Six
SIX
REV
Feck.
Hades watches me, his eyes never leaving my movements as I pace the room. The hotel we’re staying in lies on the outskirts of town.
“Does she still look shaggable?” Hades asks, causing me to stop and pin him with a glare that has him holding up his hands in surrender. “I’m just feckin’ asking.”
“She says she’s running the Hunt organisation now,” I tell my brother.
“What?” Both Hades and Racer blurt out in unison.
“How old is this wee thing?” Racer asks.
“She must be about twenty-nine, from what I remember.”
“So, she’s old enough fer ye now,” Hades throws my way.
I halt my footsteps, and for a moment, I consider punching my brother and then claiming that beautiful mouth of hers.
Feck. What I wouldn’t give to kiss her.
“She’s still off limits,” I bite out, frustration racing through my veins.
Harley used to watch me and follow me around, but the posters she had on her bedroom walls were of pretty boys in bands, not of men who killed for a living. But then again, there was that day when she told me I was cute .
“Why?” Racer challenges as I turn to face him and Hadrian. “Lookin’ at ye now, it’s clear as day she’s still got a hold on ye.”
It seems my feelings are written all over my fecking face. Hades knows my mind is a mess after seeing her again. I managed to fight the desire I felt for the daughter of the man who took us in, but there was always a pull between Harley and me, even back then.
“She was off limits when she was sixteen, and she’s still off limits now.”
“Are ye sure about that?” my brother asks me as he pins me with a stare.
Being twins has its advantages, but it also has its disadvantages. Whenever I try to hide something from him, it never works. He can always see right through me.
“Aye,” I tell him.
“But she’s old enough for you now,” Racer continues to poke at me with his words. “If ye like someone, ye gotta go fer it, or ye’ll end up an old, lonely bastard.”
“Aye, she’s old enough now, but I have to focus on the job. There’s no reason to get distracted.” My voice is tight with frustration, and my brother must be able to hear it because he lifts his hands in surrender. “Harley says she’s the one who knows what’s happenin’ in the organisation, but I’d still like to speak to Shaun to get his view. This fecker Gordon sounds like a right arsehole, and I get the impression Harley doesn’t trust him.”
There must be more to Harley’s story than meets the eye. She can’t be running all aspects of the business. It would mean she’s stepped into the dark world that my brother and I ran from. We left because we knew we’d end up in prison or dead if we stayed.
I was never comfortable with the violence and shite we had to do for Shaun Hunt. The guilt ate away at me, time and time again, and then there was Harley. I knew there wasn’t a future for us, and I needed to keep my distance. When I spoke to Hades about it, he suggested we leave South Shields. I didn’t think my brother would be willing to walk away, but he stuck by me, and for that, I’ll be forever grateful.
Now Harley is almost thirty, she’s no longer an innocent, young girl. I used to admonish myself for wanting to kiss her and be the one to give her all her firsts, but now she’s a woman, and there are no barriers to claiming her as mine.
And that’s a dangerous situation.
“We should tell Monster what we’ve discovered so far,” Racer says as he pushes to his feet. “I’ll give him a bell and update him before we head out.”
“Aye,” I respond with a nod. “Tell him we’ll get ta the bottom of this.”
I need time to think, so I’ve told the lads I’m going out alone to clear my head. Driving through the familiar, quiet streets of South Shields in the early morning is a welcome distraction.
I didn’t want to come back to this coastal town and be reminded of the life I chose to leave behind. I’m no longer the young lad who wanted to make Hunt proud, but even now, he still means a lot to me.
I didn’t expect to see Harley here, running her father’s organisation. She’s far too fecking decent to be doing this shite. Then again, I chose to leave so I have no say in her life.
The memory of breaking her heart is still fresh in my mind. That day has haunted me over the years, and now I’m back, the weight of it is pressing down on my chest, stealing the breath from my feckin’ lungs.
The dawn mist clings to the ground as I make my way back to the hotel. I pull into the car park where Hades and Racer are waiting for me, their figures silhouetted against the rising sun.
As far as I’m concerned, the sooner we get this job done, the better. In recent months, there have been too many uncertainties when it comes to the delivery of our imports. Now it’s time to face the problem, head-on, and deal with the bastards who are stealing from us.
The one thing I will do before I return to Belfast is apologise to the girl I left behind. I don’t know if it was love, but there was a powerful emotion between us. My affection for her was much stronger than I was willing to admit at the time.
“Mornin’, lads,” I greet, my voice steady despite the tension I’m still feeling.
“Rev,” Hades responds, his expression serious.
Racer gives me a brief nod, his usual smirk replaced by a look of concern.
“Let’s get inside,” he says, flicking his cigarette to the ground and crushing it under his boot. “We’ve got a lot to discuss. I spoke with Monster last night and told him what we found.”
We head into the hotel and up to the room that Racer is occupying. The dim light filters through the dusty windows, casting long shadows across the floor as we gather around the laptop on a table in one corner of the room. Racer taps on the keyboard to waken the screen and opens an email from Monster that contains details of the shipments that have gone missing over the past few months.
Hades leans forwards, his eyes locking with mine. “We’re not the only business that’s been hit. Monster got in touch with Judah and the lads in Black Hollow. On a daily basis, they’re being asked by various organisations to track down shipments that haven’t arrived. No one has been able to find out who’s responsible for the thefts, and Monster says we’re haemorrhaging money.”
I nod, anger simmering just beneath the surface. “The numbers haven’t been adding up for a while now. Did Monster send us anything else? Any other leads?”
Racer shakes his head. “Nothing concrete. Whoever’s doing this is good at covering their tracks. We’ve managed to narrow it down to shipments originating from this part of the country, so we know we’re in the right place. Now we just need to find the arseholes responsible.”
Hades taps a sheet of paper with a list of names scribbled down in his familiar scrawl. “Hunt’s organisation is the only one operating in this area. These are the names of his men. If we can talk to each of them individually, I’m sure we can find out who the traitor is.”
I study the list, recognising most of the names. It’s a bitter pill to swallow, knowing that someone within our old inner circle could be betraying Hunt. He treated us all like family, so this doesn’t sit well with me.
“What’s the plan?” I ask.
“I think you should be the one to take the lead on this, Rev,” Hades says, his tone measured. “You need to talk to Harley again. If she’s running the business, she’s the best chance we’ve got.”
Racer nods in agreement. “If anyone can help us get to the bottom of this, it’s her.”
I sigh realising I’m going to have to talk again to the one person I wanted to avoid for the time being.
Rubbing the back of my neck, I say, “I’ll speak to her. She must have some suspicions as to what is going on, and we could use her insight.”
Hades claps me on the shoulder. “Thanks, Rev. Just be careful. We don’t know who we can trust right now.”
“I will,” I promise, feeling the weight of responsibility settle on my shoulders. “I’ll get to the bottom of this.”
As we wrap up the meeting, my phone buzzes in my jacket pocket. Pulling it out, I see it’s a message from Harley, and my heart skips a beat as I read the words.
Meet me at the bench.
I look up at Hades and Racer, who are watching me expectantly. “It’s from Harley. She wants to meet.”
“Good,” Racer says, a hint of relief in his voice. “You can talk to her and find out what’s going on. If she doesn’t know there’s a traitor in her organisation, then we have an even bigger problem. Let’s hope she’s aware and is willing to tell you what she knows.”
I nod, slipping the phone back into my pocket. “I’ll head over there now. I’ll update you both as soon as I know more.”
“Be careful,” Hades warns, his eyes serious. “We can’t afford any unwelcome surprises.”
“I will,” I assure him. “As soon as I’ve spoken with her, I’ll text before making my way back here. Hopefully, I’ll have another update for Monster by then.”
I head back to the car, the cool morning air a stark contrast to the tension boiling inside me. The bench Harley mentioned is a spot overlooking the North Sea, a place where we had many serious conversations when I worked for her father. It’s also the one place I never wanted to see again after my final encounter there with Harley.