Chapter Two
Ace was standing by the window in the dining area when I got there. Pushing all thoughts of that gorgeous little woman in the kitchen out of my mind, I focused on the task at hand.
“Sit and speak.”
I sat down at the head of the table as I always did, but usually, my brothers were here. It felt oddly off-putting to do it without them. Just like Finn, they were both unpredictable, and if what Ace had to tell me was going to throw a spanner in the works, I was going to need a level head.
“A little over a year ago, just before we turned up, an old friend came to us pleading for help.”
“Does he have a name?”
“Nolan O’Farrell.”
I stiffened at the familiar name. What the hell was he doing getting involved with an MC?
“So you know my uncle, so what?”
“Let me explain,” Ace said.
I sat back, my heart pounding in my chest. This shit just got personal and I hated personal shit.
“Nolan and my dad go way back,” Ace started. “He came to him asking for a favour, not knowing my dad stepped down. It’s my duty to uphold the relationship between Nolan and my father, so I did. We came here, built a clubhouse and stuck to the shadows to watch over you and your brothers. He’s heard shit, you see, and he knows the war that’s coming. It’s not just Ronan O’Brien, Lorcan, he’s one fucking pawn in a huge operation that spreads continents. This is linked to the Reyes Cartel in Spain, all the way to the Bratva in Russia and the Barone crime family in Sicily.”
“How the fuck could Ronan O’Brien figure all this out and connect with them?”
“He’s not the one you should worry about,” Ace told me. “Adrian Moriarty has been after your seat here in Galway for a long time.”
“The Moriarty’s from Cork?” I enquired. “He’s a nobody.”
“Not anymore,” he said. “Look, there’s a lot of forces out there that want the O’Farrell’s to be dethroned. I’m not going to let that happen.”
“And why is that?”
“We’ve been here a year, and you’ve not run us out, even though we never told you why we came here. You let us live our lives, you let us operate a business in town, and you treat us with respect. Even now, you didn’t shoot me even though Dog did you wrong. You let me talk to you like a man. You’re different Lorcan, and I will pledge my club to you to defeat this fucking power that’s coming for your blood.”
“I’ll have my brothers rallied, they should hear this.”
“Come to my clubhouse tonight,” he said, getting up. I followed suit. “Bring your brothers. We’ll drink, we’ll talk, we’ll throw down if necessary.”
Ace didn’t wait to be let out, he headed for the door.
“Wait,” I called out. He turned back around. “Since we’re about to go into business, per se, I think we need to know your actual name.”
He smiled. “Cooper.”
“Alright, Cooper, we’ll be there.”
He nodded his head in acknowledgement and he left. I sat back down at the table and weighed up the options.
We didn’t have many. Maybe bringing in more of an army would help us. But he’d thrown some pretty serious shit my way. Ronan wasn’t the problem, it was the Moriarty’s in Cork.
We’d had very little to do with Cork even during my father’s reign, so when we started having issues with them a few years ago, we’d basically given them the run of Cork. Obviously, that had proven to be an error in judgment.
My father would be rolling in his grave right now.
Take care of this,he would say to me if he were here. No one messes with the O’Farrell’s.
Our family credo had done us well for decades, since our grandfather started saying it. Maybe we needed to stick to that and show our enemies just who the fuck they were dealing with.
I grabbed my phone and dialed Finn.
“Yeah, we need to gather a meeting of all the men,” I told him. “Tomorrow night, at the abandoned factory down by the docks. 10pm.”
Finn hung up. That was his way of telling me he was on it. No questions, just actions. It’s why I kept him around even with his hot head for so long.
Now, I had to convince my brothers to head into MC territory tonight to discuss what our wayward uncle had gotten us into.
This house was freakin’ huge. I’d probably lost myself about four times by now but I couldn’t get over how absolutely gorgeous it was. The portraits in the hallways, the large windows with stained glass in the corners reminded me of a church, the high ceilings made me wonder how the hell they changed the light bulbs but I could only imagine how tall Lorcan’s brothers were compared to the beast of a man himself.
There was just something in the way he looked at me that sent shivers down my spine and made me want to confess everything.
Stop it, Bri.
I closed my eyes and willed all thoughts of Lorcan O’Farrell from my mind. As I turned to head back to my room, I came up against something hard. Opening my eyes and looking up, I saw those stony eyes of Lorcan’s that made me quiver with excitement.
“I’m sorry,” I said, backing up.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“I got lost, but I’m sure I’ll find my way back.”
“Come with me,” he said and I followed like a lost little lamb looking for its mum. I could smell the strong, masculine cologne coming off him in waves and suddenly my insides wanted to come to the party. A funny feeling began in my stomach and fluttered its way down to my legs and up my thighs. Oh Lordy, was I getting wet from a goddamn scent?
I followed him up the stairs to the room I was staying in. “Just call for Walter if you need any more help.”
“Thanks, I won’t be any more trouble, I promise.”
He looked at me, as if he were about to devour my brain for answers, before he grunted and backed away from the door.
He actually audibly grunted…just like a caveman.
Oh boy, Bri, you were in trouble. What I wouldn’t give for him to hit me over the head and drag me into the room and have his way with me.
Stay under the radar, my brain was desperate to rein in my overactive hormones.
“I’ll be gone all night, but whatever you need, someone will be able to help you here. Keeva shouldn’t be too long down in Belfast.”
I smirked up at him. “You know she’s down there flirting with some pretty intense bikers.”
He didn’t know. I could tell by the look on his face when I’d admitted it.
“Right, well Keeva has always had an affliction for the dangerous. But you’re welcome here, Ava.”
Hearing my fake name coming from his lips felt off.
I fought every urge I had to tell him to call me Bridget. I’d never loved my name, rather I’d gone by Bri most of my life but something about this behemoth of a man before me made me want to tell him everything, to confide in him, to have him be all up in my business.
No one had made me feel that way.
Ever.
It was scary, and overwhelming and yet every part of me wanted to see if I could gain some insight into why I fancied him so much.
I tried to will away the thoughts of wanting him to ravage me, my tongue wetting my dry lips. The action, which I’d done unintentionally, had caused his eyes to move down to my lips. It was brief, but it was there.
He left without another word, stalking down the hallway and down the stairs, disappearing from view. The intensity between him and I was electric, it was as if I couldn’t breathe.
What in the everloving hell?
I could not fall for Lorcan O’Farrell. I ran from a life of crime for a reason, and getting stuck in a turf war was not exactly my idea of fun.
I’d rest tonight, and then in the morning, while they’re all off sobering up, I’ll hightail it to the nearest train station and find a new place to hide.
This time…I’d make it out of Ireland…and into a future I could be certain I’d be safe in.