Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
Piper
L ying in the guest room in the Quinn’s safe house, all I can think about is my father selling me to the Russians as a bonus for closing the gun deal. Does he think I’m one of his whores? Is that what he was thinking when he picked my dress last night? I thought his obsession with keeping me away from boys was a father being overly protective.
Was this his plan all along?
Using my body to broker an alliance and close a deal isn’t the part I wanted to play in the family business. I wanted to be respected and trusted with important tasks like my brothers have been since they were old enough to drink.
It’s why I’ve been studying PR for the past two years at uni. My father has a reputation for being unhinged and erratic. I intended to help with the optics of our family and swing public opinion in our favor like the Quinns do with their Quinn Laws.
Apparently, Da puts more value on my intact hymen.
Does Mam know? Is she worried because I didn’t come home from last night’s meeting? Will she stand up to Da or will she stand by his decision?
I know the sickening truth without having to ask.
Samantha McGuire is the backbone of our family organization. She’s the strategic one—not Da. If Da came to this idea of offering me to the Bratva, it likely wasn’t his idea. It could’ve been Billy’s.
In that case, maybe she didn’t know.
Da has been acting crazy for ages now. He hates the reputation of being Mad Mattie, but he’s earned it.
There are some days I swear he’s fucking nuts.
A door slams downstairs and then the murmur of male voices drifts up through the floorboards. I can’t hear what they’re saying, but by the tone and the rising volume, it doesn’t sound good.
Is Tag back? Did he come back to make sure that I’ve been sent home and realize I’m still in his house? What will he do to me? Probably carry me to the Liffey himself and toss me into the icy cold water.
What will he do to Sean for disobeying him?
Why is Sean disobeying him? I may have been raised on the south side, but everyone knows that the Quinn brothers stick together. Sean and Tag are the oldest and they are known to be really close.
Why would Sean ignore his brother’s wishes and keep me here? It’s not like I want to be here.
Well, there’s a part of me that wants to stay here a little longer, to hide from the mess I’ve made until I’m stronger, until I have a plan.
If I’m being honest with myself, I like the way Sean cares about my well-being. I know it probably has more to do with not having another dead McGuire on their hands than actual affection, but it doesn’t feel like it.
I close my eyes and exhale. I don’t have feelings for Sean Quinn. I can’t have feelings for him.
There is no mixing of Quinns with McGuires.
Oil and water.
Kerosine and flame.
A wild, unbridled flame with panty-dampening tattoos and a scowl that makes me want to climb him and bite that scarred lip of his.
I give myself an inward shake.
That’s not helping.
Tag wants me out of his house, and I don’t blame him. My brothers would never protect a Quinn. If they found one bleeding in the gutter, they’d shoot him and leave his body in the street to rot.
There are no McGuire Laws of conduct.
Maybe that’s the problem.
Maybe if my family had a code to live by, they’d actually have some ethics.
Knuckles tap gently on my door and Bryan sticks his head in. “Sean brought lunch. Are you feeling well enough to join us?”
“Aye, I am. Thank you.”
“Do you need help on the stairs? Sean said you were having trouble this morning.”
“No. I’m sure that was just morning stiffness. I’m fine, thanks. I’ll meet you down there.”
“Alrighty. If you need a hand on the stairs after all, just holler.”
I listen as Bryan’s footsteps retreat, and he goes back downstairs. Why are Sean and his brothers so nice to me? Honestly, they’re nicer to me than my own brothers.
It’s tough to get up with my ribs aching the way they are, but I roll onto my other hip and use the end of the bed to pull myself onto my feet. Once I’m upright, the pain eases off a bit.
Straightening as much as my side and my hip will allow, I glance in the mirror. I’m a hot mess. I look like I should be on a poster for domestic abuse. There’s not enough coverup and foundation in the world to erase the purple of my cheek and the scabbed hamburger scrapes where Vladmir’s ring cut me.
Why should I care what I look like? It’s not like I’m here to impress anyone.
I step into the upstairs hallway and shuffle toward the top step. Gripping the railing, I push my hair out of my eyes, so I won’t fall.
“Holy fuck. That’s brutal.” Brendan’s voice drifts up to me and I pause.
“We can’t let shit like that stand, Sean,” Bryan adds.
“Och, we won’t, little brother. I promise you that. These fuckers will bleed. Strike for strike. Punch for punch. Kick for kick. They’ll wish they never set foot in our city.”
I ease down the stairs, step by tortuous step, being careful with my footing.
“As soon as Tag gets here and gives us the go, we’ll school these fuckers on how things work in Dublin.”
I wonder what they’re talking about. Maybe that’s how I redeem myself. Would Da forgive me if I brought him something juicy from behind the Quinn curtain?
Possibly. It would have to be good, though. Like who they’re planning to go after and why.
I shuffle into the kitchen and find Sean and the twins at the table. The three of them are bent forward, staring at the screen of a laptop. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt. Should I leave?”
Sean’s gaze meets mine and heat hums over my skin. His twin brothers look up at me, too, their gazes intense.
“Why do I feel like a bug under a microscope?”
Before any of them answer, Tag comes striding in behind me. “All right. I’m here. What’s this about?”
Sean turns the laptop toward us and my breath catches. It’s me on the screen and I’m getting beaten up down by the river last night. “Mattie McGuire is negotiating a gun deal with the Russians—more specifically, with representatives of the Shadow Sickle.”
Tag scowls. “Bratva? What the fuck is he thinking? We don’t want those crazy fucks in Ireland.”
Sean straightens and runs his fingers through his long hair. “No. We don’t. But that’s how Piper got beat up.”
All eyes turn to me, and I take a couple of steps to get away from Tag. My butt bumps against the counter sooner than I like and I realize I can’t get any further away from him.
Tag shakes his head. “Your father is fucking reckless. We were coexisting under a truce that has done us well for almost three decades.”
“Guns are our territory, not his,” Brendan snaps.
Tag nods. “Our fathers divvied up the business arrangements, and it’s worked well for years. Your family gets hard drugs, hit men, and sex trafficking, and we deal in party drugs, restaurants and night clubs, and guns. Everything else is fair game. Why the fuck is he so power hungry now that he wants it all?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. I’m not involved in the business.”
Tag scoffs and points to me in the company of Vladmir and Arkady. “Apparently, that’s not true.”
“But it is true. I’ve wanted to be involved. I’ve begged my parents for years, but Da said I had nothing to offer.” Hot tears sting the cuts on my cheek, but there’s no stopping them.
“Nothing until he dressed you up and set you up with two Bratva animals,” Tag snaps, pointing at the laptop.
“I didn’t know what he had planned.” My breath gets tighter with every passing second. “He asked me to charm a couple of out-of-town big shots. He said to meet them for dinner and then escort them up to the suite. I didn’t know he told them they could have me as part of the deal.”
“He did what ?” Sean and Tag shout at the same time.
I’m sobbing now and can’t bear to look at them. It’s disgusting and so incredibly humiliating. “He told them I’m a virgin and said they could do what they want with me to sweeten the deal.”
I’m surrounded by swearing on all sides.
“They need to die,” Sean says. “I’ll send a few of the boys over the river and take them out in their suite. Leave the bloody mess on Mattie’s doorstep.”
“Fuck yeah,” Brendan says.
Tag slams a hand against the wall and curses. “As appealing as that is, we can’t. If two Bratva representatives end up dead in Dublin, we’ll have the fury of the Shadow Sickle Syndicate raining down on our streets. No. We need to think of something else.”
“We need to sour the gun deal and send them home,” Bryan says.
Tag turns to him. “Aye, Bryan. That’s good.”
“How do we do that?” Brendan asks.
Tag’s gaze snaps to me. He picks up the paper takeout bag and one of the drinks, then tilts his head toward the sitting room. “Excuse us for a moment, will you, lass? I’m sure you understand.”
“I do. I’ve been shooed out of the room my entire life. I know the drill.” Taking my lunch in hand, I leave the Quinns to plot their counterattack.
Shit. Shit. Shit. Da is going to lose the gun deal because of me. The Quinns will ruin his plans, and he’ll think I gave it up and betrayed our family.
Billy Gravely will hunt me down and kill me for sure.
I have to get out of here. I’ve got to go home and explain to Da what happened. I would never betray him or my family no matter what.
Setting my lunch on the coffee table, I cast one last look toward the kitchen before heading to the door. I’ve stayed too long. If I tell Mam what happened, and explain to her that those men started hurting me and I didn’t know what Da told them…
I grab the doorknob, and it doesn’t turn. That’s when I see the push button security box on the wall beside the door. There’s a lock to get out of the house and one to get in? Seriously? I flip back the curtains and check the living room window next. It’s locked shut, too.
I really am their prisoner.
Before they catch me trying the door, I return to the couch like a good little hostage and see what Sean brought me for lunch. There’s no sense starving myself. I need to heal up and get strong in case I get the chance to leave. If so, I gotta be ready to run.
It’s almost dark when a knock on my bedroom door wakes me from my afternoon nap. “May I come in? Are you decent?”
I adjust the blanket over my body. “You saw me all but naked and bleeding last night, Sean. I have very little modesty left, but aye, I’m decent.”
He opens the door carrying a cup of tea.
I chuckle and accept the offering. “Who would have thought that Sean Quinn, mafia son and President of the Dublin Devils, would be so invested in making tea for me? This is getting to be a regular thing.”
He makes a face. “Is it weird? Sorry. Mam used to say a cuppa is the first step to healing all wounds. When she got sick, Da was forever bringing home different flavors and making them up for her. It always put a smile on her face and made her feel better, so I guess I thought you might feel better, too.”
My heart. He may be hard on the outside, but Sean Quinn has a gooey center.
“It’s not weird. Thank you. I appreciate the gesture. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me.”
His gaze narrows. “Why do I hear a ‘but’ in that comment? What aren’t you saying?”
“I noticed this afternoon that there is a security box keeping me locked in. I feel like a hostage. Despite everything you’ve done for me, I won’t be your prisoner to be used against my father.”
He stiffens. “You mean the father who whored you out and signed you up to be raped by two criminals?”
I take the hit and find that some of the desperate disappointment and hurt that’s been aching inside me is turning to anger. That’s good. I’ve cried too many tears in the last twenty-four hours already.
“Take my father out of the equation. I don’t want to be kept hostage.”
He shrugs. “I’m sorry. With what we found out today, you’re stuck with me for the foreseeable future. We need to protect our edge, and I want to make sure someone is dedicated to protecting you.”
“My family can protect me. I truly don’t believe my parents would’ve sent me out with those men if they knew how brutal they could be.”
Sean frowns. “They’re Bratva, Piper. Everyone knows how brutal they can be. I’m sorry. It’s unforgivable, but your father chose a business foothold over you. That’s the truth. It’s vile and hurtful, but it’s the truth.”
“I know it is, and it sticks like a dagger in my heart. But maybe, this is my first big lesson in being part of the family business. The ‘blood in’ moment of initiation. Do you think?”
Sean’s eyebrows arch and are lost behind his ebony hair. “Are you fucking kidding? No, Piper, I don’t think. That’s mental. No one initiates their daughter by setting her up for that kind of abuse.”
I suppose he’s right. Although, my father has made crazy decisions before. Could I forgive him if he truly is losing his grip on reality? Still, if that were the case, why didn’t someone else step up and stop him?
Da doesn’t make decisions in isolation—he always likes an audience. Someone else knew of his plan and didn’t care enough about me to warn me.
I push that thought away for now and focus on my current untenable situation—being the house guest of Sean Quinn.
My tea is warm and has a lovely berry flavor with a hint of vanilla. And when I swallow it, I can’t help but smile. “Your Mam was right. Tea does help.”
We sit quietly until the room grows dark and Sean reaches over to turn on the bedside lamp. “I’m still surprised that you didn’t have protection on you. Even if his plan was to give you to the Russians, why didn’t your father have someone watching you?”
“Ryan was supposed to be there. When we came out of the restaurant, I was surprised to find he wasn’t. I thought he might’ve been outside in the car, but when I ran out of the hotel, I was on my own. That’s another reason why I need to go home. Ryan is probably in terrible trouble.”
Sean doesn’t look convinced. “Your energy is better served to worry about yourself, not your brother. Mattie used you as a bargaining tool and when you ran, it made him look bad. He’ll take that out on you to save face. Like it or not, you’re not safe from your family right now.”
I hate what he’s saying, but part of me knows he’s right. If I get caught on the south side of the river, Billy Gravely will kill me.
He hurt me before and that was when I was ‘Da’s little girl’. What will he do now? Now that I’ve fallen from favor, there’s nothing to stop him.
The mug trembles in my hand and I take a long sip to keep from spilling it.
“I realize this is hard for you to accept, but your family isn’t a safe option for you. Whether they’re angry about you fighting with the Russians or that you’re here or that we figured out about the gun deal and are about to squash it, you’re in a dangerous position.”
I groan. “But none of that is my fault.”
“That changes nothing. You need to stay here, rest, and in a day or two, we’ll sort things out for you. By then, you’ll be recovering and feeling stronger.”
Sean is a growly biker with long hair and a scar that gives him a bit of a perma-sneer, but when he looks into my eyes, I see the man beneath the violence. His tough exterior likely serves him well while he’s torturing and killing people, but there’s another side to him.
The man who scooped up a beaten woman in the street and, despite who she was, offered her kindness, protection, and honesty.
I look away and focus on the darkening Dublin sky. Nothing in my life is what I thought it was. Was I too na?ve to see, too eager to please, or too complacent to ask questions?
Doesn’t matter. That’s over.
Piper McGuire’s eyes are wide open now. “If I ask you a question, will you answer me honestly?”
“If it’s something I’m free to talk about, of course.”
Fair enough. “In the kitchen, Tag said my father deals in hard drugs, hit men, and sex trafficking. Is that true?”
“Among other things, but those are the three areas of focus for your family’s business. Why do you ask?”
I hear the truth in his words and another piece of what I believed my life was about chips away. “And your family controls party drugs, real estate, and guns?”
“We do.”
“Why those things?”
“That was what our father believed we could dominate, while still keeping the streets of Dublin safe. This city was his life, and he believed its citizens were his to protect regardless of us living outside the law. He drew up the truce agreement with your father in a way that allowed both territories to thrive and not to compete overtly with one another.”
I don’t remember life before the truce with the Quinns, but I’ve heard my older brothers talk about it sometimes. It was a violent and scary time.
“And my father chose what he wanted to control?”
“Aye, he did.”
“And he chose sex trafficking?”
Sean frowns and I can tell what he thinks of that decision. “I suppose there’s a lot of money in it, but our father had no interest in the exploitation of innocents.”
“But your family has prostitution. I’ve heard my brothers talk about how your brothels are bad for business.”
Sean scoffs. “Bad for McGuire business, maybe.”
“So you admit that you do have prostitution. Isn’t that exploiting innocent women?”
Sean shakes his head. “Not even a little. We own several gentlemen’s clubs where women are free to work. We provide a safe location, security, and access to all medical needs to ensure the girls are clean and able to care for themselves. They run their business. They choose their clients. And yes, they pay us for the use of the space and the services we provide, but they keep the lion’s share of their earnings. We’re only there to assist. It’s good business.”
I draw in a deep breath. That’s not at all how my brothers talk about the ‘whores’ they run. They laugh at the Quinn Laws and say how stupid they are. But I don’t think they’re stupid. I think they’re commendable.
In a violent, criminal world, they’re trying to do right by the people as they make their money.
“My father only cares about power and profit.”
The mattress dips as he sits on the edge of the bed. He sends me a compassionate smile and then he gives my hand a squeeze. “You can’t help the family you were born into and aren’t responsible for the choices they make. You are your own person.”
“Am I? I’ve always been a McGuire. I was proud of being from a powerful family, but if my reality is sex trafficking and a father who offers my virginity to Bratva brutes, what is there to be proud of?”
Saying it aloud makes the horror of it too much to bear. Another round of tears falls, and I clench my eyes shut to stop from falling apart. “I hate this. I hate all of it. All I wanted was to be valued by my father and to be given the same respect my brothers have. Now I feel like I’m about to shatter into a million pieces.”
Sean brushes a finger beneath my chin and lifts my teary gaze to meet his. “I won’t let you shatter, Piper. And if you do, I’ll pick up every wee piece and help you pull yourself together again. I promise.”
Man…why does he have to say things like that?
I can’t fall for a Quinn.
Sean tugs me forward and wraps his arms around me. His embrace is strong and warm, and the scent of his leather MC vest fills my senses.
I don’t care why he’s being so kind to me. At least there’s one person who cares if I’m holding it together after the worst night of my life.
Sean’s hand brushes up my spine and clasps the back of my head, holding me against him. There’s nothing tentative about the way he handles me. He’s confident in how he touches a woman. How many women would it take to be this comfortable with this kind of closeness?
A dozen? A hundred? More?
He’s almost ten years older than me, so there’s no telling what experiences he’s had.
And I’ve had none.
Still, his arms are around me tonight and not another woman. That’s all I need to focus on. That and how safe and cherished he makes me feel, despite the situation.
“Now that you know the truth about your father, you can make your own choices—informed choices—about what you want your life to look like going forward.”
I don’t want to go forward. Sitting here, wrapped in his arms, I want to stay like this forever. When was the last time anyone hugged me like this?
Has anyone ever hugged me like this?
I can’t think of a single instance. My mother is a tough love kind of parent, my father is more of a pat on shoulder kind of man, and my brothers are more likely to punch me affectionately—or not—if they are expressing themselves.
This closeness is something I didn’t even know I crave until this minute.
Too soon, he releases me from his embrace and eases back. “Hey, I’ve got to meet Tag and take care of this Russian guns thing. Get some rest. Finn is downstairs and I’ve got a couple of Devils watching the house. You’ll be safe and I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
The idea that Sean is going to meet up with Vladmir and Arkady twists the knot in my stomach. “If you get the chance, feel free to cut their balls off.”
Sean doesn’t laugh as I expect. Instead he leans in until we’re nose to nose. “Tonight, we need to build a relationship with the Bratva. After that, I will make them pay for what they did to you—I swear it.”
The fury in his dark eyes should terrify me. It doesn’t.
Sean makes me feel safe.
Standing up, he presses his lips to my forehead and steps away from the bed. “Rest. I’ll be back before you miss me.”
I doubt that’s possible. I miss him already.
When the latch of my door clicks into place, I lay back in the bed, the ache of disillusionment and betrayal hot and piercing in my heart while the wonder of new beginnings wars with everything I’ve ever known.
Was it better when I didn’t know the details about my father and our business? Do my friends know what my family does? Did Sean Quinn just kiss me? Sure, it was on my forehead, but his lips touched my flesh. What does that mean?
I stare out the window, the city now swallowed in full darkness. Informed choices…
I knew my family dealt in ugly business, but I never took the time to question why. Da chose those business ventures. That’s the kind of man he is. Does that mean that’s the kind of men my brothers are?
Maybe Da selling me off was the wake-up call I needed. What would he do to me if he got his hands on me? Would he add me to his next sex trafficking order to punish me?
I honestly don’t know what he’s capable of.
My brothers talked about the girls they had coming up, and I always thought they were talking about dancers or call girls. I never imagined sex trafficking.
That’s my legacy.
I’m a McGuire.
And for the first time in my life, I wish I wasn’t.