Page 70 of Prohibited

His lovely lips were set into a grim line as he surveyed the catastrophe laid out in front of them, a ruin ofcharcoal and the stink of the burnt remains laying thick on the heavy, humid air.

“I called Malcolm, told him we were coming,” said Ryan. He fumbled with his cigarettes, lit one. “He asked about Saoirse. Said she was in town last night, that she was in to see us at the Crystal.”

A small zap of alarm went through Alex and he looked at Ryan sharply. “He hasn’t heard from her?”

“No.” Ryan shook his head, looking grim.

“They found a body in the rubble.” Alex wasn’t one to catastrophize, but somehow the thought of the anguish her death would cause Lindsay made his stomach twist.

They looked at each other. Ryan swallowed audibly. They looked back at the building.

This fact hung in thick silence between them as they both stood staring at the ruins of their business.

“Goddammit,” Ryan said at last.

“They said it’ll be a week before we can get inside and see what’s left,” Alex said, folding his arms while his eyes traveled over the ruined building for what seemed like the thousandth time, looking for any indication that the damage wasn’t as bad as it seemed.

“How many other properties?” Ryan asked in a low, rough voice.

“Five, all told,” Alex said sullenly.

“We’ve got to deal with this,” Ryan said. He had that tone in his voice, the cold, calm fury that made Alex’s belly flutter with anticipation.

“We’re going to ruin him.” Alex began to pace, ignoring the passersby who stopped to gawk at the building, on foot and in cars that slowed to a stop. “From the ground up. Everything that matters to him is gone. His business. His house. His face. His fingers. Everything.”

They’d learned a lot about Walter Stanley the hard way over the last couple of months. He knew that Stanley would hit back, but he hadn’t anticipated that it would happen at this scale and that he wouldn’t see it coming. Stanley wasn’t the only one with a network of spies in the city. Still, Stanley had gotten the better of them.

For the last time.

“Evelyn offered to be of use,” Ryan said. Perhaps a bit too casually.

“Oh, did she.” Alex looked at him, narrowing his eyes. “How very helpful of her.”

Ryan shrugged.

“You really think she’s suddenly experienced a change of heart?” Alex said, scoffing at him. “She’s going to betray the man who’s burning down half the city to find her?”

Ryan shrugged again, expression unreadable.

“We’ll see,” Alex said again. He forced himself to tear his eyes away from Ryan and watched the firefighters gathered to one side of the building, fending off passersby who kept stopping to ask what had happened.

“What magic web did she spin to convince you?” he asked at last, looking back at Ryan, whose eyes flickered as though he was resisting the urge to look at him.

After a long pause, Ryan inclined his head. “No magic web. She said she didn’t know they were planning a hit. She thought it was a robbery.” Another pause. “I think she’s repentant.”

Alex laughed. “That’s a big word from such a pretty mouth.”

Ryan wasn’t laughing, but Alex didn’t allow this to sway him from his amusement. He stepped closer to Ryan and put a hand on his shoulder. Beneath his fingers, Ryan’s flesh began to tense, as though he were a stallion that would kick.

“Don’t underestimate that woman’s capacity for treachery,” Alex said softly into his ear.

Ryan’s brilliant eyes found their way to Alex’s again, burning with annoyance. “I wasn’t born yesterday, Alex.” He tried to shrug him off, but Alex gripped him so tightly that he saw his jaw flex. A prickle of pleasure went through him.

“Don’t let one good deed convince you that she’s changed her ways.” They stood there staring into each other’s eyes for a long moment. And Alex savored every second of it. “She helped him kill our brother. Never forget that.”

Ryan shoved him this time and Alex allowed himself to be propelled away, only for Ryan to grab him by the front of his jacket and draw him back in. His face was alive with a black anger that lit Alex’s body on fire from his head to his toes. “Don’t talk to me like I’m a naive boy. Nothinghas convinced me of anything. I will never forget what happened to Tommy, or who was responsible.”

Alex put his hand on Ryan’s wrist. Ryan shook him like a dog with a rat in its teeth.