Page 21 of Guarding Salvation

“There will be a few others in the room as we make a lot of our decisions as a team but don’t be afraid or intimated. They’re good people on the inside—at least mostly.”

Aoife swallowed, trying to find her earlier confidence again at Snow’s words. What the hell did ‘mostly’ mean? Were these people criminals or some shady government organisation that were helping so she’d help them in return for taking her father down?

“Don’t panic, Aoife. If you get scared, just imagine them with no clothes on. It works for me when I’m nervous.”

Aoife couldn’t imagine Snow being scared of anything, she seemed small but mighty in every sense of the word. However, at this point, she’d take all the advice she could. Snow stopped at a door and knocked. It swung in and she walked through, motioning for Aoife to follow and then she didn’t have to imagine the man before her naked because she’d seen every glorious inch a week ago.

His sexy lips curled up into a smirk and he sat his ass against the edge of the table. “Irish, good to see you.”

“Bram?”

“One and the same, sweetheart.”

Chapter 9

Bein barely had time to dump his bag on his bed and stow the unopened letter his father had left him before a message came through from Bás to meet him in the conference room in ten minutes. Thank God he’d slept on the flight or he’d be shagged out from travelling all the way from his home in the Highlands to Hereford.

He knew he shouldn’t, and he’d agreed to one night, but after thinking about Irish all week he knew the first chance he got he was heading to the pub to see her. Hands in his pockets as he headed toward the conference room and feeling more refreshed, he was ready to catch up on what had been going on here while he was gone.

He opened the door and saw Lotus sitting beside Hurricane at the round table. Snow was sitting next to Titan, with Bás in his usual chair at the head of the room near the coffee pot.

“Welcome back, dickhead,” Lotus called, and he gave her the middle finger salute making her grin.

He laughed taking a seat beside Titan. “You know you missed me.”

“I didn’t but Titan did. He took your place in the ring.”

Bram side-eyed Titan with a wince at seeing his face. “Sorry, man.”

“It’s fine, but you owe me a beer.”

“What a coincidence, I’m heading there shortly.”

Bás held up his hand to halt the chatter and the room instantly went silent. They’d had a laugh but when Bás used a certain tone everyone knew it was time to work. “Nobody is going anywhere.”

“What’s going on, boss?”

“We had a call around midday today from the number we gave Bob for emergencies. It was from the barmaid at the pub. She said she was in trouble and needed help. We went through the normal process and called her back. Lotus and Hurricane were already in town and when they got to the scene, men were at her front door.”

Bram felt his gut tighten, a knot of anxiety making him feel nauseous. “Is she okay?”

“Yes, we picked her up and brought her here. Bob wasn’t so lucky. He suffered a broken cheek, four broken ribs, and is going to be black and blue for a while.”

“Fucking bastards! Do we know who did this?”

Bás shook his head. “No, but I had Watchdog run facial recognition and the girl going by the name Debbie is actually Aoife Doyle. She’s the only daughter of the Irish mafia boss, Jimmy Doyle.”

It all made sense now, the accent, the fake name, the awareness, and the fear. Doyle had a reputation as a mean son-of-a-bitch, who’d sell his own grandmother if it got him a deal.

Titan was pursing his lips, his association with gangs putting him on the radar with a few mob bosses. “Doyle is volatile and ruthless. He won’t stop until he has her back.”

“He isn’t fucking getting her back,” Bram stated hotly, bringing the focus to him.

“Something you’d like to share, Bein?”

He glared at Bás not wanting to tell him he’d slept with her but knowing honesty was the most prized commodity in this team and the one thing Bás wouldn’t tolerate was lying or withholding information. “I slept with her.”

Bás drummed his fingers lightly on the table. “I see. Well, in that case, you won’t be involved in the vote to decide if we take this job on or not.”