Chapter 8

Tag

Guns? It takes a moment for Laine's words to take hold and I blame that on the fact that all of my blood is currently pumping into my cock and not my brain. The moment she goes rigid in my arms, I follow her gaze into the pub and see them.

Four of Mattie McGuire's six sons have burst through the front doors, AR-15s raised and looking for trouble. They're storming in fast and are gunning straight for my office.

A woman near the front of the pub screams and then the entire place is scrambling to get as far back from these tactless goons as they can manage.

Jimmy reaches beneath the bar and cocks his sawed off and Ginny pulls her Beretta from the pouch of her server's apron.

"Fucking hell." I step back from grinding on Laine's ass and scoop down to grab her jeans. "Get dressed. Hurry."

"What's happening? Who are those men?"

I shove her toward the door just as the first shots are fired. The folks on the dance floor duck and scatter as the McGuire boys gun straight for the glass wall.

A fist-bouncing knock rattles my door and the echoing thump, thump, thump has me rushing to my desk to get my gun. I pull my shoulder holster from my drawer and slide into it.

"Tag, we've got trouble!" Aiden shouts.

"No fucking shit!"

The ringing of gunfire and the shattering of glass are deafening. The entire front wall of my office falls away and leaves a giant fucking opening for them to jump through.

Laine is moving fast and is yanking her shoes on without untying the laces. Good.

I raise my gun and hit the door release to let Aiden inside.

Darcy and Ryan McGuire grab a chair to climb into my office, while Declan and Niall stay on the dance floor to cover their brothers from a distance.

Mad Mattie is reckless but not stupid. If he'd sent his lackeys into my territory to terrorize my patrons, they'd already be dead. But since the old man knows I want peace between our families, he also knows I won't draw first blood and kill his sons.

I will, however, happily draw second blood and put these fuckers in the ground.

I shift my position to stand in front of Laine and make a point of lowering my gun and sliding it back into its holster.

"Evening, Tag." Declan grins at Laine pulling herself together and I realize the target I just put on her head. "Sorry for the interruption, mate. If we'd been told you were getting your rocks off, we would've waited and not spoiled your fun."

Well, fuck.

"Just another Friday night, McGuire. A mouth is a mouth. A pussy is a pussy."

I hear the low intake of breath behind me, but don't have the luxury of worrying about Laine's feelings at the moment.

Her life is more important.

These fuckers have no sense of decency and no code to live by. The McGuires are selfish brutes that hold their territory using fear and threats.

If they think they can leverage a woman against me, they won't hesitate for a second. They will rape and beat her, and even the thought of it makes me want to raze the world.

They haven't taken a shot at me yet, so that means they have something to say, and I've got a moment to work some magic. "But I'm sure you didn't come over the bridge just to check if I was getting my cock sucked."

Darcy laughs. "Same old Tag. You never change, you cocky prick."

"Aye, well, why mess with perfection?"

The little shit is about to say something about that, but I cut him off. "So, to what do I owe the pleasure, lads? If your da had something to tell me, he could've called and not disturbed the folks that worked all week and stopped in for a pint."

Over their shoulders, Ginny is ushering people out the front doors as quickly and quietly as she can manage. Good girl.

The McGuire boys might not be here to kill the innocent, but if things don't go their way, they won't think twice about doing it if the fuse is lit.

I don't want that.

The locals might be afraid of me and my family, but they know we do our best to keep innocents out of harm's way.

With slow steps, I step forward and put a little distance between me and Laine. The McGuires aren't known for keen marksmanship, and I would hate for the woman to get gunned down by hoodlums on her first night in my city.

"We're here to offer you a chance," Declan says. "If you let us expand in the north, you can continue business as usual, but if you don't, we'll be taking control of the entire city by force."

I chuckle. "That's a lofty plan. It seems your da has finally earned the moniker of Mad Mattie."

I meet each of their gazes in turn, Darcy, Declan, Ryan, and Niall McGuire are practically carbon copies of their old man. They have the same gorilla frames and military buzz cuts, and the same vacant expression when faced with handling any situation with anything other than brute violence.

They also have hot tempers and love bloodshed.

They can't expect I'd accept their terms or that I'm going to let them come into Jimmy's bar to threaten and intimidate the people of my community.

They aren't bright, but they're not stupid, either.

I risk a split-second glance in the mirror over the pool table to check on my American beauty. She's standing tall and holding her own.

For a woman who doesn't understand the hierarchy of the power players in Dublin, it's astounding that she isn't cowering in the shadows like almost everyone else in this type of situation.

That piques my interest even more.

Who is Laine O'Neill?

I set that onto the back burner of my mind and give the McGuire brothers my full attention. "I understand your da raised you to believe that a heavy hand is the hallmark of power, but there lies the path to unnecessary bloodshed."

Darcy, the eldest of the brothers, scowls. "And there you go, flapping your gums as always, Quinn."

I chuckle. "Or perhaps I'm gracious enough to dole out wisdom to my past classmates to help keep you boys from spending the night getting stitched up by your vet friend, Doc Rees."

Niall curses down on the dance floor and I grin inwardly. They didn't realize I know that Niall and the pretty vet have been fucking on the regular and she's patched him up more than once.

It's always good to keep enemies on their toes.

Ryan rolls his eyes. "How so?"

"Well, the way I see it, even if you gun me down in cold blood, Jimmy and Ginny will get a couple of rounds off. Niall and Declan have their sights on me, but they've got their sights on them."

All four of the McGuire brothers swing cautious glances back to the dance floor. Both Jimmy and Ginny have taken defendable positions and have a clear line of sight to take down their targets.

"And if you remember from when we were kids, Ginny won the ladies marksman competition six years running."

Ginny grins and gives the lads a sassy wink.

"And I'm guessing that since my mate Aiden was in the back hall when you busted in, he's already called for backup. Am I right, sham?"

"Aye, boss." Aiden is standing just behind my right shoulder and is poised to shoot. "We've got six out front and three came in the back door with me. Ready on your order, brother."

I meet the dumb confusion on their faces and decide to spell it out for them. "So, six out front, three in the back hall, and then Jimmy, Ginny, Aiden, and me. That makes thirteen against four."

Declan laughs. "You're assuming we don't have backup, too. How dumb do you think we are?"

"I opt not to answer that when you've got guns pointed at me."

A throaty whisper of laughter behind me brings my attention back to my brunette distraction.

Did she just laugh at my joke with guns pointed at us? How surprisingly refreshing. Someone finally thinks I'm funny.

"Aiden? Did your teams run into any problems when you came in?"

"Not at all, boss. We ended their driver and disabled the two they placed on the rooftops to snipe the back door. Slick as snot."

I give the four brothers a moment to let that sink in. "Now, Ryan, Declan, and I spent much of our youth in detention together, so I know they're shite at math, but maybe Darcy and Niall can grasp that thirteen against four is a really feckin' expensive McGuire funeral."

"And bad for business, too, boss," Aiden adds.

"Aye, fair point, mate. It would wipe your family out despite the alliances your da has been making outside the city."

The surprise on their faces when I mention that tells me Owen was on to something. "Oh, you didn't think I knew about that? Aye, I do. And about your plans to oust us out of the city. You see, there's nothing that goes on in my city that I don't know about. So, be smart now, lads. Lower your guns and take your dead back over the bridge before anyone else gets hurt."

I honestly think they might listen to reason until Declan gets a cocky look in his eyes and grins. "Fuck that. It's on, brothers."

Chaos erupts around us, and the air fills with the deafening sound of gunshots. Grady and two Dublin Devils burst through the door, and I grab Laine's wrist and yank her into the corridor.

There's no time for explanations, no luxury of easing her fears. Besides, my apologies won't mean a lick if she's bleeding out on the pub floor.

Feck. Even the thought of that makes me crazy.

With me out of the way, my men will move in, and the takedown will begin in earnest. More of my men are racing inside from the back door and cut off access to the hallway as we pass.

There's no chance we'll be followed as long as any of them are still breathing.

"Is the back clear?" I shout, not bothering to slow down.

"Clear, boss," Connor replies.

That's all I needed to hear.

Extending my palm, I hit the push bar on the back exit and the door swings open. After a brief pause to check the sightlines, I race out into the night with my American beauty curled into my side.