Page 34 of Coal
“We have put aside five caravans for them. Theyare in the middle of all the brothers’ homes. Now I know this may freak some of the women and children out, but it’s to keep them safe. We can’t have them miles away from where we are and protect them fully,” I tell Cahir.
“I agree,” Cahir responds. “Hopefully your women can make them understand why it’s best. Now, did you get sorted with Kelly and get your weapons?”
My fingers tighten on Thea’s hip when she moves. “No, we didn’t get sorted with Kelly. Did you know he was the very thing we are fighting against?”
“What!” Cahir barked. “You’d better explain.”
Copper, Thea, and I exchange looks; it seemed that Silas really didn’t see everything.
“He wanted one of us to marry one of his daughters. He didn’t care about which brother, their ages, or his daughter’s treatment. The marriage was to be set up as a business arrangement.”
“What the fuck?” Cahir curses, then bellows out, “Silas, grab the others and come listen to this. Wait a minute, Coal, before telling me the rest. They won’t be long. I’m putting you on speakerphone.”
Over the phone, we hear the heavy tread of boots on a wooden floor, then the scrape of chairs being pulled out as Cahir’s brothers get settled. Only when there’s silence does Cahir say, “Okay, we’re all here; start from the beginning.”
“Well, after our phone call, we did as you recommended and reached out to him, which is when he said he’d only do business with us if we married one of his daughters. We weren’t impressed, and I told him we’d call back. I had Sterling do his thing, and none of us were happy with what we found. The daughters were young. One was only just fifteen, and the other was coming up for eighteen. We went along with him because I wanted eyes on the girls to see what condition they were in.” Taking a breath, I continue to tell him about what we’d found, my marriage to Thea, not because of what she was worth or what she could do for us, but to keep her and Shea safe. There was a deep silence when I finished.
“Are Thea’s sisters safe?” Ramzi asks.
“As far as we are aware. Aiden only gets in touch when he can and always with a burner phone. He only has a handful of men he trusts implicitly. He sent the girls away. I did give Kara my number and told her to call me if she neededus. But for their safety, none of us know where they are, only Aiden. Thea trusts her brother, and he has kept them safe for years, so I imagine he knows what he’s doing.”
“Fuck,” Silas utters, “I’m sorry, I’ve not seen anything about this.” Thea stiffens against me at his words. Gripping her hip tightly to get her attention, I mouth, “I’ll explain later.”
When she nods at me, I turn my attention back to Silas, who’s beating himself up for not seeing anything.
It’s Cai who stops him with a few soft words and reminds him, “Brother, you aren’t meant to see everything. This wasn’t a problem for you to solve. It was for Coal, and he solved it as it should have been. He now has the woman and child that were meant for him from the beginning. You know as well as I do that even if you saw anything, we couldn’t interfere unless it was life or death. The situation played out exactly as it should with Thea, safe with the family that is meant to be hers. Her sisters will find their ways when it’s their time, as will her brother. Although there is no harm in us taking a ride to Ireland and checking on him.”
Thea lets out a relieved breath. “If you could, I’d be grateful. I’ve been fiercely worried aboutmo dheartháir,” Thea pauses for a minute before apologising, “Sorry, I forget, not everyone understands Irish. I’m worried about my brother.”
“That’s okay,deirfiúr bheag,” Cahir tells Thea. “We understand. And we’ll check on your brother for you. Have Sterling send Ramzi all the information you have, and we’ll take it from there.
“From our side, we’ll send the information of our undercover informant to Sterling. You’ll need to keep who it is to yourselves. You’ll understand why when you get the information. It will include where you are to meet, the address of the flat you’ll share, your new documentation, and your new name.
“We’ll be in touch again once we’ve been to Ireland. Congratulations, Thea and Coal, I’m happy for you. My brothers and I wish you both many happy years together. Look after each other.”
With that, Cahir ends the call. Copper and I share a look. “We’ll need to get someone to cover for you while you’re away. Do you know who you want to put forward?” I ask.
Copper heaves a deep sigh, running his handdown his face and over his beard. He flicks the hair tie he wears on his wrist a couple of times before replying. “Nickel. I first thought of Cross, but I’m not sure he’d be interested.
“Nickel is my choice. He’s smart and thinks things through. He’ll keep you grounded and won’t blow smoke up your ass if you ask him for an opinion. I’m not saying that because he’s our blood brother. You know as well as I do that he’s the more serious of us, and the only reason he doesn’t lead is because he doesn’t want to. He’s like Dad in that regard. More than capable but prefers not to.”
“I agree,” I tell him. “Call the brothers, let’s do Church, and then you can let Mom know you’ll be away for a bit.”
Copper gets up and leaves. Tapping Thea’s leg, she gets off my lap, but I stop her from walking away by holding onto her hand. She turns to look at me.
“Are you okay, sweetheart? You’ve been quiet.”
Thea smiles at me. Cupping my cheek, she bends and presses her lips to mine in a kiss before lifting her head. Rubbing her thumb over my cheek, her brown eyes meet mine, “I’m fine,mo ghrá,I’m listening and learning. I’m not one tochat unless I have to. I’d tell you if there was something wrong. Although you’ll need to fill me in on Cahir, Silas, and the other brothers.”
Grasping her wrist, I tug her hand from my cheek and press a kiss to her palm. “I will,” I promise. “After Church, I’ll tell you our history and who they are.”
“Okay then,” Thea agrees easily and pulls me up to stand with her. “Come on, let’s get the meeting over with so your brother can tell your mam she’s losing him for a bit.”
Walking out of my office into the main part of the club, I note Opal has Shea and is playing with her. Through the hatch, I can see my parents in the kitchen. Dad’s got my mom pressed up against the cupboards and is kissing the hell out of her.
“Fuck’s sake,” I mutter, averting my eyes.
Thea giggles, eyes full of amusement when she says, “It’s sweet. I’m glad your da still loves your mam like that. I hope that’s us in twenty years.”
