Vengeful Secret (The Burkes Mafia #3)

16. Gray

16

GRAY

I sit behind my desk, looking listlessly at the papers strewn around it. The call I got from Liam told me that the Murphys were at a certain club—Envy.

They’re gathering for some reason, and it makes me nervous. The problem is, I don’t know what the hell to do about it.

I can’t go there myself, because I’d be instantly recognized. So would any other member of my family. If I go in there half-cocked, they’ll scatter like roaches.

What we need is an inside man. But all the men I know are in the clan, easily recognizable. There’s only one thing I can think of, and it’s unthinkable.

Sutton.

No one knows her face or her connection to me. No one knows that she’s staying here except for our family, and although I’m terrified for her safety, I know how level-headed she is.

She’d be careful.

I take a deep breath, heading down the hall to Declan’s room. I knock lightly on the door, but it’s Bree who answers, heavily pregnant and nearly panting just from getting up to answer the door.

She smiles. “He’s not here. He went out with Kael and Paige, they’re going to pick up breakfast so Marisol doesn’t have to cook.”

“You didn’t want to go?”

“God, no,” she says, laughing. “I don’t want to move unless I have to; I’m a whale.”

“You’re glowing.”

She snorts. “One more person tells me that, and I’m going to think I’m going radioactive.”

I laugh. “I’ll let you get back to bed. Just wanted to run something by him.”

“Can I help?”

I muse, wondering why not. Bree is Declan’s wife, and he trusts her, so I do, too. She also has insight that no one else has about Niall Murphy, since he’s her father.

“Maybe.”

She opens the door further, waddling over to sit down on the edge of the bed. I remain standing.

“The Murphys are gathering at a club, and I need someone on the inside.”

“Da knows everyone in all the clans,” she says, proving me right.

I hum. “I know, so I was hoping you might have an idea of who we could send...”

She puts a hand to her chin, her eyes unfocused, but then she shakes her head. “I don’t know anyone who’s not involved in one of the clans.”

“There’s Sutton.”

Bree’s eyes widen. “Declan says you care about her.”

“Declan doesn’t know his ass from a hole in the ground,” I mutter, annoyed by him spreading rumors.

Bree barks out a laugh. “Maybe not, but he knows you, Gray. She means something to you, or she wouldn’t be here.”

“She means a lot to me,” I admit. “But she’s also someone that knows the life but isn’t in it. No one knows her face or that she’s staying here.”

“You want to send her into the lion’s den?”

I groan. “You’re right. It’s a shit idea.”

“No, no, you’re right,” she says slowly. “If you can trust her, it makes sense.”

“I would trust her with my life.” I know she’s one of the most loyal people I’ve ever met, despite her lies about Ciara.

“Then it makes sense. You should talk to her, see if she’d be interested.” She pauses. “And Gray?”

I’m halfway to the door, and I turn around. “Yes?”

“If you do care about her… that’s okay, you know?”

I don’t answer, leaving the room and heading down to Sutton’s bedroom, knocking on the door.

She answers after a moment, her hair damp from a shower. She’s wearing a robe and that’s all, and my eyes flit down to her cleavage involuntarily.

“What’s up?” She smiles a little as she sees my eyes go back up to her face.

“Can I come in?”

She nods. “If this is about Ciara, I’m sorry, Gray, but I was hoping we could table that just for today.”

“It’s not about Ciara. It’s about… work.”

She stiffens. “Work?”

“The Murphys are gathering tonight at a club called Envy.”

“Haven’t heard of it.”

“Perfect,” I mutter, and she looks up at me with a curious gaze. “I was thinking… hoping that you might be able to go there. Do some surveillance, report back to us.”

“You want me to be bait in your war?”

“Not bait. I just want you to see what they’re up to. Figure out what they’re planning.”

“Won’t that be dangerous?”

“I’ll have my men watching you nonstop. They’ll be right outside if you need them.” He pauses. “And I’ll be there.”

“Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of me going?” she asks, confusion on her face.

“No, because you’ll be the one talking to the Murphys. I’ll just be at the bar, watching you.”

“You shouldn’t be there at all. They'll recognize you.”

I huff out a breath. “You’re not going unless I do.”

I would never ask her this normally, but I want her and Ciara safe. I want Paige and Lara safe. I want this over.

“This is important, isn’t it?” she asks quietly.

“It is. It’s our one shot at figuring out what the Murphys are up to.”

She hums. “It’s dangerous, Gray. It’s exactly the reason that I kept Ciara from you before. Things like this.”

“Don’t you think I know that? Don’t you think that I know how dangerous and awful this is? I don’t want you to do it, but I don’t have anyone else that the Murphys wouldn’t target and recognize.”

“And if we do this, it could be over? We could all be safe?”

“Yes.”

She sits down on the edge of the bed, her robe bulging open slightly. I try not to look at the expanse of skin it reveals.

“Okay. Fine. I’ll do it.” She pauses. “Marisol can watch Ciara.”

I let out a sigh of something like relief, but it’s tinged with worry.

“What’s the plan?” she asks.

“We’ll go in at the same time, and then split up. I head to the bar, and you go to the back room. That’s where my intel tells me they’re set up. It’s the VIP area, so you might have to flirt to get in there.”

“I can flirt,” she says with a smug smile, and I want to call off the whole thing.

“I know you can. But if anyone touches you…”

“No one’s going to touch me. You’ll be watching. Your men will be outside. It’ll be fine… Right?”

“Damn right. So you latch on to the dumbest Murphy there, and find out what they’re doing.”

“To be working for that Murphy guy against you, they’re probably all pretty dumb, so that shouldn’t be hard.” She grins, getting up and rifling through one of her suitcases.

I frown. “What are you doing?”

“Looking for a dress to wear. Has to be something sexy.”

My eye twitches. I don’t love the idea of her using her feminine wiles, but I don’t know any other way.

She throws a few outfits on the bed—one, a little slinky black dress, another red sequined skirt and a black halter top, and a pair of short shorts with a buckle on one leg and a crop top.

“The red,” I say, and she looks at it curiously.

“Let me try it on.”

I let out a long breath as she heads into the bathroom.

I hate this. I hate all of it. I don’t want the Murphys with their eyes on Sutton. I don’t want them to know who she is.

But of course, she’ll introduce herself with a fake name. And she’s right, I’ll be there.

All the oxygen seems to have gone out of the room when she comes out in the red skirt and black halter. It hugs all of her new curves and compliments her skin tone.

“What do you think?”

I think I want her in a burlap sack going into the lion’s den, but at the same time, I can’t help but compliment her.

“You look delectable,” I murmur, and Sutton’s cheeks flush slightly.

God, I want to touch her. I want to take her around the waist, rip that skirt right off her.

Suddenly, fear rockets through me. What if they take one look at her in this dress and decide to take her?

“We’re not doing this.” I put my hand on Sutton’s shoulders. “I’ve changed my mind.”

She stares at me. “What?” She looks down at herself. “The dress isn’t that slutty?—”

“Not because of the dress. Because this is too dangerous. I’ll send someone else.”

“Who?”

“One of my cousins or something. I’ll make some calls.”

I start to pull out my phone, and she puts a hand on my arm to stop me. “Gray. We have to do this.”

“No, we don’t,” I insist, looking at her desperately, but I know that she’s right. I know that there’s no one else the Murphys wouldn’t recognize.

“It’s okay, Gray. I’m going to be okay.”

“You don’t know that. God, why did I even make this plan?”

“Because you want to protect me and our daughter. I don’t want to do it either, but if we pull this off?—”

“And what if we don’t? What if it all goes wrong?”

“Then you or one of your men will get me out of there. Right?”

I look down at her, thinning my lips before I speak. “Right.”

“We’re doing the right thing, Gray.”

It doesn’t feel right. It feels so terribly wrong that I can’t believe I ever came up with it. But Sutton’s right. I’m doing this to help protect them.

“Let’s go over the plan," Sutton insists, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

“Not yet,” I mutter, and lean down to cup her face in my hands.

I kiss her deeply, so deeply that she makes a slight moan into my mouth.

Sutton licks her lips as she looks up at me, smiling. “Now can we talk about the plan?”

“Go for it.”

“So, we go in at the same time. I go to the back, flirt with a stupid Murphy. You stay at the bar, watching. What happens when I find something out?”

“Escape. Find me.”

She nods. “Simple enough.”

I can’t believe I’ve suggested this. I can’t believe I’m sending the woman I love into a den of vipers. And I do love her. All this time between us hasn’t changed a damn thing. When I look at her, I still have butterflies in my stomach.

This could be over. We could figure out exactly when they’re going to strike, and strike back harder.

It’s the only way.