Chapter 27 #2
“Nope,” I agree. “Motorcycle Club. Name’s Nickel Tin.”
I don’t hold out my hand because it’s clear she’s in work mode. “And you are?”
“Nora Harvey. You made it,” a deep voice replies before she can answer.
The change that comes over her is instantaneous. I can’t help the possessive growl that rumbles from me as she steps closer to Ramzi and embraces him.
“Ramzi.” She smiles.
My palms itch with the need to touch her, but I wait. I know she won’t like that. Nora isn’t giving me friendly vibes.
“I see you’ve met Nickel,” Ramzi says, his eyes twinkling with amusement at my possessive growl.
“I have.”
“She saved me twice,” I admit. “I thought I was done for.”
Ramzi nods. “We’ll have Cross work with you. You can watch tonight’s operation to learn where you went wrong. I’m glad Nora made it in time. They’ve got Eade.” He tilts his head towards the door.
Brass and Iron walk out carrying what can only be Eade. He’s not fighting them, but I know the only reason he’s alive is because we need information from him.
Nora stiffens when she sees him, but she doesn’t move.
Cahir breaks off from the group and stalks towards us. “You made it,” he rumbles, hugging Nora.
“Just in time,” Ramzi mutters, looking at me.
“Is that right?” Cahir quirks an eyebrow at me.
I’ll probably never live it down. One of the first things we learned was to check the bodies. I fucked up, and I’m not ashamed to admit it.
“I fucked up,” I tell him.
Cahir tilts his chin, but he doesn’t comment. He turns to Nora. “We’ll be taking Eade to the O’Shea compound. I thought you’d want to be there.”
For a minute, I’m sure I catch the sheen of tears in her eyes, but it must be a trick of moonlight because she blinks and it’s gone. “I do.”
Cahir nods. “How did you get here?”
“Came with the cleaners. They’re waiting for your go-ahead.”
“Coal!” Cahir calls as Coal leaves the house. He changes direction and comes towards us. “We’ll deal with the cleanup. Can you handle getting the information from our guests?”
“No problem,” Coal agrees. We may not be stealthy like our military brothers, but we excel at extracting information.
“Excellent. This is Nora. She’ll want a word with Eade. She’ll be going with you to the O’Sheas. I’ve spoken to Colm and cleared it with him and Adam. They’re expecting you.”
Coal nods, and not for the first time, I wonder if it bothers him that Cahir assumes command when he’s with us, but it doesn’t seem to.
“If you don’t need us, we’ll head out.” Coal says to Cahir.
“Thanks for the help, Coal. I appreciate you letting me take the lead,” Cahir says, pulling him into a quick hug and slapping his back.
“No problem. I know where my strengths lie and where they don’t. I want my brothers home safe and sound, which means deferring to those with more experience.”
That right there is what makes my brother an excellent President and why we’re happy to have him in charge.
“Still, I appreciate it,” Cahir says. “Can one of the brothers give Nora a ride? She came with the cleanup crew.”
“She can ride with me,” I say immediately.
Coal’s eyes widen slightly before a grin spreads over his face. Ramzi chuckles. Cahir shakes his head.
“Why would I want to ride with you?” Nora demands, hands on her hips.
“You don’t have to,” I admit. “You can ride in the vehicle, but it’s pretty full. I thought you’d like the freedom of a sled.”
I’m lying. She could go with Copper and Bee, but I want this woman wrapped around me.
She narrows her eyes as she assesses me. I assume my most innocent look, but I know she’s not fooled. So I’m surprised when she agrees.
“Okay. I’ll ride with you. But I warn you now; you mess around and you won’t like what I do.”
I raise my hands, palms facing out. “I promise you’ll be safe with me.”
And she will be. I’d never place her in jeopardy while she’s on the back of my bike.
Coal shakes his head, a smile twitching at his mouth. My brothers look up as he whistles and circles his hand, summoning them as he walks towards the destroyed gates.
“I’ll catch up with you both later so you can tell me where you need me next,” Nora says to Cahir and Ramzi.
Cahir nods. “You’ll be helping the Queens Wraiths for the next few months.”
Nora looks surprised but doesn’t argue. “Okay.”
“Cahir. Ramzi. Always good to see you,” I say before turning to Nora. I sweep my hand to the side and bow slightly. “After you, milady.”
Her lips quirk, but that’s all I get as she walks past me, head high. Cahir and Ramzi’s chuckles follow me as I take off after her.
We’re silent as we leave the property. Blue is waiting for us at the surveillance van.
He does a double-take when he sees Nora. “Good shot,” he says, extending his hand to her.
“Thanks.” She smiles. “You did pretty good yourself.”
I can’t help but feel a little disgruntled, unable to control the rumble that escapes me. Blue smirks, and I glare at him. Nora ignores us and greets Bee.
“Hey, Bee.”
“Nora.” Bee smiles as Copper helps her out of the van. She leans against him, and I wish that were Nora and me. I hope it will be one day. Maybe I’ll take a leaf out of Copper’s book and learn patience—something tells me Nora needs it.
“It’s great to have you join us. Coal says you’re catching a ride with Nickel. We’ll catch up once we’ve learned what we can from Eade. Is he the fucker you’ve been looking for?” Bee asks.
Nora nods, and grief ripples over her face. “He is.”
Seeing her pain twists something inside me. I wrap an arm around her shoulders, drawing her in. To my surprise, she doesn’t pull away.
Coal approaches, smiling as he sees my arm around Nora’s shoulders. “We got the wanker loaded up. Let’s get going. I want to get home sooner rather than later.”
That’s something we can all get on board with, and we all disperse to our rides.
“This way,” I say to Nora. My arm falls from her shoulders, and I grip her hand instead, tugging her towards my ride.
Opening the secret compartments, I stash my weapons. Nora does the same but pauses when it comes to her rifle.
“I’ll take it,” Silas says from behind us, holding his hand out.
Nora reluctantly hands it to him.
“Don’t worry, Nora. I’ll take good care of Betty. She’ll be waiting for you at the Queens Wraiths,” Silas reassures her.
Nora nods.
“Nickel!”
I look up at Coal’s shout, catching the helmet he throws at me.
He grins. “For your lady.”
“I’m not your lady,” Nora grumbles as she snatches the helmet and jams it on her head.
I pick mine up and do the same before checking hers. She rolls her eyes at me, and I chuckle. No matter how competent she is with firearms, bike safety is my area of expertise.
“Not yet,” I murmur as I shut the visor on her wide-eyed gaze and swing a leg over my sled, starting her up. I hold my hand out to Nora, who gets on with no problem and scoots forward, wrapping her arms around my waist.
Closing my eyes, I take a moment to enjoy how right this feels.
Never in a million years did I expect to find the woman of my dreams during an op.
But I can’t say I’m disappointed—not at all.
I still haven’t taken a good look at her, apart from those beautiful eyes.
I only saw her in the dim light of the moon, and her hair was covered by a black beanie.
I have no idea what colour it is, but I’m looking forward to finding out.
I’m looking forward to uncovering a lot of things about Nora Harvey.
Coal pulls out, and I wait for the rest of the brothers to pull alongside me before I join them. Lloyd Eade is tied up in our vehicle so we can run interference should they be pulled over.
The operation only took an hour and a half. Considering everything, it didn’t take long to capture Eade. We pass the cleaning crews heading towards the house in their black vans. Nora waves and receives a head tilt from the driver of the first van.
Then it’s just us.
The Queens Wraiths are doing what our ancestors have done for a millennium—righting wrongs, spilling a little blood, and eliminating wankers one at a time.