28. Ryder

As I get ready for the day, I mull over the recent turn of events. Eva's acceptance shifted the dynamics between us, moving us from the tentative peace from before to a more solid foundation.

But beyond the newfound sense of shared joy, something else more sinister lurks under the surface. Declan's betrayal still looms over us, a spectral presence we can no longer ignore.

With a sigh, I head out, traveling into Havencrest to meet with Aunt Bridget. If anyone can give us better insight into things, it's Bridget. She's an intelligent and perceptive woman with a soft heart for her family.

Determination fuels my steps as I navigate the busy streets, focused on protecting my family and uncovering the truth.

As I reach her office, I pause to greet Evangeline with a quick kiss before she leaves me alone with my aunt. Fortified by the brief physical contact, I step into Bridget's office.

"How are you, Rye?" Aunt Bridget asks as she looks over fabric samples.

"I'm good," I say, sitting down and crossing my leg over my knee. "I wanted to meet with you to discuss something important."

"I've got a few minutes before my meeting," she says, setting her sample book down.

"Someone close to us came forward with some intel they had on Uncle Declan," I tell her carefully. "We weren't sure how to react, but the evidence presents a pretty compelling case. We think that Uncle Declan had something to do with our father's death."

Bridget's eyes widen, and she lets out a long sigh, shaking her head. She doesn't seem surprised, though.

"You don't seem surprised?" I ask.

She spreads her fingers out on the glass surface of her desk. "Declan and your father became friends in high school," she begins. "Marcus saw Declan getting bullied, and he stood up for him, so Declan latched himself onto your father from that point on. The two were thick as thieves, and when Seamus Callahan approached him about joining the ranks, he insisted that Declan be allowed to join too."

"So they grew up together and started in the business together?" I ask, trying to clarify.

"Yes, but while your father rose through the ranks quite quickly, Declan was content to leech off your father's efforts. Marcus saw him as his right-hand man, though, and no matter what I said to the contrary, he would insist that Declan was loyal to the bitter end."

"Sounds like you saw something Dad didn't," I point out.

"Your father had one blind spot, and that was Declan O'Malley," Aunt Bridget declared. "He saw him as a little brother he needed to protect. But I saw a weak man who aligned himself with whoever had the most power."

I frown. "Declan never once made it seem like he had ambitions outside of being Dad's right hand, though," I point out. "He never spoke out against Dad or tried to take things in new directions."

"No," Bridget agrees. "He aligned himself with Marcus's goals, but I fully believe he only did that until Marcus's goals diverged from his own. At some point, Declan got greedy for more power, and I believe that's when he decided to do whatever it was that he did to have Marcus killed."

Her eyes are full of sorrow as she talks about my father, her brother. "Marcus and I were alike in a lot of ways. We were both pretty single-minded about our goals, and neither of us like to hear others' opinions. If Declan thought that what Marcus was doing didn't serve the interest of the family business, they might have argued about it, and Declan is hot-tempered enough to hold a grudge."

I remember a time when I was a child when some waiter accidentally got water in Uncle Declan's lap at a restaurant and he vowed to never eat there again. To this day, he's never been back. If Declan was mad that Dad wouldn't listen, I could see him getting angry enough to take him out.

Shaking my head, I let out a sigh. Bridget reaches out and squeezes my hand in hers. "You kids are so much like Marcus in many ways. If you think Declan is involved, I know you'll want to do something about it. But please, be careful. Declan is smart, and he's sneaky. He's a snake in the grass, and he'll strike immediately if he thinks he's being threatened."

"Yeah, we need a plan," I admit. "I think I might go talk to the friend who gave us the information, see if there's anything else they've got that could help us."

Bridget stands up, coming over to hug me. We're not a very demonstratively affectionate family, but I think losing Dad has brought out a desire for more closeness. I let her hug me for a moment before patting her back and stepping away.

"I need to go. Tell Evangeline that we'll see her at home?"

Bridget nods. "Will do. Take care of yourself, Rye."

I give her a wave and head out, hands in my pockets.

Outside, the day shines warm and bright, streets flooded with pedestrians. I make my way through the city toward the police precinct to see Daniel.

When I arrive, he's at his desk poring over some documents with a harried look in his eyes and a coffee stain on his tie.

"Ryder," he acknowledges in greeting. I sit down in the hard plastic chair in front of his desk and lean in.

"I need to talk to you," I tell him. "It's about the info you gave Eva."

"Been waiting for you guys to approach me about that," Daniel admits quietly. "Let's go somewhere we can talk freely."

I follow him as he stands up and heads to an interrogation room down the hall. Once inside, he shuts the door and we sit across from each other.

"So, what did you want to know?" Daniel asks.

"To start, I want to know who got that info?" I ask. "Was it you?"

"I'm not at liberty to divulge," Daniel says, giving me a half-smirk. "You know that, Rye."

"Then how about telling me if there's any other evidence you guys have gotten your hands on."

"Listen, even if I could help, and believe me, I want to, I can't because… there are certain mitigating factors at play now," he whispers, leaning in close.

"Mitigating factors? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that the Feds want to get their hands on Declan O'Malley. It means that they've been looking into him for a long time now, longer than you know. It means that if I give you more info and you go after him, you three could get caught in the crossfire as well."

Shock fills me, followed by a moment of fear. "The Feds are after the Callahans?" I demand, my voice rising.

Daniel looks around as he shushes me, shaking his head. "The Feds right now only want Declan. They won't tell me what they have on him, and they aren't sharing, but I'd tread carefully if I were you."

"Why didn't you tell us this before?" I ask, hand curling into a fist on the table as I try not to yell at my friend.

"I only just found out about it a few weeks ago," Daniel confesses. "If I'd known, I would have never brought you that info in the first place. I don't want to see you guys hurt. You know I don't support the things you do, but I also know that I'm not going to be able to stop you. All I can do is help you out where I can."

"I know," I say with a sigh. "We appreciate your loyalty. I mean, we can't even bribe your guys for that level of loyalty," I joke.

Daniel gives me a sad smile. "We were innocent kids once," he remarks. "All of us. Now we're on opposite sides of the law."

"Maybe," I say with a shrug. "Or maybe we're just two sides of the same coin. We both try to protect the innocent and help eliminate the bad guys. We just have different ways of going about it."

"I appreciate your stopping by," Daniel says, rising from his seat. "Let me walk you out. I don't know what's going to happen, but I hope you keep yourself and your family safe."

The two of us stroll back through the precinct, and Daniel walks me past the front desk. "How's Evangeline?" he asks, leaning against the counter.

"She's doing well. Keeps growing. We talked to her, apologized and all that shit. We're moving forward."

"Good," Daniel says, pushing his black-rimmed glasses back up the bridge of his nose. "Because if I find out you did anything to her ever again, I'll put a warrant out for your arrest."

I give him a smirk. "I'm glad she's got a friend like you looking out for her."

With a quick wave, I head back out and into the sunshine. I don't know what we're going to do at this point. The files we have on Declan are the only thing we've got, and it's highly inconclusive.

My gut is telling me that he has something to do with our father's death, but there's no definitive proof. If we accuse him without proof, we could end up at the wrong end of an execution.

Declan is a dangerous man. You don't get this far in the business without being a combination of cunning, arrogant, and ruthless. We'll need to stay one step ahead of him so we don't end up in danger.