Page 4 of Shattered Union

He’s silent, and that gets my attention. “Maverick O’Hara, what have you done?”

“I may have had a slight accident while driving your car,” he begins. “I’m okay, I assure you. But your car didn’t fare so well.”

I take a deep breath. I’m going to fucking kill him. “What the hell happened toyourcar?”

“Nothing, I just prefer yours, it’s newer.”

“You’re lucky Mam loves you. I’d have killed you a long time ago.”

My brother is the king of pissing me off, and he’s been doing it since the day we were born. Unlucky for me, he’s my twin, born six minutes before me. Something which he loves to rub in my face at every opportunity he can.

“What’s not to love? Anyway, I was just calling to let you know I’m in Meath, I should be home in the next couple of days, depending on how this goes.”

“Mav,” I say gently, “are you working for Jer?”

His silence is enough to answer my question. Damn it.

“Please be careful. The last thing I want is to be visiting you at Mountjoy or the graveyard.”

It’s my ultimate fear. My best friend Stephen works for my uncle also, and I’m always waiting for the day when I’ll get a phone call telling me he’s dead or has been arrested. My uncle is the head of the Houlihan Gang here in Ireland. It’s a life that I keep out of.

My dad owns hotels all over Ireland and the UK, when he met my mam, they fell head over heels in love. Their love story used to be my bedtime story when I was younger. I’ve always known just how deep my parents’ love for one another is. Their relationship is only something I can hope to emulate.

Uncle Jer offered Dad a position high in his ranks when Dad proposed to mam. Jer wanted the business to be a family affair, but Dad wanted nothing to do with it. He respects Uncle Jer, but his criminal ways aren’t something Dad’s down with and he’s made sure that mam and they have kept away us kids from the drugs, guns, and death that follow Jer around.

“Does Mam and Dad know you’re working for Jer?”

“Not yet,” he replies. The heavy set of his tone tells me he’s dreading telling them. “Please don’t say a fecking word, Callie. I’ll do it when I’m ready.”

“I won’t, Mav, you know I won’t.”

As much as Maverick annoys me, he’s my twin brother and I love him, I’d do anything for him. We both live separate lives, but we’re still really close. He knows all of my secrets and I know his.

“I know, Callie Wally.”

I grit my teeth. “I fucking hate you,” I hiss.

The arsehole just laughs. “I know, you make it so easy to wind you up.”

“Póg mo thóin,” I snap back at him.[Kiss my ass]

“Tá grá agam duit,”he whispers at me and just like that all my anger dissipates.[I love you]

“You’re still an arsehole, Mav, but I love you too.”

“Got to go, sis.”

My heart clenches. “Be safe,” I whisper, and pain lashes through me when he ends the call without responding.

I rest my head against the seat and close my eyes. So much has changed in the past few years. I thought I’d have been married by now and I’d be happy, but thankfully, that never happened. God, just thinking about Keith, sets me on edge. He’s someone I don’t talk about. Ever. I never told my family what really happened between us. Just that we had broken up, and I was home for good.

The taxi pulls to a stop outside my house, and a sense of calm settles over me. It’s my haven, the place I feel at peace. There’s nowhere on this earth I feel safer than my home.

“All right, love, that’s you,” the taxi driver says, a smile on his face.

I glance at the meter. Not too bad, not even thirty Euro. “Thanks a million,” I tell him as I pass him two twenty Euro notes. “Keep the change,” I say as I reach for my luggage that’s on the floor of the car beside me.

He flashes me a brilliant smile. “Ah, you’re too kind, love.”

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