Page 19 of The Eraser

"Not fucking one," I say as I sweep my gaze over the men in attendance. There are more than I remember him having, that's for fucking sure. My gaze lingers on Thomas Grace. The man's put on a lot of weight since his wife died. He's also a fuck of a lot angrier than when she was alive. He's always wanting to kill people—something he hadn't been willing to do prior to Patty dying. Jer's not letting him do it as he has men for that, me included. Men who are trained and know what the hell they're doing.

"You know what's going on?" Emmanuel asks as I take a seat at the back of the room. "I've got shit to do tonight and being here isn't one of them."

"You found a woman, Manny?" Freddie taunts. "That's why you're so eager to get going."

Emmanuel doesn't answer. Instead, he flips him off. "Stephen?" he asks.

I shake my head. "Not a clue, but I have a feeling we'll find out soon enough. Jer's not a man who beats around the bush. He'll also know that we're all going to be pissed to be summoned without a word as to what the fuck's happened."

"It's fucking crazy," Freddie snaps as he leans back in his chair. "Having this many of Jer's powerhouses in one place, it's a fucking shit show waiting to happen."

I nod in agreement. The same thing has been on my mind all fucking day. "One bomb and we'd all be taken out."

Emmanuel sighs. "There's actually something wrong with the two of you. Like, can't you be normal for once in your lives?"

I grin. There's nothing better than winding Emmanuel up. The man takes life too seriously. He has no fucking idea just how fucked up the world can be. He joined the Houlihan gang in order to get some money, not to mention Maverick had become part of the gang and he wanted in, too.

"Fuck being normal," Freddie laughs. "That's for assholes who stick to rules. You need to lighten the hell up and learn to live a little."

A hush falls over the room as Jerry enters, Maverick a step behind him and then Thomas behind him. I'm curious as to whether Maverick has moved up the ranks. It would be good if he did. He's a fuck of a lot more respected than Thomas is, and as the man's a complete fucking idiot, having Maverick lead with Jerry would mean there's someone who knows what the fuck they're doing at the helm when Jerry's in Spain—which he is the majority of the time now as it's where his son lives.

"Thank you all for coming," Jerry begins. "I know you're all wondering why you're here, and I assure you that you're going to find out. But first things first, when I'm in Spain, if you have any concerns or problems, I urge you to go through Maverick. He's going to be taking the lead while I'm gone."

"Does this mean he's in charge when you're in Spain?" Peter asks. He's a lower level thug, a guy who puts beat downs on people who owe money or have fucked up and done something Jer deems punishable.

"Yes," Jer says with a nod. "That's exactly what it means. So, Mav will be the lead while I'm not in the country."

I was right. It goes to show that he was the right choice, especially when no one opposes it, although Thomas looks pissed. It must be a kick in the teeth. He's been Jer's right hand for the best part of two decades. Now he's been passed over in favor of Maverick.

"As for why I've called you here," Jer begins. "We've got the cops on our tail. Not only ours but every crime family in Dublin."

"Who?" I ask, rubbing my hands together. I'll be fucking damned if someone tries to bring us down. I'll kill them before they even try.

It’s not the first time I’ve had cops on my back. When Da died, the woman who he’d gotten pregnant, well her da was a cop and found me. He wanted to know where my da was. I told him what Jer and I had planned: that Da had left the country because he was pissed that I had uncovered his secret and he knew he’d lose everything when I told Ma. Of course, when the Gardaí went to Ma, she was pissed and upset. She was crying for Da, heartbroken that he’d left her.

The woman was fucking certifiable. She started stalking Ma, always hanging around outside our home, demanding to know where Da was. If it wasn’t for Jer keeping me grounded, I’d have killed the bitch. She pushed Ma deeper and deeper into fear. Thankfully, the bitch got her comeuppance and ended up wrapping her car around a tree weeks before she was due to give birth. She’s out of my hair and away from Ma. I have a feeling Jer was behind her crash, but he’s never admitted it. I doubt I’ll ever know for definite.

Jer grins. "Don't worry, he won’t find anything. It's a new garda from the country. He's been promoted and is looking to make his name by stamping out crime."

"Sounds like a fucking eejit. So, what's the plan?" Jason asks, his arms folded as he stares at the boss. "None of us are going to stand around while this garda noses around trying to pin us down with a crime. That fecker finds anything and we're all bloody screwed."

Jer raises his hand as the men start to mumble among themselves. "Trust me," he says coolly. "We have this under control. The bosses have all spoken and we're working on a plan to ensure this cop doesn't get any information on any member of any organization. If push comes to shove, the cop will have an accident and all of his research will go missing."

"Do you have tabs on him?" I ask. Knowing Jer, he's got more than enough men already working on it.

"Yes. Between us, the Gallaghers, Kellys, O'Learys, and the Devil's Falcons, the cop and all his puppets have tabs on them. They won’t be able to piss without us knowing."

I grin. Good. That means we'll all be given a heads up if we're the one who’s going to be followed. "They're not stupid," I say. "They'll target the lower-level thugs in order to try and get them to turn on the higher ups."

"Not going to happen," Peter snarls. "Not one man will spill. They do, they'll pay the price. They keep quiet, they'll reap the rewards."

That's the way it's always been. Jer has always made it clear that no man will be forgotten if they do time. If they work for the gang, they'll be honored as a member. If they betray the gang, they'll die a rat. This cop digging around has a lot of men nervous, and in turn that makes me twitchy. I don't trust people. Too many of these fuckers know that I work for Jerry. Only a handful of people know that I'm the Eraser. Although many suspect that I am, there's no proof. I have no doubt that the gardaí want to nail me, Freddie, Emmanuel and Maverick. We're the men who are killing. We're the ones who are keeping the gang running. If they come after us, the operations will start to diminish, and that means they can go after Jerry.

I won't let it happen. There's not a fucking hope in hell that I'd allow anyone to find evidence on me. I'm too fucking smart, too damn paranoid for that to happen. The most they'll get is that I'm close to the family. That's all.

Anyone who betrays Jerry will answer to me. I'll fucking take anyone out that poses a threat. I won't tolerate betrayal, especially when it affects my life and the way I function.

"Try not to draw attention to yourselves," Jerry sighs, staring at Peter in particular. "This isn't going to become a big thing. I can assure you it won't. Now, go, and make sure you don't go looking for the cop."

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