Irished (The Invincibles Book 7) by Heather Slade (the top 100 crime novels of all time txt) 📕

The rest of the members of the unit, save three, were killed within a week of her death.”

“What happened to the other three?” Ali asked.

“Irish?” said Decker.

I immediately knew the answer. “Special Agents Pierre Martin, Leon Schmidt, and Alan Perry. They were all murdered in La Chapelle-Saint-Maurice.”

“The father of the agent I mentioned the other day, Siren Gallagher, was one of the men from the task force who was murdered,” said Decker. “Byrne kept track of her all these years, thinking she might have evidence related to the crimes. Turns out, her mother, who passed away a few years ago, had it in a box that was supposed to be given to Siren but wasn’t located until after Byrne’s death.”

Decker continued. “Stella, my contact in the Hays County Coroner’s Office said the DC medical examiner is getting ready to release your aunt’s death certificate. As soon as that happens, I think you should press to get a meeting scheduled with the attorney.”

“I’ll do that.”

“Decker, Stella received something in the mail that was forwarded to her. It was a note from her aunt, sent the day Stella found her.”

“What’s in it?”

“We haven’t been able to decipher its meaning.”

“Send it to me. It’ll give me something to do on the flight home.”

“Roger that.”

“Anything else I need to know before I get in the air?” Deck asked.

When no one spoke up, he ended the call.

“Can I see the note?” I asked.

Buck picked it up from the table and handed it to me.

Its message seemed obvious, given Barb’s use of numbers. “What’s at 610 Fifth Avenue?”

Buck pulled out his phone. “Tiffany’s flagship store.”

I took a photo of the note and told them I’d send it to Decker.

When I walked out, I saw Flynn’s truck pulling up. I’d tried to reach her several times, and she hadn’t responded. Since it was pouring rain, I didn’t bother stopping to ask why not.

30

Flynn

I felt horrible when I saw Paxon leave the cabin we were about to go into and head next door. By the time I got out of the SUV, he was already inside.

Earlier, we thought everyone was coming to the dining hall, where we’d made a feast for the Fourth of July, but Stella had some mail delivered to the house, which I forgot to tell her about. Evidently, there was something important in it because both Buck and Stella left right after they got it.

I had no idea if Paxon had intended to come or not.

“Hurry up,” yelled Cord, when I hesitated following them. It had been raining hard all day and hadn’t let up. I grabbed two of the containers and raced inside.

“We brought food,” I said when Buck opened the door.

“Best brisket ever,” said Cord as he uncovered the large pan he brought inside.

“We were so busy in the kitchen that we didn’t get a chance to eat,” said Porter, coming in behind Holt, who brought his guitar along. “Mind if we eat with you?”

While I was a little sad at the thought that Paxon was all alone next door, I couldn’t remember a time I’d had so much fun with my brothers.

We talked about our futures and plans for the ranch now that our dad was gone. Cord and I both wanted to see if we could make a go of the dude ranch, Porter wanted to get into the roughstocking business, and Holt obviously wanted to tour with CB Rice.

Buck didn’t say much, but when Stella told us they’d talked about living in our great-grandparents’ old farmhouse, a sense of peace came over me. It just felt right, and I said so. When Buck’s eyes met mine, I knew in my heart that while it was hard for him to admit it, given his history with our dad, he felt the rightness of it too.

When it came time for us to go, I packed up a small amount of the food to take over to Paxon. I’d planned to leave it for him, but when I walked up to the cabin, I saw him sitting on the swing.

“How come you’re sitting in the dark?” I asked.

He shrugged. “I guess I didn’t plan on staying out here that long.”

“I brought you some food.”

“That was nice of you.” He held out his hand.

“I can take it inside.”

“Thanks.”

The lack of enthusiasm in his voice made me so sad. I went back out and sat beside him on the swing. This was one instance where I was glad we were sitting in the dark.

“I was so embarrassed,” I said.

“I know. I was too.”

“I’m sorry you had to experience that. It’s why I’ve stayed away.”

“Do you know why I was embarrassed?”

I shrugged.

“Because he recognized me. I saw that same look I’ve seen on the faces of so many people. I’m sorry you had to witness that.”

“You’ve done nothing wrong, though.”

“Have you?”

“It’s different.”

Irish put his arm on the back of the swing. “You’re sorry I had to witness someone shaming you, right?”

“Who would want to hang around with someone who gets called a heifer?”

“Who would want to hang around with someone who gets called a traitor?”

“But you aren’t.”

He drew me into him. “And neither are you, Flynn.”

My eyes filled with tears, and when he put his other arm around me, I let myself sink into his embrace.

“I wish I could take all your hurt away,” he whispered.

“I wish I could take yours away too.”

“You know what works?”

“What?”

“For me, anyway, spending time with you. You have a way about you that soothes me, Flynn. I smile more. I don’t think about the dark stuff as much.”

“I feel the same when I’m with you.”

“If that’s the case, why aren’t we spending more time together?”

Even in the dark, I could tell he was smiling.

“We should be,” I said, resting my head on his shoulder.

31

Irish

Two days later, Buck and Stella were on their way to New York City, where they hoped to find the location of her aunt’s safe-deposit box.

Because of something in his father’s will,