Boston Blood

Sixty

Aidan sped along the highway and took the exit for New Hampshire. He had told everyone to keep an eye out for them and it wasn't long before a fed he had on his payroll had told him that Bridget was spotted on a security camera in the store just down the street. Idiots. I thought I've taught them better than this.

He approached the turn for the hotel and hoped that he had made it there before Tommy. He was furious with himself for being so stupid for ever thinking he could trust that slimy bastard. Tommy had done a good job at convincing Aidan not to give the D.A. Frankie's name and that they would get the list. As much as Aidan protested, Tommy told him that he would do what he had to in order to get that list but if anyone was going to kill Frankie, it was going to be him and not the fucking pigs. Aidan eventually agreed, seeing the irony yet poetry of Tommy's decision. He put it down to getting soppy in his old age but he should have known. Tommy must have gotten rid of Tony and sent Lopez to the harbour to kill them all so he could get to Frankie and get the list and the money for himself. He had every one of his men out looking for Tommy with strict instructions to fucking shoot on site. He couldn't risk Tommy getting his fucking hands on that list. It would mean everything he'd worked for was over. He and Tommy had an amazing deal in the pipeline with the D.A. but he needed to get the names to her now so she could bury it and he could carry on as normal with a much more attractive bank balance. But if he didn't get that list, then he might as well have drowned himself in that fucking harbour last night. He had run out of time. Tommy had double-crossed him and he was nervous. He knew Frankie wouldn't go down without a fight. She was tough, he had to give her that but she was a liability and he knew she wouldn't give it up. He had to find something to convince her.

Cillian.

Aidan couldn't believe that his own nephew, the man who he had raised and made him the man he was today had become so weak. To let a woman, a useless junkie mess with his head so much like that? It made him sick. And Aidan could see that she felt the same. The way they looked at each other when they thought no one was looking. The lingering side glances that went on for a second too long, the way her cheeks had reddened whenever Cillian walked into a room, the way he had protected her and lost his shit when Aidan had threatened her. Fucking love. It ruins lives.

It did pain him that it had to come to this. He loved Cillian but he could see that he had lost him. In fact, he had actually always known that Cillian would never be able for this life. He was weak and soft. Too much like his mother. He thought of his poor sister and how heart broken she was when she found out about Paul cheating on her. With Margaret fucking Ryan of all people. Margaret. His Margaret.

He shook his head to try to focus. None of that mattered anymore. It was all in the past and he would do what was necessary to save his own ass. He knew Cillian and Bridget would never understand but he had no choice. He recalled the horror on Bridget's face last night when she had learned the truth about his and Tommy's arrangement. She was disgusted but he didn't care. No one understood what how need for power and success had consumed him. He had to look after number one above anything else and if it came to it, he knew he would willingly give up anyone to make sure his business and he kept going. He wasn't sure if we would have the heart to kill Cillian, unless he had no choice, of course but he was the key. He was going to use Cillian to get Frankie to give him what he wanted and he was prepared to do what ever it took.

He pulled into the car park of the hotel and immediately jammed on the breaks with a screech when his eyes landed on the three Police cars and two fire engines that littered the tarmac in front of him.

"What the fuck is this?" Someone's dead. Panic hit him, then and he didn't even feel guilty that his first thought was that he hoped it wasn't Frankie. If she was dead, he hadn't a hope that he would get the list and everything was fucked.