Chapter 31
Let’s Go Home
Ciarán
I’m so angry. I thought Arnold was a friend. He’s always so nice to me.
I can’t believe he’s the one who kidnapped me. Well, he and his friend. I had been going to put my things away in my locker at the gym to get ready for training with Corey when my face was covered with a cloth and I passed out.
I woke up here in this apartment with Arnold’s friend staring nervously at me. Ciara is going to be so angry. I hope she’s okay.
I’m so hungry and tired and my wrists hurt. They have had me in zip ties since I woke up. Arnold has seen me in the ring. He’s smart to keep me tied up.
I’d kick his ass and his friend’s too, if I could get loose. I wonder where his friend went. If I got away, could I make it far enough before he came back?
I look to see my backpack is by the other sofa. My phone is in there. If I can get to it, I can call for help. Miss Vega or Miss Taegan would come and get me. Ciara doesn’t know the city like they do.
I don’t want to risk getting caught trying to wait for her to find where I am. I might just call Dylan. He’ll kick Arnold’s ass and take me home.
“I can hear you thinking, kid. You’re going to get out of here soon. I’ll get you back to your sister. I didn’t want anything to do with this in the first place. You hungry?”
“No,” I lie, not trusting him or anything he’ll give me.
“I’ll order a pizza anyway.”
I ignore him as I look around again, trying to figure out how to escape. I need to get my hands and feet free first. I’ve been working on my hands, but my wrists are so sore I’ve taken a break.
“Why did you take me?”
“Your sister pissed someone off and they want to get her back. It’s a stupid plan and she’s going to get her ass kicked, but I … shit, I don’t know what I’m doing anymore,” he huffs and runs his hands through his hair.
“You could take me back. I promise I won’t say anything.”
He goes to say something, but his phone goes off. He reads the text message and the blood drains from his face. Standing up, he begins to pace.
“Fuck, I knew this was going to happen. Shit, fuck,” he screams.
“What happened? Can we leave now, and you drop me off at the gym?”
“I don’t think I have that type of time. They’re coming for you. Crazy bitch got her ass whipped. I’m a dead man after this. I told her this was stupid.”
“I don’t even know who she is. Can you cut me loose?”
It’s a lie. I know he’s talking about Cadlha. She was always so mean to me, and I saw the way she looked at my sister.
She was pissed when she found out she was banned from the gym. I was there the day she tried to enter after she was cut from the team. She totally lost it.
I had heard something about her and Ciara getting into it. I don’t know why she would want to fight my sister. That’s just stupid.
“Fuck, I’m sorry, kid. Please don’t tell them it was me. The best thing is for me to run and leave you here. Someone will find you and release you, but if I’m here when they get here, I’m dead.”
Tears burn the backs of my eyes. He’s going to leave me here tied up in hopes someone finds me. What if Ciara doesn’t come?
“Please don’t do this. Cut me loose before you run,” I plead.
“Kid, you’re going to be a monster when you get your power up and hone your skills. I’m not crazy enough to cut you loose. Your hands are too fucking fast. You’ll be okay. I promise,” he says and takes off, not looking back once.
I start to panic and wiggle in my seat. Tears roll down my cheeks as the zip ties tear at my skin. My heart is racing and my stomach feels sick.
I nearly pee myself as the front door bursts back open. Relief washes over me as Dylan comes through the door, followed by Ciara, Miss Taegan, and some other guy I don’t know. However, I can’t stop sobbing.
“I’ve got ya,” Dylan says as he cuts my feet loose with a blade he pulls from his boot.
The other tall guy with him frees my hands as my sister wraps me in a hug. When my arms are free, I wrap them around her and hold on tight.
“I was so scared, I didn’t know if you could come for me, if you would find me. I want to go home.”
“Shh, I’m here. I will always come for you and nothing in this world would be able to keep me from finding you.” She pulls away and cups my face to wipe away my tears. “I love you so much, Ciarán. I’ve always got you. No matter what, I’ve got you.”
Dylan
“What aren’t ya telling me?” Jamie says as we sit in my kitchen while Ciara puts Ciarán to bed.
I sigh and rub my eyes. “Do you realize who she is?”
“Who? Your girlfriend? No, but she’s hot as fuck. I thought she was going to beat Cadlha to death. Who is she?”
“Ciara Walsh.”
“Get the fuck out of here. I thought ya had given up on that and just found some hot bird to shag. That’s little Ciara?
“Fuck me, I sort of thought ya had a type. I didn’t think that was her.”
“Aye, it is. Cole knows I’ve found her, but he’s not telling me something. There’s a lot going on and I’m trying to keep her safe.”
“And the kid?”
“Her little brother. He was born before they lost Uncle Don and Aunt Iesha.”
“Wait, lost them? What do you mean?”
“I don’t know,” I say in frustration. “I’m still trying to figure that out. All I know for sure is that they’re both dead. First, Uncle Don then Aunt Iesha. She was killed in a car accident that took Ciara’s memories of everything before then.”
“Fuck, Donald Walsh was the shit. I’m so sorry to hear that. Iesha was such a nice lady. She was Ma’s friend.”
“Yeah, Ma was hurt for Ciara, but I could tell she was upset about her friend as well.”
“Ma knows about her?”
“Aye, Da does too.”
“How long have ya been keeping this to yourself?”
“Almost a year. It hasn’t been that hard with everyone so distracted and scattered.”
Jamie releases a low whistle. I get ready to tell him I’m calling it a night, hoping to avoid the answers he had really asked me for. I see the moment that’s not going to fly.
“So what does all of that have to do with ya being banned from the Fighting Irish?”
I groan and pull a hand down my face. Being the youngest sucks ass sometimes. All I want right now is to go upstairs and make sure my girl and the kid are all right.
I’ve been furious since Ciarán told us how it all happened. The locker rooms don’t have cameras. I’m guessing that’s one of the reasons they knocked him out in there to take him.
I’m still trying to figure out how no one saw them carrying a kid out of the place. Heads are going to roll. When I find Arnold, he’s going to wish he never took his first breath. It was smart of him to run.
Fucking coward.
He was right to be afraid of Ciarán’s hands. In the last seven months, the kid has made a ton of progress. His dad would be proud.
“I had been fighting the underground scene to make some money,” I mutter.
“Are ya crazy? Ya could have fucked up your career with that shit. We have plenty of money, ya didn’t need to be in those fights …” Jamie trails off.
He looks at me like I lost my mind. I turn away, not wanting to read the look on his face. I know what’s coming.
“It was because of her. Da forbid ya from going home, but yer hardheaded ass was going to go back anyway, weren’t ya?”
“Yeah, I had to find her. I knew she would find her way back to me.”
“He would have had ya killed, ya eejit. Dyl, Da, Logan, Con, and Brooklyn don’t tell us everything for a reason, but what they do say, ya sure as fuck should listen to. That man was evil.
“I don’t trust that his death was the end of him. Just ya wait, his hate is bound to resurface sooner or later,” he says, his words ringing in the air with an eerie truth to them.
“Don’t worry. I’m listening now. Besides, she’s here. That’s all I ever wanted.”
“Yeah, well, I’m happy ya got the kid back and she’s okay. Now I get why ya’ve been throwing me all the meetings in the lairs. Yer ass can’t go in them,” he snorts as he rounds the counter to pull me into a hug.
I return the embrace. Jamie only wants to see me safe. It’s good to know he has my back no matter what.
“I love ya, kid,” he says and kisses my forehead as he releases me.
“I love you too. Now get out so I can go check on my girl.”
“Fuck ya. I’m coming over for breakfast. So get yer dick wet tonight and have my pancakes and bacon ready when I get here in the morning.”
“Whatever,” I scoff.
He tosses me a two-finger salute and saunters out of my apartment. I lock the door from my phone and turn on the alarm system before I head upstairs.
I find Ciara in Ciarán’s room, right where I knew she would be. They’re curled up together watching TV. Ciarán is wrapped up in the covers like a burrito. He peeks out at me with a small smile on his lips.
“Hey,” he says.
“Hey, buddy. How are you?”
“Better. That stuff Miss Taegan put on my wrists helped a lot. Just happy to be home. Sorry you guys missed that concert.”
My chest swells to hear him call my place home. Finding him in tears destroyed me. Ciarán is a good kid; he didn’t deserve this.
I wave him off and shrug. “True Life is family. If we call in some favors, we can work something out. No big deal. Jamie will get over it.”
He yawns. “Cee, I’m really tired. I’m going to go to sleep. You don’t have to stay. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“You sure? I can stay the night if you don’t want to be alone.”
“No, I’m okay.”
“Okay, if you need anything, let me know. No matter what.”
“I’ll be fine. See you in the morning.”
She kisses the top of his head and gets up to come to the door where I’m standing. I step out into the hall and wrap my arm around her shoulders as we walk to our bedroom.
“This isn’t over. I’m going to make that bitch pay,” she snarls as she leans into me.
“Aye, yer right about that, but for tonight, we’re going to forget about all of this and get some rest.”
Cadlha
“How am I supposed to go on the run like this?” I huff to myself as I sit in this motel room.
I’m not going down for kidnapping and I know all about the O’Briens. I have family who works for them. Had I won, I was going to call on those connections to smooth things over between me and Dylan.
He wasn’t supposed to find out about the kidnapping, so it would have been a lot easier to pull off. Now I’m fucked. The worst part is that I’m out of the twenty grand I bet against her. That was my last twenty grand.
I needed that money, I thought that bet would get me back in solid shape. Now I’m down to nothing and I need to get the fuck out of here before they find me.
Connie and Kate will be a fucking problem. Those bitches are batshit crazy when it comes to protecting their brothers. That was all fine when Dylan was mine.
I knew then that they would stab any bitch who tried to take my man away from me. They never like anyone. I don’t know how this bitch is getting a pass.
“Ugh,” I growl in frustration as I struggle to open the painkillers I need to take.
My fucking arm is broken in three places and most of the blood vessels are broken up and down my forearm. That bitch is a fucking animal. They said I have a fucking concussion.
My phone rings, bringing me out of my ranting thoughts. I groan, not wanting to talk to anyone while in all this pain. However, I see it’s my cousin from Ireland who I asked to get me some information on that man-stealing slut.
“Hello,” I say into the phone.
“What about ye?”
“I’ve been better. Do you have something for me?”
“No. That name isn’t ringing any bells around here.”
I sigh in frustration, but then something comes to my pain-fogged brain. When we were announced for the fight tonight, that bitch was announced as Killer Walsh. That kid calls her Cee, but I’ve heard the others call her Ciara, not Ariel.
“Do me a favor. Try the name Ciara Walsh and see what ya come up with,” I slur.
“All right,” he drags out. “But ya owe me big time for this.”
“I’ve got ya.”
“Get some rest, ya sound like shit.”
“Simon, hold on. I need one more favor.”
“What’s that?”
I need help getting out of here without coming up on the cops’ radar. I’m not going to jail for this. With Simon’s help, I know I can make that happen.
“I need to get out of New York fast, and I need a bit of cash.”
“Cadlha, what have ya gotten yourself into?”
“Nothing. Are ya going to help me or not?”
He sighs. “Give me thirty. I’ll get ya out of there.”
“Thanks.”