"Christ almighty, girl." Murphy stammered.
"Better than you remember?" I laughed.
"In a different way, I guess. Ye never disappoint, lass."
"You've possibly gotten better with age." I smirked. He started to pull away, kissing my shoulder, then my cheek, finding his pants and pulling them on while still sitting on my bed. "Do you really have to go?" I pouted. I sat up straight, wrapping myself in my sheets as Murphy located his boots, leaning over the bed, tugging them on.
"Aye. I already said I wouldn't be gone this long. We got to 'ave a reunion with the detectives. Plus, after sex like that, I need a fuckin' smoke."
"You're staying with Doc, aren't you?"
"I 'ate it when you ask questions ye already know the answer ta."
"Yeah, well I hate secrets."
"I ain't keepin' secrets unless they put your pretty little arse in danger." He turned to face me, pausing while he put on his boots, still sitting on the edge of my bed. "And damn, what a mighty fine arse it is, lass. Hasn't changed a bit."
"When will I see you again?" I smiled.
He rose from the bed, fully dressed now from the waist down. He searched the floor for his shirt, finding it near my dresser. He picked it up and walked back over to me. He leaned down and kissed my forehead, a sweet gesture I used to take for granted. "I'll let ye know. We 'ave… plans tonight." He muttered under his breath, pulling his shirt on.
I made a mental note to ask him why Christ's feet were inked on his back at a more opportune time.
"Yeah, well do me a favor? Don't get yourself killed."
"Aye, lass. But if I did, it would give ye somethin' ta report." He laughed, sitting down on the bed by my feet.
I frowned at his attempt at a joke. "I have a feeling I'll still have something to report on tonight. I look forward to seeing what you boys have planned."
"Aye, it's a masterpiece. A regular fuckin' Picasso." He smiled to himself. "As long as we're askin' favors, can I ask one of ye?" I nodded in response and he continued. "Stay away from McGinty's. We're in some deep shite this time. I don't need ye ta be associated with me, lass. I wouldn't be able ta concentrate if I thought ye were in danger."
"Just like the good ole' days." I joked. I continued in a more serious tone. "I can manage that. I do have to be on that side of town today, though. My dad wanted to have lunch."
"'Ow is the old bloke?"
"He has cancer, Murph." I sighed, clutching the sheet more tightly and looking down at my lap.
"I'm sorry ta hear that." He said sincerely, leaning over and grabbing my free hand.
I wrapped my body in the sheet to walk him to the door. "Could you call me tonight? You know, after?"
"I think I could manage that, love." He paused, his hand still on the door knob.
"I have one more favor, if I could?"
"What's that?" He turned to face me.
"When all this is over and the Yakavetta family is gone…" I paused gauging his reaction, searching his face for some kind of sign. "Do you think we could start over?"
His eyes lit up, a smirk playing across his lips. "Lass, there's nothin' I'd like more." He leaned down and kissed me firmly, taking my face in his hands, causing my knees to go weak before he opened the door and walked out.
I got out of the shower and examined myself in the mirror, noting the love bites along my neck and shoulders which were extremely evident. "Fuck." I muttered. Murphy certainly knew how to leave his mark.
I got dressed and covered my "battle scars" as best I could before heading to the docks. I drove past McGinty's on my way to the little hovel of a restaurant that my father loved more than anything.
I found him sitting at his usual table. He stood to greet me, hugging me close and exclaiming how good it was to see me and how long it had been.
"I've missed you!" I replied. "How are treatments going? You look well." I took a seat.
"Nothin's new. They keep tellin' me the same things. I hope ye don't mind, I ordered our usual." I nodded, knowing he had his own routine.
"Ye look tired." He observed aloud. "Long night?" He asked, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. I knew right then he knew. "So it is them, then?" He changed the subject.
I nodded, vaguely. "We can't discuss this here." I said, under my breath.
"I can't say I'm surprised. It took 'em long enough, don't ye think?" He put his hand over mine on the table. "Becca, I don't know how much longer I have. I can't say I ever approved, but I can say I'm relieved ta know ye'll be taken care of when I'm gone."
"Don't talk like that." It's something I already knew, but when we talked about the prospect of him dying, everything got scary and real again.
"It's the truth. Ye need ta come to terms with it, darlin'."
I sighed, knowing he was right, wishing he wasn't.
When I got back to my car, Tracy had left me a voicemail. She asked me to call her back, she had urgent news.
"I got an interview with this guy. He says he met them, Becca!" She yelled into the phone before I even had a chance to utter so much as a "Hello."
"How do you know he's for real?" I asked.
"I have a feeling! I just know. It has to be legit. He's willing to risk his life to talk to us. He wants to meet tonight at some hole-in-the-wall downtown. Can you make it?"
"Yeah, just send me the details."
The bar we were supposed to meet at that night was in the center of town, near the business district. I met Tracy out front and we went inside. She gave me a questioning look when she spotted my neck. "Hickeys, Becks? Really? Aren't we a little old for that?"
"They're not terribly noticeable, are they?" I asked, covering my neck with my hand.
"Put extra makeup on before you go on air." She laughed. "Who's the mystery guy?"
"No one special…" I lied. "Just someone I met last night."
She rolled her eyes at my admission. "You little minx!" She admonished as we walked inside.
He had instructed us to meet him at the bar. He would be cloaked in a purple suit. He said no cameras were allowed, but he told her she could record the interview as long as no names were used. We approached him quietly, two stools open on either side of him, Tracy took the left and I the right. We introduced ourselves, and he instructed us to call him 'Gorgeous.' He was a larger, tan man. We ordered some drinks and waited patiently. He said he could get in a lot of trouble over talking to us, that he just wanted to give us the details he could remember after we made the exchange. I looked to Tracy, giving her a questioning look. She reached in her purse, pulling out a rather thick envelope and passing it over to him.
"It's what we agreed upon." She said. She didn't tell me she was paying this guy for information on the Saints. "So, spill it. In your own words, what happened?" she said, cutting the recorder on and sitting it in front of him on the bar.
"They found me at the salon. Explained that I wouldn't be harmed if I could stage a fake meeting with some of the guys at this bar."
"What were they like?" Tracy prodded.
"Real sarcastic sons of bitches. Thought they were so funny. Got a real power kick from scaring the shit out of me."
"So they used you? They didn't hurt you in anyway?"
"Before they turned me loose, they played Russian Roulette with me. Thankfully, I got away unscathed, as you can see."
"Ya know, I thought for what I gave you I would get a better story." Tracy complained.
"That's not all." He muttered. "I know where they're hitting tonight." He admitted.
Tracy's whole face lit up. I could already read her mind. "Spill it, fat man."
He told us about this office building across the street and down a few blocks. He said Yakavetta was holding some sort of meeting there and the boys were probably gonna show up and ruin it. "But you didn't hear this from me." He finished, choking down the rest of his drink and excusing himself from the bar, standing and taking his leave.
"What did you just do?" I asked her, looking at her like she was crazy.
"It was only a couple grand. With this information I could make way more, anyway."
"You're getting a little too desperate, wouldn't you say?"
"You wont be saying that when we're both famous." She muttered. "Let's go."
"You're not suggesting that we show up to that meeting, are you?" Murphy would kill me.
"We're not gonna go in, we're just gonna wait outside. I don't wanna get shot, I just wanna be first on the scene, silly." She pulled out her cell phone and called the camera man, instructing him to meet us ASAP.
We had a meeting with destiny.