Cathal Chapter 2
The entire time we waited, the woman behind the desk gave us nervous glances.
She’d picked up her phone and called someone before we even left the window, and she’d spoken to someone twice more.
Based on her anxious looks toward us, it was about what was taking so long to get us out of the waiting area.
The people waiting for loved ones and for themselves to be seen also kept watching us.
Their expressions were a mix of curiosity, awe, and unease.
Those were the expressions we were used to invoking in others.
As out of place as it was, a few women gave us looks suggesting they hoped to speak with us, and that anything that came from those conversations would be acceptable.
It was crazy, but we were seen as conquests sought by many women and men.
It was seen as something to brag about if you got to spend a night or two with an O’Sheeran.
I wouldn’t deny that I’d taken them up on their offers just like the rest of my cousins and siblings, minus the three girls in the family.
We blocked out any knowledge of them having sex.
Assuming they were still virgins kept us from going off the deep end.
However, none of us had ever taken advantage of anyone or broken promises.
The ones we slept with knew before it ever got to us naked that it was merely for sex and nothing more.
That the likelihood of repeats was slim.
But that hadn’t stopped them, and others, from trying again and hoping for more.
I knew we weren’t ugly, and we were physically fit and rich.
But why would someone debase themselves and their worth to chase someone only for those inconsequential things?
I wanted more than a superficial relationship based only on sex, good looks, and assets.
To be honest, it got boring after a while having such easy conquests.
The door to the treatment area opened, and a man in a white coat walked out. His gaze zeroed in on us. He hesitated a second, then continued toward us. He stopped before Dar.
“Mr. O’Sheeran, I apologize for your wait. I’m Dr. Bowen. Ms. Bragan has been undergoing testing, but she’s back. If you follow me, I’ll show you to her.”
Our wait lasted exactly eight minutes. I know because I looked at my watch as we left the desk and now. As Dr. Bowen turned his back to head back to the door, Dar looked at our men who had gathered close.
“Seamus, I want you to remain out here with Vander, Cashel, and Reggie for now. Finnigan and Troi will come with us. We really don’t need them back there, either, but I know if I try to go without a couple of you, I’ll never hear the end of it from Finn.”
Darragh grinned at his head of security. Finn barely cracked a smile as he nodded. Dr. Bowen had halted and watched the interaction. When we nodded to him, he continued with four of us following him.
Back in the ER’s treatment area, staff were bustling around but stopped when we entered, again with the stares and then the whispers.
I’d long gotten used to it and most of the time didn’t notice, but I did tonight.
Darragh marched behind Dr. Bowen, not glancing at them.
I knew Finnigan and Troi were checking everyone out, searching for possible threats.
Curtains separated the individual cubicles between patient beds—not the most private. However, we passed those and were shown to the door of an actual room. Dr. Bowen paused.
“This is our only private room, I’m afraid. We moved Ms. Bragan here after she returned from the imaging department a couple of minutes ago. We had no idea she was connected to your family. I’m so sorry.”
“Doctor, as long as she’s getting the care she needs, that’s all we care about. If you don’t mind, we’d like to see her alone,” Darragh stated nicely, but firmly, so there was no room for argument.
“Of course, you go right ahead. I’ll be back once we know something more.”
“What can you tell us now?” I asked.
“Ms. Bragan came in from the scene of an MVA, a motor vehicle accident. The paramedics told us it appeared that she had been run off the road based on tire tracks at the scene and the crushed rear panel on her car. She was unconscious and unable to tell us anything. She has a head injury, which we’ve just imaged.
There are minor cuts on her arms and face from glass and bruises.
We put her through X-rays and a CT scan to check for broken bones or internal injuries.
So far, nothing has shown up. She’s a very lucky woman. ”
“Thank you,” Darragh told him before I could.
When Dr. Bowen left, Darragh spoke to Troi and Finnigan.
“It’ll be best if you stay out here. She’ll be overwhelmed as it is. And I doubt one injured woman can kill us,” he teased.
“She could if she’s like Gia,” Finnigan reminded us.
“Well, we’ll chance it. And if she is like Gia, we’ll holler for help,” I tossed back, grinning.
As Dar knocked and then opened the door, Troi whispered to me as I passed him, “I hope she whips your ass.”
I chuckled and gave him the middle finger.
He was my bodyguard, but we were close and didn’t hold to a strict boss/employee relationship.
That was the way it was with all our guards and foot soldiers who had been with us a long time.
When you were with them most days, and they were willing to die for you, that created a bond. Or it did in our family.
As I cleared Dar’s back, my gaze landed on Bronagh Bragan.
Even though I’d seen her picture, I was momentarily stunned by her beauty.
The blood, tiny cuts, and bruising didn’t hide it.
The impact of her blue eyes was like a punch to the gut.
I saw curiosity turn to shock, then to wariness in those dazzling eyes.
She was reclined on the bed, the head propped at a forty-five-degree angle. When she realized who we were, she tried to sit straighter. I noticed her wince.
“Please lie still,” Darragh told her.
He stopped at the foot of her bed with me at his side. She stopped moving, but the wary expression remained.
“Misters O’Sheeran, forgive my surprise, but what are you doing here?” she asked.
Her voice had a smoky quality. She wasn’t trying to be enticing, but regardless, her voice sounded that way—an arrow of desire shot through my body.
“Please, call me Darragh, and this is my cousin, Cathal. Mr. O’Sheeran is too stuffy.
Ms. Bragan, we’re here because your father called us.
He’s extremely worried about you. As you know, he has a long way to travel to get here.
It’ll take him a while. He asked if I would come and check on you and bring my security as a favor to him. I agreed.”
Dar’s voice was friendly and meant to reassure her. I wasn’t sure she trusted it. After a few beats, she sighed.
“I appreciate you coming, Mr.—, I mean, Darragh. That was very decent of you to do. However, I’m afraid you wasted a trip. I’m going to be fine. They should discharge me soon. As for needing to bring your security people, I hope they’re meant for you.”
There was a degree of steel in her tone. Rather than angering me or putting me off, it intrigued me. I glanced over to find my cousin studying her closely.
“Ms. Bragan, your father and I are associates in his current business restructuring. He also asked me to consider deepening that relationship. While I’m working to help him as much as possible, I couldn’t say no in good faith.
As a regular human being, I wouldn’t refuse to check on someone far from all family.
As for my security, yes, a couple are for my cousin and me, but I brought others for you.
I understand you don’t have any. That’s dangerous. ” His reproach underlaid his words.
“You can call me Bronagh. God, you’re like him. Listen, whatever dealings you have with my dad and his restructuring don’t mean you have to look out for me. I’ve lived years without needing guards stuck up my ass day and night. I live and work a normal life.” Her bite was clear.
“You did until tonight when someone ran your ass off the road,” I remarked.
Her eyes snapped to me and narrowed.
“I’m an adult. I decide how to live my life.
Again, thank you, but as you can see, I’m alive, and I’ll be leaving soon.
Call my dad and reassure him if you must, but I don’t need babysitters.
It must’ve been one helluva ask if it got me two of the mighty O’Sheerans here.
I understand Darragh coming, but why you, Cathal? ”
I opened my mouth. What came out was the last thing I expected, but as it did, I knew I wasn’t taking it back.
“As your future husband, I believe it’s only right that I be here and ensure the safety of my fiancée, don’t you?” I asked.
Her swift intake of breath, the way her eyes widened in disbelief, and her body stiffening told me she either knew nothing about the arranged marriage deal or she hadn’t figured we’d do it.
Darragh, I had to give credit. He did nothing outwardly to show that my statement was unexpected. However, knowing him the way I did, I felt his tension spike. I knew he’d corner me and demand to know what the hell I was doing. The answer was, I didn’t know yet, but I wasn’t backing down.
“Like hell I’m marrying you! Stop this nonsense.
I told Dad his idea was crazy and that your family would never go for it.
He insisted on trying. And I know you turned him down today, though you offered to find someone else to marry me who was connected to you.
Why lie? It’s unnecessary,” Bronagh snapped.
“It’s true we initially declined the offer, and Darragh told your dad that. But after further consideration, I decided that marrying you wouldn’t be a bad idea. We hadn’t had a chance to tell Faolán that before he called about your wreck,” I replied smoothly.
I was saying shit off the cuff as it came to mind. I wasn’t sure why, but it felt like the thing to do. Bronagh’s astonishment slowly changed to anger.