Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

Sean

I leave Piper in the care of my younger brothers, knowing she'll be safe and there when I get back. Brendan and Bryan are like rottweilers. They're tough, loyal, and nobody with any sense will mess with them or they'll get their balls chewed off.

If Tag calls either of the twins to confirm that I've sent Piper south, they'll cover for me—at least unless our big brother returns in person and horsewhips them.

The odds are in my favor, though.

He said he has a busy day and that will keep him out of my hair for at least a few hours.

I lean into the right-hand turn, the morning breeze pulling at my hair as I give my girl more gas. The rumble of the engine between my thighs is almost as good as having a woman there.

Almost.

What's even better is being on my bike annnd having a woman there. It's another kind of ride altogether. Or getting ridden might be more accurate.

Images flare to life in my mind. Piper riding my cock while I straddle the black leather seat of my bike. Me bending her over the tank as I run my hands over her naked ass…

Man, I gotta get a handle on that because I'm stiff behind my fly for like the third time this morning. It's ridiculous. She's not even twenty and I'm almost thirty.

When I was sixteen and cock deep in Peggy O'Reilly, Piper was only six and playing with dolls.

No. This isn't a romantic thing. This has to remain about men praying on innocent women and me standing up to say it's wrong, regardless of who they are or what side of the river they came from.

And that's why I can't let this go.

One of our guys from the station of Garda Síochána, Seamus Peterson, is meeting me at Dinky's Diner. I asked him to look through the traffic cam footage from the bridge last night and to track the battered woman in the red dress back to whatever hotel she came out of.

He assured me he could get it.

I think the part of Piper's story where she said she was in a hotel and smashed through a glass table was the truth. She was in shock when she told me that and it slipped out.

The other stuff about muggers was bullshit.

The way Piper reacted to mine and Tag's questions makes me sure it was McGuire business. Family business she shouldn't have been part of and, unless we missed something along the way, hasn't been part of before now.

The hour of night and her sexy red dress makes me think she was dressed to impress.

But impress who?

And why would Mattie wave his nineteen-year-old daughter in front of anyone in our business?

Maybe she was telling the truth, and she was out with friends when she got recognized.

Maybe a transaction went sour because of something she said or did?

She's holding a lot of guilt over whatever happened. She said she couldn't stand to be a disappointment as well as a traitor. How could her getting beat up ever make her into a disappointment?

I just don't understand her fucking family.

And what about making the man who beat her up pay? She doesn't seem in the least bit anxious for revenge. If that were me, I'd be gunning to make them pay.

Why isn't that a consideration?

I park my bike out front and spot Seamus in a back booth. Dinky's is a favorite local breakfast place downtown, but it's nearly eleven on a Thursday, so there aren't many other diners.

"Hey, thanks for meeting me." I slide into the booth opposite him and smile at the coffee and the piece of apple crumble waiting for me. "You're a good man, Peterson."

He chuckles. "If my superiors knew I trade favors with the Quinn boys, they might disagree."

I scoop a large forkful of apple bliss and shovel it into my mouth. "There's a certain give and take to keeping the peace. We do our best, as do you, and it works out well for both of us."

"Aye, it does at that."

"So, were you able to backtrack the footage of the girl I told you about?"

Seamus cues up a section of video and turns his laptop around so I can view the screen. "It started at the NYX."

"Where the fuck is the NYX?"

"It's the Hard Rock Hotel. Newly remodeled but still with some of the same rocker vibe. Anyway, I wound the footage back, and this is where we first see the girl in the red dress."

I lean in and watch as Piper rushes out of the old Hard Rock Hotel, looks around like she doesn't know what to do next, and then, when two men step out of the hotel, she staggers down the sidewalk into the shadows.

The footage follows her as she limps down Exchange Street, across Essex Gate, and then onto Parliament with those same two men chasing her.

"Who the fuck are those guys?"

"I'll tell you in a minute. Watch."

I watch as one of the bearded brutes catches her from behind, and she goes down hard. Her face smashes into the concrete and she's out cold for a few seconds.

"Fucking hell."

"She wakes up fighting like a wildcat, though."

One guy grabs her in a caveman hold and drags her into the shadows by the hair. Then he tosses her down and fucking kicks her.

Piper wakes up screaming, but a second kick to her shoulder knocks her onto her back. Then the one with blood staining the front of his leg grabs her and hauls her to her feet.

Despite the size difference and the fact that Piper has likely never made a fist, she launches at him and makes a damned good effort of clawing his eyes out.

"Well done, beautiful."

The fatter, older one catches up and slaps her across the face. The force of the blow has her head spinning and my heart pounding. Two of them. Two grow men put a beating to her and she's still alive to tell the tale.

Or not tell it, in Piper's case.

"This is my favorite part," Seamus says, pointing to the action on the screen. "Wait for it."

Heaving forward, Piper spews all over the one who kicked her. The guy is obviously revolted and when he shoves her away, she runs again—this time, over the Grattan Bridge.

"I knew it was bad, but fucking hell." I lean back and run my fingers through my hair. "Who are they? I take it you ran their faces through recognition software?"

Seamus ends the street footage video and pulls up black and white photos of the two men we just watched beating the hell out of Piper.

"Vladmir Volkov and Arkady Sidorov."

"Russians?"

"Aye. Known representatives for the Shadow Sickle Syndicate out of St. Petersburg."

"Bratva? What the fuck are they doing in Dublin?"

He shrugs. "I just report the news. I don't try to make sense of it. How delicate is this information to you and yours?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, now that I've seen them here, I could get into a lot of trouble if I don't tell the guns and gangs boys."

I sit back in the booth and consider the facts. "If Bratva are making dealings with the McGuires, that can only mean one thing—guns."

And guns are our territory, not theirs.

"Once again, Mattie McGuire is breaking the terms of the truce and thinking himself above the territorial agreement he made with our father."

Seamus curses. "Then I really need to bring this to the right people. But how do you know they're here for the McGuires?"

"Because the woman in the red dress is Mad Mattie's daughter, Piper. He must've enlisted her to show the Russians a good time, and then something went sour."

Seamus slides a thumb drive across the table and closes his laptop. "If you get wind of guns coming our way, I'd appreciate a heads up. No one wants more guns on our streets."

"Aye, if I hear of anything, I'll give you a ring."

Seamus extends his hand, and I meet the guy palm to palm. "Give my best to Tag and your brothers."

"I will. I'll also tell them how you helped us out on this one. They'll appreciate it."

Before I leave Dinky's, I text Finn:

Drop everything and hack into the NYX Hotel's computer system. Find anything tied to the McGuires, Vladmir Volkov, or Arkady Sidorov. Then widen the search and see who we're dealing with.

Then I phone Tag. The call goes straight to voicemail, so I leave him the highlight reel at the beep. "Things are happening, brother. I have the full story and it's not good. I'm headed back to our guest now. Come as soon as you can."