Chapters (155)

He took his time with Jermaine O’Shay, knowing that this night would be whispered about and remembered by all present. It was about credibility, about teaching people a lesson. It was about making sure the people you employed never forgot who they were dealing with. It was about making a point for the future. Even the Barker boys were impressed, Declan could see that. Like them, Michael Flynn actually enjoyed this.

Chapter Sixty-Seven

Josephine heard Michael come in and glanced at the alarm clock on her bedside table. It was four a.m. She had just fed the baby, and was settling herself into bed again. She waited a few minutes, expecting him to sneak into the bedroom as he usually did. But he didn’t come.

Then she heard the shower turn on in the main bathroom. He always used the shower in their en suite, and she wondered why he would suddenly need a shower in the middle of the night.

She got out of the bed, and walked silently out of the bedroom, and across to the bathroom. She slipped through the bathroom door, shutting it quietly behind her. It was a large room, with black marble tiles from floor to ceiling, and an antique bath that had cost a fortune. The walk-in shower was big enough for five people. She saw his clothes on the floor. They were soaked in blood. She instinctively reached for them and saw Michael watching her from the shower as she bundled them up quickly.

‘Bring the towels down when you’re finished, Michael.’

His eyes followed her as she left the room, before he turned back to finish his shower.

When he came downstairs she was burning everything in the large fireplace in his office. He passed her the towels he had used, and she threw them on to the blaze without a word. She didn’t want this mess in her home.

‘Is that everything?’

He nodded.

‘You’re safe, then?’

He pulled her into his arms, and held her tightly. ‘’Course I am, you silly mare.’ He kissed her hair. She was trembling.

‘We’ve got a baby now, remember.’

Michael smiled as he pulled her away from him gently, and looked deep into her eyes. ‘How could I ever forget? It’s all for you and her now.’

She smiled back brokenly. ‘I know that, Michael. I know.’

Book Three

He who brings trouble to his family will inherit only wind, and the fool will be servant to the wise

Proverbs 11:29

Chapter Sixty-Eight

2004

‘That is one lairy little mare, Josephine. Don’t you let her get away with it.’

Lana was furious, and Jessie Flynn knew her nana had a right to feel like that. She was heart-sorry for what she had said to her, but she had been goaded.