CHAPTER 11

Adam

“He’s leaving, and he’s alone. Lee’s following him,” Colin informs me.

“Thanks. You know what to do.”

“Gotcha back, boss, don’t worry.”

Switching off my phone, I add it to the pile on the table and look at my brothers. We’d be leaving the phones here.

“It’s time,” I tell them.

“Let’s do this,” Johnny says, standing. It may have been a while since we’ve had to do dirty work but that doesn't mean that we’ve forgotten how. And this fucker was coming onto our turf thinking we’d be easy pickings. Should have done his homework on who the O’Sheas were.

“You boys be careful,” Da admonishes us. “Don’t worry about anything here, Tommy and I can handle it.”

“We will,” I assure him. And we would be; I had no intention of letting this fuck face get the better of us.

“Earpieces in,” Tommy orders. It’s been good having him back, especially as he has connections for better equipment for this sort of work than we had. Popping our earpieces in, we do a check to confirm that they are working.

Picking up my rifle, I put the strap over my shoulder. Like Johnny and Liam, I’m dressed in black with night vision goggles strapped to my head, pushed up and out of the way for the moment. We all have our preferred handguns strapped to our thighs and knives in their pouches. Not that we expect to use all of it, but better safe than sorry is our motto. We expect that the booby traps or the hidden snares will get him before we do.

Once I’m happy that I have everything I need, I walk over to where Tilly and Maya are waiting, arms wrapped around each other, taking comfort. Lana had gone with Ally and Jeanie to the lounge earlier to help them make up couches to sleep on. We wanted everyone in the same house tonight; it made it easier to defend. Plus, Da had a safe room if it was needed, but I very much doubted it would get that far.

Taking Tilly into my arms, I hugged her tight, pressing my face into her hair, inhaling her scent that was all her.

“It’s going to be okay, a stór ,” I reassured her. “This isn’t our first time doing shit like this.”

“I believe you,” she muttered tearfully. “But I’ve just found you, and it’s the first time I’ve been happy in years. I’m just scared it’s all going to be taken away from me.”

“Never going to happen. I’m always safe, and I’ll be doubly so this time because now I have something to come home to. One last kiss, a stór , and we’ll be home before you know it. Da and Tommy will be in constant comms and will give you updates if needed.”

Taking a deep inhale, Tilly nodded, pulled her shoulders back, and pressed one last kiss on my cheek. She tells me, “Okay, go out there and make sure he isn’t able to come back to haunt us again.”

Watching her, I now know where Jeanie got her strength from, which made me proud as fuck.

“I’m going to say goodnight to the girls,” I told Tilly, “then we’ll leave.”

Kissing Tilly one last time, I left her in the kitchen with Da and Tommy and walked down the passageway towards the lounge, where Ally and Jeanie were with Lana. Walking in, I looked at the girls, both of them curled up in the corner of the couch, holding onto each other. Lana was under a blanket in one of the big wing chairs. She smiled sadly at me as her eyes swung to the girls.

Earlier this evening, once we’d celebrated our engagement as much as we were able to, considering what we’d be doing tonight, I’d sat down with Ally and Jeanie to explain that they weren’t to worry about whatever noises they heard tonight.

“What do you mean?” Ally questioned.

“Well, remember how when you first arrived, we had a chat about you not wandering past the trees that had a white ring around them?”

Both nodded at me. “That’s because my Da doesn’t like people coming onto the property that shouldn’t be here. And he’s set all sorts of traps and snares around the perimeter.”

“But what about animals?” Jeanie asked with concern.

“We have a fence all the way round so that no animals can get in,” I reassured her. “You girls and your mum are going to stay here in the main house tonight with everyone else. Tommy is going to help Da be on the lookout. We don’t think your dad has brought anyone with him, but we still want to be careful, and nothing is getting past Tommy and Da. Try not to worry, okay?”

They’d both agreed, but I could see they were terrified, and the hate for their father burned deep in my belly. No child should feel terrified of their parent like that. Tonight, one way or another, I’d make sure they never had to worry about him ever again.

Dropping to my knees next to them, I ran a hand over their dark heads.

“My brothers and I are going to be leaving soon. Try and get some sleep, okay?”

“You’ll be careful,” Jeanie whispered.

“I will, ceann beag. ”

“Please, make sure you come back,” Ally whispered, tears filling her eyes.

“Oh, my sweet girl. I’ll be coming back, don’t you worry. Nothing’s going to take me from my girls.”

Standing up, I lean down and press a kiss to the crown of each of their heads, “I love you, girls, and I’ll see you in the morning,” I assured them. “I’m going to switch the main lights off now because we need the house to be dark.”

“Okay,” they whispered. I was tucking the blankets around them when Liam said from the door, “He’s cut through the far side fence.”

“Coming,” I told him.

Walking out of the lounge, I hit the light switch, throwing them into darkness. Looking towards the kitchen, I saw that it was dark now too. Following Liam, I slipped out the front door with him, making sure it shut and locked behind me.

“Colin called just before I left Maya; he has the father,” Johnny whispers.

“Excellent. You two ready to go hunting? It’s been a while.”

“Born ready, brother,” Johnny muttered.

“No more chatting,” Liam ordered coldly. “Comms only. Night vision on, let’s go and get this fucker because I’ve had about enough of my sisters and nieces looking terrified.” With those words, he walked off the steps and into the darkness.

‘Oh, fuck yes,’ I thought. Liam didn’t lose his temper often, but his hot buttons were bullies and those who abused women and children. I loved it when he was cold like this because that meant we’d get to have some fun.

Johnny held his fist out for a fist bump, his teeth flashing white in the darkness.

We followed Liam into the forest that surrounded our homes, walking silently towards where we thought Troy would be coming from. Easily moving around all the booby traps that Da had set, it was easy if you knew what markers to look out for.

Liam stopped when we heard a whoosh and a scream. Well, it looked like Troy had found one of the traps. We stood still, waiting while he thrashed around, cursing and swearing. If I remembered correctly, he’d walked into the trip wire that shot an arrow. It made me wonder where it had hit him. Finally, he was on the move again — not as quietly this time. We waited because there were a few more surprises between where he was and us. Personally, I hoped he stepped on one of Da’s landmines, ones he’d made himself that were nearly noiseless but did maximum damage.

My prayers were answered, and I couldn’t help the grin that spread over my face when we heard the familiar click and slight boom; then the screaming really started.

“I guess we should go and pick him up before he bleeds out,” Liam grumbles. “I was hoping he’d get further in; now we have to carry the fucker a fucking mile.”

Walking carefully through the minefield Da had laid out years ago, we finally got to the slimy turd and stood around looking at him, not saying anything. If Johnny opened his mouth — unable to keep quiet for long — I wondered if he’d ever have realised we were there, but I suppose if your lower leg was blown off, your attention would be somewhere else. He also had an arrow sticking out of his shoulder, so I guessed he must be hurting some. I didn’t really give a fuck; I was quite enjoying watching him cry and scream as I recalled every bruise that had been on my girls when they’d arrived.

“He’s not much of a man, is he?” Johnny remarks casually.

“Bit of a wimp,” Liam agrees matter-of-factly. “Bet your girls didn’t make nearly as much fuss when he pounded on them.”

“Who are you people? You have to help me. I’ll pay you,” Troy whimpered.

“Hear that, Adam,” Johnny comments, “he can pay us. How much do you think each bruise he made on Tilly and Ally is worth?”

“He couldn’t afford my price,” I declare, angry all over again at the thought of how often this piece of shit had put his hands on my beautiful woman.

“No, I can pay you as much as you want. I really can. Please, just get me to a hospital.”

“What do you boys think?” Liam questions, sounding curious. We all know that this fuck isn’t going anywhere except to hell, but it’s been fun listening to him beg.

Johnny and I pretend to think on Liam’s question while we listen to the sweet sounds of Troy’s agony. I do know if we don’t want him to bleed out, we’re going to have to do something about his leg, so we need to get this moving along.

“Well, we’re known for being hospitable, so I think we should take him back and make sure we welcome him O’Shea style. I’m sure his dad’s getting lonely waiting for him.” Pulling restraints from one of my pockets, I hand a few to Johnny, “Get his hands, I’ll tie off his leg, so he doesn’t die on us before we’re ready for him to. Liam, get the pole ready so we can carry him out.” I start to tie a tourniquet around Troy’s leg while he continues to wail and plead for us to take him to the hospital. “And can one of you please fucking gag him? He’s starting to piss me off with all his whining.”

“On it,” Liam assures me. I hear the sound of duct tape being pulled, and then there’s blessed silence.

“Thank fuck,” Johnny muttered, “I was getting ready just to shoot the wanker.”

“Let’s first find out what we can about this cult and if we have anything to worry about when it comes to the girls and Jackson before you do that. Once we have that information, you two can do whatever you want to him. I’m going to temporarily fix the fence where he cut it. I’ll meet you back at the hole,” Liam says, handing me the pole he's extended for us before walking away.

Threading the pole through Troy’s restraints, I ask Johnny, “You ready?”

“Yeah, let’s get this fucker to the hole.”

Taking hold of one end, I order, “Lift on three. One, two… three.”

We lift and settle the pole on our shoulders, Troy swaying between us. “Fuck, he’s heavy,” Johnny complains. “Don’t waste any time, Adam, let’s move it.”

It only takes us just over twenty minutes to get back to the house. We walk past it, taking a hidden path that goes around the perimeter of mine and Liam’s houses until we enter the forest on the other side, just between Tommy and Lana’s place and our houses. I spot the white circle on a tree and know we’re at the hole.

Looking at Johnny over my shoulder, “We’re here. Dump him so I can get the door.”

Letting go of the pole, neither of us caring how hard he hits the floor. Walking over to what everyone thinks is a bush, it looks real enough, but it’s fake. Bending down, I find the wood of the door and knock out a code. When an answering knock comes back, I know it’s safe, and I locate the ring and pull; the door slides back on itself. I grin, it’s been a long time since we’ve had to use the hole, and I’ve kind of missed it.

Colin is standing at the top of the stairs dressed in black, same as us, “Hey, boss, need a hand?”

Waving him off, I reply, “Nah, we’ve got it. I’m guessing the dad is here?”

“He’s here, and he’s sung like a canary,” Colin grins at me, then whistles as I grab the pole, pulling it towards the entrance to the hole and the dim light on the stairs. He whistles when he sees Troy’s leg. “Stepped on a landmine, huh?” he says to Troy conversationally. “Bet that hurt.”

Snickering, I drag Troy inside and down the stairs, Johnny and Colin following behind. “Liam’s behind us; he’s fixing the fence.”

“Lee had already started on it, so they’re on the way back already,” Colin lets us know as we come to a stop.

The hole was built many years ago and may have at one time been used as a bunker of sorts. We’d upgraded over the years, and when we were running guns, it got a lot of use. But in the last couple of years, we’d only been in here to do maintenance.

It was a square space. On one side, we had a small holding cell, the floor in the centre of the space was sloped and ran to a drain in the back. Hanging on the far wall was a locker that held all our torture devices as well as a table with restraints. Mostly, we went old school and just used a chair or had them hanging from chains that we had on a pulley system in the roof.

But sometimes we liked to use the table. For today, we wouldn’t be drawing this out; we just needed to find out if there was any threat to our family if these dipshits were no longer part of the cult. Although if all worked out according to plan with our friends, the nomad bikers, then the cult wouldn’t be a problem for much longer.

“You guys have been having fun, huh?” I noted, getting a good look at Troy’s father. The boys have him stripped naked and trussed up, hanging from the chains. They’ve given him a good working over; he’s covered in blood and welts. And is that an eye hanging out? Dropping Troy’s legs, I walk over and pull the old man’s head back. Yup, that’s definitely an eye. Raising an eyebrow, I look over at Colin, who shrugs. “What can I say, boss? He pissed us off. It wasn’t me that cut off his fingers, though; that was all Lou.”

Turning to look at Lou, I grin at his innocent expression. “I was just helping the man find his memory,” he shrugs.

“Colin, let’s get this shit stain up on the chains. I want to end this and go see my woman and kids,” Johnny utters, kicking at Troy, who doesn’t move.

“Fuck, is he dead already?” Jimmy asks, pressing a finger to Troy’s neck. “Nah, he’s alive, just passed out. Let’s get him up and chuck some water on him. That’ll wake him up right as rain,” he continues cheerfully, tugging Troy up, pulling him towards the chains where he secures him.

Once he has him situated, he starts to hoist him up and makes quick work in stripping him down; if there are nicks from Jimmy’s knife, none of us are going to cry over it.

Lou fills up a bucket from the sink and tosses it over Troy’s head, waking him up.

We’d only just started on him when Liam knocks. Jimmy goes up to let him and Lee in.

I’m standing against the wall, waiting for Johnny to finish getting rid of his frustrations on Troy when Liam leans against the wall next to me and asks, “Anything new yet?”

Shaking my head no, “The boys got all they could out of the old man and relayed it on. Johnny doesn’t really care about getting information; he’s just having a great time whaling on the man, getting his frustrations out. We’ll get to the good parts soon,” I assure Liam.

We turn to watch our baby brother, bare-chested and sweating from punching away on the man who hurt Maya and made Jackson afraid of him.

Chest heaving, Johnny finally stops and removes his bloodied gloves, “He’s all yours, Adam.”

“Thanks, brother.” I walk over to the table and pick up a hammer and wooden board. ‘ They’ll do nicely,’ I think.

Walking back towards where Troy is hanging, I check his leg to make sure he’s not going to bleed out on us anytime soon. Taking a metal chair, I set it under him. “Lower him down,” I inform Colin, who immediately does as I ask.

Once Troy is sitting on the chair, he looks at me with a smirk, “What you going to do now? They’ll come looking for us, you know.”

“Will they now?” I grin widely at him. “I’m sure they’re busy enough trying to save their own arses not to be worried about wankers like you and your dad.”

“What do you mean?” Troy stutters.

“Well, boyo, what can I say. You should have looked into us first before you decided you wanted to take on our family. Going after our women and our children was a stupid thing to do.”

“They’re not yours,” Troy screams. “They’re mine; they’ll always be mine.”

“Are they now?” I asked interestedly. “Tell me, how did you find them?”

He smirks at me as he knows something I don’t. “Our joint bank statement. I got a notification of change of address. I told you they were still mine. She’ll always have been mine first, no matter what you do.”

“See,” I reply calmly, tapping the hammer against his knee, not allowing him to see how much his words angered me, “that’s where you’re wrong. Tilly doesn’t belong to you. Ally and Jeanie don’t belong to you. They never have and never will.

“You sick fucks don’t get to own people. But I will tell you what they are to me. Tilly is my woman; she holds my heart. Ally and Jeanie are my girls, and they always will be. Same with Jackson, Emy, and Maya; they’re all his,” I point at Johnny, who’s washed up and is now standing against the wall with Liam and the boys.

“Johnny and I’ll work hard every damn day to make sure they’ll never want for another fucking thing, you piece of fucking shit.” Slamming the hammer down on his knee with force, I hear it shatter as he screams in agony.

Once he’s down to sobs, I ask him, “Tell me, did my girls scream like that when you were using your fists on them? There’s only one way that I know you’ll never do that again,” I tell him, taking his hand and plastering it flat to the board. I tie it down before lifting the hammer and breaking every bone in his hand.

The sound of his screams filled the room. They were sweet music to my ears.

“Tell me, motherfucker, did my girls beg you to stop hurting them? Now you know what it feels like. You’re going to pay for every bruise they carried when they arrived, for every broken rib and more by the time I’m finished with you,” I vowed.

Moving on to his other hand, I slowly and methodically break every bone in his body until he stops making a sound.

I still don’t feel like him and his dad have been punished enough by the time their bodies are done. If I could have, I’d have resurrected Troy and killed him over and over again for the hell he’d put my girls through.

But in the end, there wasn’t anything left of them, and I knew it was done. My girls were safe, and they’d never have to look over their shoulders again.

We helped the boys clean up, and by the time the sun is rising, deep in our forest, another six endangered trees have been planted. We’ll keep an eye on them for the next year and ensure that they grow. Once the hole is washed down with bleach, including all our tools, we close and lock the door behind us, ensuring the fake bush still looks like part of the forest. Stripping off, we walk naked back towards the houses where either Da or Tommy has started a fire in an old drum. Dropping our clothes in there to burn, I turn to my crew.

“Grab your spare clothes, come shower; we’ll head to the main house for breakfast.”

“Thanks, boss,” Colin salutes before walking to their vehicle and grabbing bags from the back, which he hands out. We split up, with some coming with me and the rest with Liam. An hour later, after I’ve kissed the fuck out of my woman, we’re sitting freshly showered at the kitchen table and I’m watching Tilly’s arse as she moves from side to side while she and Da get breakfast going. I’d tried to get her to sit and I’d help, but she’d told me that she needed to keep busy. I’d let her be.

Johnny walks back into the kitchen with his arm around Maya, pulling out a chair for her and making sure she’s sitting comfortably before joining us.

“Do you need a hand?” Maya asks Da and Tilly.

“Nope,” Tilly assures her. “Da and I have this.”

The look on my Da’s face at her words makes me smile, and we watch as he wraps his arm around her shoulders and presses a kiss to her head.

Tilly doesn’t know it, but she’s firmly cemented herself into my Da’s heart with those words.

“Where’s Tommy?” I ask, looking around.

“He’s sleeping with Lana and the girls in the lounge,” Da replies. “We’ll wake them shortly if the bacon doesn’t.”

In the end, it was the bacon that woke them. Ally and Jeanie rushed through the kitchen doorway and stopped, staring at me until I opened my arms. It was as my arms closed around them that I realised my life was now complete. Between Tilly, Ally, and Jeanie, I no longer felt like I was adrift. They were my anchors.