Chapter 31
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Nora
I wake with a violent heave of my stomach. Rolling to the side, I throw up, the foul drug they used to knock me out tainting my system. A vile, acidic aftertaste coats my tongue and my head throbs worse than from any migraine or hangover I’ve ever suffered.
I close my eyes and the world spins, my stomach giving another lurch. After another round of ‘out-you-go’, I’m left panting, wiping my mouth and nose with my sleeve.
Where am I? Where is Kate?
My eyelids feel like lead weights, but I fight to open them and take stock of my surroundings. I’m in a holding cell, the floor to ceiling cage bars ensuring I’m not going anywhere fast.
I reach for my pocket, but my phone is gone. My purse, too.
A feminine groan behind me has me turning on a disgustingly filthy concrete floor to find Kate stirring.
“Kate, I’m here. Shhh.” I grab her hair and pull it back as she vomits onto the floor beside her. The sound of her retching tugs at my gag reflex and I fight not to join her.
“Damn, that was vile,” she sputters, lifting the front of her shirt to wipe the tears leaking from her eyes. “What happened?”
I give her a brief recap of what I saw as I rushed out the back door and saw her crumple and get stuffed into the car of the sex traffickers.
“What sex traffickers?”
I press my palms flat against the grimy floor, my head still spinning. “Remember those three guys in suits by the stage tonight?”
“They said they worked for an entertainment company and were in the city scouting talent for a new pilot about to be filmed.”
“No. They are working with the McGuire family, drugging and kidnapping women from the north side of the river, to make the Quinns look like they’re into sex trafficking.”
“How can you possibly know that?”
“Because my father is heading up the task force to take down organized crime in Dublin and…”
“And what?”
“And I’ve been sort of…secretly sleeping with Brendan Quinn. He was the one who saved me during the shooting outside the Confession Box, and he told me about the disappearances of the girls from clubs.”
Kate’s eyes go wide. “You’re sort of secretly sleeping with Brendan Quinn? What the hell? That’s something you share with your girlfriend. He’s brutally hot.”
“I’m aware.” Even half-drugged and covered in vomit spittle, just thinking about how sexy Brendan is makes my insides flutter. “But it’s also very complicated.”
“What’s so complicated? He’s fit—like really physically fit. I bet he has the sexual endurance of a machine.”
He does. My ovaries tingle just thinking about it. I groan and crawl over to the door of our cell to yank on it and make sure we’re as trapped as it seems. “Now is not the time to girl talk.”
Kate grumbles. “Really? You’ve got somewhere else to be?”
There are plenty of places I’d rather be, but no, I don’t see us getting too far, too fast.
“We’re here until someone comes to let us out.”
She’s right. And hey, at least we’re talking. “That’s why I couldn’t move out. My father is planning to destroy Brendan and his family. I overheard him talking on the phone and I couldn’t move out and not know what he’s going to do.”
Kate’s gaze widens. “You’re telling Brendan what your father is doing? Nora, that’s insane. Your father will lose his mind, his job, and possibly his life.”
“I know.” Tears burn behind my eyes. “And no, I haven’t shared anything. I thought about it, but I won’t. If my father is playing it straight and doing his job, I won’t interfere, but if he gets creative, I won’t let Brendan go down on the fabricated charges of an angry man.”
Kate lets out a long sigh. “That’s a fine line, chickie. This is a dangerous game.”
“It’s not a game.” My voice cracks and I swipe at the tears. “I tried to stay away from him. At first, I didn’t know his full name. I didn’t find out who he was until I saw him at the charity fight.”
“Ohmygod, that’s why you bolted during his fight.” Kate reaches over and clasps my hand. “You had no idea?”
“None. I was devastated. The protective and sexy man who saved my life and comforted me after Tanya was killed wasn’t the man I thought he was at all. But it was too late. I was already falling for him. Still, I ended it. I told him about my father and that I wouldn’t be caught in the middle. Then he showed up at Legend and I got sucked right back in.” I wrap my arms around myself. “He’s not what everyone thinks. He’s so much more than just the Quinn muscle man.”
“And?”
“And I love him.” The confession comes out in a whisper. “I didn’t mean for it to happen. I fought it so hard. But being with him—it’s the first time in my life I’ve felt truly alive, truly myself. He is so good to me. I think he loves me, too.”
Kate reaches over and squeezes my hand. “But you don’t know?”
I shake my head. “It’s not something we can really discuss. How could it be? My father wants to destroy his entire family. Any chance we had was doomed from the start.”
Kate sighs and opens her mouth to say something when a door swings open at the far end of the warehouse. Two of the men from the club stride in, still wearing their fancy suits.
“Ah, good. You’re awake.” The guy saunters toward our cage, shrugging off his suit jacket. He sets it on a stack of wooden skids and then unbuttons his ice blue dress shirt button by button.
Kate frowns. “What are you doing?”
He waggles his brows. “I rarely test the product, but after all that flirting at the club, I’m going to make an exception.”
The second guy pulls out a set of keys and moves to unlock the door of the cage. “And I’ve got dibs on the feisty friend.”
Everything in me shudders with revulsion. No. This can’t be happening.
Brendan
The SUV reaches the end of berth 35 and slows outside the warehouse. I shove the door open and leap out before Aiden has even slipped the shifter into park. The night air is cold and foreboding, every breath a struggle to draw oxygen into my tight lungs.
Headlights bring the arrival of Sean, Keefer, and Kieran in the second car. And with the rumble of Harleys growing closer by the moment and building all around us, the promise of Quinn justice about to be handed down is unmistakable.
I leave the hunting of McGuire dickwads to my brothers. The only thing that matters to me is finding Nora. With my phone held out in front of me, I jog up the side of the warehouse, following the green dot on my screen.
I’ve taken the tracking as far as it’ll get me, so I slide my cell into my pocket and free up both my hands for what’s coming. I grip the handle of the metal door and glance back at my twin. “These fuckers will pay for taking what is mine.”
“Aye, no one will argue your right for vengeance.”
Fucking right.
The grind of metal in rusty tracks makes me wince, the echo of our arrival carrying through the dark warehouse looming ahead. The belly of this beast is a hulking void stacked high with shelves. There is no end to dark corners for our enemy to hide in the shadows.
Caution would be the smartest tactic.
But with Nora’s life on the line, there’s no time to waste.
“Safe home, brother,” I hiss at Bryan, and we slip into the darkness.
“Back at you.”
Inside, the air is chilly and damp. My boots stomp out a steady pace as we move through the industrial space with tactical precision. It’s dimly lit, but the milky skylights give us enough moonlight to make out the stacks of crates piled high and the shipping containers looming ominously all around.
The place is massive and every second that ticks by feels like an eternity.
Bryan and I move through the darkness like living shadows, pushing deeper into the belly of this beast.
“Here. Check this out.” Bryan’s whispered call draws me to an area with a few offices along a side wall. He gestures to a box by the door that is overflowing with purses and lady’s belongings. “These are definitely the fuckers we’ve been looking for.”
My pulse quickens when I spot Nora’s purse abandoned on the desk. I rush over and yank it open—her phone’s here, too.
I leave her stuff behind and press deeper into the warehouse with Bryan at my heels. Violence clings to me, feeding my urge to kill. I don’t need the incentive. I’m ready to raze the earth as it is.
And then a woman’s scream cuts through the quiet.
My stomach drops as adrenaline surges through me.
“Nora!”
I charge toward the echo of her voice without an ounce of caution or self-preservation. I don’t fucking care if it’s a trap, or I get gunned down. The moment I hear her terror, darkness swallows me whole.
Fists clench tight, I pump my arms and run, anger boiling beneath my skin.
I find her struggling amongst a row of containers—a man looming over her, gripping her tightly while she fights his hold.
Rage ignites in me like flame to kerosine—the wildfire exploding.
I lunge forward, tackling him off balance and crashing him into one of the containers. Nora is knocked to the side, and I shove him away from her. Planted between the two of them, I let my beast loose. “How dare you touch the woman I love. How. Fucking. Dare. You.”
The bastard sneers at me, and my blood boils hotter.
Before he can react or utter a word, my fist flies forward like a missile. Knuckles meet jaw with such brutal force his head snaps around as if it’s on a swivel. Blood fountains into the air as he stumbles back, but I follow. The next blow hits home, then the next, and the next.
I’m totally fucking primal.
I let my fury take over and the world disappears around me. It’s just me and the motherfucking asshole who—if I hadn’t got here—would’ve raped the love of my life.
And so, I let my beast free like never before.
Every blow I land sends shockwaves of fury coursing through me. Each punch fuels my rage further until all that exists is this moment—me and this piece of shit who thought he could take what doesn’t belong to him.
“Brendan.”
“Brendan!”
“Oi, Brenny boy!”
Strong hands grip my arms and come around my waist, pulling me off the guy. I’m covered in blood and it’s so fucking satisfying. Until Tag turns me around, and I see the panic on Nora’s face.
Tag’s got both his hands clutching my face and pulls my forehead to his. “Breathe, Brenny. Let the fury go and just breathe. Your woman needs you more than you need to kill this man. He’s well and truly beaten to shit and we’ll make him pay. Now, take care of Nora.”
Take care of Nora.
Tag’s words slice through my rage like glass.
“That’s right, Brenny. Calm yourself so you can focus on Nora.”
My vision sharpens and I blink away the haze of violence tainting the color of my world.
“She needs you, brother,” Tag insists. “Leave this piece of shit to us.”
The words penetrate deep into my skull. And though I know he’s right, it takes everything inside me not to deliver one more punch for good measure before stepping back.
Nora’s wide blue gaze meets mine. Her fear strikes hard against my heart, but the moment our gaze locks, it all melts away. Then there’s only my angel, rushing toward me, arms extended.
I catch her as she stumbles—I will always catch her—and pull her against my chest. “Shh, angel. I’ve got you. It’s over now.”
Nora
I huddle close to Kate, our hands entwined beneath the blanket. The shock of being drugged and taken has worn off, but the lingering dread still claws at my insides. What if Brendan didn’t get here? What if these monsters had us for another hour, or possibly days?
I know enough about the sex trafficking trade to know that one of the first things they do is inject you full of drugs to keep you out of it and dependent on them.
That could’ve so easily have been us.
“Brendan, for fuck’s sake. Get your head on straight.” My attention is drawn to where Brendan and Tag are having a heated disagreement. “She’s safe. I won’t let anything happen to her. You look like you slaughtered someone and need to get the fuck gone before the authorities get here.”
Brendan leans closer to his brother. “I’m not fucking leaving her.”
I unwrap the blanket and emerge out of my cocoon of warmth. After tucking it back around Kate, I join Brendan and his brother. “Seeing how I’m the ‘her’ in this argument, I have to agree with your brother, big guy. You look like an extra in the Saw movie. If police are coming, you don’t want them getting an eyeful of you looking like this.”
Brendan frowns and bends over to whisper to me. “I’m not leaving you. Not now. Not ever again. Do you know what it did to me to know you were taken?”
I press my hand on the side of his neck, the racing of his pulse thundering under my palm. “But you saved me. Again. You did everything you needed to do and now, if Tag says you need to go, then go. I’m fine.”
Brendan swallows. “But I’m not.”
Tag sighs. “Brenny…you know I know what that’s like. When I found out Laine was in trouble, I thought my life would end—but Nora’s safe and we’re here. Go get yourself cleaned up and we’ll handle things.”
“Not in a million?—”
“I’m done asking, Brendan!” The icy fire in Tag’s voice makes me stiffen, but doesn’t seem to scare his brother. “I’m doing this for you and you need to let me. Please, brother, look at her and listen to me. She’s safe. You need to go.”
“Would you excuse us for a moment, Mr. Quinn?” I lace my fingers with Brendan’s and give him a tug.
“Aye, if you think you can talk sense into him, be my guest. And please, call me Tag, luv. It seems you hold the heart of my brother in your hands, so we should be on a first name basis.”
My father wouldn’t agree with that, but I take the olive branch as it is meant and give him a grateful smile.
Tag steps away and joins a group of angry men in leather.
I focus on my own angry man. “Hey, come here.”
Brendan’s arms are around me in a crushing embrace as my feet lift off the ground. “I’m so sorry this happened to you.”
I turn my face into his neck and breathe him into the depths of my lungs. My senses are filled with the scents of leather and that masculine aftershave he wears that makes me wet. “None of this is on you. Those men are bad. You warned me.”
“And because you warned me, they took you. I’m so sorry. I’ll never forgive myself for that.”
I ease back and shake my head. “That’s not what happened, but there’s no time to tell you right now. How about you go get cleaned up and I’ll have one of your brothers drop me off at Tag’s apartment when we’re done here?”
Brendan frowns. “Won’t your father take you home and lock you down?”
“No, I doubt it. He’ll be more focused on those men and how they tie in with his vendetta against organized crime. He’ll order me home and try to put a guard on me. I’ll tell him I’d rather stay with a friend than be alone. And then, I’ll come to you.”
The worry in his gaze hasn’t eased, but he’s listening.
“Go, big guy. Get cleaned up and start a fire. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
He closes the distance between us, his lips on mine. The violence and blood are forgotten the moment we’re locked in a kiss. His passion and desperation make the kiss rough, but the connection recalibrates my world.
Somehow, simply being in his arms as we share a kiss infuses me with the strength I need to face what is still to come tonight.
When he pulls back, Brendan graces me with a sad smile. “Be careful, angel. I learned tonight that I’m not nearly as strong a man as I thought I was. If something happens to you, I won’t survive it.”
“Nothing will happen.” A shuffling noise pulls my attention toward the men waiting for this conversation to resolve. “Now, put me down and get out of here before the garda get here and haul you away.”
I squeeze his wrist and then let him go, hating every step that takes him away from me. But Tag’s right. Nothing good can come of Brendan being seen by local law enforcement looking like that.
“Thank you.” Tag’s voice is quiet as he comes back to stand with me. “How did you convince him to leave?”
“I told him to get cleaned up at your loft and start a fire. If it’s all right, I’ll have one of you drop me off there as soon as I’m done giving my statement. We need time together.”
Tag dips his chin. “That can be arranged.”
He’s about to walk away when I reach out and grip the arm of his suit jacket. I quickly rethink and let go. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. My mistake.”
“No harm done. Was there something else?”
I swallow. “I just wanted to say…I mean, I’m sure Brendan told you who my father is, but I want you to know that despite the optics, what’s between your brother and I has nothing to do with any of that. I didn’t know who he was when we met, and he didn’t know about my father and the task force. I just want you to know it’s only ever been about us and we’ve never blurred those lines.”
When Tag smiles, he has the same glittering emerald gaze as his brother. “I never thought otherwise, but it’s good to hear. Thank you for saying so.”
Feeling good about that, I turn back to check on Kate. She’s sitting straighter and is watching me with one beautifully manicured eyebrow arched high. “Wow. You weren’t kidding. The Dublin Brute is officially off the market.”
I chuckle and look around. “Shh, it’s still a secret. If my father ever finds out…”
Kate’s gaze widens and she jolts upright and presses her hand over my mouth. “Jordan the Warden just walked in and is looking murderous.”
What? I spin around, and Kate is right.
My father strides into the warehouse with a team of officers trailing behind him. My heart sinks. “What’s he doing here?”
“I called him.” Tag raises a hand. “Mr. Kelly, over here.”
Why? That makes no sense.
My father’s icy gaze swings across the warehouse and locks on me standing next to Tag Quinn. Oh, damn. This won’t go well.
“Nora? What’s going on?” My father steps closer to us, and for a moment it feels like the world has stopped spinning. It’s like everything hangs in the balance.
Tag steps forward and fields the question. “My men and I have been tracking the criminals working within Northern Dublin for the purposes of sex trafficking. Tonight, we found those three men about to sexually assault your daughter and her friend. There is a box full of lady’s belongings in an office at the front of the building. Knowing who is behind this and where they’ve been working out of, you should be able to track down the other women and stop this endeavor.”
My father’s brow furrows deep with skepticism. “And what? I’m supposed to believe you’re offering this up out of the goodness of your heart?”
“I wouldn’t expect you would, no.” Tag’s honesty is stark against Dad’s hostility. “But my rivals, Billy Gravely and Niall McGuire, have gone out of their way to manipulate your investigation to lead you to my door. Exploiting innocents isn’t part of our business model.”
Da scoffs, his disdain practically radiating off him. “You’re not the good guy here, Quinn, no matter how you spin it.”
Tag lifts one shoulder, seemingly unconcerned. “Your daughter and her friend might disagree.”
Da focuses on me next, his piercing gray gaze drilling into me like an interrogation light. “Speak. Now.”
I squirm beneath his scrutiny, but there’s no escaping it. “Kate and I exited the back door of Legend after our shift to go to the parking lot. Those three men had been drinking in Kate’s section and were waiting. They drugged us and we woke up in that cage. If Mr. Quinn and his men hadn’t gotten here when they did…” I take a shaky breath, squeezing Kate’s hand. “They were about to rape us, Da, and then sell us, or worse.”
My father’s expression darkens further, and it sends panic rippling through me. He turns to Tag and holds up an accusing finger. “If you had any part in this, I will skin you and hang your rotting carcass from the closest fucking bridge.”
Tag’s expression remains blank, giving nothing away. “These are McGuire men in my territory. I called you as a courtesy because if my daughter were taken, I would expect to be told so I could bring the perpetrators to justice. You and I may have different ideas about what justice looks like, but I’m sure we agree that evil bastards that prey on innocent women need to be taken off the streets.”
My father’s gaze narrows on Tag again before shifting to the cage. Two of the men are pretty badly beaten up. The third—the one Brendan got a hold of—desperately needs a hospital. “And what happened to them?”
“When we arrived, they were physically assaulting the ladies. In our haste to stop them and put them in the cage, they must’ve tripped.”
“Tripped?”
Tag grins. “An accident, I assure you.”
I reach out and tug on my father’s jacket. “Da, please. He saved us. If they hadn’t gotten here when they did…”
My father curses and then starts barking orders at his team. He calls for medical attention for Kate and me, before directing someone else to take the three men into custody.
It takes ages before Kate and I are cleared by the paramedics and have given our statements to one of my father’s task force agents.
But when we’re done, my father comes back over to check on us, carrying our stuff. “I’ll be stuck here all night taking care of this and working to find the other missing women. I’ll send Sullivan to stay with you. I don’t want you to go home to an empty house.”
I accept my purse and phone. “It’s fine, Da. I’d rather Sullivan stay here and help find the other missing girls. I’ll stay with a friend tonight and call you later.”
He nods, leaning in to kiss my cheek. “I can’t tell you how relieved I am that you’re all right, Nora. But there is a long, hard discussion in our future about your decisions of late. Get some rest. We’ll deal with that when you’re feeling up to it.”
I draw a steadying breath. “Can’t wait. Good night, Da.”