Page 13 of Beer & Broomsticks

“You’ve reached Eoin. I’m workin’.”

Bridget snorted a laugh. Blunt and to the point he was. Her brother, the artist. And a damned fine one at that. She and Cian had not bothered him with their worries over finances in the past, agreeing to only turn to Eoin and ask for a loan as a last resort. Her little brother had enough hangers-on and sycophants trying to gain favor due to his fame.

“Call me, Brother. There’s something you need to be knowing, and soon.”

She disconnected and scrolled to find Dubheasa’s number in her favorites. If Eoin was truly working and not shagging some New York model or sleeping the morning away, she’d not hear from him for a time. But their sister might be able to stop by his studio on her way to work to warn him.

Dubheasa picked up on the third ring, annoyance heavy in her tone. “What ya have to say better be important at this hour. Is everything all right?”

“No one’s dead if that’s what you’re askin’,” Bridget replied dryly. “But I’ve a tale to tell, and I need your full attention.”

She gave a brief explanation of the events surrounding Moira and Seamus’s attack, their plan to steal the O’Malley power once and for all, and how their cousin Ronan had turned against them to help Roisin and Aeden in the end. “Ruairí tells me Loman O’Connor is on the loose. The man is vile,” she said.

Dubheasa, being the perceptive person she was, picked up on the one thing Bridget had hoped she wouldn’t. “Ruairí? As in your neighbor Ruairí who you refuse to speak to? That Ruairí?”

“Feck off. And yes, that Ruairí.”

Dubheasa laughed. “He’s fit. I’d shag him if you weren’t so enamored with him.”

“I’m not!”

“Pfft. Scarlet is your mam for all the lies that pour out of your mouth!” Silence followed the statement, and when she spoke again, she turned serious. “I miss you, Bridg. I miss this.”

“We O’Malley women always had to stick together, if only to best our knucklehead brothers.”

“What do you think I should do? Come home? Get Eoin and run?”

Bridget gave it a moment’s thought. “I’d love to have you all here and safe, but I suppose if you are both alert and pay attention to your surroundings, it’ll do. Don’t trust anyone new and stick close to Eoin, yeah?”

“Sure, and I can do that. But it’ll be harder to make him mind.”

“I know. As soon as I discover anything, I’ll pass it along. I’ll also send along the number for GiGi, and you can call her if you have trouble.”

They talked for a few more minutes, and Bridget listened in amusement to Dubheasa’s horror stories about working in the IT department at Lamda Unlimited. “And now there’s some new fecker I’ve got to show around. Full of himself, he is. He’s some consultant or other.”

“Sounds like he’s gotten under your skin. What’s he look like? Is he fit?”

“Tall, broad shoulders, and yeah, he’s fit something fierce. He wears his hair a bit long, but I’ll admit to liking it.” Dubheasa sighed. “And his eyes… I’ve never seen their like. Silver in certain light, and I feel he can see through to my deepest desires—one of which is him.” She laughed.

“You’re halfway to fallin’ in love, to be sure,” Bridget teased.

“Ack! No! It’s lust, all the same. I think part of the attraction is that he reminds me of home. His accent… It makes me homesick, Bridg.”

“Accent?” The hairs on the back of Bridget’s neck stood at attention. “He’s fromÉire?”

“Aye. But not our village. He’s a Dubliner, or so he says.”

People traveled to America from all over the world, and Bridget knew her siblings weren’t the only two from Ireland to settle in New York. Still, she didn’t like the coincidence or the timing. “If you can send me a picture of the man, do it. But be careful either way, yeah?”

“Promise.”

They said their goodbyes, and Bridget experienced a deep wave of sadness. She missed her younger siblings. Since their da had disappeared and was presumed dead, their mam had turned useless, Bridget—their primary caregiver—had practically raised them. Her desire to hold them close was what mother’s all over the world must feel when their children grew up and moved away. And ever since the initial attack against their brother Cian had happened a few months ago, she’d been worried in a way she’d never been. Continually fretting over everyone’s safety. Goddess help anyone who hurt her family, though. They’d not live to see another day if she got ahold of them.

CHAPTER6

“I’ve a plan.”

Roisin glanced up from polishing the nightstand. “Sure, and you always do, Bridg. What’s it to be this time?”

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