Part One
“Maybe you are searching among the branches for what only appears in the roots.” – Rumi
One
1995
Brennan
Uncle Frank’s hand tightened on my shoulder, prompting me to peer up at him.
“Your da won’t ask, but are you okay?”
Was I okay?
I wasn’t sure if he was joking or not, so I just stared at him in confusion.
Nothing about this situation was okay.
Ma was...
I swallowed.
She was in the hospital.
My already crazy father was close to losing the few marbles he still possessed.
The city was drenched in blood, and I was about to commit mass murder.
And my uncle was asking if I was okay?
I tilted my head back around, staring at a sight no fifteen-year-old should ever have to witness, but this was my punishment.
I should have gone into the dress shop with her. I should have gone inside. I shouldn’t have rushed off to catch the bus for school. I should have made sure Ma was safe. That was my job—to take her to her shop every morning.
My throat closed at what she’d endured because I’d fucked up.
I didn’t feel my own bruises, didn’t feel anything really. Just knew that nothing was okay about this situation. Nothing at all. And that was safer. Being numb right now was a hell of a lot safer than the alternative.
Surrounded by busted up cars, mountains of them, Da jumped out of the CAT tractor. Clouds of dust burst around him in eddying flurries that settled on his shoes when he moved to stand in front of a car crusher that diminished his larger-than-life frame. His arms were folded over his chest as he watched me, a bitter hatred etched into his features that I knew he’d always feel for me because of what I’d done to Ma, and that was when Frank nudged me forward.
“Go on, it’ll take a few minutes. You’ve killed before, Bren. This is just like that.”
This was nothing like before.
Nothing.
What was it with Uncle Frank today? Was he out for an award for Understatement of the Year?
Holding my arm tight to my side, the cast heavy thanks to my broken arm—one of Da’s first punishments for this mess and no less than I deserved—I swallowed, but stepped forward, knowing I had no real choice.
Suspended above the car crusher, was a thin concrete block about eight feet long. It reminded me a little of the clothes line on the rare occasions when Ma hung out some laundry in the yard, except, instead of clothes, there were seven men dangling down, their feet trapped in the block. Most of them were conscious, Da wouldn’t get his fun otherwise, but some of them were fortunate and hadn’t woken up yet.
They never would either.
“Get in the cab,” Da hissed, pulling me by the ear when I didn’t move fast enough, my head tipping back as I stared up at the men who’d defiled my mother.
I bit the inside of my cheek as I scurried away, darting into the cab before he could clip me again. A clunking sound echoed around it as my cast collided with the side of the door, and I almost howled as the pain slalomed inside me, winding me with its force.
Simultaneously, my nose began bleeding once more, and whether that was from the pressure of knowing the horrific fate I was about to let these men endure, or from the fact Da had broken it yesterday, I had no real way of knowing but I grabbed the paper towel I was carrying for this purpose and jammed a chunk inside each nostril.
As I plunked down in the CAT’s bucket seat, Da climbed up the ladder beside me, his feet hooked into the rungs as he hovered in place. Unsure of his next move, I held my broken arm closer to my side, the pain still ricocheting through me was enough to make me feel like I could pass out, so I didn’t need him adding to that by grabbing a hold of it or anything.
All around us, there were motes of dust and debris, shards of metal and boxy squares of wreckage that glinted under the hard glow of the spotlights. Uncle Frank was watching from a distance, while my da’s crew, Mark O’Reilly, Tony Hannaway, and Paul Claren, were somewhere in the vicinity, keeping the scene secured.
“All you need to do is release the pincers,” he told me.
Their deaths wouldn’t make up for what they’d done to Ma.
They wouldn’t pay for their sins by dying no matter what Father Doyle said.
Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 1 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 2 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 3 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 4 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 5 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 6 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 7 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 8 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 9 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 10 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 11 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 12 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 13 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 14 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 15 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 16 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 17 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 18 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 19 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 20 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 21 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 22 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 23 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 24 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 25 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 26 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 27 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 28 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 29 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 30 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 31 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 32 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 33 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 34 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 35 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 36 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 37 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 38 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 39 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 40 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 41 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 42 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 43 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 44 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 45 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 46 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 47 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 48 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 49 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 50 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 51 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 52 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 53 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 54 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 55 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 56 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 57 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 58 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 59 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 60 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 61 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 62 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 63 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 64 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 65 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 66 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 67 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 68 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 69 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 70 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 71 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 72 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 73 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 74 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 75 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 76 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 77 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 78 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 79 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 80 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 81 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 82 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 83 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 84 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 85 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 86 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 87 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 88 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 89 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 90 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 91 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 92 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 93 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 94 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 95 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 96 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 97 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 98 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 99 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 100 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 101 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 102 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 103 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 104 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 105 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 106 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 107 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 108 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 109 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 110 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 111 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 112 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 113 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 114 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 115 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 116 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 117 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 118 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 119 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 120 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 121 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 122 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 123 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 124 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 125 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 126 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 127 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 128 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 129 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 130 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 131 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 132 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 133 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 134 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 135 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 136 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 137 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 138 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 139 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 140 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 141 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 142 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 143 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 144 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 145 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 146 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 147 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 148 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 149 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 150 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 151 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 152 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 153 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 154 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 155 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 156 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 157 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 158 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 159 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 160 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 161 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 162 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 163 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 164 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 165 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 166 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 167 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 168 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 169 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 170 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 171 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 172 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 173 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 174 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 175 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 176 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 177 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 178 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 179 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 180 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 181 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 182 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 183 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 184 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 185 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 186 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 187 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 188 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 189 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 190 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 191 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 192 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 193 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 194 Filthy Sex (Five Points' Mob Collection #4) - Serena Akeroyd - Page 195