Page 27 of Liam

The laughter I’d been holding in bursts free. I lay my forehead against Sera’s back. When I have myself under control, I look up to find Evie still watching me, her arms folded.

“I’ve no intention of teasing you, Evie, or any of you,” I tell them. “All it means is that I have a bunch of sisters that I never expected, and that they can look after themselves is a bonus. It’s one less thing for me to worry about.” Knowing I have to get them back on track, I say, “We’ll do a welcome-to-the-family celebration another night. You were going to tell me you figured it out? What have you figured out?”

Evie relaxes, and then her eyes widen in excitement, “Oh yeah. I’ve figured out how you’re losing money. And can I please, please have fun with them? As an honorary O’Shea sister, I feel like I should be able to issue a beat down.”

“Depends on who they are,” I tell her. “If they are family of one of our crew, they’ll be dealt with by their family; if they aren’t, then I don’t see why not. Who is it and how are they doing it?”

“I’ll show you,” JoJo states, going to the monitors. She finds what she’s looking for and takes stills. Gripping Sera’s hips, I move her from my lap so that I can get up and get a closer look.

“Good news for you, Evie, they aren’t family,” I tell her, turning away from the screen. Folding my arms across my chest, I lean back against the desk and cross my feet. “How are they doing it?”

“It’s pretty simple, really, and clever. First, they never work on the same night in the same club, and that’s why it always looked random and probably why you didn’t pick it up that easily. We’d probably still be stumped, but for some reason, they’re both working tonight, and we decided it would be a good night to check the clubs out.” She waves a hand. “Anyway, that’s neither here nor there. How they’re doing it—it’s so fucking simple, for fuck’s sake.

“First, they only target big groups that pay cash, not card. They take their order and get it filled; that order is paid for as it should be.

“Then, about ten minutes later, they tell the bartender there’s an issue with the drinks and since you guys have a policy to replace one order if there’s a complaint, it’s pretty easy for them to pick up the exact same order, deliver it to the table, and they just tell the table that an order was placed again, and because everyone is having a good time, they pay for it. But the money for that order never gets to the till; it gets pocketed. Pretty smart.

“They also don’t seem to do it more than two or three times a night and always to different groups, so nobody catches on. It’s only because I overheard a conversation in the staff bathroom that I realised what they were doing. Once we knew what to watch for, it was easy to see how they were doing it.”

“Fuck, that is easy. Looks like we’ll be overhauling some of our policies, it seems,” I mutter, running a frustrated hand down my face. “What do you girls want to do? You can’t kill them for something like this, but if you want to make an example out of them, I’m happy with that.”

“What about the cops?” Billie asks. “Will we have issues if they run to the cops?”

“Nah, we have friendlies in the local force; it won’t be an issue. Plus,” Liam smirks, “as far as I’m aware, you were all here the whole night? We have video to prove it.”

“We certainly do,” JoJo agrees. “I’ll make sure of it. You girls pick them up and have fun.”

“Where are we taking them?” Ange wants to know.

I hold up a finger and take my phone from my pocket. “Give me a minute,” I tell her.

Not leaving the office because there’s no need to, I trust these women with my life. Adam answers, and I immediately tell him what I need. “Adam, the girls need The Hole; can you have your crew ready it for them? They’ve found the thieves.”

I go quiet as Adam fumes, “Thieves, Liam, not just a thief. Thieves. What the fuck? Who is it?”

“Yeah, brother, you heard me—thieves. And they’re women, which is why Sera and her girls’ squad will be taking care of them.”

“Jesus, Liam, are you sure that’s a good idea? I have a feeling the girls could be ruthless. Do we need to take it that far? Don’t you think firing them will be enough?”

A surge of anger fills me; it wasn’t often that Adam and I butted heads, but he also didn’t have the responsibility of keeping our town clean and safe, even if we were no longer running guns. It seemed that I was constantly having to push back against those who wanted in. Maybe it was time I let Adam and Johnny know how many gangs and crews wanted in on our territory. I’d not spent years bleeding to keep this town clean for some other fucking crew thinking they could come in just because we no longer worked outside the law. Fuck that!

My frustration must have come through in my voice, or maybe it was the way I’d tensed at Adam’s words because Sera walks over and leans her shoulder against mine, her ear close enough to my phone to be able to hear.

“No, Adam, I don’t fucking think I’m being harsh in having the girls deal with them. They’ve stolen close to a hundred grand from us.

“I’ll not have the O’Sheas coming across as weak. We may no longer be running guns, but that doesn’t mean we don’t own this town. I’ll not have anyone come in here and think they can steal from us and not face consequences. We may not touch women, but the girls don’t have that problem. Now, if you don’t want to be involved, that’s fine with me, I’ll take care of it. I don’t need your help. This was a courtesy call as The Hole is usually your domain.”

Anger thrums through me, and I grind my teeth in frustration. Closing my eyes, I press my fingers to the bridge of my nose; Sera hasn’t moved, and I appreciate that the girls are quiet while I get my temper under control. When I feel like I can talk withoutsnapping, I lift my head. Looking at Evie, I tell her, “Pick them up and take them to the property. Sera and I will follow, and I’ll show you to The Hole. JoJo, if I could ask you to handle the club, I’d appreciate it. I’ll have Colin come and give you a hand; unfortunately, my manager is away tonight, or I’d call him in.”

JoJo waves her hand at me as if it weren’t a big deal and it probably wasn’t to her. In the short time I’d known her, she’d shown us how organised she could be; added to the fact that she knew how to take care of herself and that she knew things that only those who had worked in the underground would know had me wondering about her. But I respected her need for privacy. I’d be patient and wait until she felt comfortable enough to let me know about her past.

“It’s no problem, Liam, I can sort this with my eyes closed. No need to wake Colin. I’ll be good.”

I’d still send Colin to her, though, sending a quick text message to him to get his arse to the club.

“Thanks, JoJo,” I say, standing up from where I’d been leaning against the desk. “If you girls want to go and get them, Sera and I’ll meet you back at the property. I appreciate you girls having my back.”

“Eh,” Billie grins, “we Irish like to stick together. As for the rest of the girls, well, they’ve been a little bored, so this will be a nice bit of fun for them.”

---