Chapter Eight #3
No sooner had I spoken his name, the man himself appeared. He had a face like thunder, storming towards the gates with a familiar fury burning inside him that I’d seen often enough to know it spelt trouble. I broke from the others, jogging to catch up with him.
‘‘Ey!” I called, grabbing him by the shoulder. “Where’d y’think ya goin’, like?”
“Feckin’ cunts think I was involved in last night, now,” he snarled. “Askin’ f’me by feckin’ name. I’d be makin’ me way t’ give them a piece o’ me mind.”
I grinned at him. “Y’need a hand?”
Despite his rage, Declan smirked at me and clapped his hand against my back. “Aye, that’d be grand.”
Side by side we headed towards the crowd, a sense of dangerous anticipation building already.
There was nothing travellers enjoyed more than a good fight, especially when it was against the police.
It was loud, people shouting and jeering at the authorities on the other side of the fence.
As we approached, folks caught sight of us and let us muscle our way to the front.
“Hear ya’d be lookin’ f’me, fellas?” Declan crowed, puffing himself up with self-confidence as he swaggered to the gate.
“Declan Furey?’ one of the officers asked.
They were kitted out in their riot gear, with two vans and a whole host of cars.
They’d come here expecting trouble, and trouble was exactly what we were going to give them.
I clenched my jaw, body thrumming with a sick sense of excitement at what lay ahead.
Declan stared the man down, eyes wild like an animal. “Aye, that’d be me.”
“We’d like to talk to you about your whereabouts last night.”
Declan forced a laugh. “Don’t mind tellin’ ya I’d been buried in me girl all night, like.”
“Is she willing to corroborate that story?” The police officer turned and whether he realised it or not, seemed to square up to Declan. I sucked a breath in through my teeth. He was playing with fire.
“Aye, she could but ya not gettin’ anywhere near her, y’hear?” Declan growled, stepping closer to the fence. “Y’not welcome here, feckin’ pig.”
Someone a few rows back lobbed a bottle, and it smashed loudly against the fence, glass flying everywhere. The police officer stepped back with alarm and Declan simply laughed, mocking him, goading a response.
It was like that bottle had represented the camp’s shared restraint.
As it shattered, chaos exploded and soon folks were all over, shouting and screaming at the police through the fence.
The officers prepared themselves, holding up large plastic shields as more and more glass and debris were thrown at them.
I wasn’t sure what made me glance across through the fray, but my eyes landed on a familiar face and fear shot through me in an instant. Tess. What the fuck was a wee girl, and a buffer no less, doing out here? Declan would go absolutely fucking crazy if he knew.
I wrestled my way to her side, reaching out and grabbing hold of her shoulder. She flinched, head whipping around and eyes wide with fear, though she seemed relieved to see me.
“The fuck a’ya doin’ out here?” I snapped.
“Holy shit, you scared me!” Tess gasped, placing her hand on her chest. “I’m looking for Declan. I thought maybe I could help—”
I didn’t have time for this. I grabbed hold of Tess’s arm. “Y’need t’ get outta here. This is no place f’ wee buffer like yourself.”
“But—”
“Declan can take care o’ himself. He wasn’t wi’ us when we hit ya man’s pub, now. The pigs got nothin’ on him.”
Tess froze, staring up at me, her face almost seeming to pale before my eyes. “You… You trashed Garrett’s pub?”
He shrugged, a smirk pulling at the corners of my mouth. “Aye. Declan didn’t tell ya?”
Tess didn’t reply, just shook her head.
“Ya man was lucky Declan was wi’ yourself that night, is all I’m sayin’. Wouldn’t o’ been just the pub we’d wrecked, now.”
“Declan sent you?” Tess whispered.
Just as I’d expected – she didn’t understand. The look of horror upon her face, like I was some sort of monster, immediately put me on the defensive.
“Y’don’t refuse us service, call one o’ us a pikey an’ get away with it, Tess. Ya man will think twice next time, eh?”
“I… I think I should go home.”
Tess looked as though she was about to throw up. She probably should have gone home, but it was far too late for that now. She was Declan’s girl. She was to do as he said, and I knew without a doubt that he’d want her to return to where he could keep her safe.
“Y’goin’ nowhere f’the time bein’, now,” I instructed. “Get y’hole back t’ Declan’s place an’ wait f’him there. He’ll be along once all this is over, aye.”
When Tess nodded, I relaxed my hold on her and shoved her away through the crowds.
“G’on. Get,” I muttered. “This might get messy.”
All hell broke loose. The crowd’s yelling and jostling erupted into a violent fist fight between two fellas.
It always seemed to go this way whenever tempers flared.
This wasn’t a place for a wee buffer. Declan needed my support, but I was fucking certain he’d rather I dragged Tess back to his place first. I glanced around, surprised not to see Tess still standing beside me.
My eyes scanned the chaos. Where the fuck could she have disappeared to? She’d been right–
At last, I spotted Tess and yet my stomach dropped. She was beside Darragh, and the stupid fucking idiot had his hands all over her, pawing at her. I moved, desperate to get to him and put him right, but as a ripple of energy seemed to burst through the crowd, I knew I was already too late.
I watched a short distance away, helpless as Declan snatched Tess away from Darragh and landed a brutal punch against his jaw. Darragh went down like a sack of shite and panic overcame me as Declan lost himself to his fury.
“Shite! Get Declan offa him! He’ll kill him!” I roared, glad to see some of the other men leaping into action.
My hand flew out, and I grabbed hold of Declan, using every last ounce of my strength to drag my mate away.
Darragh was curled up on the floor, covered in blood.
I felt sick. It was everywhere – all over his shirt, Declan and now me too…
I tried to get my mate’s attention, but his eyes were fixed ahead through the crowd.
Tess. Before I’d had a chance to even think, the stupid bitch turned and ran, disappearing through the madness.
“Declan—”
He was off like a flash, barrelling after his girl.
I was powerless to stop him. Nothing would be getting between Declan and what he wanted.
Not now, not ever. I didn’t have time to worry about it.
My attention snapped back to Darragh and I knelt down, getting a hold of him and hauling him to his feet.
He was conscious but dazed and with the help of a few other fellas, I managed to get him to the edge of the riot.
“C’mon, fella,” I muttered, breathing hard as I supported Darragh’s weight and led him back towards his ma’s place. “Y’alright, now. Let’s get ya cleaned up.”
Where was Ronan? I hadn’t seen him since I’d followed Declan into this madness. What if he was injured too? Just the thought of it made me feel cold and nauseous. Darragh and I limped up the gravel path and his ma caught sight of us approaching immediately, sprinting over to meet us.
“Feck, what happened?” she cried, ignoring her son’s protests as she grabbed his battered, swollen face.
“Things got outta control,” I said, panting as I carefully lowered Darragh into one of the chairs.
“It always feckin’ does!” Fiadh yelled. “I warned the pair o’ em not ta get involved, but would they listen?”
“He’s alright, eh, fella?” I said, resting my hand on Darragh’s shoulder before turning to his ma. “Y’got somethin’ t’ clean him up wi’, now?”
She nodded, hastily clambering into her caravan. I could hear the noise of cupboards being emptied inside before she reappeared with an old ice cream tub, filled with first aid supplies. She held it out to me, hands shaking.
“Grab me some water an’ a towel,” I instructed. “Can’t see feck all wi’ all the blood.”
Fiadh returned quickly with a towel and a bottle of water. I soaked the end, ringing it out slightly before cautiously dabbing the blood away from Darragh’s face.
“That feckin’ hurts!” he grumbled, voice rough with a distinct nasally quality. Blood had poured from his nose, and I found myself hoping it wasn’t broken.
“Ah, shut ya wind baggin’,” I teased, trying to keep the atmosphere light as I cleaned him up. “Y’just been knocked about a bit. Ya’ll be fine, like.”
“What the feck happened?” Darragh asked, squinting up at me through an eye that was already blackening and swelling beneath a painful bruise.
I hesitated before answering, aware that Ronan’s ma was listening intently beside me.
I could feel her eyes on me, and I was suddenly embarrassed to admit Declan had been what happened.
It was rare I was fazed by my mate’s explosive temper, and it suddenly struck me that I really cared what these folks thought of me.
“Ya’d have y’hands on the wrong girl, that’s f’sure,” I replied.
Quick as a flash, Fiadh smacked her hand into the back of Darragh’s head with little regard to the beating he had just taken. He yelled out in pain.
“Y’stupid wee fecker!” she scolded. “Didn’t I always be tellin’ ya t’ keep y’hands t’ yourself?”
“‘Ey! I didn’t know she was spoken for, like,” Darragh grumbled with a frown, rubbing the back of his head.
“Y’face certainly found out the hard way, aye?”
At that, I chuckled, earning myself a playful nudge.
“An’ y’can shut the feck up, an’ all, now,” he muttered.
“Sayin’ nothin’,” I replied, still smirking as I continued to clean Darragh up. After I’d stemmed the flow of blood, I sat back and brushed off my hands. “There. Ya’ll live, but that shirt has seen better days, like.”