Daughter?
I didn’t allow my surprise to show as I shifted my shoulders into a shrug. “Chapel is sacred. Women shouldn’t be in here, is all. You can run your chapel how you please.”
Alasdair looked like the cat that got the cream, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he knew she was associated with us. Why the hell didn’t I know she was his goddamn daughter?
“He’s right, darlin’, off you go. We’ll talk later.”
She moved out of the room and closed the door behind her. My chest was tight, and my heart hammered so loudly that I could scarcely hear over the blood rushing through my veins.
“Let’s get down to it.”
We sat at the end of the table. Viper took the lead, probably reading that my head was very much not in the game right now.
“We come asking for a pact to be made,” Viper began. “Our guns aren’t making it past the border. We want to have our guns ferried through to Dublin, where we can take possession of them. In return, we can help you with your routes from Dublin through to Limerick.”
“An intriguing premise, but we have no issues running our drugs at present.”
“Not yet, but you’re encroaching on the O’s territory,” Viper added. “Which means you will run into problems eventually. It’s not like they don’t know what you’re doing, Alasdair. We happen to be on good terms with them, and we can work something out for you.”
“And the Kings are fine with us using Dublin?” he asked.
“They are flexible to our agreements, yes,” Viper told him.
“You’ve mended the bridge between the Kings of Dublin and the O’Farrell’s. That’s not an easy task. I have to give you credit for that.”
“They’re men who appreciate loyalty,” I told him.
“And the Ghost Rebels are nothing, if not loyal.”
It was meant to be a dig, possibly to incite us into duking it out, but Viper had already told me what was at stake. Seeing Shona had shaken me to my core, and to learn who she was had been worse, but I was still here for my club and I would do my job.
“What do you say?” Viper pushed. “Put it to your club. We’ll stay in town. Call us when you want to discuss it.”
“No need,” Alasdair waved his hand in the air. “This isn’t a democracy. My men do as I say, when I say. We have a deal. We’ll aid in your guns, and you will run the drugs through for us from Dublin.”
“No, you will run that yourself,” I spat. “We will help with passage.”
Alasdair smirked. “Savage, isn’t it?”
I dipped my head to signal that I was.
“I’ve heard of your reputation for violence,” he said. “It’s quite the reputation.”
“Your point?” I asked. Alasdair had quite the reputation himself, and it wasn’t in any light I’d want around our club or Shona. Fuck her being his daughter. I didn’t want her anywhere near this asshole.
“No point, a mere understanding that I respect that kind of attitude,” he said. “It would be handy to have someone of your…persuasion to have on hand should I need it.”
“I’m loyal to the Rebels,” I said, holding my sneer back.
“It’s always good to keep your options open,” he said with a smile that made me want to launch across the table and punch him.
“We good?”
“Make sure you guys head out of town fast,” Alasdair said. “I don’t want my friends to think I’m consorting with rival MCs.”
We both stood and left the room. As I walked out, I saw the guy I semi recognised talking to Shona, and wondered how I knew him. She caught my eye and offered a small smile. That smile did things to my chest that I wasn’t sure about. I’d hated her and now all I wanted to do was throw her over my shoulder, put her on the back of my bike and ride out of Belfast before anything bad could happen.
I turned my head without giving her a response and headed outside with Viper. My heart was beating painfully hard in my chest.
