Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 103878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 519(@200wpm)___ 416(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 519(@200wpm)___ 416(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
“These are the best you’ll ever have,” she says with a wink. “Mam’s got a mate in Scotland who keeps us well stocked.”
I smile back at her. “They're delicious.”
“Alright, so you have to understand,” Erin says. She's a studious-looking girl who seems a bit, how do I say it, aloof from the others. She doesn't sit with them, like she prefers to think by herself. She's older than I am by quite a few years, and I'm very curious about her history. “I do the bookkeeping for the McCarthys. I also pay whatever debts we have, and Crowning has been saying for a number of years that we owe him money we don't. I've proven it to him on paper, but he is… how do I say this… He’s a fucking gobshite.”
Caitlin spits out her tea. “Oh god, Erin, I do love it when you curse.”
Erin smiles and bites her lip. “He's obviously lying. He’s obviously cooked the books, and yet he's trying to pull a power move on us. I don't know, there's more I need to look into,” she says. “I also happen to know for a fact that everything Ashland told you about the McCarthy family paying bills is absolutely true. I signed the checks myself.”
“Right, I know. It’s just strange.” I take another sip of tea to calm my rising nerves. I wish there was something stronger in it. “I thought we weren't as well-off as we were for a very long time.”
Caitlin nods. “I'm never one to bad-talk family, lass. But that's a power move, isn't it?”
“What's that?” I ask, nibbling a corner of another piece of shortbread.
“Children thinking their family is financially unstable. That gives a parent power and control, doesn't it? Definitely something to look into,” she says with a nod to Erin.
Ashland’s silhouette suddenly fills the doorway.
“There y’are,” he says. He looks a bit shy as he shoves his hands in his pockets. “Getting on then?”
“Oh, go on.” Caitlin waves him off. “Go do your manly things. We’re having a bit of a jaw here. I'm sure Seamus has much to talk to you about, Ashland,” she says teasingly.
“Aye,” he says. “We've sorted things for now. I'd like to see Bianca alone for a bit.”
“Fair enough,” Caitlin says, standing. “Seamus had the second room to the right on the third floor prepared for you this morning.”
Ashland's brow furrows. “Second to the right on the third floor?”
“It's the safest one in the house,” Caitlin says quietly. “The one furthest back from any line of…” She clears her throat. “Line of fire or whatnot. He says that would be the best one because if anything were to happen and Bianca were in a difficult position, it would be an easy matter for her to slip into the secure room on the third floor, right?”
“Aye,” Ashland says. “It won't come down to that.”
“Ashland, I know you're going to do everything in your power, but I also know that Crowning has been at us for quite some time. Do you remember right before Cavin and Erin were married?” she says. “Remember what happened to the warehouse and how we discovered that was Crowning's doing?”
Ashland nods. “Aye.”
“He's been after us ever since. He doesn't like that we've risen in power. Crowning fancies himself the Irish mafia in Ballyhock. Unfortunately for him, we think otherwise. Don’t we?”
Ashland nods. “Right.”
“Now, enough talk for now. Erin, why don't you do what you need to? Report back to us, love, will you?” Caitlin says, and I get the distinct impression that, though she's kind and has a sweetness about her‚ this woman is hard as nails, and everybody in this room respects her for it. “We'd like to chat a little more with her, Ashland. Can you give us a few minutes?”
“Aye,” he says reluctantly, crossing the space between us. And without further ado, he plucks me out of the chair, sits down heavily, and draws me onto his lap, as if I weigh nothing at all.
Bronwyn doesn't even bother to hide her giggle. Kyla watches on amusedly. Erin's busy researching something on her phone, and Caitlin gives me a broad wink.
“Atta boy,” she says. “That's what I like to see.”
I nestle myself against Ashland's sturdy thighs, his thick, warm arms banded around me.
“What is it we're looking up, Erin?”
“Well, you know I've been keeping the books since Cavin and I have been married, right?”
“Aye,” Ashland says.
“And I verified for a fact that we have been giving Francesca White significant amounts of money over the past several years, seeing as her husband died in the line of duty for us, right?”
“Aye,” Ashland says again, wary.
“But the question is,” Erin says, “where does Crowning come in on this? How does Francesca White stand to benefit from a union between her daughter and Marcus Crowning? That, I don't understand.”