Page 96 of Dublin Devil
Bryan shifts forward in his seat. “It’s crazy. Your mother got frozen out of the business after all these years by Mattie’s side. Wow, she must be pissed.”
Piper grunts and wraps her arms across her chest. “Women had no value in business in my father’s mind. He made that very clear.”
“Your father was wrong about that,” Laine says. “I’ve dealt with misogynistic alpha-holes for the past decade, Piper. That kind of thinking is their shortcoming, not ours. It’s a weakness I’ve enjoyed exploiting many times.”
Tag’s scowl softens when he looks at his fiancé. “I don’t know how Niall feels, but Billy shared that sentiment with Mattie. Maybe it’ll be something we’ll be able to exploit in time.”
Piper doesn’t look convinced. “Niall isn’t as brash as our father or Billy, but he was groomed by Da for a long time. He never questioned the way Da did things like Darcy did. But Billy Gravely? He’s a wildcard, unpredictable and violent. The prospect of him having any significant power is terrifying.”
Tag leans forward, his fingers steepled in front of him. “How Niall and Billy work together will dictate a lot going forward.”
“It could work to our advantage,” Brendan says. “If there’s a power struggle and the two of them are locked down in a pissing match for control, they might implode.”
“Billy won’t let that happen.” Piper rubs her arms as if warding off a chill. “Billy has never respected my brothers. Declan could get him to stand down, but he’ll run right over Niall and Darcy. If they stand up to him, I wouldn’t be surprised if he simply killed them to eliminate the conflict.”
“Then let the implosion begin,” Brendan says.
I throw him a scowl. “Brenny. They’re still her brothers for fuck’s sake. A little compassion would go a long way here.”
Brenny’s amusement dissolves, and he flashes Piper a look of apology. “My bad. Sorry.”
I rub the back of my neck, feeling the weight of the weeks and months to come. With Billy Gravely at the helm, even partially, the fragile peace Tag’s managed to maintain feels more tenuous than ever.
“Any way you look at it, it’s a clusterfuck.” I pull Piper against my chest, the warmth of her against me a balm I’m becoming addicted to. “With Billy in a position of power, things will get bloody. It seems Mad Mattie is screwing us over, even from the grave.”
“Which was likely part of the reason he did it.” Piper looks up at me. “I’m sorry.”
I hug her closer and kiss the top of her head. “There’s nothing for you to apologize for, Piper. None of this is on you. We’ll figure it out. We always do.”
The room falls silent, each of us lost in our thoughts, strategizing for what comes next.
EPILOGUE
Piper
As dawn creeps through the curtains, Sean’s bedroom—ourbedroom—is cast in a soft glow. I wake, cocooned in dreamy warmth, nestled in the tattooed arms of my Black Knight.
He’s home.
After the reading of my father’s will, he said he had something that needed to be taken care of, and he’d be out of the country for a few days.
He didn’t tell me where he was going, and I didn’t ask. I know how to skirt the dangers of our families and am relieved that at least for now, there have been no new threats coming at us from south of the river.
He’s sleeping next to me, his features softened by rest, the usual stern intensity that marks his expression replaced by a rare, unguarded peacefulness.
I study the chiseled beauty of his face, following the line of the scar that mars his cheek and lip. It’s a silent testament to theviolence of the life he’s led—a life vastly different from my own, yet intricately entwined.
How many times did I glimpse Sean over the years at public events or, on the rare occasions, when Cormack Quinn met with my father?
Each encounter left me more fascinated by the tattooed man, who seemed shut off and unreachable. He has always carried the weight of the world on his shoulders, a silent warrior in a world of chaos.
Yet, when we’re together, he keeps the chaos of mafia life at bay. He was right when he told me we couldn’t be together because I had the wrong last name.
I was a McGuire.
That association carried too much weight, too much history, and too much bad blood. But I’m not a McGuire any longer. I’ve finally broken free of the shackle of my father and his control.
When Sean killed my father to save me, all ties to my old life were severed at last.