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“He’s at some address about fifteen minutes from The Scarlett Door. I’ll ping it to you. I have to go.” Before I can thank him, he’s gone and a second later a text comes through with the address. I skim over it before putting my phone away and heading back to the kitchen. Zak catches my eye as soon as I enter, as does Roxanne. I give a chin lift and then take a seat at the table to eat.
Of course, I end up next to Kavanagh, and Smithy finally takes a seat, the one across from me.
There’s a tentative silence for a short time and then Kavanagh pipes up.
“Maria, this is lovely, thank you.”
I roll my eyes, which he doesn’t miss, and Maria blushes again. For fuck’s sake, she’s old enough to be his mother, almost his grandmother. It’s then I wonder if she knew him back when Ciara was alive.
“Mr Kavanagh, I see you have your father’s charm,” she says, taking his plate from in front of him. That explains it. It seems Darragh’s charm is as well-known as Theo’s tolerance for bullshit was.
“You know Darragh?” Star asks.
“Yes, dear. He and Theo were very close, as I’m sure you know. Theo was married to Darragh’s sister, after all.”
Star nods, and I wonder just how much Kavanagh has shared with her. And it seems I’m not the only one.
“What happened to her, Darragh’s sister? If she was Theo’s wife, why have I never heard about her before?” Roxanne asks, her tone firm, and I can tell this revelation about Star’s real father has not gone down well with her.
“Her name was Ciara, and she died not long after Rogers was born. Theo never spoke of her after that, he forbade it,” Kavanagh says with reverence.
She nods, but I can tell from the look in her eye she’s gearing up for an interrogation. She’s pulled her leg up, resting her foot on the chair and is picking at her food with her fork.
Star catches her eye and gives a small shake of her head, then she leans toward Roxanne and whispers something to her. It seems to be enough for now, but whatever Roxanne was about to ask will come up later.
Kavanagh smiles at Star, and I can see that the two of them are close. If what Star told me earlier this morning is true, then her and Kavanagh would have grown up together. He’s the same age as Rogers and would have protected her like a sister if that’s what was asked of him by his father.
It begs the question, how the fuck did she end up with the Kavanagh’s and by whose hand was the deal struck.
I pull my phone free and send a message to Ripley. He comes back with a reply instantly and we’re good to go. There are conversations that need to be had without so many ears around, especially between Kavanagh and myself. If Marchant was right, then Kavanagh as all our gear stashed somewhere. He has some fucking explaining to do.
Maria takes Bowser’s plate, and I motion with my head for him to follow me. Getting up, Roxanne is watching us, but I ignore her and lead Bowser from the room.
“I need you to go pick up your car from Logan’s. I’ll call him and let him know you’re coming, then I want you to find Rocky. He’s been AWOL for too fucking long, and I don’t like it. If that fucker is stepping out on us, then I want his arse downstairs and strung up by the end of the day.”
“Okay, but are you sure you don’t need me here?”
“No, it’s fine. I have some things I need to sort with Kavanagh anyway.” My phone vibrates in my pocket, and I hope that’s Ripley letting me know he’s in position. Bowser nods and then leaves.
I head to the office and watch as Bowser walks down the drive, and I open the gates to let him out. I really hope I’m wrong about him. Axel’s betrayal has thrown me and made me paranoid. There is also too much at stake to risk not taking note of every little thing.
He joined us about a year before we broke away from Theo. It was Theo himself that brought him in after he came to Theo with some information about a deal that would have caused Theo no end of trouble with Laskin of all people.
Over that next year he proved himself time and time again as a loyal and sufficient addition to the crew. We hit it off with him, but when we parted ways with Theo, we were still surprised that he followed us instead of remaining with Theo.
Of course, up until now, he’s continued to be invaluable, and I’ve trusted him with my life more times than I can count. If he’s betrayed us then it will hurt as if Zak had betrayed me, and my retribution will be swift and brutal.
Ensuring the gates are closed, I take a quick look at the footage from last night, but just as I thought, there is no sign of the decoy shooter or the real one, and it makes me wonder if Calvin was telling the truth or not.
I head back to the kitchen, and now that Bowser is out of the way, it’s time to have a serious chat with Kavanagh. I’m also keen to discover more about Smithy.
Roxanne is helping Maria to clear away while Smithy and Kavanagh chat with Star. Zak is watching Roxanne in her skintight black jeans as she bends over to load the dishwasher, and I can’t fault him as it’s a fine fucking view.
I take a seat next to Zak, knocking into him as I sit and jolting him from his admiration of our woman.
“Shit, man, what’d you do that for?”
Ignoring him, I turn my attention to Kavanagh. “Time to fucking talk, Kavanagh.”
