Page 119 of Dublin Beast

He drops into the chair at the head of the table and knocks his knuckles against the wooden surface. “All right, lads. Back to it.”

Sean and Brenny join us, a waft of sweet-smelling smoke following them. I hold out my hand and my twin passes me his cigarette. I take a deep draw and let Finn’s mixologist genius take hold. “Fuck. This is nice, Finn.”

He dips his chin. “One of my best, I think.”

Sean grins. “You have a gift, Finny.”

Tag extends his reach, and I pass the Turkish bliss along. We’re all in for the night, so why not take the edge off? Tag takes his turn and then rests his elbows on the table, fingers steepled. “Where are we with the cleanup of the safe house?”

Sean takes that one. “The place has been scoured and bleached by our best forensic cleaners. The bodies have been incinerated and their ashes spread in the Liffey, and the gun was melted down and disposed of.”

“And the bullets? Are they accounted for?”

“Harper remembered firing two at close range when they fought in the bedroom. Those were accounted for. She shot off another two warning shots into the night air while on the run. Those are likely a lost cause.”

I’m not worried. “Without the gun that fired them and no physical evidence tying them to Eddie, even if they are found, it won’t come back on her.”

Tag nods. “Agreed. As long as Harper doesn’t let her conscience get the better of her and stir things up, this should be laid to rest.”

Thank fuck. “I’ll make sure she understands the way things need to be.”

“What about her vendetta with the sex ring?” Sean asks. “That will piss James Mason off enough to reconsider his stance on walking away.”

Tag’s mouth quirks up to one side in a knowing smirk. “Hey, Bryan. What are the odds your girl drops her quest to take down the Mason sex ring?”

I grunt. “About a billion to one.”

Tag shrugs. “That’s what I thought. I’m not keen on being tied to an assault on another family’s business, but I also think what she’s doing is both justified and necessary.”

“Maybe we can find a way to get it shut down and it not come from us?” Brenny says.

“Like an anonymous tip?” Finn asks.

Brenny tilts his head back and forth, thinking. “Leave that with me. I have an idea but I need to talk to someone first.”

Tag nods. “Grand. Now, where are we on confirming the information Carl gave us during his come to Jesus Brute and Beast moment?”

I scoff. “Granted, I lost my temper and killed my guy but it motivated the other piece of shit to cooperate. So, was it really so bad?”

Brenny chuckles beside me.

Tag gives me a droll stare. “Aye, it was. Bodies are a complication I prefer we try to avoid.”

“Don’t look so sad, brother.” Brenny pats me on the shoulder. “If we behave, we’ll still get to beat the shit out of them. Won’t we, T? You won’t ground us and take away our fun, will you? Pain is a persuasive language.”

Tag rolls his eyes. “You two are a pain in my arse. Finny, tell them what you’ve found so far.”

Finn finishes typing and turns his laptop around to show us a map of Northside. “Turns out Billy Gravely is as ambitious as Mad Mattie was before him. He’s laying groundwork in three districts—buying up industrial properties through a couple of shell corporations in our territory.”

“What for? Laundering? Drugs? Women? What’s his game?”

“I don’t give a flying fuck what for,” Tag says. “Once Finn confirms the addresses and we’re damned sure Gravely is behind them, I want them brought to the ground. Burn them or blow them up, I don’t care, but that fucker won’t get a foothold in our territory.”

I lift my gaze from the map to our little brother. “What do you need from us, Finny?”

“I’m putting together a list of properties. You guys will need to do the leg work, checking them out. If Tag wants them destroyed, we’ll have to watch them and figure out if they’re empty or not.”

Sean frowns. “If they’re using them to funnel women through our territory, we don’t want collateral damage.”

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