Page 24 of Liam

“They’re crazy, Uncle Liam,” Jeanie laughs excitedly as she comes to stand next to me.

“What are they up to now?” I wonder aloud as Ange speaks to the guy running the cars. He first shakes his head, but Ange is being persistent; finally, he nods with a laugh as he takes the money that Ange hands him before she hurriedly returns to her car. He then proceeds to walk around, putting the closed chain on, explaining as he goes that it will just be for a few minutes while the wild women—his words, not mine—take his ride over a little bit.

He stops when he gets to me, “You’re a braver man than me, mate. Those ladies are wild.”

“My uncles and my dad are all brave,” Jeanie tells him proudly. “My aunts are going to show us how to be strong like them.”

“I bet they are,” he agrees, continuing on until the chains with the closes signs are all up. Once the ride was pretty much shut down for the next little while, he went to the booth and started the music up, and the girls really let loose then.

It was mayhem filled with manic laughter and a tonne of swearing and jeering from all parties involved. The crowds around us got thicker as more gathered to watch and started to cheer, and I’m not sure who was more disappointed when the cars wound down—Sera and her girls’ squad or the spectators.

They were laughing as they walked towards me, and there was something about a group of strong women dressed as Viking shieldmaidens that made the men around me feel like they had to preen and suck in their guts. It had me chuckling under my breath, especially when Sera strode up and pressed her lips to mine. I ignored the “Lucky fucker” comment because I knew I was.

“Did you and your girls have a good time?” I want to know.

“We did, but now I’m starving. What about you girls, do you fancy checking out what there is to eat?”

“Yes,” Ally nods, then says, “Maggie is running the café from the pub tent.”

“Well then, that’s where we’re going,” Sera says, taking Ally’s hand and picking up her shield before shouting over her shoulder, “Grub’s up.”

“Finally,” Billie shouts back. “I’m starving.”

Turning us towards the pub and food, Sera’s shoulder brushes mine. I’ve got Jeanie on one side, and Sera’s got Ally on the other, with Ange, Billie, JoJo, and Evie bringing up the rear. We must make quite a sight because a path clears for us as we walk through the crowd towards the pub tent.

Standing outside the tent are Reaper and the rest of the brotherhood, along with Johnny and Tommy.

A whistle pierces the air. “Holy fuck, Liam, you’ve got yourself a posse,” Rogue, who’s dressed as a pirate, shouts out. Julia, who’s standing next to him, socks him in the stomach and scolds him about his language.

Sera and her girls are smiling with amusement as they greet the Crows and some of their ladies before I usher them inside to a table that Maya’s sitting at. It doesn’t take long for us to get our food. We’d no sooner started to eat than our table seemed to fill up with more Crows. Before long, we’d added more tables and chairs, and the atmosphere took on a festive air.

This was very different to when Rhett and Noni had been together. While we’d all got along, we’d always known that they didn’t approve of the way we made our money. I much preferred this. The camaraderie was only amplified with Sera and her girls having served with them, and they slipped seamlessly into the banter being bandied around the table.

After we’d eaten, we’d gone to the shooting booths where we’d cleaned up in teddies—a lot more than Ally and Jeanie could carry, and they ended up giving them away to children that passed by, meaning there were a lot of happy children going home tonight.

“Happiness looks good on you, Liam.”

Turning my head slightly, I look at Reaper, who’d taken up a stance next to me a little earlier as we watched the mayhem Sera, her girls’ squad, and the brotherhood were causing. Somehow, the Crow Old Ladies had been pulled in when their booths shut down.

“It’s been a long time coming,” I told him. “But I’m not going to waste a minute of it now that I’ve found it.”

“I’m glad,” he told me before we went back to watching our people and their shenanigans.

It had been a lot of years since I’d had so much fun.

CHAPTER 11

SERA

Halloween had been a blast. I’d not had so much fun in years. Halloween weekend was a distant memory as we’d started work the following Monday, and when I say work, we’d hit the ground running. I’d met with Adam’s crew and assessed what they knew and what we needed to teach them. Adam had explained that they were his core group and they’d all grown up together. He trusted them implicitly, and as they were no longer needed on close protection or as bouncers unless they needed an emergency fill-in, their sole focus would be the installation side of the business.

They were great guys who didn’t seem to mind having a woman boss or working with my girls. We’d started at the top of Adam’s list, which was surprisingly a free job. He’d explained that it was a single mother with an abusive ex, and while the police were aware of the situation, he’d offered her a free security system that was linked not only to his phone but also to all of his guys. It was then that I knew I’d made the right choice.

JoJo had made an offer on the flats, and they’d be moving in within the next week or so. I can’t say that I wouldn’t miss having my girls on the same property as me, but at least we’d all be in the same town. By the time they were ready to move on, Colin, Jimmy, Lou, and Lee would be more than ready to take over.

With both the clubs now wired up, we’d each taken a turn at watching the cameras to see if we could figure out where the clubs were losing money. So far, none of us had seen anything suspicious. Tonight was my turn; not that I was complaining about it, as I got to spend time with the man who was slowly becoming the most important person in my world. It was hard to believe that nearly a month ago, I felt like my whole world had fallen apart, and it had me making decisions I’d never have thought to make in a million years. I mean, moving away from the area I’d been born and brought up in to move hundreds of miles away, becoming a partner in a company, and finding a whole new family. If someone had told me this would be my life three months ago, I’d have told them they were as nutty as a fruit loop. Added to that, my girls picked up and moved with me, which had me feeling very loved. And that they’d each lined up jobs was something we were all feeling grateful for. Ange and Evie were starting at the hospital where Rea worked with the ambulance service in the New Year.

Billie was going to start working at the garage that she’d used to outfit the van for us. Jimmy’s family owned it, and they’d been impressed enough to offer Billie a job the same week. JoJo was happy to help in the office. I was fucking grateful because I sucked at admin work. I thought Adam was going to kiss her when she’d volunteered to help out when Tilly went on maternity leave. I knew it meant a lot to Tilly that she offered. The O’Sheas certainly knew how to make you feel loved and wanted within their family. My attention was snagged from the monitor when my phone started to ring.

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