Chapter 23

Declan~

"Y er losin' it."

"I know that already," I hissed. "I don't need a reminder."

"We should have just killed the sonofabitch ages ago if you're just going to end up doing it yourself," he went on. "It would have saved us a lot more time."

I shot Noah a look. "That's enough."

He threw his hands up in mock surrender. "No' a problem, boss."

I flipped him off.

After a few seconds of silence, Noah said, "She can handle herself, Declan."

I didn't say anything as I threw on a black hoodie, completing my look. Even though The Wooden Table had no cameras where it mattered, Cooper Donaldson was important enough that the cops were going to have no choice but to investigate. Though Donaldson had no wife or children that might want to keep the circumstances of his death a secret, I could see his board of directors not wanting the bad press. No matter how much money Cooper Donaldson was worth, there'd be no glossing over what he'd been doing in one of the upper rooms at The Wooden Table at the time of his death. Yeah, it'd be better if he had a wife and kids, but there wasn't anything that we could do about that now.

"That doesn't change the facts, Noah," I finally said. "I never should have sent a woman in to do our dirty work."

"Would you still feel that way if you weren't fucking her?" My chin went up, and Noah just smirked. "C'mon, Declan," he drawled out. "She killed three of our men. Your dick is worrying for nothing."

"That's enough, Noah."

Giving me a terse nod, he asked, "What do you need from me?"

"While the cameras around The Wooden Table aren't going to be a problem, it'll be the street and business cameras along the way that could be an issue," I told him. "The cops can trace the surveillance to track me down."

"Then maybe you just walk through the front doors and don't deny that you were there," Noah suggested. "Nothing can be proven once you walk up those stairs."

"I don't like the idea of taking a hooker upstairs with me." Noah arched a brow before shaking his head like he felt sorry for me. "If I don't fuck her, then she might tell the police that."

"Then ye feck her," he drawled out. "Problem solved."

"I already told ye that's enough," I bit out.

Finally taking me seriously, he said, "Then we both walk in there together, pick a woman, then we'll walk up with her together." Noah shrugged like we weren't talking about assassinating someone as important as Cooper Donaldson. "When we get upstairs, I'll take her into the room while you pretend to have to take an important call."

"And if the cops question her?"

"I could always blindfold her once we get into the room," he suggested. "She'll never know how long you've been gone." Noah's blue eyes lit up. "In fact, you can even bring Keavy back to the room after taking care of Donaldson, then we can pretend to have a jolly ol' orgy."

My eyes flashed with warning. "Yer no' touchin' Ke'vy."

Noah rolled his eyes. "That's why I said pretend."

"An' how in da feck do we pull tha' off?" I asked, every second that passed irritating me more.

"We keep the girl blindfolded," he answered simply. "She'll never know."

As much as I hated the idea of Keavy being anywhere near a real or pretend orgy, Noah's idea sounded a lot better than me trying to sneak in through the back. Nowadays, there were cameras everywhere, and even if they were minding their own damn business, you never knew what they could pick up, and they were an incredible asset to law enforcement, even if they weren't trying to be.

"Okay," I finally said. "That could work."

Noah took in my bank robber look. "Then you're going to need to change, lad."

An hour later, Noah and I were walking into The Wooden Table, and I didn't see Keavy anywhere, making my stomach tighten with what that meant. I also didn't see Cooper Donaldson, so I knew that we didn't have much time to waste. However, since there were cameras down here, I knew that we couldn't just grab a woman, then race upstairs with her. Neither Noah nor I had ever had to beg for pussy, so it'd look odd if we didn't let the women come to us.

Fuck.

"Relax," Noah ordered under his breath.

Just then, I saw Keavy walking back from the restroom area, and my heart skipped a beat as I watched her take a seat at the bar. I'd never felt so relieved in all my fucking life, and whether she realized it or not, there was going to be a quick wedding in her near future because it was beyond possible for me to let her go at this point.

A hearty laugh had my head turning towards the hallway behind the bar, and when I saw Cooper Donaldson shaking hands with one of the club managers, I felt myself calming down some more. We'd gotten here in time to follow them upstairs, ensuring that Donaldson wouldn't be able to touch her before I got a hold of him.

"Come on," Noah instructed, and I had no choice but to follow him. Even if I didn't want Donaldson noticing us, Keavy had no idea that I had changed the plan, so I didn't want to trip her up. Everything still hinged on Keavy getting Donaldson upstairs.

Following Noah, he picked a table in the corner, as far away from the crowd as possible. Still, as soon as we sat down, a cocktail waitress was already approaching us, a practiced smile on her face. While some of the staff here were willing to trade favors for money, this one didn't seem like she was selling anything other than drinks.

"Two Redbreast Twelves," Noah said before she even asked anything. "Three fingers each."

"Coming right up," she replied before making her way back towards the bar.

"Do not fuck this up, Declan," Noah ordered as we both watched Donaldson sit down next to Keavy. "That is part of the plan and always had been."

He was right, of course.

Still, last night changed everything, even if I'd been too late to act on it.

"I'm fine," I bit out between clenched teeth.

"You're lying," he snorted, knowing me well.

Before I could say anything to that, the cocktail waitress was back with our drinks, and because all the gods were on our side tonight, another woman was with her. However, unlike our waitress, the stunning blonde was carrying only her purse with her, offering only herself. Now, while I didn't have a preference when it came to women, Noah had a thing for blondes, so the newcomer was fitting perfectly into our plans. Granted, that wasn't to say that Noah only fucked blondes, but if a woman was going to catch his eye, it'd be a blonde bombshell.

"Do you boys mind if I join you?" she asked as our waitress placed our drinks on the table.

"Not at all," Noah answered smoothly.

"Is there anything else I can get you, gentlemen?" our waitress asked.

"No, thank you," I said as calmly as I could.

After giving me a simple nod, she turned to leave, the other woman making herself comfortable in one of the empty chairs at the table. There were four chairs in all, Noah and I making sure that our backs were to the wall.

"So, what are you boys looking to get into tonight?" she asked brazenly, and in this instance, I could appreciate her willingness to get down to business.

"We'd like to get into you," Noah replied smoothly, not even bothering to ask her name. "Of course, only if that's something that you're open to."

Her bright hazel eyes glittered with excitement, and it wasn't every day that two O'Briens offered to double-team a girl. Well…that I knew of. I didn't keep up with the sexual escapades of my men, though all my brothers were married, so I didn't see them partaking in that sort of shit.

"Well, who doesn't like double the fun?" she purred, and there was no doubt that Noah was going to have a great time tonight.

Just then, I saw Keavy and Donaldson get up from their seats at the bar, then I watched with unadulterated rage as Donaldson pulled her chair out for her, helping her like a gentleman. However, instead of following her, he waited a few seconds, and that's when I saw him graciously paying their bills. I let out a sigh of relief at knowing that they were going to walk up separately, that one minor decision playing into our plans.

"How ‘bout we cut da shite an' head upstairs now, sweetheart?" Noah asked.

"A man after my own heart," she smirked, and not a second too soon, because I could barely restrain myself as I watched Donaldson finally head up the staircase.