20. Isla
20
ISLA
W hen Declan walks away, following his "gut" about some supposed threat, I know it's my window. I thought he would never let me out of his sight today, but I'm being handed a golden opportunity straight from the hand of God. I watch him and Ronan vanish around the corner of the house as swaths of people funnel in and out of the house carrying table linens, centerpieces, and place settings.
Our guests mill about too, some of them nodding their congratulations and others chatting happily. Da offers a hug, Mum a few tears, and then a man named Aiden, whom I’m told works for Ronan, escorts them to a table near the far end of the tent where the string quartet is set up.
Lochlan isn't paying attention to me, chatting with a few men I've never met, but the moment I start to walk away, he nabs me, grabbing my arm tightly. "Where do you think you’re going?" He grumbles, and I keep a plastic smile etched into my face. I've been emotional all day. I could use the nausea trick to get out of this, but despite having felt nauseous for a few weeks now over the stress of all of this, I'm not actually feeling sick right now.
"I have to pee, and I have a splitting headache. I was just going in to get out of the sun for a moment." I nod at the house, and he scowls at me. For a second, I think my window just closed, but when one door closes, heaven opens another, right? Maeve saunters over with a look of concern, and I grasp onto that instantly.
I may not be able to overpower a grown man with a gun, but this sweet little surgeon won't know what hit her.
"What's wrong?" she asks, her eyes bouncing between Lochlan's and mine. He looks like I've just committed a crime, but Maeve's innocence is her downfall. I bat my eyelashes and rub my temples, playing on my earlier hesitancy for this wedding. She's so naive about things, so gullible. She thinks what I'm going through is just wedding jitters.
"I have a horrible headache and I’m feeling parched. The ladies’ room…" I raise my eyebrows, and she scowls at Lochlan.
"I'll take her, you ogre." Maeve hooks her arm around mine, and Loch stands in our way.
"Declan said not to let her out of my sight." He touches the butt of his gun, and Maeve rolls her eyes hard.
"They're married now, fool. Move out of my way or I'll inform Ronan you have zero hospitality when it comes to your new sister-in-law." With one hand planted on her hip, her head cocked at an accusing angle, Maeve stands her ground. Her authority in this family isn't lost on me. Lochlan looks hesitant, but he backs away and nods.
Maeve's perfume wraps around me in a comforting embrace as she guides me between the streams of people ushering in the party in my honor. I feign needing her, keeping with the act of having wedding jitters, and she starts to ramble.
"You'd think the men in this family would have a bit more compassion for all their ranting about how they treat wives." She sighs and pats my arm. "I'm sorry he's a pain in the ass, and I’m sorry you've a headache. Must be dehydration… Or more of those wedding nerves. But the hard part is over now." She beams at me again as we enter the house. I don't know it as well as I know Declan's house, but I know the way to the front door. And I know that dragging this train down the street will be a nightmare. It'll slow me down too much.
"I think I spent too much time overthinking things," I tell her, and I have no trouble being honest about that. I've done nothing but overthink every step I've taken since the moment they showed up at my home and wrested me away from it.
"So you're feeling better?" she asks, gesturing toward the short hall leading to the toilets.
I nod and smile, and this time, it's a very genuine smile. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel—literally. The door to the side entrance past the garden and out to the street outside the gate is within view. I don't see anyone moving out there, and I’m almost home free.
"I do. I think you were right about wedding jitters. I pray you don't have the same nervousness I had the past few days over your wedding. I feel like it's made me a mess. I want to freshen up and… Oh—" I touch my fingers to my lips in another feigned action. I have to get rid of her, and I know just how to do it.
"Oh?" she says, tilting her head again. I find it comical. She's like a well-trained dog, heeding every command I give her. I feel bad in one respect. When Ronan finds out it was his very partner who led me away from security where I could slip out and vanish, he'll be raging mad.
"Well, I don't have any pain medication. Could you be a dear and get me a Panadol? I can't imagine dancing the night away if my head is throbbing like this." I offer an expression of pain, and while it's not entirely fake—my heart is deeply aching—I do have to put on a bit of an act. I rub my temples again, and Maeve smiles at me. She's the ever-dutiful doctor and I’m her sick, weak patient in need. Of course she's going to make sure she follows the letter of the law. She did recite that Hippocratic Oath.
"Of course I will." She smiles again and turns to go, and I watch her walk away, waiting until she is out of sight.
My hands work quickly, but I struggle. The way this train is attached to the dress is horrible. So many buttons and zips hide sneakily under the satin folds. I'm shaking too, racing against more than one clock. Declan could see I'm not with Loch anymore. Lochlan could wonder what's taking a while and come looking. And Maeve could return with the pain medication and I'd be screwed.
One by one, I tug at the fasteners until I decide it's not even worth it. I didn't pay thousands for this dress, but I do have multiple hundreds of thousands stashed in my father's back yard, buried in various coffee cans on the property. Besides, the O'Rourkes won't even miss this damn dress, but if I don't get out of here, I'm not even giving them a chance to miss me, and I have a point to prove.
I yank on the thick bedazzled satin fabric and hear it tear. A button skitters across the hardwood floor, and I yank again. Little by little, I work the train off the dress and lessen the weight I’m carrying. If I could, I'd race to my room and change into jeans, but if I do that, I'm risking their finding me. It will take too long.
I've only just gotten the train removed and turned toward the door when Maeve appears at the head of the hallway. She is smiling, carrying a few tablets on her palm in one hand and a glass of water in the other. Her eyebrows go up and she looks hurt as she asks, "What are you doing?"
"Sorry, Maeve, I can't do this. I know you think Ronan is so amazing, but I am not going to be trapped here against my will. I am leaving." I hike the dress up and hear the water glass crash to the ground and shatter as I start for the door. The dress is still bulky, still hard to move in, and it slows me down enough that Maeve is able to grab ahold of the bulky skirt and stop me.
I lurch forward, almost falling, and the top of the dress nearly comes down, exposing my chest.
"No, please, Isla. It's not safe. I know you want to run, but trust me. You can't do this on your own." She's pleading now? I wonder if she really does know the whole truth.
I take the hem of my dress and yank it back, trying to wrestle it away from her, but the feisty mare has a strong grip.
"Leave it," I snap, yanking hard, and she stumbles.
"Please, Isla…" Maeve isn't letting go, and my fight or flight is in top gear now.
I lunge toward her with both hands, pushing her hard until she stumbles backward into the open door of the toilet. As she begins to fall, she lets go of the dress, and I whisk it out of the door before I slam it shut. As the latch clicks, the knob falls off, which is even better. If it's broken, she can't chase me down.
"I'm so sorry," I tell her through the door, then I glance up the hallway to make sure no one hears me and I yank the dress up higher again, covering my chest more fully. And then I'm free.
Rushing up the hall toward the door, my heels click on the wood. They’ll slow me down too, so I kick them off and let my bare toes feel the wood. I may not get far, and I may need to reach out to a perfect stranger for help. I know I can't go straight to my parents' house—Mum and Da are too connected to this. They won't help me until they're desperate to make sure I'm safe. So I have to lie low somewhere and sneak home to get my cash only when it's safe. Then later, when I know they'll come away, I can return to get the rest or pay someone to get it for me.
The plan plays on repeat in my head as I open the door and look around. There is no one on this side of the house, a flaw in the security plan I picked up when we did our walk-through of where all the guards would be standing last night. They made it far too easy for me to walk right out of the house, with only one hiccup. I have to get past a guard near the driveway.
The ground is cool on my toes as I run up the garden path toward the front of the house, and I hear a commotion happening around back now. No doubt,, Declan has seen that Lochlan lost sight of me. When I peek around the front corner of the house I see the guard who is supposed to be standing here is gone, chasing off toward the chaos, and I almost cry. I'm so happy.
For six weeks, I’ve been their prisoner. Seven, maybe—I've lost count now. And my feet carry me down the path away from this house of torture faster than I even knew I could run. They don't own me. They can't control me. I won't stay here and be someone's penance. I am my own woman. I am strong, and I'm going to fight to get my family free from the control Ronan O'Rourke exercises over them.
Finally off the property, I turn toward the sun, which I'm assuming is westward now, this late in the afternoon. I'm winded. My arms are tired of carrying the skirt of this dress, and I imagine that they're finding Maeve now in the toilet. It brings a grin to my lips to know I've bested them, and then my smile sours as I hear tires squealing.
My heart feels like it will explode. They're coming after me now. I haven't even gotten a few blocks away yet. I have no place to hide, and I can't go back. A few more strides, a few more meters away from Ronan's home, and the car comes from a direction I'm not anticipating. I'm expecting them to come from the house, to chase me down, but a long black sedan stops right in front of me and I nearly slam into it.
I move to run around it, and the door swings open, slamming into me. I hit the pavement hard and look up to see my worst nightmare. Sebastian O’Reilly's evil grin stares down at me as I suck in air and writhe on the ground in pain.
"Well, well, well… Runaway bride?" he says, then he chuckles. "Get her in the car, boys. They'll be coming."