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“I’m still hoping Bono shows up at the Dublin protest,” Ghislaine whispered to Taylor. “I reached out to his publicist.”
Taylor fought doing a dance at the thought of Bono sayingI am Veritas.Maybe he’d even wear the T-shirt. Hard to get any cooler than that. “Fingers crossed. Come on, let’s go.”
They rode in the buses for the nearly hour-long trip to downtown Watertown, where they encountered newly constructed roadblocks manned by Garda officers.That bastard, Taylor thought. They’d thought he’d be prepared for them, but it wasn’t going to make them back down. She turned back to look at Linc in the row behind her and Ghislaine. He was already conferring with their lawyers, who’d accompanied their group.
“Driver!” Linc called, rising swiftly and heading to the front. “Find a tourist bus drop-off. We’re going to have to walk. People, the lawyers have assured me we can’t be arrested for arriving in a public parking lot with T-shirts on. There’s more of us than them, and we have the press here. But if you’re worried about being arrested, please stay on the bus.”
A few people looked nervous, but everyone stood and filed off the bus.
“Stick together,” Taylor called, giving them encouraging smiles.
Linc and the lawyers led the charge, and she stayed in the back of the group since Ghislaine was taking photos from the front.
“It’s a stupid decision to try and stop us,” Carrick ground out as he dropped back to walk with her. “He’s going to look even more like a bully and tyrant than he already does.”
“I think he lives for that image in the mirror each morning.” She watched as he matched her stride. “Are you keeping an eye on me, Carrick?”
“I am at that, you being Liam’s and all,” he replied in that solid way of his.
Suddenly she swore she could smell oranges. She looked around, but Sorcha was nowhere to be found. Taylor couldn’t believe she actually missed the ghost. If she’d gotten in trouble for trying to help with Mary, they would need to do something for her. Only…who did you petition to ask leniency for a ghost? Taylor was banking on Liam knowing.
Liam. Her heart sped up.Thishad to work. She couldn’t contemplate how she’d feel if it didn’t.
The people in front of her stopped, and she sidled to the edge of their group to see Linc and the lawyers speaking with a Garda official. The camera crews Ghislaine had invited were circling the altercation as other reporters took photos. After a few minutes, they were walking again.
“Makes you wonder what they said,” Carrick offered as they walked together through the quaint Irish streets. The sound of seagulls crying overhead and the smell of the sea hinted they were closing in on the marina, and after turning right, they reached the parking lot.
Watertown’s much-visited bay was filled with luxury boats and the odd fishing trawler. On a sweeping green inlet to the right was the golf course on Malcolm’s new five-star resort. Only a fraction of his kingdom, but every king liked to see some portion of what he owned from his window.
They all spread out in front of the building. Malcolm would be able to see them from his office, presuming he was there, which she imagined he would be.
This time, Donal and Keegan O’Malley lifted Eoghan onto their shoulders so the crowd could see him. “All right, everyone. We know what we came to say.I am Veritas. Free Liam O’Hanlon.”
Saying the words herself made her light-headed in the best of ways. To admit it out loud was mind-blowing, like diving into the most delicious body of water imaginable and then floating in it as it rocked you gently in place. She let go and savored the sensation.
The crowd kept chanting with Eoghan, and Taylor watched as the large silhouette of Malcolm appeared in a window on one of the upper floors. He was smoking a cigar from the looks of it, the end glowing like caged fire.
Garda officers from Watertown appeared in front of the building, making Eoghan hold up his hand to silence the crowd. “Look at our officers of law and order standing in front of Malcolm Coveney’s office as if we are something to be feared. But that is not the case. What is to be feared is what is inside. Come on, everyone. Let them hear us.”
Eoghan began chanting again. The crowd joined in.
Taylor looked at her watch. The lawyers had agreed they should keep the protest to less than ten minutes. Any more and the Garda might be able to break them up on some crazy charge.
Eoghan must have gotten the signal because he lifted his hand again, making the crowd go silent. “Now turn around and show him your backs.”
Donal had explained it was a serious slight, and along with the message they were sending about Liam’s release, Taylor imagined it would paint a powerful picture for Malcolm.
“We expect Liam O’Hanlon released!” Eoghan shouted into the megaphone, the power of his voice scattering seagulls along the waterfront. “Today!”
With that, they lowered Eoghan to the ground. Taylor motioned for the crowd to follow her back to the buses. As she turned the corner, she nearly broke her rhythm. The original goons from her incident with Malcolm on the first day of her arrival were smoking against the brick building, Denis Walsh, the former head of the Caisleán Garda, among them.
“That’s a statement if I’ve ever seen it,” Carrick ground out. “They’re trying to intimidate you.”
She motioned to her fierce expression. “This is me looking intimidated.” Deciding not to poke the bear, she refrained from waving and calling out a snarky greeting. Everyone had agreed to stick to the plan to avoid any issues with the Garda or Malcolm’s goons.
By the time they reached the buses, Taylor was feeling relieved. Going to Watertown had been a gamble, and they hadn’t known how Malcolm would react even though they’d done their best to keep their plan under wraps. She stayed by the bus door and smiled at people as they reboarded, wondering if Irish people did high fives.
God, there were so many things she wanted to ask Liam. Oh, to spend time with him again… She loved him so much, her heart wanted to explode.
