“Tell me everything.” He regained his seat and focused on his brother’s beat-up body, not Moira reacting to it.
“Someone at the bank alerted Boyle. I’m not sure why they didn’t tell him where it came from, since they’d surely know. So he came to me first. I almost had him convinced someone had hacked the account, but, in the end, he didn’t want to believe that. He wanted to exact his form of punishment.”
“Kill them, you mean,” Danny said.
“Yeah, including Moira, but not because of Diana and Declan. Boyle figured out she was outside the door during that meeting and won’t take the chance that she heard something she shouldn’t have. But don’t get me wrong, he wants Declan in a fierce way.” He took a deep breath and appeared to be in pain doing it. Ribs possibly. Justin was probably right about being allowed to break free. Unless he brought them here. But with the way he looked at Moira—with caring not guilt—Danny began to doubt he’d brought Boyle with him.
“At least he doesn’t know where we are. It’d be tough to find us in this country,” Moira said.
“That doesn’t mean less protection here. If anything, it will be tighter,” Danny told her.
“It won’t take long,” Justin said, “for Boyle to browbeat the banker for a location. Since there’d been no need, no one’s protecting Diana and Declan.”
“Who do you think is Boyle’s priority?”
“Moira. You heard her recording. That’s the priority. Diana is—” Justin paused, “—just family business.”
Fear clouded Moira’s features, and he wished he’d asked that question out of her earshot. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
“Yeah. I had to see a doc about the shoulder, and he checked me out. The ribs are bruised with small fractures, nothing to be concerned with.”
Danny narrowed his eyes. Except his brother’s jaw was still swollen. And there might be more. He hoped not.
“Thank goodness,” Moira said.
“Okay. We need to call Declan and update the team. Moira, would you excuse my brother and me for a bit? I’d really appreciate it.”
She looked about to argue, but after looking at Justin and his small nod, she exited the room. He watched her head to the stairs and refused to speak until she was out of earshot.
“Tell me.”
“I was right. There’s definitely someone else pulling the strings. I was so close but then the money issue came to Boyle’s attention and I was a goner. Thank God the men love Diana. That means there’s someone we don’t know about. I’m not sure if they’re after her too or if it’s just Boyle. All I know is I failed in making our dad’s killer pay. After all those years working in the organization, trying to find out who pulled the strings, so I could bring down the man who had our father murdered, it’s all gone up in smoke. I have nothing but Boyle. Oh, I can bring him down, but without who’s in charge, it’s almost a waste, because someone else will just jump in that slot.”
After a minute, Justin continued, “After failing our father when he was killed, I wanted so bad to bring down the person behind the attack. To bring closure to us all, especially Mom. To show the agency that I was right about who ordered the hit, because that is what it was. I was there and nothing could convince me otherwise. All these years for nothing. I’ve wasted this time.”
Danny couldn’t help but be moved by Justin’s journey to find a killer. By his wanting to do this for their family. He’d been angry at his brother for disappearing. Then to hear he worked for Boyle, that anger grew into something deeper. But hearing the story wiped it away. This was his brother who wanted things to be as they should. The right killer to be brought to justice.
“You haven’t wasted the time. We bring down Boyle, and if someone steps in, we figure out how to bring them down.” Notwithstanding HIS had no jurisdiction anywhere, especially in Ireland. But they’d find a way. They always did. And he still had agency friends he could phone. “We’ll find a way. Maybe even work out who the boss is.” The anonymous boss worried him. He hated the unknown.
“I’m sorry, I’m not sure who the boss is, as in drug boss. I think he pulls strings and Boyle is just one string of many.”
“Strings?”
“Yeah. It’s a hunch, but my gut thinks it’s right. I just had no proof.”
“Mm. We’ll figure it out.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
“And you’re sure he doesn’t know where they are?” AJ asked for the hundredth time. Or so it seemed like it. Justin had been updating HIS on what he knew, and it’d been an interrogation like no other. It had been obvious the men didn’t trust him, and Danny understood the feeling. He hadn’t, at first, but it was his brother, and once he’d given him the benefit of the doubt, trust had come. Except for the slight wavering when he’d shown up the night before.
“I don’t think so, but I don’t think it’ll be long before he figures it out. At least to Boston.” Justin had been confident in his answer, every time he’d given it.
AJ and Devon huddled together. It irked Danny that they left everyone else out of the discussion. Yet, he had to remember these were the men taking the risks and who would have to fight any battles that occurred because of their actions.
“Here’s what we’re going to do,” AJ said. “The information on Boyle goes to the DEA. But, you,”—he pointed at Justin— “aren’t the one to give it. You burned that bridge. Danny will provide Boyle on a silver platter to them.”
“What about who really leads it all?” Justin urged. He’d been fighting that point the entire time. Yet, with no proof, even Danny wouldn’t do anything on it. Not with legal channels anyway.
Devon shook his head. “You’ve got
