Declan’s brow rose with his curiosity, but he remained silent while this stranger continued to monologue like a scene out of a movie.
“Next, we have the twins – cut from the same cloth, but different as night and day,” Eli continued. “Luke. Intimidating, driven, fierce, most likely to take a bullet for his family and country. But in the end, nothing more than a gentle giant who loves as fiercely as he fights.”
Luke stood unfazed by Eli’s taunting, if that was what this was.
“Liam, the devoted father, devoted brother, from America’s most wanted criminal to its savior hacker – that took big balls.” Eli was referring to Liam’s early days when the government caught Liam hacking into government systems to show them how vulnerable they were, and rather than prosecute the teenaged Liam, they hired him. “That was well played, much respect, though I thought you’d see me coming. I’d like to offer condolences for your first wife. Any man who can come back from that deserves much respect.”
“I didn’t see you coming because I couldn’t get a hit on facial rec…”
“Oh, but you didn’t need to know who I was for that. I’m certain you have my face everywhere, watching for me to show up somewhere. You’re too smart not to watch for my movement.”
Liam nodded. “Jammer?”
“Designed by you, I imagine.” Eli was throwing grenades, using the brothers’ own intelligence and technology against them and rubbing it in.
“Personal jammers are above your pay grade, I’m guessing. They require the highest clearance there is. So, again, where’d you get it? Who do you work for?”
“Liam, what’s a personal jammer?” Carter asked.
“I’m guessing it’s in that bulky watch he’s wearing. It’s like any other jammer – blocks a signal – but this one is designed to move with you on a smaller scale. Before anyone knows their camera feed was interrupted, towers were down, or phone didn’t work…you’re gone. Undetected. It’s like a moving glitch.”
“Yes. It’s like being an invisible man – works impeccably.” Eli winked. “You didn’t see me coming. Didn’t even see me outside your building. Major security flaw. You should look into that.”
Liam didn’t respond to Eli’s taunting. He knew better than to give a reaction of any kind. That’s what Eli was doing, and each of them knew it because they would do the same if roles were reversed, and they were looking for information. Eli was trying to break them – just one of them. It was all he really needed.
“Wylie, the youngest O’Reilly, but clearly…the biggest.” Eli’s expression and body language suggested he was impressed and perhaps mocking. It was hard to tell, and that was how he liked it. “Sweet…that’s what they call you, right? Constantly trying to keep up with the big boys but you don’t realize you’ve already exceeded them, and they’re all trying to keep up with you.” Eli paused, a snide chuckle escaped him as he took in Wylie’s confused look. “Didn’t know that, did you? Interesting.”
“It seems you’re all a bit speechless…” Eli went on.
“Not speechless, just waiting for you to finish this little one-man show of yours,” Dace chided. “If you’re waiting for one of us to be impressed, you picked the wrong crowd.”
“Nah, friend. We are friends; you just don’t know it yet. I feel like I’ve known the likes of you for years. Almost like…family.” Eli was provoking them any way he could. Perhaps he’d pique their curiosity, and they’d give in and lead him to what he wanted. “Like Carter here. You’ve come a long way over the years – from military grunt, to special ops, to a fancy office in DC where you trust and rely on these guys more than you do the actual government you serve. Much like these guys, you’ve all come up together. He’s like the honorary sixth O’Reilly brother, making seven total, am I right? There’s a sister…”
“You don’t want to go there. Whatever you think you know about our sister, forget it.”
“Ooh. That sounded like a threat. I assure you, I’m perfectly harmless…when I get what I want. I can be your biggest ally or your fiercest threat.” Eli smiled. “Where can I find Ivy?”
Dace shook his head and took a step toward Eli. “We aren’t friends. I don’t trust you, and I owe you nothing. Ivy owes you nothing. It’s time for you to leave.”
“You’re right. Ivy owes me nothing. I’m the one who owes her something.”
As if they weren’t already on alert, the implication had each of the men moving in and ready to take down a potential enemy that knew far too much about them, more than anyone. He had information that came from the inside – it was too personal to collect otherwise – and the only person they had in common, thus far, seemed to be Ivy. This was a moment when allies were gained or enemies exposed, and no one knew which side Ivy would fall on, but Eli seemed more likely to fall on the negative side of a shaky spectrum.
Dace interrupted. “Why is she important to you? What do you need from her? Did she take something from you? See something she shouldn’t? You’re here to clean it up?”
“Quite the contrary. I’m not behind what happened to her in the alley,” Eli said through gritted teeth. “I’m here to protect her from that happening again. If I know she’s alive, so do they.”
“Quite kind of you, but she doesn’t need your help. She had me…us,” Dace said, speaking for the room.
“Oh, but I don’t know that you can. From what I gather, you don’t even know who the enemy is yet. You need me. She needs me.” Eli wasn’t backing down. “You are the best in the business. Everyone knows that, including your new enemy. They also know your strengths and weaknesses because they’ve been fighting you for years. I’ve watched…all of it.”
“Who is this enemy? You want us to trust you, trust your intel – let you on our team – and let you talk to Ivy? You need to give us a reason to check all those boxes…friend.”
Eli crossed his arms and widened his stance with his head cocked to one side, and a laser-sharp stare focused on Dace as he mulled over the offer, if you could call it that. “Dace, I have a great deal of respect for you, and I know how important Ivy is in your life, or you wouldn’t have spent years searching for her, worried for her and wanting to protect her. This isn’t the time to whip out our dicks and compare. You need me as much as I need you. I will help you because it will be helping Ivy. You assure me that I can trust you? I need to know what you know, as you know it. In the end, we go our separate ways, but until then…we need to be a team. Can you promise me that? Can you do that for Ivy?”
“What if she doesn’t want to see you?”
“She will.”
“How do I know that? What if mentioning you to her doesn’t end in a happy reunion?”
“Then you shoot me. If she swears me an enemy, you shoot me,” Eli said with confidence. “Surely, by now, you know I’m not an inept man making foolish moves if I walked straight into the bears’ den as I have. I wouldn’t have come here and offered my assistance if I didn’t think it mattered…a lot.”