Chapter Nine
Declan
Why was she still here? Her car was fixed days ago; she should have left. She couldn’t stay, even if I wanted her to.
Entering the clubhouse, I walked over to the bar for a drink while the women and prospects finished getting everything ready.
“That’s her truck, man. She bought it the day King took her to see the house,” Zero said.
“Why the hell does she need a truck that big?” Winchester asked.
“Something about hauling materials to the house.”
“What the fuck are you two bitching about?” I snarked.
“You see that big Ford outside?”
“The 350? Yea, so?”
“Maureen bought it,” Zero replied.
“What the fuck for?” I asked, though I had a suspicion.
“Said her Mustang doesn’t like the snow, and she needed something to get around in.”
“I thought she was fucking leaving,” I muttered, stomping down to my brother’s office.
I found him sitting behind his desk, having a drink with Cash, his VP.
“I thought she was fucking leaving after the holidays. Why is she buying a big ass truck she can’t drive?”
“Happy Thanksgiving to you, Sheriff,” Cash mocked.
I glared at my brother. “Well?”
“Well what? She decided to stay. She bought a house she was planning on renovating before she got here. She thought about leaving, given everything, but after she walked through the house, she decided to stay.” My brother grinned.
Fucking grinned.
He sat behind his desk with a smug ass grin because he didn’t know what having her here would mean. He had no fucking idea what secrets were going to come out if she stayed.
“She can’t stay.”
“What is your issue?” King asked.
Cash sat quietly, not saying a word, as my brother and I glared at each other.
“My issue is the fucking Irish Mob. My issue is, every goddamn time a woman moves to this town, everything goes to shit.” I pointed at him and growled. “Bring up my daughter again and I will knock you on your ass.”
Cash chuckled.
“Dec, you need to get laid. You’re wound tighter than a fucking clock.” King stood and walked around his desk, stopping in front of me. “Today is Thanksgiving. Be thankful for the daughter you found and the grandchild you have on the way, and let the other bullshit go for one fucking day, please!”
He walked out the door, leaving me in his office with Cash.
“He’s right. Today is not the day for this shit.”
“You aren’t worried?” I asked, knowing he didn’t always agree with his president.
“About the Mob? Absofuckinglutely, but nothing we can do until something happens.” He stood up, finished his drink, and slapped me on the shoulder. “Let’s go eat.”
I followed him down the hall to the main room, where the tables were all set with decorations for the holiday. Someone had gone all out, and by the way she was flitting around the room, my guess was Ellie.
She was newly married to Ryder, my daughter’s childhood friend. They’d married about two weeks ago in a rush ceremony, to avoid her parents forcing her into a marriage she didn’t want.
It may be illegal here, but that shit was still prevalent among the rich families throughout the country.
I looked around the room, telling myself I was tracking who all was here, because a cop was never truly off duty.
The truth was, I was looking for her.
I hadn’t seen her yet. Despite wanting her to leave, I wanted to let my eyes feast on her, just for a moment.
“Dad.”
Turning around, I found my daughter waiting for me. “We’re sitting over here,” she said, pointing to one of the many round tables in the room. The food was set up like a buffet, but each table was set with a place setting.
“This place looks great,” I commented.
“It does. Ellie took over decorating. I think she thought we were terrible at it, given what it looked like the day she got married.” My daughter laughed.
I remembered that day a few weeks ago, and Ellie would be justified in that thought. The place looked horrendous. Red, black, green, and gold decorations everywhere.
Not exactly wedding colors.
I followed her to the table and sat down. She sat to my right, with an open seat to my left that my brother would sit in. There were eight seats at each table. I imagined they would all be full once everyone settled in.
King dropped down into the seat next to me, and Cash, Rachel, and Blade also joined us. I wasn’t surprised when Maureen sat down next to King. She had connected with him in a way that made my skin itch. Though she had been here a week, I wasn’t surprised she hadn’t connected with the women. They were all much younger than her.
What did surprise me was when Tank sat next to her. He was a big bastard, but when I watched him lean over and say something to Maureen that only she heard, I wanted to lay him out.
I watched her face light up with a smile at whatever he said, and I was immediately taken back to my childhood.
“Hey, Reenie.”
“Hi, Declan.” She blushed, her eyes dropping to the floor.
She always acted shy around me, but I didn’t know why. Duane said it was because she liked me, but she barely spoke to me.
I liked her, though.
When I saw her with her friends, she was always laughing and talking. She wasn’t quiet, like when I was around. I wanted to see her smile more. I wanted her to smile at me like she smiled at her friends.
Here I was, thirty-plus years later, still wishing she would smile at me like she smiled at others.
“Beck, is that all you’re eating?” Maureen asked my daughter.
I looked at Beck’s plate, and all she had chosen was turkey and rolls. I frowned. She needed more than that, but despite my concern, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to make an ass of myself.
“You have a problem with my daughter’s choice of food?” I barked.
“Declan, for fuck’s sake.” King kicked me under the table.
“Dad, it’s ok.” Beck patted my leg. “Unfortunately, Maureen, this is all I can keep down. This baby won’t let me eat anything but turkey and bread. I can’t even use mayo or mustard or anything.”
“Oh no, that’s awful. I was like that with Colleen. I found a smoothie recipe that helped tremendously. I was able to replenish my vitamins and minerals while eating just enough to stave off the hunger. I could make you one, if you would like to try it,” she offered.
I refused to acknowledge the way my chest tightened, hearing Maureen wanting to take care of my daughter. The way she offered to help ease her suffering, the way a mother should.
My daughter never had that growing up. Well, not from her mother. Her grandmother, Willow, was wonderful. And I know Ryder’s mom, Abby, also had a hand in raising her. But a girl needed her mother, and Beck hadn’t had a good one.
“Honestly, I am willing to try anything. This baby is kicking my butt.”
“How far along are you?”
“Almost four months.” Beck sighed.
James Samson stopped by the table, his plate filled with food.
“Sheriff O’Rourke, it is good to see you.”
Maureen’s head snapped up at his words. Surprise rounded her eyes, before she dropped them to her plate when she caught me looking at her.
I turned my head, focusing on James, but I could feel Maureen’s gaze return to me. “You too, James. How are things at the college?”
“Good, good. I do sometimes live for these holiday breaks, though. Evie and I would love to have you over for dinner again.”
“Sounds good. Just let me know when.”
He walked back to the table, where his wife and daughter sat with Ace, a club member. He wasn’t their son, but they became his surrogate parents after his parents, their best friends, passed away.
When I turned back to the table, I caught Maureen looking at me.
“O’Rourke?” she asked.
“Our last name,” King confirmed.
She turned to look at King, then back at me. Her brows pinched and her eyes narrowed, ping ponging back and forth between King and I while she worked out what I knew she had discovered.
I sighed heavily and waited for her to ask.
I was surprised after a moment or two when she clamped her lips together tightly, then went back to eating her meal, ignoring me altogether.
“Ní mór dúinn labhairt,” I said. We need to talk.
“Níl ní dhéanaimid,” she replied . No, we don’t.
“Ní mór dom a mhíniú,” I argued. I need to explain.
“Téigh go dtí ifreann,” Go to hell.
“What the fuck is going on right now?” King demanded.
The room quieted down, and everyone looked at our table. Maureen looked at King, then glared at me, before going back to her food.
“What do you need to explain?” Blade asked.
I turned to my daughter’s old man, confused. “You know what I said?”
“Only a couple of words. My mother was Irish. When she got mad at my dad, she would start yelling at him in her language. I picked up a few words here and there, but he wouldn’t let her teach me. He didn’t want us to be able to talk without him, and he was too much of an asshole to learn himself.”
“That sounds like Eduardo,” Maureen agreed.
“We need to talk,” I insisted, turning back to Maureen.
Setting her utensils down she asked, “An bhfuil a fhios aige?” Does he know?
I shook my head.
I wanted to talk to her, explain, but I couldn’t do it in front of my brother.
“Someone better tell me what the fuck you two are saying,” King demanded, slamming his hand on the table.
Maureen sat back and glared at me.
“Your brother and I knew each other when we were kids.”
Fuck.
King turned to me. “What the fuck is she talking about? You’re from Arkansas.”
“You’re from Arkansas. I was born in Boston, Massachusetts,” I said with a heavy sigh.
“Church, now,” King growled.
He stood from his seat and stomped through the room, yanking the double doors open and disappearing behind them.
Placing my hands on the table, I hefted myself up and followed my brother.
Maureen wisely stayed where she was, but as I passed her, I leaned down and whispered, “We will be discussing this later, alone.” I saw the shiver, and smiled. “You think New England is cold, you ain’t seen nothing yet.”
Stepping into church, I closed the doors softly behind me. King stood at the front of the room, leaned over, with his hands braced on the table. His head hung between his shoulders.
“King—”
Without looking up, he raised his hand to cut me off.
Crossing my arms over my chest, I waited for him to calm down. Most people saw him as calm, methodical. Whereas I knew the hothead who couldn’t control his emotions. Hell, I raised him. I knew everything about him, and I knew if I said anything before he was ready to hear it, he wouldn’t listen to a word.
So I stood there.
And waited.
I must have stood there for twenty minutes when he finally let go and dropped into his chair.
“When did you know who she was?”
“The morning I ran her plate. Once I recognized her husband’s name, I knew exactly who she was.”
“What the fuck, Dec?”
He sounded sad.
Defeated.
“We don’t keep secrets.” He looked up at me. “Not from each other.”
“You keep plenty of secrets,” I reminded him.
“That’s club shit. Not family shit. Not like this.” He ran his hands through his hair, and I caught a glimpse of the boy I raised.
The day I told him our parents were gone.
The day he told me he was joining the Silver Shadows, afraid I might be disappointed. I was, but I never let him know.
Nothing from the past compared to the anguish I saw on his face right now.
He looked betrayed.
“Who the fuck are you?”
“I’m your brother, and don’t you fucking forget that! Where I was born means nothing.”
“You were born into the fucking Irish Mob!” he shouted. “You have been ranting at Maureen and Blade for their involvement for almost two fucking weeks and you kept this shit to yourself.”
“I was not born into the Mob; I had nothing to do with it.”
“What about Mom and Dad?”
“They were not in the Mob,” I told him.
“Is the Mob the reason they are dead?”
That was a question I didn’t have an answer to.
“Not as far as I know,” I answered honestly. “As far as I know, they had no idea where we were.”
“Why did they leave Boston?”
“Dad was offered a job in Arkansas. So we moved.” I shrugged, hoping he bought the half-truth.
It wasn’t a complete lie, I told myself. Even if it were, I would lie my ass off if it meant keeping him safe.
“Get the fuck out.”
“King—”
“Get the fuck out of my house.” He stood from his seat and stomped over to where I stood. “I know you’re lying to me, I don’t want to see your ass in here again, until you’re ready to tell me the truth.”
“Brother,” I warned.
“Get. The. Fuck. Out.”
I looked my brother in the eye and uttered the words I never thought I would ever say to him.
“You’ll understand why I did what I did when you have a kid someday.”
I turned and walked back out to the main room. Maureen was gone. I didn’t know where. Right then, I didn’t care, I would deal with her later. I grabbed my jacket and stalked across the room.
“Dad?”
“Hey, baby girl. We’ll talk later, ok?” I kissed her on the head and then looked at Blade. “Don’t leave her alone.”
He nodded, and I left.
Everything would come out now; it was only a matter of time.
I needed information, and I didn’t know how to get it. The one person I could have called was murdered a year ago.
It might be time to make contact with the one person I hoped never to speak to again.
My older brother.