Page 56 of Dublin Brute

I sit on the upholstered bench inside the side entrance, unlacing my boots when Piper bounces down the stairs, her long, black hair swinging around her face. “You’re back early. How did your dinner go?”

I force a smile. “The dinner was amazing, the company even better.”

Piper’s sparkle dims as she studies my face. “So, what’s wrong? Why do you look like your dog died?”

“Just trouble in paradise blues.”

“Anything I can help you with?”

“Not this time, P. I need to speak to Tag, actually. He hasn’t turned in yet, has he?”

“No. He’s in his office with Sean.”

Good.If Sean’s in there, too, that’s one less time I’ll have to repeat this. Dammit. Just thinking about having to go over this with each of them makes me want to puke. Having to say it once will be bad enough.

Piper is about to leave when I call her back. “Hey, P? You actuallycando something for me. Can you round up Bryan and Finn and send them to Sean’s office?”

Piper’s concern deepens. “It’s a five-brother problem?”

“Aye, I’m afraid so.”

She grew up in a crime family, so she knows the drill. She also knows when not to ask questions. “Sure, I’ll send them right down.”

“Thanks.” I hang my jacket in the front closet and head down the corridor toward Tag’s office. The weight sitting on my chest grows heavier with each step. Can a man’s heart physically break? Sure the fuck feels like it. Because based on the growing agony building behind my ribcage, I’d bet my blood-pumping vessel was ripping in two.

When I get to Tag’s office, I rap my knuckle against the rich mahogany and wait. “Aye, come.”

I turn the handle and step inside. Tag and Sean are hunched over our father’s massive antique desk, papers spread between them. Tag looks up, his pen freezing mid-signature. “Feckin hell, Brenny. You look like shit.”

“We need to talk. All of us.” I leave the door open behind me and head straight for the wet bar. “Piper’s rounding up Bryan and Finn.”

Sean straightens, green eyes sharp. “What happened?”

I pull the ice container out, drop three cubes into a tumbler, and then cover it with a healthy pour of Glenfiddich. I practically pour it down my throat, letting the entire tumbler empty down my gullet in four long swallows.

The burn is expected and very welcome, the oblivion it brings will be as well. Turning back to the bottle, I get moving on a refill.

“All right, enough with the whiskey slinging,” Tag snaps. “What the fuck is on your mind, Brenny?”

Thankfully, Finn and Bryan are shuffling through the door so I can get this off my chest. “The woman I’ve been seeing, the one from the shooting…”

Finn nods. “Aye the blonde, Nora Kelly.”

“Well, you won’t need to look into her father anymore, Finn. Nora already filled me in on the whole sordid truth.”

“Which is?” Tag asks.

I hold up my finger as I down the second tumbler.Oh, nice. That one hit me with a little buzz.“Well, let me start by saying that I really fucking liked this one. So much, I didn’t tell her my last name. I wanted her to get to know me and see me before the whole Quinn thing complicated what was truly fucking amazing.”

“But then she showed up at the fundraiser,” Sean says.

“Aye, that she did. She and her friend were celebrating, and the friend treated my girl to a night out, not knowing that the infamous Brendan Quinn was the Brendan she’d been flirting with all week.”

“No offense, brother.” Tag places both his hands flat on his desk. “I feel for your predicament with the lass, but why does this warrant a five-brother gathering?”

“Because Nora Kelly is the daughter of Jordan Kelly.”

“And who the fuck is Jordan Kelly?”

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