Unlocking the back door, Jimmy was looking forward to a hot shower before falling face-first into bed. He was exhausted. Every muscle in his body ached and his eyes throbbed, threatening to burst from his skull.

The second he walked through the door, he was greeted with the pungent aroma of smoke. All the lights were off but he could see the glow of a burning cigarette coming from the spot where the table was tucked against the wall. There was only one reason why Fiona would have waited up for him, but he wasn't in the mood to entertain another fight about Catherine.

"Go to bed," he said, flipping on the light.

Except, it wasn't Fiona and it startled Jimmy to see who was sitting in his kitchen.

"How the fuck did you get in here?"

Crushing his cigarette in the ashtray, Darragh blew the smoke from his nostrils while reaching into his back pocket. Onto the table, he tossed a loose key. The key Jimmy had given to Catherine. Drinking the last of the clear liquid from the glass, Darragh's face didn't so much as pucker when the intense burn lit up his chest and sinuses. From the bottle sitting on the table, Jimmy stiffened when he realized Darragh was drinking the vodka he had been gifted during a trip to Moscow.

"For a man who's wanted internationally, I'm honestly shocked you don't change your locks very often."

Resting back in the chair, Darragh propped his foot upon his knee. Jimmy swiped the bottle off the table and poured himself three fingers. After taking a sip, he lit a cigarette. Conversation with Darragh was the last thing he wanted, ever since reading the letters, Darragh had sent Catherine from prison.

"We've nothing to talk about. It's between me and Catherine."

"See, that's where you're wrong."

He wanted to punch that smug expression off Darragh's face. Who the fuck did he think he was? Intelligent and fearless—some would argue that he was as ruthless as Jimmy—Darragh had a quiet presence in Belfast. A decade ago, he had been the mastermind behind successful raids in the most secure loyalist neighborhoods and ambushes on British patrols, yet only a handful of people knew he was IRA. His thirst for bloodshed and unwavering loyalty had once been enough for Darragh to hold Jimmy's utmost respect. That all changed two years ago when Jimmy realized he was staring at the one man who could rip the Chief of Staff position out from right under his feet.

"Are you here to show me how tough you are and assert yourself as the almighty man in Catherine's life?"

"Somewhat. Things are flux, Jimmy, and changin' whether you like it or not. I understand that you two have a deep past, though the only future you have with her, is as her senior commander. I love Paddy and Liam as if they were me own blood, but they were cowards when it came to standin' up to you. I'm givin' you one warning—do not be around or speak to Catherine unless it's about business. If you see her walkin' down the same side of the street as you, ya best cross the bloody road. If you're with Fiona and Kerrianne and they stop to talk with her, you excuse yourself. If I find out you're still comin' around, I will gladly sit in front of a court-martial and explain to them why I broke your teeth on the goddamn curb."

"Yeah, we'll see how long it takes her to come crawling back to me. She's been doin' shite like-"

"I've already had that conversation with her." Darragh got up, inching his way towards Jimmy. "You were nothin' but a phase for her while I was gone. If I had known you were the bloke she ended up with when I told her not to spend ten years waitin' for me, I never would've bloody said that. Thought she was talkin' about the McInnes boy. She's genuinely happy for the first time in her life and I'll be damned if you try to swoop in and fuck it all up for her."

Jimmy took a swig from the bottle as he eyed Darragh. As he digested those words, Jimmy painfully realized what Catherine had written in un-sent letters to Darragh was true. He had always been led to believe that he was her first love. Rather, the man who had captured Catherine's heart, and the man she wished she could have lost her virginity to, was standing in front of him. It only ticked him off more to have Darragh throw that back in his face.

Clearing his throat, Jimmy crossed his arms over his chest. "You've got that IPLA operation comin' up next week. I wonder how long it'll take her to show up at my front door if you were to end up at Maghaberry again."

Darragh lunged at Jimmy. There was one thing Jimmy had that Darragh didn't, and that was combat training. Before Darragh could grab him, Jimmy blocked the blow and wrapped his arms around Darragh's neck in a sleeper hold. The sudden decrease of oxygen brought Darragh to his knees and left him lightheaded. He knew he should have expected nothing less from a man like Jimmy. Though, Jimmy did loosen the hold slightly, not wanting him to completely pass out.

"Can't just fight me like a man, O'Phelan? You know I'll kick your fuckin' ass, you pussy."

"I'll never forget the beautiful look on Catherine's face when I made her come for the first time. Or how she breathlessly said my name over and over and over, as I ate her out before poppin' her cherry."

Darragh clamped his teeth down on his lower lip, hard enough to almost draw blood. Being forced to listen to Jimmy retell every gory detail about his sexual exploits with Catherine tore him to shreds. His chest filled with a dull achy pain as his heart broke. He blamed himself for being the one who pushed her into Jimmy's arms. The attempts to jerk free were unsuccessful and Jimmy gloated in getting under Darragh's skin.

"You've got a lot of nerve talkin' like that about her."

"For a virgin, she was a brilliant shag. Hopped right on and rode me like a champ. Some of the things she let me do to her would make the Devil blush."

Balling his hand into a fist, Darragh hit Jimmy as hard as he could in the ribcage. He was so angry, Darragh was near tears.

Despite the throbbing pain and having the wind nearly knocked out of him, Jimmy kept on taunting. "Caitie's a fuckin' whore. That's all she'll ever be."

Darragh squeezed his eyes shut, tears leaking out of the corners. His heart pounded and his limbs tingled with numbness as vivid images of Catherine being dominated flashed in his brain.

"Let him go, Jimmy."

Both men turned their heads to see Fiona standing in the threshold of the kitchen. She clenched the collar of her robe. The distressed expression on her face telling them she had overhead every word Jimmy said.

After a moment of hesitation, Jimmy released Darragh from the chokehold. Fiona refused to make eye contact with Jimmy, feeling like a fool for believing him when he said he was over Catherine. Hearing him speak about her that way to Darragh, told Fiona all she needed to know. Standing up, Darragh gave Fiona a sympathetic nod. Everyone was trying to move on with their lives, but Jimmy refused to move on from the past.

Turning to leave the kitchen, Fiona offered Darragh a bit of advice. "He's slow on his left side."

Thankfully, Darragh was quick to understand what Fiona was telling him. By the time Jimmy realized what she said, Darragh delivered a solid left uppercut to his jaw. For the next punch, Darragh faked right before going left. He socked Jimmy with enough force to send him to the ground. As a cherry on top, Darragh kicked him twice in the ribs.

Looking down at Jimmy doubled over and struggling to catch his breath, Darragh wanted to tell him about all things he planned to do to Catherine once home. But, he kept his nerve. Catherine didn't deserve to be used as a sexual pawn. To him, she deserved the utmost respect.

After grabbing his cigarettes off the table, Darragh stepped over Jimmy and headed out the door. All he wanted was to be home, with Catherine.


Back in west Belfast, Catherine was curled on the sofa with a cup of tea and What to Expect When You're Expecting. Hearing the lock to the front door pop, she glanced at the clock thankful he had come home sooner than expected. He had told her he was meeting his mates for a few pints. Seeing Darragh walk inside, Catherine lit up brighter than a sunny day. She smiled so wide, her cheeks ached.

Not even bothering to take his boots off at the door, Darragh walked straight to Catherine. He took the mug and book from her hands, ignoring her questions as he placed them on the coffee table. He shut her up with such a smoldering kiss, it left Catherine breathless and fluttering. When Darragh pulled away, she rested her forehead against his as she placed her hand on the back of his neck.

"You're home early. I wasn't expectin' you until at least half one."

He captured her lips for another torrid kiss, this time sitting beside her and swiftly pulling her onto his lap. She broke the kiss, giggling.

Darragh gave her the one thing she had ever wanted—he made her feel desired. He was different from Lorcan and Jimmy in all the right ways. When he spoke, Catherine found desires she didn't even know she had. When he touched her, she knew he would give her everything. Her need for Darragh was like a constant ache.

His lips attacked her neck. Kissing, sucking, biting. Catherine's thoughts faded as she ran her fingers through his hair. Her attention was unfocused, yet she was completely relaxed. When he sank his teeth roughly into the flesh under her ear, Catherine took in a sharp breath and arched her back.

"What's gotten into you?" she joked.

Pushing back the loose strands of hair from his eyes, Darragh placed a hand on Catherine's breast, pinching the nipple. This was the first time she had seen him with such animalistic focus.

"Can you do me a favor?"

She nodded and he slipped his index into her mouth. "Let your guard down for me."

They had only been together for two months, still getting used to the budding romance. In a relationship where they had for so long pretended to be just friends, they were both apprehensive to allow the sexual aspect to flourish. The sex was mind-blowing and they had incredible chemistry between the sheets, but they were both painfully aware they were holding back. Darragh wanted to be the one man she felt comfortable enough to let her inhibitions go with, as he wanted to push boundaries with her.

Catherine locked eyes with Darragh. All logical sense left him as he felt her tongue swirl around his finger. Underneath her, she felt his cock twitch when her cheeks hollowed and she sucked gently. A reason why Catherine had been remaining bashful in bed, was because she didn't want Darragh wondering what she had learned from Jimmy. She owed it not only to him but to herself to let go.

Removing his finger from her mouth, Catherine jumped to her feet and grabbed Darragh's hand. She led him upstairs to their bedroom. As she undressed, he sat on the bed and silently watched. When she finished, Catherine half-covered herself, suddenly feeling shy. She had been nude in front of men many times before, but with Darragh, she felt naked.

From the laundry basket, Catherine snatched one of her knee-high socks. It would do in a pinch. Darragh looked at her quizzically as she handed it to him, but it didn't take long for him to see where this was going. Turning around, she held her hands behind her back.

"You sure you wanna do this?" he asked.

Peering over her shoulder, she smirked at him. "Do your worst."

She filled with excitement as Darragh began to tie the sock around her wrists. When it was secure, he stood up and grabbed Catherine by the back of the neck, shoving her face down onto the mattress. Having her in the submissive position unleashed the hedonist that was clawing free in Darragh. He ran a single finger up and down the length of her spine, as he toed off his boots and unsnapped his jeans. Catherine closed her eyes, focusing only on his touch as she was unsure of what to expect. She softly moaned when she felt his large hand move down and caress the slope of her ass.

Jimmy was right, Darragh thought. Catherine was a whore. But, she was going to be his whore.

Just as Catherine began to relax, she felt the smack of his bare hand against her bottom. The loud crack echoed throughout the small room. She cried out with a mix of lasciviousness and pain from the delicious sting. Again, he slapped her ass, this time it hurt a little more. With each cutting spank, they drew Catherine further away from all of her cares. This was what she wanted. This was what she needed. She trusted Darragh. Her eyes were brimming with tears and they quickly overflowed, draining every ounce of worry.


Catherine could feel the usual jitters set in as she unrolled the map on the table. With six pairs of scrutinizing eyes on her, acid burned the back of her throat and her heart refused to calm down. Darragh seemed cool as a cucumber-like always, not at all ruffled by the Irish Kings sitting opposite of them in the safe house in Andersontown. Ever since Galen O'Shay had shown up to her court-martial, all but threatening the court to dismiss the charges against Catherine, she felt a bit of extra pressure to make sure she held up to their esteem. The Kings now viewed her in such high regard, she was fearful of letting them down.

Though, on this particular occasion, they didn't make her as apprehensive as Jimmy did. It was the first time Catherine had seen him for three weeks. Considering that happened the last time they were in the same room together, she was less than enthused to look at him, let alone have to interact. Darragh never wandered too far from Catherine's side, always keeping on eye on Jimmy to make sure he kept his distance. A small part of Darragh was wishing for Jimmy to say or do something idiotic towards Catherine, just so he could give him a couple more kicks to the ribcage.

A month away from reaching the halfway point of her pregnancy, Catherine's belly was undeniably a baby bump. It was nearly impossible for Jimmy to keep his eyes off of her. After reading the letters she had written, he was still fuming. For a fleeting moment, it all went away when he'd watch her place a hand on her belly and rub small circles. Then, he'd remember how she lied to everyone. That was enough for him to go back to loathing her.

Avoiding eye contact with Jimmy, she spoke with poise and seemed unshakeable.

"After a long month of nearly twenty-hour days, we were able to calculate a routine for Shane Carrigan and the rest of the IPLA. Carrigan knows we're coming, he told me when I was able to make him believe I wanted to make the jump. He's also jumpy; he checks under his car before getting in every single time, so the initial plan of a car bomb is out."

"What do you suggest?" Galen asked.

Knowing she had his full attention was intimidating. Normally the Kings never paid attention in these sort of meetings as it was Jimmy who would ultimately give the green light.

"We took inspiration from Provisional's operation on Halloween of 1992." Instantly, all six men sat up straight in their chairs.

X-ing out locations on the map of Belfast, Catherine explained Shane Carrigan would be the first one shot as he left the Templemore Swim and Fitness Center. At the same time, pubs in west Belfast would be raided and several IPLA members would be kneecapped for their roles in selling drugs. Thirteen more volunteers were in charge of storming Divis Tower, where the IPLA officers would be told to leave the country, forcing them into exile. In the aftermath, all twenty-one IRA volunteers were to hide out in call houses in Andersontown and Ardoyne. Over the ensuing twelve hours, it would be a race against the clock to get them all safely to Dundalk.

There was a collective silence as the Irish Kings looked over the map and digested the plan Catherine and Darragh had come up with. It was a sound plan, and none of the Kings were surprised that not even the smallest of details hadn't been thought out. This was the type of work they simply expected from volunteers like them. Reaching into her pocket, Catherine unfolded a small piece of paper and slid it over to them. Peter Dooley handed it to Jimmy, who looked slightly confused as he read it. He asked Catherine what the point of it was.

"Public support for the Ra is nonexistent. We can't afford any civilian injury or casualty. We know it's standard procedure that the Security Unit picks which units participate in operations like this, but, Darragh and I compiled a list of names of men from Belfast and south Armagh who we feel will get it done properly."

It didn't come as the slightest shock to Jimmy that as a devout Catholic who attended Mass every day and had the conviction of a zealot, Darragh had put himself at the top of that list, but left Catherine off. Jimmy wasn't lying when he said he would make her life a living Hell, and he knew exactly how to get under both Catherine and Darragh's skin.

"I'm fine with this," Jimmy answered, honestly. "Under one condition."

Catherine and Darragh looked at one another, almost terrified to hear what Jimmy was thinking. Reaching for the black marker Catherine had been using, Jimmy crossed out a name and wrote hers.

Darragh shot up out of his chair. "No fuckin' way! She's almost four months pregnant."

Tossing the marker into the center of the map, Jimmy smirked as he shrugged his shoulders. "Either she takes out Carrigan, or I can find another unit commander to take charge of this."

"This is fuckin' bullshit, Jimmy, and you know it! She's not doin' it, and you're not takin' this away from me because you're not gettin' your way!"

Standing up, Jimmy placed his hands on the table. "Just out of curiosity, are you saying you don't think Catherine is capable of doin' it?"

Catherine could sense Darragh was about to lose his cool. To keep him from jumping over the table and strangling Jimmy, she placed both her hand on his sides and started walking him back towards the front door. She ignored the verbal sparring between the two of them as she got him outside.

The cool breeze felt refreshing as Darragh bounced on the balls of his feet, his fists tightly clenched. He was wired and irate, fed up with Jimmy's nonsense. While Catherine understood Darragh's overall apprehension of Jimmy deciding she should be included as one who would ultimately pull the trigger, she felt as though he had jumped in too soon. She had been an important cog in the machine that worked tirelessly behind the scenes, that didn't stop Catherine from feeling left out. From feeling as though she had no part in the armed conflict.

Pulling her sweater tight around her torso, Catherine watched Darragh as he lit a cigarette, shaking his head as he played the incident over in his head.

"I wanna do it."

"What?" Darragh snorted. "No, you're not."

"Why? Because I'm pregnant? My Ma was eighteen and pregnant with Liam when she was takin' part in operations, and Fiona was active throughout her entire pregnancy. I don't care what all of these shill politicians have to say. As far as I'm concerned, the Troubles isn't over. Nor will it be until Ireland is united. For as long as that border exists, I will not stop fighting, pregnant or not."

Darragh flicked his cigarette to the ground as he rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. He hated the position Catherine was putting him in. After what she said, she would brand him a hypocrite if he still said no, because he carried the same attitude. Though he owed his early release to the Belfast Agreement, Darragh staunchly rejected every word of it along with Catherine and the rest of their comrades.

"This would be the first time you do anything like this-"

"Which makes Carrigan the perfect target for me. I'll be on a motorbike, I pop him two or three times, and then I'll be on my way to Dundalk before you even get to Andersontown."

A small part of Darragh couldn't help but worry that her persuasion to be involved was sparked from her need to appease Jimmy. At no point during the entire planning phase did she make it at all obvious that she wanted to be further involved. If she had told him early on that she wanted to be the one pulling the trigger on Carrigan, he would have made that happen.

"You're not doin' this because you want to make him happy, do you?"

"Fuck no," she was quick to answer. "While it would be satisfying to call his bluff because we both know he's only doing this to get under our skin, I want in on some of the action. When I was movin' that shite all over the world, I never felt I was doin' anything for the cause. I was just a common gangster. Being in the thick of it, like you, and Liam and my Da is why I made the jump to your unit."

That was an answer Darragh was satisfied with. He couldn't say no to that reasoning.

"And here I thought the reason you wanted to come to my unit was that you found me completely irresistible."

Catherine wrapped her arms around his waist. "Well, I won't deny that perhaps did play a small role."

"Oh?"

She didn't verbally respond, just smiled before lifting onto her tip-toes and kissing Darragh long, and sensually.

Little did Catherine know, as she tangled her tongue with his, there were eyes on them. Stepping away from the window over the sink in the kitchen, Jimmy tried not to lose his temper. He had always thought a reconciliation between he and Catherine would happen when her court-martial finished up, but he realized that as long as Darragh was in the picture, that would never happen.


Around ten that night, Patrick jogged down the stairs to find Catherine peacefully sleeping on the sofa. She had one hand gingerly placed on her belly and her book resting on her chest. It broke his heart to have to wake her with the news, but knowing his daughter, Catherine would be fuming in the morning if he didn't. Once in the living room, Patrick turned off the television first, then knelt beside her. Delicately, he swept hair behind her ear.

"Catherine," he whispered. "I need you to wake up, a thaisce."

Not a fan by any means of being woken from her slumber, Catherine groaned with annoyance as she swatted Patrick away. He took the book off her chest and tossed it out of the way so he could stop her from rolling away from him. After the third failed attempt, Patrick was done trying to do it the kind way. He rose his voice like he had done practically every morning when she was still in school.

"Catherine Mary, you need to get up. I'm not fuckin' playing."

At the harsh tone of her father's voice, Catherine's eyes instantly popped open. If it wasn't serious, he would have given up already and just let her sleep. Sitting up, Catherine yawned and reached for her glasses.

"Is everythin' okay?"

Her first thoughts went to her brothers, then Shauna and baby Erin. Before dozing off, she had spoken to Darragh over the phone.

"Somethin' happened near the Shankill." Patrick trod lightly, gauging her reaction. "Not sure yet if it was the UDA or the UVF, but there was a …altercation."

"What exactly happened?"

"Darragh and Brendan Sullivan were attacked." He grabbed her trembling hands, quickly reassuring her. "They're both okay, but Darragh is banged up pretty bad."

"Where is he?"

Patrick told her that Darragh was home. Without a second thought, she jumped off the sofa and ran upstairs to change. She stayed as calm as possible. It wouldn't do anyone any good to get upset. Her main focus was on getting to Darragh's, praying it wasn't as bad as she thought.