For Love & Bourbon (21 page)

Horvath grunted in agreement.

Cooper sighed. “I’m starting to think we’re not going to find anything useful here. It may be time to pack it in and keep an eye on Ty to see if he contacts Ned in the future.”

“
I need you to stay in Fox Hills a bit longer, kid. I won’t authorize your return just yet.
”

Cooper’s brow furrowed. “But we’ve been here a couple of weeks now. If there’s nothing else to find—”

“
There is.
” Horvath’s voice took on the deep, authoritative tone he got when he was putting his foot down. “
Ned is a very real threat. We have to maintain our presence in Fox Hills.
”

“But he’s on the SDU watchlist. It’s not like he can fly on over here. And even if he could, why the hell would he? He probably knows Ty’s being investigated. He wouldn’t even make it out of the airport.”

Horvath released a long, unsteady breath. For a moment he was silent, as though he were deciding what to say. “
Look, kid, Ned doesn’t give a damn about the FBI investigating Ty. He only has one motive, and it’s an angle we’re hoping to take advantage of. In order for everything to go to plan, you have to stay on top of the Brannons.
”

“What’s his motive? I don’t understand.” Cooper sat up as Marco came into the room, having heard Horvath’s words on speaker. He shrugged at the confused look his partner gave him.

“
Just do what I said. Keep searching through Brannon’s files and keep a low profile until you hear otherwise from me. Capisce?
”

Cooper frowned. “All right.”

After he hung up the phone, he stared at Marco in bewilderment. “I was right. There is something we’re missing. And if what Horvath said is any indication, whatever it is, it’s a big fucking deal.”

“So what are we gonna do about it?” Marco asked, sitting down across from him.

“Stay put. Keep our heads down. Await further instruction.” Cooper tapped his hands on the desk, feeling restless. “Something tells me this is bigger than you and I. This goes higher up.”

“Well, I guess we’ll find out, won’t we?”

AVA COULDN’T
sleep. She’d done her best to force it, but all she had been able to do was toss and turn and curse the memory of Cooper’s mouth on hers. The thrill of it still lingered, aching deep within her no matter how hard she tried to ignore it.

Despite the unanimous decision to maintain their distance from each other, she knew it wasn’t going to happen. Until he returned to DC—hopefully not having destroyed Lucky Fox in the process—they were going to be involved. Maybe not romantically, but professionally. And though her emotions were already at the forefront, he seemed to be keeping his meticulously in check. How he could go from kissing her senseless to coolly indifferent in one fell swoop was beyond her comprehension. As much as she wanted to rule her life with reason, she was too honest with herself to deny what felt natural. What felt right. And kissing him, as big of a mistake as it was, was something she desperately wanted to do again.

The fact that she knew she couldn’t—and shouldn’t—give in to the temptation made it all the more appealing.

Irritated with her own weakness, she got out of bed and padded into the kitchen. Remy eyed her sleepily from his place by the hearth, but didn’t move to greet her. Even she wasn’t worth getting up at midnight for.

She grabbed a bottle of Lucky Fox 101 and collapsed into a chair at the dining table. Pouring herself a glass, she knocked back the liquid and welcomed the heat.

When she heard the front door open, she turned to see Adam walk in. He paused when he saw her, his eyes narrowing.

“What are you doin’ up?” he asked, hanging his coat before stepping into the kitchen.

Ava shrugged. “Couldn’t sleep.”

He tucked his hands into his pockets. “I see. Well, since I know you won’t tell me what’s going on, I hope you don’t mind if I just go to bed.”

“Adam. Wait.”

He paused, one eyebrow arched. “Yeah?”

“Come sit with me.” She got up to get him a glass and set it down on the table. Pouring a healthy dose of whiskey into it, she nudged it toward the chair across from her.

Adam sat and reached for the drink. He stared at it for a moment, then lifted his eyes to hers. “Feeling charitable tonight?”

“Lonely is a better word for it.” Lifting her glass in a toast, she offered him a weary smile. “It’s time I told you what’s been going on.”

He tensed, an awareness sharpening his features. “Is that right?”

She drank, then set down her glass with a dull thud. “Yep. I can’t carry this burden anymore. It’s killing me.”

A strange burst of sympathy filled him as he studied her, sensing her unhappiness. He tried to hold onto his anger with her for holding out on him as long as she had, but found he couldn’t. “What is it, darlin’?”

She raised her eyes to his. “The FBI believes Daddy has been sending money to our family in Ireland to fund the IRA.”

His brows knit together. “The what?”

“The Irish Republican Army.” She took another sip of whiskey to chase away the bitterness the word gave her tongue. “They’re a terrorist organization. They recently set off a bomb in Dublin that killed a bunch of people. Our second-cousin, Ned, is the one they believe to be responsible.”

“Shit,” Adam said dully, his eyes glazing over as he processed the news. “So that’s why they’re here, then? Not the taxes?”

She nodded. “The unpaid taxes were what caught the attention of the IRS and led them to the account they think Ned’s been withdrawing money from, but yes. This isn’t about the taxes.”

Adam knocked back the rest of his whiskey before pouring himself another, shaking his head. “They’re wrong. Dad wouldn’t do this. He’s never even mentioned the IRA before. Why would he send money to them?”

“That’s what I said,” Ava said. “Until I found out more.”

“What?”

“Daddy told me he’s never met Ned or any of our family in Ireland. But the FBI found an old plane ticket to Belfast in his office. Cooper confirmed to me today that he admitted going to Ireland and meeting with Ned.”

Adam’s face fell. “Christ, Ava.”

“I know.” She reached for his hand, giving him a moment to digest what she had just told him. “Now you know why he’s been so distant lately. The FBI is closing in on him. Soon they’ll have proof of what he’s done, and we may lose him.”

“No.” Adam ripped his hand from hers, rising to his feet. He glared down at her. “I don’t believe it. I won’t. They probably planted that plane ticket or something. They’ve had it out for him from the beginning. And you’ve been helping them, haven’t you?”

“They didn’t plant the ticket, boyo,” a voice said from the living room. They both turned and saw their grandfather walking toward them, bundled up tight in his favorite blue robe. “And Ava’s been cooperatin’, just as she should to keep up appearances.”

Adam sank back into his chair, dread filling him. “You’re sure about the ticket?”

“I’m sure he went to Ireland,” Joe confirmed, settling into the chair beside Ava. He grabbed her glass of whiskey and sipped it. “But I refuse to believe he’s been willingly handing money over to Ned to fund his violent exploits.”

Ava pursed her lips. “I don’t want to believe it either, but he won’t talk to us. Other than the warning he gave me to stay away from Ned and the others in Ireland, he hasn’t said a word.”

“
What?
” Adam demanded, stunned.

Her eyes became heavy as tears threatened to fall, spurred by the memory of that day on the shooting range. “First he said that I should take care of you if anything happened to him or to Mama. Then he made me promise never to contact our relatives in Ireland. He wouldn’t tell me why, but when I asked Cooper about it, he said it’s possible Daddy fears retaliation from the IRA.”

Joe went red in the face, while Adam simply looked flabbergasted. When he found the ability to speak, he let his temper boil over. “
This
is what you’ve been keeping from me all this time? We could be in danger and you didn’t see fit to clue me in?”

“We’re not in danger—”

“Why the hell isn’t the FBI doing something about this?”

Ava’s own anger flared. “What do you think they’re here for, Adam? They’re trying to figure this all out.”

“No, they’re trying to put Dad in prison. What they should be doin’ is going after the guy who’s bombing innocent people.”

“They can’t.” Ava shook her head, gritting her teeth. “Unless Ned’s on U.S. soil, they can’t go after him. Don’t you understand? That could cause an international incident if they just hopped on over there and arrested him.”

“So what, then?” Adam grunted, crossing his arms. “We’re just supposed to sit here and let the FBI play politics with our lives?”

“Quiet, the both of you,” Joe snapped, clearly having had enough. His eyes burned as he stared back and forth between them. “Don’t speak on things ye don’t understand. Nobody’s in danger. Ned won’t be comin’ after any of us.”

“How do you know?” Ava asked, feeling her own temper waning in the shadow of his mightier one.

Joe’s mouth quivered in a scowl. “Because he’s on the list. Unless he finds a way to sneak into the country, he can’t leave Ireland.”

Ava exhaled, feeling some measure of relief at the idea. “Well, that’s good, then.”

“It still doesn’t change anything,” Adam argued. “If anyone in town finds out about this, or if they find enough to convict Dad, then we’re fucked. We’ll lose everything.”

“They won’t convict him because he’s not guilty,” Joe fired back, unwilling to let go of his faith in his son. “The fact that they’ve found so little thus far only proves he’s done nothin’ wrong.”

“Or it proves he’s really good at covering his tracks,” Ava countered.

Adam’s hands clenched into fists on the table as he glared at his sister. “Whose side are you on, Ava? Ours or the FBI’s?”

Her lips parted in surprise. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Just what I said.” The look he gave her was so full of derision that it hit her squarely in the chest like a poisoned dart. “You think none of us have noticed how close you’ve gotten to that agent? People are talkin’, and it ain’t good. Makes me wonder what kind of back room, or
bedroom
, deals you’ve been makin’ with him.”

Her vision went red. She jumped to her feet, only to have her grandfather stop her from pouncing on her brother.

Joe squeezed her arm tightly, his eyes on Adam. “That’s goin’ too far, boyo. I won’t hear talk like that in me own home. Now apologize.”

Adam grimaced, guilt swimming low in his gut. He did his best to ignore it as he met his sister’s eyes. “I’m sorry I said it, but I won’t take it back. Not until you prove me wrong.” He got to his feet, downing the last of the whiskey in his glass. “Goodnight.”

As he stalked off, Ava let her grandfather lower her back into the chair. The red in her vision blurred as mortified tears began to fall. Joe wrapped an arm over her shoulders and pulled her in close, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

“It’s all right, dearie. He didn’t mean it.”

“Yes, he did,” she mumbled, wiping away the tears. This time, she
was
ashamed of them. Mostly because in some ways, Adam was correct. She hadn’t made any deals with the FBI to sell out her own father, but she was entirely too close to going to bed with one of them. What did that say about her?

Nothing, she decided. Cooper wasn’t the one who’d put her family in this position—her father was. For now she needed to decide how to juggle the two and still maintain her sanity. If she didn’t, then she would lose not only her father, but her heart as well.