For Love & Bourbon (31 page)

“Why the hell didn’t you tell me that Ty Brannon is an informant?”

There was silence on the line for a good thirty seconds. Cooper hopped into his car and rested his head back against the seat, trying without success to calm down.

Horvath finally spoke. “
Who told you that?
”

“He did. He said the FBI used his wife as bait to lure Ned Brannon to the States. Please tell me you knew nothing about this. Please tell me it’s a goddamn lie.”

Another moment of silence. “
It’s not a lie, kid.
”

Cooper closed his eyes, horrified. “I can’t believe this.”

Horvath sighed. “
I know how it sounds, but you have to trust me when I say we never intended for Mrs. Brannon to get hurt. We expected Ned to come if he knew she was here.
”

“Why does he care so much about her?”

“
I can’t tell you that, kid. I’m sorry. I really shouldn’t be telling you any of this. It’s above your security clearance.
”

Cooper’s jaw clenched as fury washed over him. “I want off the case. I’m done. I won’t be a part of this bullshit anymore.”

“
The Brannons need you right now. Our intelligence confirms Ned has plans to leave Ireland very soon. I need you to keep a low profile and watch over the kids.
”

“The kids?”

“
Ava and Adam Brannon. He’s coming for them next.
”

Cooper’s blood froze. “Why?”

“
If I told you that, it would compromise everything else I can’t tell you. Just know they’re the target, but you can’t say anything to them. If any of you start acting differently it’ll throw up red flags and Ned won’t come. We have to get him on U.S. soil if we want to arrest him.
”

Cooper felt sick. “You’re using her as bait, just like her mother.”

“
We’ve run out of options. This time we know he’s coming. I need you to keep them safe.
”

He knew he had no choice. Not because of his allegiance to the FBI, but because of his love for the woman who had already suffered so much at the hands of Ned Brannon. “All right. I’ll stay.”

“
Good. Since I know you’ll feel the need to fill in D’Amico, make sure he keeps his goddamn mouth shut.
”

He didn’t have the energy to be amused. “I will.”

After he hung up, he tossed the phone aside and rubbed his face. He didn’t want to lie to Ava, but he also knew exactly how she would react to hearing that Ned was coming for her and Adam. She’d take the fight to him without hesitation and demand answers, not caring that she might die. To her it would be worth it just to have the chance at getting revenge for what happened to her mother.

What if she found out that her own father wasn’t a criminal after all, but an informant for the FBI? How would she take the news that her mother’s death was the result of a botched operation? That she’d been nothing more than bait and her father had let it happen?

It would kill her, Cooper realized. Even more so than thinking he was involved with the IRA. And whatever role her mother played in all this, he was certain that would come as a blow to her as well.

For now he’d keep those secrets to himself. She’d hate him for it later, but if it would keep her safe then it was worth the risk of losing her heart.

AVA SPENT
the entire day checking her phone, waiting on his call.

It bugged her to be
that
girl, but she couldn’t help it. She missed him, even though it had been less than eight hours since they had spoken. And really, that hadn’t counted. She’d been half-asleep and not nearly appreciative enough of the fact that he had been naked in her bed. All that meant was she would need to make it up to him later, a thought that put her in an incredibly good mood.

She went through the motions with her daily tours, eager for the day to end. She toyed with the idea of inviting Cooper dancing again, thinking how fun it would be to show him off. Not that they should be flaunting their affair, but he would look good in a tight pair of jeans and cowboy boots. Plus, dancing for her was always a fun sort of foreplay and the thought of teasing him senseless on the dance floor was too juicy to resist.

Humming to herself, she cleaned up the bar after the last tasting of the day, waving goodbye to the final guests. As she rinsed off glencairns and set them out to dry, her phone rang.

Butterflies exploded to life in her stomach as she fumbled to answer. “Hey! I was just thinking about you.”

“
Liar
.”

“No, really,” she replied, resting her hip against the counter. “I was imagining how good you’d look in cowboy boots. I should get you a pair.”

“
Only if I get to put you in a Yankees ball cap.
”

She cringed. “Oh, hell no. That’s not gonna happen.”

He chuckled. “
Too bad. If you’re not too busy, I thought I’d stop by the distillery.
”

“I’d like that, but I don’t know if it’s a good idea for you to be seen hanging around here too much.”

“
I’m going to be whether you like it or not. So get used to it.
”

She blinked, startled by the change in his voice. Beneath the carefree humor was a dark concern she couldn’t miss. She glanced around to be sure none of the employees were listening, then lowered her voice and spoke again. “Is Ned coming? Did you find out for sure?”

At first he didn’t say anything, but his silence told her all she needed to know.

“
While we wrap up on the investigation on your father, I’m tasked with keeping an eye on your family. That’s all I can tell you.
”

An ice cold chill raced over her skin. She shook it off, choosing rage over fear. “I can’t promise to leave him alive if I see him first, Slick. I hope you can respect that.”

He sighed. “
I knew you’d say that. Look, I won’t be leaving your side for a while. Marco’s gonna keep watch on Adam and your dad, and I’ll be undercover at the distillery with you and Joe.
”

“What am I going to tell my employees? They’re bound to notice you hanging around.”

“
You’ll figure something out.
”

She could already hear the firestorm of gossip this would stir up. But if her family was in danger, then it was better to have more help rather than none.

“All right. C’mon on over.” A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as she grabbed a bottle of whiskey from behind her. “I’ll have a glass of Irish waiting for you.”

A
dam didn’t think anything could make his mood worse, but being followed around by an FBI agent for an entire week was sure doing the trick. At first he shrugged it off as a mild annoyance, but the minute the guy started showing up at Whiskey Bent everything changed.

Brandy was at the bar. And he didn’t like the way she and that jackass smiled at each other.

He shot Marco a snide look, his glass of whiskey halfway to his lips. “You know, it’s so typical of you government types. Y’all slack off until something bad happens and then you’re so far up our asses we can’t even see straight.”

Marco stopped scanning the bar crowd and faced Adam with a grin. “And here I thought we were becoming friends. We have a lot in common, you know.”

Adam snorted. “How d’you figure?”

“Well, we both love bourbon.” Marco tapped his index finger to his lip thoughtfully, then shook his head. “I guess that’s about it. But hey, it’s something, right?”

“I don’t want to be your friend.” Adam turned away, irritated. “And you’d best keep your city boy hands off my girl.”

Marco rested his forearm on the bar. “You know, you keep saying that like it’s going to somehow make her yours. But from what I can see, you two are lost somewhere in the friend zone and can’t seem to find your way out of it. It’s a shame, really. She’s hopelessly in love with your sorry ass and you’re over here drinking yourself to death.”

Adam gritted his teeth. “What the hell do you know, anyway?”

“I know she’s looking over here right now, wondering what I’m saying to piss you off so badly.” Marco laughed, glancing around the room again. “Plus you can learn a lot about a guy if you hang around him for a week.”

Unable to resist, Adam shifted his gaze and met Brandy’s eyes down the bar. Her cheeks flushed and she quickly looked away, but it lifted his spirits all the same.

Marco nudged him in the shoulder. “Maybe it’s time to drop the bottle, pal. A girl like that won’t wait around forever.”

She’d already waited too long, Adam thought bitterly. He just wasn’t ready to be the man she needed. Hell, he didn’t know if it was possible. And even if it was, she’d made it clear she didn’t want to be with him. So that was that.

He threw back the last of his whiskey and slammed the glass down on the bar. “Save your judgment, asshole. I got enough problems without you in my ear givin’ me a pep talk.”

“Hey, you think I like this gig?” Marco asked with a derisive sniff. “This has been the most boring week of my life. Coop gets to hang with your sister—who is way cooler than you, by the way—and I’m stuck hanging out with a miserable drunk.”

“It’s been two goddamn weeks. Don’t you think if the guy who murdered my mother was gonna come back for more, he would’ve done it by now? Maybe you should be out there hunting him down instead of babysitting.” Adam growled, losing his patience. “Besides, I can take care of myself.”

Marco’s eyebrows shot up. “Sure you can. What’re you gonna do? Drink him under the table?”

In half a second Adam was on his feet, dragging Marco from the barstool with his hands wrapped tight around his shirtfront. Adam bared his teeth, their faces mere inches apart. “Just leave me the hell alone.”

He released Marco and backed away, trying to reign in his temper. He knew he’d taken the agent by surprise, and also that he was tiptoeing a dangerous line. One wrong move and he’d be thrown in jail.

Most of the patrons were staring at him, including Brandy who was making her way over. There was worry in her eyes when she reached him.

“Everything all right?” she asked, looking back and forth between him and Marco.

Marco adjusted his shirt, his dark eyes honed in on Adam. A clear warning flashed in them before he faced Brandy. “Yep. We’re cool. Nothing to worry about, sweetheart.”

Adam grimaced at the loose term of endearment, but let it go. His eyes met Brandy’s. “Sorry, darlin’. I’ll get out of your hair.”

He shrugged into his coat and started for the door, only to have her race around the bar and stop him. She forced him to look at her.

“Are you all right to drive? I can take you home if you just wait a few minutes till my shift is over.”

Adam stared into her eyes, sick with regret and bitterness. He shook his head. “No. I could use the walk.”