AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Ending the call, I realize no matter what surname I bear, they’ll always be my friends.
We’re quiet, but I compare it to the calm before the storm.
The streets of Dublin are busy, with many laughing and having a pint with friends. But I’m here for another reason, and that’s to speed up the inevitable.
I can’t wait for Liam to maybe call me. I need to show initiative, which is the reason we casually walk intoThe Craic’s 90.To onlookers, we’re just three friends out for a drink. But when I see Erin Doyle behind the bar, the truth to why I’m here surfaces.
If I believe Connor and Uncle Sean, then Erin is my half-sister, which makes her very valuable to me but not because I’m interested in a family reunion. Naw. She’s my stepping-stone.
We stand in line, waiting for our turn to be served. The place is packed, which allows us to blend in. Erin showed interest in me when I was here last, but I can’t work that angle anymore. No matter how desperate I am, I won’t cross that line.
Until I find out for certain just who she is, just whoIam, I need to treat what Connor and Uncle Sean said as the truth, which leaves me with only one option—Cian.
Rory is too hung up on Darcy to make this convincing, so that leaves Cian. I know girls back home consider him a ride, so I just need Erin to think the same. He looks grand in jeans and a shirt, which allows Erin to see he works out.
When we’re next in line, Erin does a double take when she sees me. Her smile reveals she’s happy that I’m here.
“Ack, this is a bad idea,” Cian whispers into my ear. “She’s thick as champ over ya.”
“Keep ’er lit. This’ll work,” I reply, waving at Erin.
“Mike from America,” she says when we walk up to the bar.
“Erin from Dublin,” I reply playfully. “I didn’t get a chance to introduce my friends. This is Kanga and Paul.”
She politely nods, but makes it clear she’s not interested in either of them. “What can I get ya then?”
It’s almost impossible to believe she could be my sister. We look nothing alike, but that doesn’t mean we’re not related. My stomach churns at the thought.
“Blonde with a black skirt,” Cian says in his staged Australian accent.
Erin smirks as she commences pouring our pints of stout. “Yer Irish is deadly. Massive.”
Cian leans forward, laying on the charm. “I’m full of surprises, love.”
Rory rolls his eyes while I chuckle. He’s slipped into the role of Casanova easily.
“Is your brother, Liam, in?” I ask casually, but Erin seems to think nothing is by chance when her brother is involved.
“Whatcha want with him?”
I don’t get a chance to reply because the devil himself speaks for me. “Mike, it’s been donkey’s years,” Liam says with cheek.
Reining in the need to headbutt him, I turn to my right and offer him my hand. “You don’t call, you don’t write. I thought we shared a moment when I kicked your brother’s ass.”
Liam shakes my hand, bursting into laughter. “I like ya, bucko. Hugh is still pissing blood after ya clocked him good.”
I shrug, unmoved.
“I’ve been meaning to call ya. ’Ave a pint with me.”
Erin slams our drinks onto the bar, making it clear she doesn’t approve. Liam ignores her however and gestures I’m to follow him. I leave Cian and Rory to milk any information out of Erin and casually walk to where Liam and Aidan are sitting.
As Aidan raises his glass in salute and his tattoo shines under the light, I decide then and there that I’m going to kill him. Liam and Hugh share the same ink as him, but they’re too young to be the man who attacked my ma.
This has me guessing that this tattoo is a rite of passage as such; I just need to find out what that rite of passage is.
“Sup, boys,” I say, taking a seat at the table.
