
”

Cooper scratched his head, a thought occurring to him. “You know, he may not
drive
there. Ned’s not stupid and he’s resourceful enough to do better than that.”

Marco perked up. “What are you thinking?”

A loud, rumbling noise came from above, growing louder by the second. They both stared up at the ceiling.

“Helicopter,” Cooper muttered. He met eyes with Marco in stunned discovery. “He’s going to her by helicopter.”

AVA HEARD
the sound long before she spotted its source cresting over the trees of her property. A sleek black helicopter swooped in and hovered over the field nearby, then slowly lowered to the ground, the wind of its blades whipping up the branches of nearby trees.

Joe burst out of the house, his eyes on the helicopter and his favorite long rifle clutched in his hands. “Sweet Mary Mother of Jesus.”

Ava jumped to her feet and ushered him back inside, gritting her teeth. “You have to wait. I know it’s hard, but please. If he sees you with a gun he may just shoot Daddy and I will
never
forgive you.”

Joe’s face crumpled with hurt pride and guilt. “Fine. Have it yer way. But he lays a hand on ye and I’ll shoot the bastard.”

“Love you.” She kissed his cheek and raced outside, watching from the porch as the doors of the helicopter opened and a man stepped out.

Though he was a ways off, she knew just by the arrogance of his stride that he was Ned. In his military-style clothing and combat boots, he navigated the rain-slicked terrain with his eyes locked on hers. A bolt of fear shot through her as he walked purposefully toward her, as though nothing in world could stop him.

Her gaze went back to the helicopter, where she saw the man she now recognized as Rhys unloading two men with their hands bound behind their backs. One was her father, bloodied and bruised in his dusty suit, and the other was Adam. Thankfully, he seemed to be unharmed. Rhys held an AK-47 rifle that he shoved into their backs, forcing them to walk a few paces forward.

Relief fluttered through her stomach at seeing them alive, but she knew better than to count her blessings too soon. She turned her focus back to Ned as he came to a stop halfway between her and the helicopter. He stood still and proud, his hands clasped behind him.

She got the impression he intended for her to join him in the field. A compromise, she figured, to ease her away from the safety of her home and onto neutral ground. One glance behind her and she saw Joe peeking through the drapes. She frowned at him and gave a curt shake of her head, then marched out to meet Ned.

All she needed to do was buy time. She had faith in Cooper that the FBI wouldn’t be far behind. If she could just keep Ned grounded and talking, they may stand a chance at catching him off guard.

Her feet crunched over the gravel driveway, then sunk into the marshy grassland beyond. A light mist was falling, cooling her already freezing skin. She resisted the urge to rub her arms and shiver, not wanting to appear weak in the presence of the man who held her family hostage. Instead she stood as tall and proud as he was, determined to match him.

As she got closer, she noticed the way he seemed to drink her in with his eyes, hazel ones that matched her own. If she needed any proof of his relation to her, it was in those eyes.

“All right. I’m here,” she declared, coming to a stop about five feet away from him. She rested both hands on her hips and cocked her chin.

Ned’s face split in an odd little smile. “So ye are. How unfortunate it is that it’s taken this long for us to meet. She stole ye from me, ye see. Without me even knowin’ ye existed. But I’m going to remedy that right now.”

Ava’s eyes shot over his shoulder to where her father and Adam were waiting by the helicopter. They were staring at her in silence, bitterness and rage etched into their faces.

She looked back to Ned. “Just tell me what you want. I don’t need your sob story or your life history. All I care about is everybody gettin’ out of this alive.”

Ned shifted his weight, angling his chin as he continued to stare at her. “A trade. I’ll let the traitor go, and ye will be comin’ with me.”

She took a deep breath, released it. “What about Adam?”

“He’s not part of the deal,” Ned said coldly, his smug smile fading. “I could just take ye right now and kill me cousin, but because yer me daughter I’m willin’ to make a compromise with ye. I will let him live, if ye come with me.”

“Back to Ireland.”

“Aye.” He bowed his head in a gallant gesture. “It’s where ye belong, love.”

“You really are crazy,” Ava murmured, shaking her head. Her lip curled with disgust. “You killed my mother. Why the hell would I ever want to live with you?”

A bright hatred flashed in his eyes, chilling her to the bone. “That woman was a traitor. She knew the consequences of her actions and that if I ever found her alive I would kill her. That was a choice she made.”

Ava nearly found his accusation amusing. Were they even speaking about the same woman? “None of this makes any goddamn sense. How did the two of you even know each other?”

Ned let out a derisive sniff, a dark smile crossing his face. “She was me wife. And the youngest woman to ever join the ranks of the IRA.”

A
va did laugh this time. “You’ve got to be kidding me? You expect me to believe that my mother, sweet, never-hurt-a-fly Sandra Brannon, was a member of the IRA and your
wife
?”

The humor disappeared from Ned’s expression. “Whatever lies she told ye don’t change the truth. To me she was Colleen McVey, a vibrant young thing with fire in her heart for the liberation of Ireland. She was only sixteen when we married, against her da’s wishes. I’d never met anyone like her in me whole life.” He paused, regarding her curiously. “Ye have her spark, Ava. I only wish I’d been the one to raise ye.”

His words stunned her. Reality hit like a sledgehammer to her chest, relentlessly painful. Her mother’s final words at the hospital. Her strange accent. The pure fear in her eyes.

Da warned me not to marry him. But love him I did. Lord, forgive me. He’s evil. Got the Devil in him, he does.

Ava felt nauseas. Her hand came up to cover her mouth as her mind raced.

Your father. Stay away from him. He’s coming for you.

Her gaze lifted to Ned, and her entire world came crumbling down.

“It’s true,” she managed. “She told me you were coming. That I should stay away from you. I thought she meant Ty…”

Ned grimaced. “Colleen left one day without a word. I thought she’d been captured, or worse, killed. Then the Gardaí showed up and arrested me. Someone had given them information on the bombing we’d planned for later that week. There were only three people who knew the details, meself, me right hand Ronan Campbell, and Colleen. It was easy enough to figure out what had happened.”

“So then how did she wind up over here?”

“After some convincin’, me cousin informed me that she made a deal with the SDU and your Feds in exchange for information on all me dealings, enough to almost land me behind bars. She went to Ty, convinced him to turn on me as well. For years I searched for her, never realizin’ she was hidin’ in plain sight, pretendin’ to be married to me own cousin. Pretendin’
my
children were his.”

“She didn’t tell you she was pregnant when she left.” Ava imagined her mother’s heartache, her choice to save her children from a life of murder and destruction. “She gave up everything for us. To raise us here, with Joe and Ty.”

Ned sneered. “It wasn’t right, takin’ ye from me like that. I had me sons from me first marriage, but the two of ye were me and
Colleen’s
children. She was the love of me life. Despite her betrayal, I would do anythin’ to have ye back. And have. I’ve risked everythin’ to come here.”

Ava saw the honesty in his eyes, and for the briefest of moments felt pity for him. His intentions didn’t relieve him of his sins, but at least she understood his motives and could sympathize with his desire to raise his own children. In a way it was noble, but his methods tarnished any semblance of pride she could have in him.

She owed her mother everything for saving her and Adam from that hell of a life. There was no way she was going to let Ned force her into it now, not after everything her mother had sacrificed.

But time was running out. The Feds were nowhere to be seen, which meant she had to keep Ned busy somehow. Though the idea sickened her, she knew she had to play to his weaknesses. It was her only option.

She offered him a sad smile, bringing tears of sympathy into her eyes. “You really care that much about us, huh?”

Ned nodded, taking a step forward. “Aye. Ye should’ve never been brought to this place. Raised by traitors to the cause. Raised knowin’ nothin’ of where ye come from.”

Ava avoided his intense gaze, hoping she looked remorseful while she only really felt rage. It took all she had to conceal it beneath a false façade of compassion.

“If I’d known, I might have come to you myself,” she said, nearly choking on the words.

Ned got even closer, reaching out now to touch her. “It wasn’t yer fault. That’s why I don’t blame ye or yer brother. We can make this right, startin’ today.”

She lifted her eyes to his, feeling a tear fall down her cheek. It was born out of disgust, but she let him believe it was love. “Maybe we could.”