Without a word, I placed the holdall down, kneeling to unzip it and grabbed the bolt cutter. To my surprise, Ronan took it from me and within moments, the padlock and chain was falling loose from the door. He hadn’t been exaggerating when he had told me he was comfortable doing all this and Seamus and I caught one another’s eyes.
“Ready?” I muttered. “Out the way, now.”
The group took a few steps back, giving me room as I took a run up. The door was old and badly in need of replacement. It didn’t hold up against the force of my shoulder against it, flying open, wood splintering and clattering onto the floor.
“Ladies first, like.” I gestured for everyone to enter ahead of me and one by one, the lads disappeared into the pub. With one last look around, ensuring we hadn’t already been spotted, I darted inside and tugged the door to, as much as I was able.
The lads didn’t hang around. We knew we had to be quick. It was only a matter of time before someone realised there was something wrong and phoned the police. We had to make sure the job was done and we were out of here before they arrived.
The noise was deafening. Glass smashed, wood snapped, fabric ripped… Anything that could be broken, was. Like a plague of locusts, we tore through the pub, wreaking havoc and destruction. It wasexhilarating.Adrenaline pumped through my veins, heart thundering, as we taught the owner a lesson aboutcrossing our sort. He’d certainly think twice before slinging slurs around again, that was for sure.
Amongst the chaos, Ronan found me, grabbing my shoulder to gain my attention.
“Y’wanna fill y’wee bag up, aye?” he shouted. “There’s a safe out back, we won’t be gettin’ inta that without some heavy-duty tools, but there looks to be some petty cash, computers, an’ all the booze, like.”
I nodded, glancing back at Seamus and Darragh. They were making short work of wrecking the place, hollering and laughing with enjoyment as they did so. They had this in hand.
I followed Ronan into the back office, a CCTV camera catching my eye immediately. I stared into it, holding up my middle finger for a moment before hurriedly helping Ronan stuff a backpack full of bags of change and a few notes. It was heavy as fuck, but a worthwhile haul. He snatched up a laptop and a tablet that had been left on a desk, jamming them inside the bag whilst I ripped up papers, pulled the drawers from the desk, and just generally destroyed whatever I could get my hands onto.
“C’mon,” Ronan muttered breathlessly. “We haven’t got much longer. Let’s grab some of the expensive booze an’ call it a night, aye?”
“Aye, quality idea.” As I trailed behind him once more, I was struck by Ronan’s cool professionalism. Unlike Seamus and Darragh, he’d not lost himself to the excitement of destruction and had remained focused, swiping anything that was worth taking. I felt foolish to have doubted him. Just as I’d come to consider him a trustworthy lover, he was fast proving himself to be a reliable friend and accomplice too.
The realisation struck me like a lightning bolt – shite, I was falling for him… hard.
With our bags stuffed full of whatever was worth stealing and the pub suitably smashed up, I rounded the lads up. Just as we barrelled out of the backdoor, the faint wail of police sirens drifted through the night. We legged it, feet slapping against the asphalt as we sprinted away from the scene of the crime. I led the group back to the van and after turfing the bags and tools into the back, we all hurriedlypiled inside. I turned the ignition and roared off into the night, speeding back to the halting site.
As soon as we were out of town, hurtling down country lanes, the lads whooped and cheered, jostling one another. We were all a bath of sweat, hyped up on adrenaline and success.
“That’ll teach that feckin’ cunt not ta mess wi’ us, aye?” Seamus crowed, roughly shaking me by the shoulder. “Looks like we’d made it out wi’ a wee haul as well, now.”
“Y’can thank Ronan f’that,” I replied. I caught Ronan’s eye and my stomach turned over. We each still had our mask in place, only half our faces visible, and yet there was something incredibly intense about his gaze.Fuck, I wanted him. The mixture of endorphins was deadly, and I gritted my teeth. I just had to be patient a little while longer…
When the van swung around into the compound, Seamus nudged me.
“‘Ey, drop me out. I’ll close up the gates, now. Don’t want any stray piggies findin’ their way inside, eh?”
He was talking about the police, and it was a damn good idea. The driveway to the halting site had a set of huge, steel palisade gates on it for that very reason. Travellers liked to keep outsiders out, and that applied tenfold to the authorities. I pulled the van to a stop and Seamus leapt out.
“I’d be catchin’ up wi’ ya in the morn, like,” he said before closing the door. “Feckin’ knackered. Gonna close her up an’ get ta me bed.”
“Aye, quality. Thanks f’ya help, fella,” I called to him and after a brief farewell he slammed the door shut and jogged off into the dark. As we drove on, I heard the metal hinges of the gate creaking and groaning behind us.
“So, what now, like?” Darragh asked.
“Get the shite we nicked outta sight an’ then lie low,” I replied, not taking my eyes off the road as I carefully pulled the van into my parking spot beside my gaff. I switched off the ignition. “No way what we’ve done tonight goes unnoticed. Expect trouble, aye?”
Darragh nodded. “Aye, fair. Y’need a hand gettin’ it all in?”
Before I could respond, Ronan interjected. “I’ll sort it. Get y’arse back home an’ let Ma know we’re alive, aye?”
I knew exactly why he’d suggested he be the one to help, seeing Darragh off home and I could have roared with satisfaction. Just knowing I wasn’t alone in being riled up by the excitement of the evening got my pulse racing.
“Ah, shite, I’d not even thought ‘bout Ma,” Darragh chuckled as we all clambered down from the van.
I was pent up, filled to the brim with anticipation and raw need. Darragh needed to get out of here, now. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and tapped out a quick text message to Declan.
JOHN-FRANCIS: It’s been taken care of.
