Chapter One
“Sure look, that lassie needs a lesson in who not to mess with, doesn’t she?” Cillian growled.
Finn glared at him. “Well lads, let's get the first flight to Miami. We can and protect Colin’s brewery we’ll we hunt down this she-dog and put a muzzle on her.”
Shay just shook his head. “I can help with that. I’ll have a plane here in an hour.”
Liam squinted at him. “Are we allowed to bring our own weapons on this plane?”
Shay looked surprised at his question. “What do you need weapons for?”
“To protect our own selves.” Seamus growled. “I don’t think Shanon White is set to play fair, do you? I think she’d rather shoot us than be arrested. If we aren’t able to get our hands on some weapons that leaves us at a disadvantage.”
Shay just shook his head as he replied, “Yeah, I get your point. There is a weapon safe on board and if you put them in there for the flight, you can take them with you.”
Liam and Seamus snorted.
“Ya think we’d turned our weapons on you and yours. Montross?” Liam asked. “Boyo, you are the last one we’d shoot.”
“I sure hope so. You Irish are temperamental though.” Shay grinned at them.
“And how do you know that?” Liam asked him.
“Cuz you say I’m Irish and I can be temperamental too.”
The two oldest ones, Liam and Finn, snickered.
“Lad, you say that like you didn’t know you were Irish,” Finn stated. “Anyone with that blood in them. KNOWS it.”
The other men nodded their heads.
Shay shrugged. “My dad was. But he never spoke about it. My mom was an elitist so she didn’t care much for anything of ethnic origin. Just headlines, parties and being rich.”
The men all shook their heads in disgust.
Shay raised his hands at them. “But don’t feel bad. I joined the military at 18, fresh out of high school. I knew I was a fighter. So, in the end, my Irish won out.”
They all smiled at him while looking proud as they gave him a little applause.
Shay shook his head at them as they sure were characters.
He then glanced at Arthur and saw him quietly speaking to Ciara through the Zoom video.
He couldn’t hear what the two of them were talking about but he had a pretty good idea.
Rob, aka Arthur Marsden had a missing lifetime to rediscover with the daughter he never knew.
He hoped they could figure things out. He turned to look at Seamus.
He had also been staring at Arthur and shaking his head. He turned to Shay and asked, “What do you know of Arthur? Is he a good man?”
Shay nodded. “Yeah Seamus, he's a good man. Or at least he used to be. Haven’t talked to him in a number of years but yeah, he was a good man.”
Seamus nodded and stroked his chin as he grumbled, “Good to hear, but I’ll tell ya right now, if he hurts that girl he’ll have me to answer to.”
Shay raised an eyebrow. “You all are attached to this girl?”
Seamus narrowed his eyes at Shay and explained it, “She’s gonna be my daughter soon if Sean has anything to say about it and we care for our women.
That girl went through hell while growing up and that’s over now if you know what I mean.
She’ll be treated like the good woman she is despite what she’s been through.
Did you know she ran away from Ford’s house when she was only 14?
And she’s been hiding from that man ever since.
Then Ford turned out to be Stuart MacGregor’s brother.
Aye, that man has a lot to answer for.” Seamus looked angry.
Shay shook his head. “You do know Arthur’s life hasn’t been easy either.
You heard what happened, what drove him to the streets, the hardships he’s lived with, right?
And I don’t think you can put the blame entirely on his shoulders either.
” Shay’s words were low and cold. “Her mother never spoke to her about her father. She never told Arthur about his own daughter either. If she had, I know he would have stepped up and did the right thing back then, that’s just the sort of man he was and hopefully will be again. ”
Seamus nodded. “I guess we have to wait and see but right now we got another more pressing problem. We’ve got to deal with Shanon White and her damned crew. I have a feeling this is gonna get bloody, very bloody.”
Shay shook his head. “But remember you didn’t bring this war.”
Seamus narrowed his eyes and stared at him. “No, we didn’t bring this but we’ll finish it. Aye, we’ll finish it in the only way an Irish man knows how to.” He suddenly cracked a smile. “And I don’t care if she’s a lass, we’ll show Miss Shanon that we can deal with her sort of woman too.”
Shay just shook his head slowly. “Of that I have no doubt. I’ve seen some stubborn people in my work but there’s not a more stubborn people than the Irish.”
Seamus nodded as he snorted. “I know and that applies to you as well, Shay. Don’t you forget your heritage, boyo.”
Shay chuckled. “Maybe that’s why I never stop. I have tracked criminals for twenty-five years and I’m still doing it.” He now swung his head back to look at Arthur. He noticed the call between him and Ciara had just ended.
Arthur sat there alone and he looked distracted as if he were thinking about something. Finally, he raised his head and found himself staring at Shay. “If you’re going to Miami, I’m going with you.”
“Why?” Shay asked.
Arthur got a steely look in his eyes and replied, “Cuz I got some friends down there and I’m gonna see if they’ll help us.”
“And why would they help us Irishmen?” Liam asked.
Arthur looked determined as he told him, “Because I’ll ask them to.
They have no affinity for the kind of woman Shanon White is and they have no affiliation with her men either.
In fact, they have all been mistreated by her gang over the years.
I know they will step up and step in to help take them down. ”
“And just how can you be so sure?” Finn asked.
Arthur looked at them. “Because these guys are from my old unit. They keep their eyes open and their mouths shut. They’ve been watching her for years, seeing where she’s going, what she’s doing and they know better than anyone else down there what happens behind the scenes.”
“Are they street people like you?” Liam asked.
Arthur nodded and explained, “Some of them but they can’t forget what Uncle Sam taught them to do any more than I can.
They watch, keep out of the way and they listen.
They don’t draw attention to themselves but they have a pulse on the streets like we do here.
When my family was butchered, my old army mentality taught me to endure life.
Yeah, I lived on the streets, I ate out of garbage cans, I did a hell of a lot of things I’m not proud of over the years, but I never forgot.
I never forgot the lives I saved. I will never forget the people I helped here and in other places.
It was partly my fault that Ciara had to endure the life she did but it wasn’t all my fault.
Her mama made her choice and Ciara suffered for that choice, not me.
But I’ll tell you right now I would have stood up for her all those years ago had I known she was out there suffering. And I’ll stand up for her now.”
The men all stared at him.
Shay looked proud.
Arthur got up slowly from the chair and stood tall in front of them. “And I’ll stand up with you if you’ll allow it. I know I’m not one of you, but you helped Ciara when she needed it, so you have my trust. Let me earn yours.”
Finn glanced over at Liam and Seamus. Then he looked back at Arthur and nodded.
“Aye, you can come along with us but keep your ass and your head down and out of our way. I’d just hate to tell the daughter you haven’t met yet that you went and got yourself killed over something you went and done wrong.
” He paused then added, “And if your men want to join in that would be alright too. I have a feeling we’re gonna need all the help we can get. ”
Arthur nodded and reached for his phone then he walked away.
The two brothers got on their phones as well and started their own calling tree.