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“Tom’s family owns this pub. He’s an O’Brien and the eldest of five brothers. His other four brothers have pubs dotted around London. The guys behind us are Tom’s men.”
“His men?”
“Yeah, they work for him. Keep Tom and his young family safe.”
“Safe, from who?”
“Their rivals. The O’Farrell’s. They’ve a long history of bloodshed. Ain’t pretty.”
“Do the O’Farrell’s own pubs in London too?”
Beast shakes his head. “Nope. They’re back in Ireland. Kilkenny. The O’Brien’s moved here when the O’Farrell’s took their land and their business in a bitter war over a hundred years ago. They’ve been enemies ever since.”
“Shit, that’s a long time.”
“Yep. Every now and then things blow up between the families. Last time was twenty years ago. Tom’s younger sister, Aoife, fell in love with Niall, who happens to be the oldest brother, and leader of the O’Farrell’s. He got her knocked up, then married her and hid her away on his estate in Ireland. Four years later the families clashed in an epic fight.”
“What happened?”
“Aoife was killed in the crossfire, leaving their daughter motherless. Both sides have been wanting revenge ever since, blaming each other for Aoife’s death. Fucked up if you ask me,” he mutters.
“Poor kid.”
“Not a kid anymore. She’s gotta be around twenty-three now. According to the whispers she’s a rare beauty but damaged. She witnessed the bloodshed. Is mute. That’s about as much as I know.”
“Fuck! So howdoyou know so much about their story?” I ask, sipping on my lemonade.
“Connall, Tom’s younger brother, is my best mate. Though I ain’t seen him for a few months. He’s been dealing with business abroad.”
“Ah! So your best mate, Tom’s brother, is the one currently balls deep in Siobhan?” I ask, smirking a little.
“I don’t blame him. If I was away from Grim for that long I’d be doing the same.”
“Okay, so who’s Arden? Is he another friend of yours? Xeno wasn’t too happy that I’m here under the same roof as him. Should I be worried? Is he the one who might have heard something about The Masks?”
Beast regards me. “Full of questions tonight, ain’t ya?”
“Just making sure I know what’s going on. You can hardly blame me. I’m already deep into my own shit, I don’t really need any more.”
“Arden Dálaigh is a member of the Dálaigh family. They’re Irish travellers. Tough, fierce andnotto be fucked with. The O’Briens and the Dálaigh family are tight. Arden is well known in the underground fight scene and his best mates, Carrik O’Shea and Lorcan Sheehan, fight alongside him. They come as a trio. Travel together all over Europe. Theyknowthings. Have seen the darkest parts of this world and survived them. Even for my standards those kids are legends.”
“Kids? How old are we talking exactly?”
“No more than twenty-four. Though I swear to fuck, you look them in the eye and those fuckers are older than time itself. Everyone respects them.Everyone. The O’Farrells included.”
“And you it would seem?” I say, surprised by the flicker of fear in his eyes.
“I might mouth off, Pen, but I know when I’ve met my match.”
“Fuucckkkk!” I exclaim. These guys must be fierce if Beast thinks they’re his betters.
“They’re known asTheDeana-dhe.”
“What does that mean?”
“It’s an Irish term for butterfly,” a velvety smooth, Irish accent responds.
Butterfly?I almost laugh, then swallow it down when my gaze settles on the man with eyes so piercing, they rival York’s. Except where York has fire within his icy-blue depths, there’s nothing but ice in this man’s amber orbs. His gaze flicks to me then Beast as he brushes his thick black hair back off his forehead.
