Chapter 29
Chapter Twenty-Nine
RILEY
Kieran is finally home, but it seems he has no intention of talking. I’ve been sitting out on the patio, waiting for him for hours, and when I finally caught the roar of the engine and the muted slam of a car door, I thought maybe he would come outside to talk.
But given how quiet the house is, he’s likely gone to bed or locked himself away in Ronan’s office to work.
I can’t go upstairs and face him, at least not until I know he’s read my letter. Then again, there are so many ways he could have misread my words or simply dismissed my apology, or maybe he simply set it on fire without reading a single word.
Hope is a fragile thing, and it’s starting to slip through my fingers.
After what I did to him, I don’t deserve to be given the space to explain, and he has every right to cut ties and walk away.
Despite that, I’m still holding onto the hope that I know he is a good guy at heart, so I will cling to that as long as I can.
I try to make myself accept that maybe my apology won’t change anything and that what Kieran and I had is gone forever. But the thought of raising our child without him makes my stomach turn to lead.
I am not scared of the work or the responsibility, but I am scared of not having Kieran in my life.
He is everything I didn’t know I needed, and the thought of navigating through parenthood without him to lean on is not something I’m sure I can do.
“I’m sorry.” I slowly rub my stomach. “You’re not even born, and I’ve already failed you. But I’m going to do everything I can to fix this—”
The sound of crunching gravel has me jerking upright on the lounger.
For a second, I think it must be a stray cat coming to beg for some food, but then something moves in my peripheral vision that is too large to be anything other than a man.
“Kieran?”
I’m on my feet and walking along the edge of the patio when one of the men in Ronan’s detail, Connor, jerks violently.
Though there was no sound, he falls face down into the gravel as if he’s just been shot.
Before I can even open my mouth to scream, a gloved hand clamps over my mouth and pulls me back, away from the windows.
“Shh,” a voice hisses in my ear.
Something cold and metal presses against my side, and I whimper when I glance down and see the barrel of a gun.
“Make a sound, and I’ll put a bullet between your ribs.”
My knees threaten to buckle.
Even if I could fight him off, there’s no telling how many more men are waiting to take his place because he sure as hell didn’t get past Ronan’s security without help.
“Start walking.”
The barrel of the gun presses further into my side, and I force one foot in front of the other toward the back fence.
I don’t catch any of the faces of the men who move around the property like shadows, but I already know who sent them.
I always knew this fight with Sean O’Keefe would come to a head, but I was naive to think that when that happened, I would no longer be caught in the middle. That Kieran and his brothers would get to him first, and I would somehow get to be the one to walk away unscathed.
Maybe there is still a chance. At some point, the alarm will sound, and Kieran will appear because I know he wouldn’t let his anger at me overshadow his need to protect his child.
I just have to survive until then.
As we approach the fence, I stare up at the coils of barbed wire and blanch.
If I lose my balance, I could land wrong; I could land on my stomach and risk hurting the baby.
The man growls in my ear, “Try not to shred yourself in the process.”
Before I can even start to panic, two men close in, one on each side, their grips like iron bands clamping around my upper arms and pulling me forward.
“Move,” one of them grunts.
I stumble, catching myself against the fence just in time to stop from falling.
My palm scrapes against the cold metal links, and pain slices through my skin, but I just start climbing. My fingers slip on the metal a few times, and the robe I threw on over my pajamas tangles around my legs, threatening to trip me.
The fabric snags, pulling tight across my belly, but I bite down hard on the inside of my cheek and keep going.
I’m almost at the top when my sleeve catches on the barbed wire.
I tug, and a jagged barb slices deep across my forearm. I bite back a cry as warm blood trickles down my wrist, slicking my grip.
The pain is sharp and hot, but I don’t have a chance to assess the damage when strong hands grab me from above, and the world tilts as I’m hauled over the top and shoved down on the other side.
My knees hit the dirt with a thud that rattles through me.
Before I can scramble to my feet, one of the men jerks me upright and forces my face away from the house.
“Eyes front,” he hisses.
I hear it more than I see it, the faint thud of boots against gravel, and the crash of a body hitting the ground.
Someone is clearly fighting back, and for a second, a spark of hope flicks to life.
Kieran?
But then the sounds cut off, one by one, and silence settles over the estate once more.
Ahead, a waiting SUV is parked just beyond the fence with the passenger door already open as if waiting to devour me.
Once I’m in, the chances of Kieran getting to me in time are almost none, and I choke on a sob as I try to glance back at the house, hoping that someone is at the window.
“Please…”
The hand around my wounded arm tightens, and the pain is so severe that my vision swims.
“Get in, now.”
I stumble into the car, and the door slams behind me, sealing me in.
But I’m not alone. Sitting across from me with eyes like ice is Sean O’Keefe.
His cruel smile has my skin breaking out in goosebumps, and suddenly, my world, the one that revolved around Kieran and this baby, is narrowing to nothing but the sound of my heartbeat ringing in my ears.
“Hello, Riley.”
My throat closes as his smile widens, exposing his yellowing teeth and making his eyes glitter with pure malice.
“Miss me?” He leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees, so that I catch a waft of his aftershave.
It’s nothing like the musky, leather scent that Kieran wears that makes me want to bury my nose in his shirt. No, this one makes me gag as my throat burns with bile.
“Tell me ye weren’t sitting out there all night waiting for me.” Sean’s eyes flick over my body.
Recoiling into the seat, I clutch my robe tighter around myself.
I may not be naked underneath, but the feral look in Sean’s eye has me feeling stripped bare.
It seems the blood pooling down my arm isn’t enough to put him off. If anything, it probably turns him on even more.
The thought makes me glad I passed on dinner; otherwise, I would be covered in puke as well as blood.
“What do you want?”
Sean doesn’t answer right away. Instead, he leans back in his seat and reaches into the pocket of his suit jacket for a packet of cigarettes.
“Right now? A smoke.” He flips open the packet and takes a cigarette between his teeth. “Want one?”
I say nothing as he lights up and takes a long drag.
“Oh, that’s right, ye’re pregnant.” He chuckles, tapping the cigarette against the edge of the ashtray built into the center console. “Though, considering what I have planned, a cigarette will be the least of yer worries.”
Sean must see the surprise on my face as his lips pull up into a feral smile.
“That’s right, I know all about yer little secret. Makes me sick.”
“How do you even—”
“People like to talk for the right price, princess.” Sean chuckles, though he sounds anything but amused.
Before I can say anything, the engine starts to rumble, and the car jolts to life.
“No.” I turn in my seat and watch through the back window as the house slowly disappears out of sight.
My stomach drops.
I might never see Kieran again. For all I know, he could already be dead.
And if he isn’t, will he come to save me?
If he does, it’s only because of our baby.
Question is, will he make it on time?
The end of the cigarette glows brighter as Sean takes a drag before blowing the smoke right at me.
I choke on an inhale and start violently coughing, which only amuses him more.
“Ye took something that was mine, Riley Walsh. And for that, I’m going to make sure I take everything from ye.”
My eyes stream as I try to catch my breath.
The car is so full of smoke that I can’t escape it. The smell alone is enough to make my stomach churn, and every time I try to gasp for air, it fills my lungs once again.
“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure ye both suffer.”
What does he mean? Does he mean me and the baby? Or does he mean me and Kieran? Because if it’s the latter, that would mean Kieran is still alive, that there is a chance he can still find me.
“Please. Please, don’t hurt the baby. Don’t hurt Kieran. You don’t have to—”
“Don’t beg.” Sean looks at me with ice in his eyes. “Ye’re better than that.”
I don’t think I am.
Maybe if I could find a way to make him talk, if I could get him to underestimate me, I could find a sliver of leverage. It’s a ridiculous, dangerous thought, but it’s the only plan I have.
“You don’t need to hurt Kieran. If you let me go, I won’t tell Kieran any of this. He’ll never know.”
Sean snorts as he snuffs out his cigarette. “He’ll know everything.”
“What do you mean?”
“It means I've got some big plans for ye.”
I can only imagine what those plans entail from the wicked gleam in those pale blue eyes. It’s enough to make my blood run cold as I think of the small life inside me, so impossibly tiny and helpless.
The only thing standing between my baby and Sean is me, so I rest a protective hand over my stomach, hoping to plead to any thread of humanity that Sean might possess.
“You can’t hurt us.”
Sean’s answering laugh has a sob building in my throat.
The life growing inside me is no more than a bargaining chip—something to lure Kieran out of the shadows with.
“Ye’ll wish ye were dead by the time I finish with ye, Riley Walsh.
But don’t ye worry. I’m not going to kill ye right away.
That would be messy. No, I want ye to watch the world ye love burn slowly around ye.
I want to remind Kieran of what he stands to lose.
And if he thinks he can save ye, if he tries to come after me, well, then… we will make a spectacle, won’t we?”
“You’re insane.” My voice shakes because I know Sean isn’t bluffing.
“Insane?” He cocks his head. “No. That would imply I have no control or understanding over my actions. If anything, I am the opposite. I am deliberate and precise in everything I do.”
The thought of someone hurting Kieran makes bile rise in my throat.
Rage fights with fear inside me, and it’s a vicious, useless duel because Sean could cut me open like a ribbon, and no one would ever know.
My vision blurs, and I press my forehead to the cool glass of the window, watching the city slide by like scenes from someone else’s life.
For a beat, I allow myself to consider the worst. That this man, this monster, could kill not just me but my baby too and make Kieran watch. That if given the chance, he would ruin everything that’s left of the life I was trying so hard to build for myself.
The panic claws at my insides at the thought, but I swallow it down, hard.
“You won’t…You won’t get away with this.”
“We’ll see.”
“Kieran will find you before you get a chance to hurt me.”
“Is that so?”
Sean leans forward then, his face filling my vision.
Up close, he’s even more grotesque than I remember. His teeth are yellowed and chipped, and his smile never seems to reach his eyes.
He has the sort of face that lingers in your mind until your very last moment.
“Believe what ye want, Riley. But trust me when I say ye will die. And when ye do, I’ll make certain there’s nothing left of Kieran to mourn ye.”