Lawless: Mob Boss Book Three by Michelle St. James

could have secured one on the black market in Rome, but they needed to stay under Raneiro’s radar, and since they didn’t know how long they’d be here, it hadn’t seemed like a worthwhile risk. If Nico had his way, they’d get a lead on Sean Murdock from McDermott and be out of Rome by morning. The more distance between them and Raneiro the better.
    He set his nearly empty pint on the bar and slid onto the stool next to Desmond McDermott. Angel sat on the other side of him, and he instinctively angled his body to cover hers as much as possible. Desmond McDermott looked harmless enough — blond hair, ruddy complexion, average height with a belly going soft — but Nico wouldn’t bet Angel’s safety on it.
    “Buona sera,” Nico said, when Desmond’s gaze cut his way.
    Desmond nodded. “Buona sera.”
    Nico waved at the bartender for a refill, watching as he filled another glass and set it down on the bar. “Grazie.”
    He took a drink of the beer, biding his time. When the bartender moved toward the other end of the bar, Nico spoke without looking at the man next to him.
    “How is Sean these days?”
    He saw McDermott turn to look at him in his peripheral vision. “Who are you?”
    “Not important,” Nico said.
    “The hell you say,” McDermott said his Irish brogue getting thicker with his agitation.
    “Word is you and Murdock have had a falling out,” Nico said. “And I think you and I might be on the same side.”
    The statement was risky, based purely on speculation drawn from all that he’d read about McDermott and Murdock. Luca had been right; according to every available source, they had been like brothers. There were very few things that could destroy that kind of friendship, and while Nico couldn’t be sure, he was betting it had something to do with Sean’s rumored illegal activity.
    McDermott moved to stand, and Nico clamped a hand firmly but quietly on his wrist. Angel shifted in her seat.
    “Please, sit.” McDermott hesitated, and Nico took advantage of the opportunity to expand on his message. “I mean you no harm.”
    McDermott settled back in his seat. “What do you want?”
    “Sean has something in his possession,” Nico said. “Something dangerous. I simply want to insure its safekeeping.”
    He almost held his breath on the bluff. He had no idea what was on the Darknet file. but if it was important to Raneiro — and it was — it had to be something that could be leveraged for greater power. It was the only thing worth more than making an example out of Nico to everyone in the Syndicate. And if it could be used to make Raneiro more powerful, it was dangerous, plain and simple. That Nico wanted to insure its safekeeping remained to be seen, but he’d say what he had to in order to secure Angel’s safety.
    “I don’t know anything about that,” McDermott said a little too vehemently.
    Nico took a drink of his beer. “I don’t believe that.”
    “Sean and I are on the outs, like you said.”
    “I’m not looking for anything specific.” Nico lowered his voice. “Just point me in the right direction.”
    “And why would I do that?” McDermott said. “I don’t know you.”
    Nico nodded, meeting his eyes. “Someone’s coming for what Murdock has. And if you don’t want it to fall into the wrong hands, I promise that you want it to be me.”
    McDermott turned his attention back to his beer. “Sean has a lot of things people want,” he said softly.
    “I’m not talking about software,” Nico said. “But I think you know that.”
    McDermott gave him a sidelong glance, then stood. “You best be on your way before you get yourself into trouble,” he said, a little too loudly.
    Nico was puzzled by his change in demeanor until he threw some cash down on the bar and spoke under his breath.
    “Everything that matters to Sean is in Dublin.”
    It was little more than a whisper, but Nico heard it loud and clear. He watched McDermott exit the bar and then glanced