Tainted

Epilogue: The Legacy

Monday October 6

The air had a bitter tension, rolling around the atmosphere in waves.

He sat, his hands folded under his chin, head cocked to the side, listening carefully to the updates that came from the men standing in front of his desk.

They all spoke at once, their voices grumbling and hard to tell apart. All he could decipher were the small words here and there, masked by the Irish accents that filled the air in husky tones - much like his own.

He raised his hand, calling for silence without as much as a sound leaving his lips. He blinked once and in that time, hushes fell all around.

His eyes searched the small crowd of men until they met the gaze of one individual in particular. He nodded to him, silently telling him to share his news first, knowing he carried the most recent news.

The lad, Travis, furrowed his eyebrows and grimaced, a crease forming on his forehead in disgust.

"The bird is up the flue, boss," Travis growled, shaking his head angrily. "Fuckin' James just made things a shit load harder on the lot of us."

The rest of them broke out in absolute fury, raging over the news they hadn't yet heard. All except for one, though, whose eyebrows drew together in deep thought.

He acted as if he didn't notice Chance's lack of reaction.

"Pregnant? The fucker got the bird pregnant?" Darragh hissed. "This has got t'be a joke."

"It's true," Travis responded bitterly. "The bastard doesn't even know."

"So what? Now what happens?" Eoghan muttered.

"Now that means she's permanent!" Oisin hollered. "How in hell are we supposed to get Colt to come back if he has a family? The lad is whipped - seen so me'self."

Chance's nostrils flared, his jaw locking. "So we isolate the girl and the baby. That's our only option t'get Colt back in order to get the money. That way, they stay out of it - after all, it's Colt we want."

His attention was grasped at that, his gaze locking Chance's.

"No," he spoke, his voice a painful reminder to the lot of them of their old mate. "This can't work."

They all rumbled in their own conversations, the loudest opinions booming from Darragh and Craig, who didn't accept the fact.

"Maybe it's not his child," Craig offered, his tone unsure. "Lass looks like the type to go about."

"It's his," Eoghan spat. "It can't be anyone else's. She hasn't been with anyone else."

"What does that mean, then?" Finn chuckled, "That we throw them a fuckin' baby shower? I don't know about ya, but I'd like to get my share of the pot of gold McGregor's got hidden."

"I'm saying Chance is right," Eoghan argued. "The only way to get Colt vulnerable is to get him alone again. The girl and the child can be isolated from the problem."

"Or we could start somethin'," Finn smirked, a devilish look in his eyes. "Kill off a few of his mates at that fuckin' gym. I'm sure that would make him angry enough to lash out at us. Then we'd have ourselves a good show."