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I’m not sure how long I walked for, but I eventually found myself in front of Murphy’s Pub. I wasn’t really hungry, but I wouldn’t say no to a good dessert and a cocktail or something. I pulled open the door and stepped inside. It wasn’t particularly busy, but it was still relatively early, and the late-night crowd wasn’t due to show up for another few hours.
I looked around and Leah’s familiar face beckoned to me from one of the back booths. I smiled in return and waved back. She gestured for me to come over and I took the invitation, feeling like I could use a friend right about now.
“Hey there, Caitlin. Where’s Cormac?” she asked cheerfully.
“He’s back at his place,” I replied, unable to hide the emotion from my voice.
“Is everything alright?”
“Yeah, it’s just…”
“You can trust me. Lord knows being with a Murphy man isn’t easy by any means,” she pushed.
There was something in her eyes that made me believe her and I tentatively started to tell her what was wrong.
“Well, he hid something from me, and I can’t figure out why. It makes it hard to trust him when he refuses to tell me,” I began.
I was staring down at my hands and didn’t notice Kieran’s approach until he slid into the booth beside Leah. She scooted over and I saw him reach over and squeeze her thigh. His love for her was written all over his face.
“Why don’t you tell us about what’s going on? Maybe we both can help?” she offered.
“My brothers can be difficult sometimes,” Kieran added.
His expression remained soft, and I felt at ease with the two of them the longer I sat there with them. I took a deep breath and trusted my initial instincts and started to tell them about what happened. I reached into the inner pocket of my pea coat and pulled out the photograph. I placed it down on the table so that they could see. As I told my story, both listened with rapt attention, which made it easier for me to explain the rest.
“I can see why you feel that way. Cormac is a good man and just wants the best for you,” Leah said softly. I smiled thinly, not really knowing what to say to that.
“I think I’ll be able to clarify several things for you, namely who my family is to yours and how Cormac was tied to your parents, as well as how he ended up there for you in the first place,” Kieran answered.
Leah gave me a soft smile as she leaned back and interlaced her hands over her pregnant belly. When one of the waitresses checked on us, she quickly ordered some dessert and wine for me, along with a whiskey for Kieran and a water for her. As soon as she left, Kieran cleared his throat.
“My family and yours lived in Dublin years ago. Back then, we didn’t have as much influence, money, or power, so we were pretty low on the totem pole,” he began.
“What do you mean by totem pole?” I looked back at him, trying to figure out if he was inferring something I should know and feeling a little foolish that I didn’t.
“Would it surprise you if I told you that my family and I are part of an organization that uses both legal and illegal activities to garner power and influence here in Boston?”
“You mean, like the mob or something,” I scoffed.
“Exactly like that. As the eldest, I am the head of the Murphy family,” he replied with unmistakable seriousness and I opened my mouth to reply, but nothing came out.
To be honest, it made sense. The more I thought about it, the more it made all the puzzle pieces come together. It would explain how he’d been able to pluck me from the Seattle prison system as easily as he did, along with the seemingly endless reserves of cash he seemed to have at his disposal.
“I understand,” I answered. I wasn’t afraid necessarily, just a little more wary than I was before.
“Back in Dublin, we weren’t as established as we are here. In order to survive, we allied with several other families, but your parents were by far the closest to us. The two of them took part in family meetings and their opinions carried just as much weight as mine or Cormac’s or any of my other siblings. All of us considered your parents a part of our family.”
“You knew her too?”
“I did. Your mother was an incredible person, thoughtful, kind, like a ray of sunshine even on the cloudiest of days and trust me, we had a lot of those across the pond,” he smiled.
“I didn’t really get a chance to know her,” I said, my sorrow bleeding through.
“I know. Back then, Cormac and Finn were best friends. There was no point in trying to keep the two of them separate and eventually, I just gave up trying. One night, the two of them came to me with plans to secure more territory for us by taking over a gambling hall that was just beyond our borders. At the time, all our informants had indicated that it was run by another family that we should have had no problem going up against. It wasn’t until after we’d already moved on it that we found out that they had allied themselves with the Gallaghers through an arranged marriage.”
“Who are they?”
