2

Standing in my room, I sprayed on some more perfume and took a quick look at myself in my closet mirror. A tight black shirt, slightly torn light-colored jeans and white sneakers. Should be enough to celebrate...

I ran a hand through my brown hair again, then grabbed my motorcycle key from the dresser and made my way over to where Jake lived not far from the club we were planning to hit up tonight.

Arriving in the living room, Odran and Keeva sat together at the table and chose clothes for Esme, since she was about to be christened, while Rian chilled on the couch with Nero and watched TV.

"I'll be gone then," I threw around, but nobody but Keeva seemed to care.

"Take care and have fun," she smiled kindly at me. "And say hello to Jake," she added, and I immediately looked at Rian, who turned in her direction, stunned.

"What?!", he prompted her to repeat her words, which suddenly erupted in an unnecessary atmosphere. My cue to look far away.

I hurriedly grabbed my denim jacket from one of the chairs at the dining table and disappeared outside into the fresh, somewhat cool evening air.

"Good evening, Senan," John greeted me and I gave him a firm handshake before lighting another cigarette. The others hardly ever spoke to our guards, but I've always liked John very much.

"Well, how are you?" I asked him casually and walked ahead of him to my blue Yamaha, which also had my black helmet on the seat.

"I'm fine and how are you? Are you going to party again?" he asked with a bit of concern in his voice and I knew exactly why. Last week I'd barely made it from the cab to the door from all the drinking, but it was thanks to John that I woke up peacefully in my bed.

"Yes, but with a little more restraint today," I tried to calm him down and took another deep drag on my cigarette, then stubbed it out in front of me on the stone floor in the driveway. Rian hated it when he found outright butts in here, but as long as he didn't put an ashtray in here, he'd have to live with it.

"Good," John replied and after I gave him a smile, I put on my helmet, jumped onto my motorcycle and started it, carefully taking a few steps backwards before I went at high speed down the driveway and along the streets.

Jake lived almost in Dublin, which meant I had about a 30 minute drive to go. Half an hour in which I was alone with my dark thoughts and there were always short seconds that made me doubt myself and my life. There was just nothing that interested me. Add to that all this guilt that I couldn't shake despite all this time. It was simply overwhelmed to be alone with these worries and so it happened that I accelerated even more and, luckily for me, quickly arrived at Jake's prefabricated building.

The area wasn't the best, but I knew almost everyone here and I certainly preferred them to all those golf course snobs my brothers used to hang out with. I was glad that Padraig was with us from time to time. At least one who was cool.

"Here you are at last!"

I heard Jake's voice and stared up at the prefab where he was standing by the third floor window, looking stupidly down at me. "I'll be down in 5 minutes."

Nodding, I pulled off my helmet and walked to his front door, where I waited impatiently until Jake finally showed up and put my helmet down in his hallway.

"What's up, brother," he patted my shoulder with a laugh and at the same time took a hip flask out of his leather jacket with his hand, which he then handed to me.

Under his leather jacket he wore a white shirt, black trousers and his dark hair was styled to the side. So like always.

"Not much. Home is all about Esme and -"

"I want to get to know her," Jake interrupted me with a grin and walked out of the prefabricated housing estate next to me.

"As if Rian would allow that," I replied stressed out and immediately the flask was in my hand like the solution to all my problems. I opened it and took a deep gulp, shaking myself briefly as the acrid taste ran down my throat.

"What's that?" I turned in disgust to Jake, who was just lighting a cigarette and then gave me an amused look.

"Absinth."

Fuck! John would probably have to serve as a wheelbarrow again in the morning.

We walked on, talked about this and that and when the night had finally taken hold of us, we arrived at the club where Jake swore the hottest pussies in all of Ireland would hang out.

But that's what Jake said about every new club he was recommended by others...

"I would have loved to have taken that Keeva away with you-"

"Shut up," I interrupted him immediately and gave him a warning look, which made him smile and put his arm around my shoulders.

"I'm just kidding. Relax. You're becoming more and more like your brothers. All that's missing is your father's suit and whip."

I rolled my eyes again and Jake knew full well how reluctant I was to be compared to them, but it wouldn't be Jake if he wasn't constantly out to provoke me. Who do you think I got this behavior from?

"ID", a broad bouncer pulled me out of my thoughts with his dark voice and I realized with a start that I had forgotten my fucking wallet.

Just as I was about to share this with Jake, I suddenly felt an arm around my waist and the scent of a really sweet perfume rose deep in my consciousness.

"Gregor," a soft, feminine voice sounded next to me and when I turned to her, a sweet blond girl beamed at me, who still had her arm casually around my waist. Her blue irises scanned me for a second before turning to the bouncer. "This is Mr. Gallagher. The mayor's brother. It hardly needs showing his ID, does it?"

On the one hand, her voice sounded so soft that one could have listened to her for hours, but there was also a slightly biting undertone in it. As the bouncer looked at her, my gaze fell on her again.

A really skimpy red dress that showed off a lot of her cleavage, revealing that she wasn't even wearing a bra.

"Let's fuck them together," I heard Jake whisper in my ear sideways and before I could give him anything back, the bouncer let us pass and I was being pulled into the club by the blonde holding my hand.

To a hot night!