Page 74 of Dublin Brute

Tag stands and walks over to look out the glass wall at the dance floor of the pub beyond. “They’ve gotten bolder since Gravely took over, and didn’t Kieran’s street rat say something about them raising the stakes on their biggest money-making industries?”

Fucking hell.“Aye, Petey said something like that.”

“Those sick fucks.” Bryan pushes to his feet, rage clear in every line of his body. “How do you want to play this?”

“Carefully,” Tag warns. “Work with Finn and do some digging. Find out if it is Gravely and Niall, and if so, find out how and where they’re targeting girls. If they’ve got men in our territory undermining our tenets, we need to stop them before the fucking task force confuses us for the same scum as them.”

“We’ll handle it,” I assure him, on my feet and ready to roll. “And if we catch these fuckers in the act?”

Tag flashes me a cold grin. “Teach them the wrath of fucking with the Quinns.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Nora

It’s just before noon when Kate pulls up in front of my house. I’m waiting on the front porch and rush down to get inside.

“Are you okay?” Kate looks me over as I click my seatbelt, her worry plain in her pinched expression. “You sounded upset when you called.”

“My father is a controlling jerk.”

“Right. We’ve established that. So, what happened?”

“He accused me of dressing up like a hooker and looking for trouble because I want to end up dead like Tanya. He also said that if I’d come home straight after the play instead of going out to drink, Tanya would still be alive.”

Kate’s mouth falls open. It’s obvious she’s trying to think of something to say, but really, how do you respond to that? “I’m sorry, chickie. That’s brutal.”

“Right? So, screw it. Let’s start looking for flats.”

“You’re sure?”

“I am. I don’t want to live here any longer than I have to.”

“All right, then let’s grab a couple of papers and we’ll go to a coffee shop somewhere and start combing through the adverts.”

I lay my head back and let out a long breath of pent-up frustration. “Perfect, and I know a great little place for us to go to. How do you feel about raspberry macarons?”

I take Kate to Cuppa Jo, and we settle into the booth opposite the fireplace to search the rentals for the next several hours. Tanya had her eye on a few rent-controlled places, but they were south of the river, and I scratch them off the list without a second thought.

“Seriously?” Kate is looking at me like I’ve lost my mind. “You’re deciding where we should live based on which mafia family runs the territory?”

“Absolutely. If I’ve learned anything from my father,” and Brendan, “it’s that I want nothing to do with McGuire territory. Did you know Mattie McGuire offered his own daughter as a bonus to sweeten a deal with the Russians?”

Kate’s eyes pop wide. “Since when do you quote from the organized crime playbook?”

“Since we’re going to be living on our own and I won’t prove my father right. There’s a difference between being confident and reckless. I’m simply opting to err on the side of caution.”

Plus, I want to make sure Brendan can visit me if he’s able. The Quinns don’t cross the river without just cause, so I don’t want to put him in a position of stirring up trouble.

“Well, there are fewer places to choose from on the north side.”

I shrug. “Let’s see what’s out there. I bet there’s a perfect little row house or flat just waiting for us to discover.”

Kate gives me a skeptical look, but her expression softens. “All right. We’ll see what there is and make some appointments. Who knows, maybe Tanya is watching over us and will send us a miracle.”

I tug the purple tips of my hair through my fingers and smile. “I wouldn’t be surprised. Our girl was good like that.”

“Yeah, she was.”

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