The Real Deal: A Dublin Nights Novel

by Sahin, Brittney

  Adam staggered back, and his gaze dropped to the floor. He raked both hands through his hair, then gripped the back of his neck.

  I glimpsed Holly to see a look of shock on her face at my words.

  “I’m the reason you’re alive right now.” I turned away, unable to look at them, especially the woman who made me feel far too much, and at the moment, it was all pain. “Now leave. And don’t mention The Alliance to anyone, especially not to the Garda, or I won’t be able to keep you safe.”

  “We don’t need your protection,” Adam hissed.

  “And if you hadn’t have gotten mixed up with a crime boss,” I began, my tone dropping lower, “maybe you wouldn’t.” I pivoted to face him. “But it’s too fecking late.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Dublin, Ireland - Two Years Ago

  Sebastian

  “I hate being in this goddamn place.” I glimpsed Luca out of the corner of my eye as I gripped the railing on the second level of Donovan Hannigan’s fight club.

  “Maybe you’d rather be in the ring, I know I would.” Luca smirked and looked back to the cage where two fighters were squaring off.

  We were in a closed-down industrial building. People of all socioeconomic statuses were at the club, but the most well-off spectators were on the second floor, which offered the best view and more space compared to the cramped and crowded area below.

  I wasn’t sure how the hell Donovan had managed to get Adam McGregor, a billionaire businessman, to fight in his ring, but there he was going up against Frankie Donahue. From what I’d heard, neither had ever lost a fight.

  Maybe Adam was like me and needed to get his rush from sources other than money and power. I was a privileged dick for saying money wasn’t satisfying anymore, especially since I’d grown up poor. You’d think I would be more grateful, but even power didn’t do much for me at this point.

  When I took over as leader of The League in Ireland after Alessia died, I’d been given everything a man could want, but I still felt dead inside.

  With Alessia gone, none of it mattered. Even after I’d found the man responsible for her death last year, nothing could assuage my guilt over her loss.

  The Alliance hadn’t been culpable, but that didn’t change my hate for the criminal organization. They would always be the enemy. And The Alliance was the reason I was in this fight club right now. Drake Anderson needed a fucking favor. He had concerns his brother-in-law might be in trouble.

  I wanted to bulldoze this building and everything connected with Donovan. He was the reason Alessia had discovered I’d never left The League. That night outside Les Fleurs changed everything, and the chain of events that followed had led to her death.

  “Well, I think all of this fighting stuff is hot.” My date sighed and tightened her grip around my arm. Luca had insisted on making the arrangements for the night. Twin sisters, both too skinny and too blonde. Neither remotely my type.

  “I could take down anyone who stepped into that cage with me,” Luca bragged, his date hanging all over him.

  “We’re not here to fight, or to watch the fight,” I reminded Luca in case he got any damn ideas. We were there on business.

  “Damn,” Luca said a moment later. “McGregor’s losing.”

  “Knowing Donovan, he’s probably forcing him to throw the fight.” I dragged my gaze in search of the crime boss, but the sight of Holly McGregor approaching the cage, alongside another woman, caught my attention instead.

  My eyes snapped closed for a second as the memory of the night I first saw Holly invaded my thoughts, the night Alessia and I had purchased the club.

  “Ça va, mon frère?” Luca gripped my shoulder. I opened my eyes and focused on her again, ignoring his question.

  The woman was exquisite. So damn beautiful. Elle était belle. Still as angelic looking as ever. Maybe my dark soul craved her light?

  “Is that Adam’s sister? Hannah? No, Holly, right? Who’s the woman with her?” Luca asked.

  I shouldn’t go to her no matter how much I wanted to. I’d sooner die than pull another innocent woman into my world.

  “Putain de merde! Adam just won,” Luca announced. I hadn’t noticed, too captivated by Holly’s presence.

  “Donovan Hannigan is a lying, thieving sack of shite,” Adam said a moment later. He pointed to the other side of the second-floor balcony, but Donovan wasn’t there. “Looks like Donovan has already taken off—and with all of your money.”

  The murmur of angry voices shot around the room on both levels.

  “I better find where Hannigan took off to,” Luca said.

  “Keep him in your sights when you do.” Luca nodded and disappeared into the crowd. I gripped the railing again as Adam continued to speak. My heart pumped harder with each ounce of truth he revealed about Donovan.

  Adam was calling out the crime boss for the piece of shit that he was. Did he have any idea of the consequences of such an action? He most likely had no clue Donovan was protected by The Alliance. Hell, it was doubtful a man like Adam even knew The Alliance existed.

  “You ready to go? All this fighting turns me on.” My date tugged at my arm, but I ignored her, too invested in Adam’s words.

  When he finished denouncing Donovan, the audience slowly dispersed, and I had a better view of Holly as she and the other woman waited for Adam to join them. If Holly were to raise her eyes, she’d see me looking at her. She didn’t know my name. Not yet, at least. I mostly stuck to the shadows when I was in town. But she’d learn it soon, and she’d come to fear me as everyone else did.

  “Come on, baby.” More pulling on my arm.

  “No,” I snapped, not losing sight of Holly.

  “Baby, it’s only a party if it’s with you. Come on, Luca left. You can have us both to yourself.”

  “Not interested,” I snarled, whirling to face her. She staggered back, no doubt terrified of the fierce look on my face. Those looks came naturally to me now.

  The women quickly took off after that. I pivoted to look over the railing at the McGregors, reaching into my pocket for my mobile in the process.

  Holly’s gaze floated up as if she could feel my eyes on her, and I stepped back out of sight.

  “I’m following Hannigan now,” Luca said once the line connected. “He left the club. What do you want me to do?”

  “Stay on him. McGregor just made his family a target. The Alliance will be out for blood.”

  “And?”

  “Nothing happens to them.” I kept my eyes steady on Holly. “Put the word out there—let everyone know that the McGregors are now under my protection.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Present Day

  Holly

  “You aren’t seriously defending that man, are you?” Sean threw his hands between us. I patted the air, motioning for him to keep his voice down. We were in the living room of Cole’s hotel suite, and he was asleep in his bedroom.

  He’d refused to go to the hospital to make sure he didn’t have any fractures. Stubborn, like my brothers.

  “I don’t know what to think,” I replied softly.

  “You’re letting your feelings for the man cloud your judgment.”

  How could I not? “I think he may be telling the truth.”

  Sean dropped onto the couch, a similar setup to Sebastian’s hotel suite: bar, armchairs, and a couch off to the side of a kitchen area.

  Sebastian in league with an evil organization? No, I didn’t buy it. “Because”—I glanced at the closed door of the second bedroom where Adam was on the mobile with Anna—“he didn’t want Donovan coming after us. You weren’t at his fight two years ago. You didn’t hear what Adam said about Donovan that night.” I’d felt someone watching me from the second level that night, and when I’d turned to look, no one was there. I’d bet my inheritance it’d been Sebastian in the shadows.

  “Why would Renaud give a damn about us? Protect us?”

  I didn’t know how to answer that, so I kept
my mouth shut.

  “And what about the Limerick deal? Anderson and this Alliance group are behind that, which means Renaud must be connected with them. He joined our company to manipulate us.”

  “He was probably—”

  “Don’t say it.” He looked up at me. The lights were dim, but the disappointment was still obvious in the lines of his face and in his eyes. “Please, just don’t.”

  Was I letting my feelings for Sebastian cloud my judgment of him?

  I’d drunk myself to sleep Thursday night after Harrison and Cole dropped their bombshells.

  I’d missed work today to keep an eye on my cousin, to make sure he didn’t do anything crazy if Sebastian returned. But since Sebastian hadn’t answered any of my voicemails or texts, I hadn’t even known he’d come back from Italy until Cole took off for the club.

  But tonight? After witnessing Adam punch Sebastian, and Sebastian standing there taking it all . . . I’d probably cry myself to sleep. Every swing of Adam’s fist was as if he’d grabbed hold of my heart and squeezed.

  Maybe Sebastian had only been fighting Cole in self-defense, but with my presence, he’d refused to do the same with Adam.

  And there went my thoughts again, rallying around the idea he was a good man, no matter what anyone said, including himself.

  “I want you to stay at my place until we get this thing resolved,” Sean continued, but it wasn’t a request.

  “Someone should stay with Cole to make sure he doesn’t go after Sebastian. Next time, he could end up in the hospital.”

  “I’ll stay the night. And then he can bunk with me at my place tomorrow,” Adam said, and I hadn’t even heard the bedroom door open. “But Sean’s right, you shouldn’t be all the way out at your place alone.”

  “I don’t need you to protect me from Sebastian.” Their insinuation he might hurt me was ridiculous.

  “He’s dangerous,” Adam snapped out in a low voice.

  “We should go to the Garda.” Sean stood.

  “You saw how the Garda walked out of the club tonight without even challenging Renaud. They must be in his pocket.” Adam pressed his back to the wall of windows overlooking the city, his gaze moving back and forth where I sat in the armchair and where Sean now stood in front of the couch. “We need to let MI6, or whoever is investigating The Alliance, handle this.”

  “That could take months. Years. Who knows how long?” Sean shook his head. “Plus, it looks as though they haven’t had any luck.”

  “And what, we’re supposed to single-handedly take down a massive criminal network?” I scoffed.

  “All I know is that Cole wants Sebastian dead. He won’t go back to New York as long as Renaud is free,” Sean said on a sigh.

  “Which is why Adam will keep an eye on him at his place.” I’d never seen Cole so upset. So ready to commit murder. I didn’t think he’d actually go through with it, but then again, I’d also held a gun to a teenage boy and threatened to kill him for ever thinking he could touch me without permission. Was there a killer in all of us?

  Perhaps crying myself to sleep would have to wait. I needed to face him, to talk to him like I’d wanted to after learning the news from Harrison yesterday.

  Maybe Sebastian had indeed manipulated me. Or perhaps we were missing key pieces to this puzzle and just didn’t know it yet. I didn’t have a bloody clue, and I wouldn’t if I didn’t confront him.

  “We need to call an emergency vote on Monday and get him removed from the board.” Adam’s statement had me standing even though my knees were wobbly once on foot.

  “And tell them what?” Sean faced him. “The truth could be dangerous.”

  “There is one way,” I spoke up. “The Limerick deal. He promised he’ll be gone after the land is sold. I’m presenting a new deal to Paulson Incorporated next week, one that doesn’t involve the sale of our land. If he accepts, Sebastian will leave us alone.”

  “Have you forgotten who actually owns Paulson?” Adam pushed away from the windows and came closer to me. “No way am I going to let you talk to Drake Anderson. Donovan was his brother-in-law, remember?”

  “First of all, you left the company, so the decision is not up to you.” I turned Sean’s way. “And secondly, the meeting isn’t with Anderson himself. The shell company has a CEO.”

  “We can’t trust Sebastian will keep his word and leave us alone.” And that was a no from Sean, but . . .

  “Then if he refuses to leave, we’ll have to come up with a plan to have the board vote him off,” I proposed, trying to remain confident despite everything that’d gone down tonight.

  “If anything happens to you—”

  “I know,” I interrupted Adam. “I love you both.” My gaze went back and forth between them.

  My brothers wouldn’t hesitate to retaliate against anyone who hurt me, and that included killing if it came to it. I had no doubt Sebastian put down whoever murdered his sister.

  And the crazy thing?

  I wasn’t so sure if I could blame him for it.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Holly

  It was late, but here I was, in the lobby of Sebastian’s hotel waiting for the lift. I had no idea if Sebastian was even there, but I had to talk to him one-on-one to get answers.

  When the lift doors slid open, I nearly bumped into Luca.

  “Holly.” He remained inside instead of exiting as I entered.

  I’d never given him my name when we’d met, but clearly, he knew me.

  “You sure you want to go see him right now?” He extended his arm to prevent the doors from closing, cocked his head, and raked his eyes over my body. The covetous way he looked at me had a chill whipping down my spine.

  I didn’t like him, that was for damn sure.

  “Were you just with him?” I moved to the back, instinctively putting space between us as he pulled his hand away from the doors, allowing them to close. Shit. I shouldn’t have trapped myself in there.

  “He wouldn’t let me inside, so I’m betting he’ll send you away as well.” He closed one eye for a moment, a predatory smile crossed his lips. “Or maybe not. Maybe you’re exactly what he needs.”

  I swallowed as his gaze traveled over my body as if he were imagining what I was wearing beneath the coat.

  “You know, Sebastian used to need a good fuck after beating someone up. Usually with more than one woman.” He casually blocked the panel of buttons with his back, and I sucked in a sharp breath, my pulse quickening.

  “Let me out.” My words fell flat as fear took over.

  He snickered. “I won’t touch you, don’t worry.”

  But he was now inches away, and I had nowhere to go but up against the side wall. “Please.” When he didn’t budge, I lifted my knee and connected it with his groin as hard as possible, one move Adam hadn’t needed to teach me at the gym last weekend.

  “Bitch.” He grabbed hold of my upper arms and spun me around, forcing me flat against the wall. He tugged at my hair as his mouth went to my ear, and tears pricked my eyes. “I would never want his seconds. His little pet. You’re his obsession now, and you’ll be the one to ruin him. We were best friends before—”

  I brought my elbow back into his ribs and tried to spin free, but he yanked on my hair so hard I yelped from the pain.

  Just as I reared my elbow back to strike again, the doors dinged and whooshed open. Luca abruptly let go of me, and when I turned, I realized why.

  Sebastian was standing outside the lift, his chest rising and falling with heavy breaths as if he’d raced to get to us.

  He looked at me, then at Luca. “Get out,” he said in a low but commanding voice. I assumed he was talking to me, so I hurried around Luca as Sebastian entered the lift.

  The doors closed, and the last thing I heard was a loud thud before they began to ascend.

  I bent forward and pressed my hands to my thighs, fighting to catch my breath.

  I never should have come, and if Sean woke up and discovered
I’d slipped out of his flat without telling him . . .

  “You okay?” I looked up to see a woman on approach, and since we were alone in the lobby, her words were clearly meant for me. “Mr. Renaud asked me to ring him if you showed up.” She wrapped a hand over my shoulder when I was fully upright. “I’ve never seen him look so upset before. I’ve been working for him for years, but when he came flying down the stairs because the elevator—”

  “I’m fine.”

  Her brows slanted. “You want something to drink, honey?”

  “You’re American?”

  “Yes. The name’s Piper.” She smiled. “I moved here for love, but the man I came for wasn’t who I thought he was. He kicked me out onto the street with no money and no place to go.”

  Wow, she was forthcoming. “And Sebastian helped you?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” She must’ve realized I was on the verge of collapsing because she guided me to a nearby seating area. “That man gets a bad rap.” She sat next to me. “He’s not as heartless as he lets everyone think.”

  I eyed the lift, my heart still pounding like something fierce. “Will they both walk out of there alive?”

  Before Piper could respond, the doors dinged again, and Luca flew out, landing on his hands and knees. Blood spattered the floor beneath him, and he jerked his chin to the right, seeking my eyes.

  Vicious. Evil. He was nothing like Sebastian.

  Sebastian knelt next to him and said something too low for me to hear, then Luca stood and ambled through the lobby, holding on to his arm as if it’d been dislocated from the shoulder.

  His gaze held me in some type of trance as he stalked past, and I was unable to look away until Sebastian stood before me.

  “Holly.” There was a touch of blood below his bottom lip. A cut on his brow. Luca had gotten in a few shots as well. “Thank you,” he said to Piper.