Tiernan A Dark Irish Mafia Romance - Jane Henry Page 0,1

again, but the fucker keeps stride beside me.

“There’s thirty k on the table, Hurston, win or lose.”

Jesus fucking Christ.

As a clan member, I’m financially set for life, but old habits die hard. I was raised in abject poverty until the McCarthy Clan took me and my siblings in when I was a sixteen-year-old lad. Sixteen years having to fight for your food and a roof over your head either makes or breaks you, and you don’t forget what it’s like. I well remember my belly gnawing with hunger, the cold draft of wind that seemed to pierce straight through the thin walls of my childhood home, the ratty clothes I wore that other kids poked fun at.

There was never anything extra, and even the basic necessities were hard won. So though I’m appreciative of the money I’ve earned as a Clan member, one could say I like to… supplement my income.

I don’t hide it from Keenan. The man’s like a father to me, and his disapproval would hurt worse than any fucking beating I could take. It’s partly why he sends me on trips and jobs, and it was with great reluctance he took me out of the ring.

“Lot of feckin’ money,” I mutter, quickening my pace so I wind Danny.

He wheezes beside me but doesn’t slacken his pace. Motherfucker.

“Tis,” he agrees. “And the winner gets his pick of the ladies as well.”

I look at him sharply. “Come again?”

He grins his toothy grin and nods, an odd look while he’s running his arse off beside me.

“Half a dozen of Miss Vivian’s finest have donated their services, win or lose.”

I shake my head.

“I’m supposed to be enticed by that?”

I don’t admit I fucking am. The women are gorgeous, and it’s been a long damn time since I’ve had a woman. I haven’t had anyone on the regular since I came back from Boston several years back. The idea of earning thirty thousand euros and a woman for a night with no strings attached fucking appeals.

I run harder, trying to lose him, but he doesn’t lag. We run past Holy Family Church and the cemetery. Father Finn’s got his watering can out on the front lawn. He’s walking more slowly these days, stooped with both age and the weight of the world on his shoulders, but he manages a smile and wave to me.

We run past the Armory and Cold Stone Castle, and still, Danny’s yapping on about why this one little fight is worth my time.

Christ, how I miss being in the ring. I miss the excitement, the adrenaline rush, the sense of victory when I win a fight. I train hard at the gym and I train well, so I still get the burn of lifting and the high of a run, but it’s like a stage performer belting her heart out in the shower. She’s the only one who hears.

He must sense weakness, for he comes in for the kill.

“Keenan will let you,” he says, “And now that Cormac’s co-chief, you could easily persuade him as well.”

How’d he fucking know it was Keenan that ended my fighting. Furthermore, how does he know Cormac is co-chief?

I give him a side-eye, but he only gives me his toothy grin.

“Aw, come off it, Hurston,” he says. “Every damn citizen of Ballyhock knows the workings of the Clan.”

The hell they do. I’d bet my left bollox they don’t know a fucking fraction.

I circle back to the mansion. It looms ahead of us, large and dominating on the horizon. Radiant streams of sun hit the windows, making them gleam like beacons in the early morning quiet.

“Talk to Keenan,” Danny says with a parting salute. “You’ve got my number.”

“Fuck off.”

“Good day to you, too,” he says with a cackle, and he’s off, gripping his side and wheezing. I can’t help but smile. Good. Hope he collapses, the motherfucker.

I slow when I approach the gates to the McCarthy home.

I’ve only lived here for two years, but moving in here has changed everything.

The McCarthy home, a large, sprawling mansion, overlooks the Irish Sea and all of Ballyhock. It’s surrounded by a greenhouse, a wooden swing set and fort for the younger children at the back, and a beautiful garden tended by Maeve, the McCarthy family matriarch.

The huge estate boasts over twenty bedrooms thanks to new renovations, five reception rooms, one massive kitchen, a finished basement with our workout rooms, a library, and private interrogation rooms.

I go in the side entrance to the workout room in the basement,