Better in the library, less eyes.
My heart began to race. Did Ace know someone in my hen house who was behind the shit going down? Had someone come to spread our strategy to our enemies?
I got up and headed down the hall to my library, hidden behind a large tapestry, I opened the door and headed inside. I took a seat and waited, my nerves on edge.
What else was I going to find out today?
Ace strode in confidently and took a seat. His cut was gone and he looked a little like an average joe as he sat on the opposite leather chair in his jeans and black tee.
“What do you know?”
“Cork has been run by the Moriarty’s since you gave it up a few years ago,” he said. “They’ve gained a lot of power, built relationships with the Portuguese, Chileans and the Spanish. They’re a major player in this war against your family.”
“Why?” I asked. “We gave them their own part of Ireland to run.”
“That was the start,” he said. “You see, your father ruled his empire with fear and intimidation. He didn’t care about Cork, but he never let them run their own shit. He ran a tight ship. When you easily gave it over, and I know you did it to appease them and go on to run the rest of Ireland, but when you did that, they got ideas.”
“So…what kind of army could they possibly have?”
“It’s global,” Ace said. “We’ve seen it building for years, but it’s always been kept from boiling over. I couldn’t understand why until your uncle came to see me.”
“What does this have to do with Bridget?”
“You little blonde?” Ace frowned. “I thought her name was Ava.”
“It’s Bridget Moriarty.”
Ace’s eyebrows rose for a brief moment, signalling he was surprised.
“What?” I asked, my patience growing thin.
“I know Adrian Moriarty had a daughter, but he treated her like a fucking slave and he married her off to some loser who ran around and did his errands. If she’s here, she’s hiding, right?”
I nodded.
“The Moriarty’s are into some serious shit on the black market,” Ace confirmed. “I mean…I wouldn’t want to see my woman in that world, let alone allow my daughter to be married to a loser.”
“Fucking tell me what you know, Cooper.”
He leaned forward. “Do you know Percy?”
“How do you know Percy?” I asked, suddenly curious. I only knew him and his brother Halen through Onyx. If Ace knew who he was, something was pulling them into our world and that wasn’t good.
“I know a lot of people, Lorcan. It’s time you understood what that means.”
“Fine, what about Percy?”
“He lives on a boat in the ocean, do you know why?”
“He has warrants for his arrest in multiple countries. He can’t live anywhere without being extradited.”
Ace nodded. “Yes, but he’s also deep in the black market.”
“He’s not into that shit.”
“No, he does it to help girls escape and to have an ear to the ground. He’s no angel, and he’s done shit to stay undercover but he’s saved hundreds of girls from slavery, and death.”
“Why are you telling me this?”