20. Keir
Keir
M y head tilted at the sound of the closing door farther up the hall, something in the back of my brain screaming at me to follow.
Glancing over my shoulder at Mila, I weighed my options.
I now had two people to get out of here alive, and one of them should’ve been Molly’s sister.
Whether Mila was lying about not seeing another captive, I was unsure.
All I knew was Mila had to come with us.
“What’s going on?” Mila hissed. “Are we leaving? Where’s your woman gone?”
Bringing my finger vertically across my lips in the universal sign for ‘shut the fuck up’, I checked the hallway once more before sliding from the room. As I moved up the hall, I felt someone behind me. “What the fuck are you doing?”
She looked at me like I was the idiot. “Duh. I’m coming with you.”
I didn’t have time to argue with her. Baring my teeth, I warned, “You move when I say you move. Got it?”
“Fine,” she seethed. “Whatever you say, asshole.”
Reaching down, I pulled my secondary Glock from my ankle holster and handed it to Mila. “You know how to use one of these?”
She took the weapon, checking it over quickly. “Please. I’ve been going to the range since I was seven.”
I arched a brow. “Isn’t that a little early to put a gun in the hands of a child?”
“Not in my family, it’s not,” she replied, holding the weapon by her side.
Confident she wouldn’t shoot herself accidentally, I pulled my primary gun from the small of my back.
Farther up the hall, the sound of low voices filtered from behind one particular door.
I looked left and right, counting. This was Seamus’s fucking room.
Shit. I reached for the handle and shoved my way inside.
For a minute, my world tipped on its axis.
Seamus had Molly pinned to the bed, her wrists manacled by his hands, and pulled over her head. His mouth was on hers, and all I could see was fucking red. The monster wanted his pound of flesh. Molly was trying to push him off her, but Seamus was built like a fucking tank and wasn’t budging.
Bringing up my gun, I took aim at his head and said, “I don’t appreciate when people touch my things.”
Seamus turned his head slowly, peering at me from under his long brown hair. “How the fuck are you here right now?”
“Stopping by to collect something you stole.”
His gaze flickered to Mila behind me. Sitting up—still straddling my woman—he shoved the hair from his face and sneered, “That one belongs to my da. Another cunt to pump full of his cum. An attempt at another son.”
“I’m not talking about her.”
Seamus’s attention went to Molly. Her eyes were panicked, her chest rising and falling too quickly. “This bitch is only the cleaner.”
“She’s mine ,” I said.
Seamus looked smug. “Got yourself a weakness, Keir. I never thought I’d see the day.”
“Where’s my sister?” Molly asked, voice strong despite her precarious position.
“How the fuck should I know?”
“You stole her. Brought her here,” Molly added. “Where is she? Where’s Orla?”
Seamus’s brows drew down. “I don’t know anything about a woman named Orla.” He turned to me. “Is that why you’re here? To rescue a woman we don’t even have?”
“Fuck this shit,” Mila muttered.
The sound of her weapon discharging in such a small room was deafening.
The bullet hit Seamus in the thigh, giving Molly the opportunity to wriggle out from under him.
She stumbled as she got off the bed, falling to the floor as Seamus grit his teeth against the pain, clutching at his leg.
Molly tried to crawl away from the bed, but Seamus snatched at her hair, dragging her backward.
With spittle flying from his mouth, he shouted, “I think I’ll just keep this one, Flanagan!”
I brought my gun up, aiming at his head. Not giving a fuck that this—right here—would be the start of a war. “Let her go, Seamus, and our war can start like it should. Between men. With honor.”
“What war?” he asked with a scoff, wrapping Molly’s hair around his fist.
“We got the bullet from one of your Sentinels.”
“What the fuck are you talking about, Flanagan?” he bellowed, clutching his wounded leg with his other hand. Blood flowed freely, soaking his pants and the bed beneath him. “There’s been no declaration, but after this little stunt, there might be one.”
“Keir, we have to go,” Mila said. “We’ve been here too long.”
Fuck, I knew she was right. To Seamus, I said, “Last warning. Let. Her. Go.”
This was my Hail Mary. He knew Molly was my only weakness; he could end me right now.
Seamus stared me down for a long minute, and the sound of my heart throbbing in my head was all I could hear.
Time slowed as I waited, then everything rushed forward when Seamus unwrapped his hand from her hair and shoved her toward me.
“You owe me, Flanagan,” Seamus vowed. “You fucking owe me big.”
Helping Molly from the floor, I shoved her out the door behind Mila.
I knew that whatever had just happened between Seamus and me would come back to haunt me one day.
Out in the hall, we ran back to the laundry cart and Mila jumped in.
I pressed a kiss to Molly’s lips before I followed behind her, dragging the canvas over us.
“Wait,” Molly said, rushing away and returning with a bunch of white sheets. She dumped them over our heads, then replaced the canvas cover.
“What the fuck are you doing?” someone asked.
“What’s going on?” Molly asked, playing the role of innocent by-stander perfectly.
Whoever they were moved closer, and I peered through the gap in the canvas. I could see Molly standing there, her cheeks flushed. Then, a hand wrapped around her throat, and she was shoved against the wall.
A man with black hair pushed up in her face. “Where’s the girl? How did you get into this room?”
Molly tried to pry his fingers from her throat. “What … girl?”
The guy slammed his hand against the wall beside her head, making her flinch. “The girl in this room.”
“There was … no girl. Door … open … when … I got … here.”
The bastard bared his teeth, then shoved her away, disappearing from my view.
“Jynx?” I asked, needing to know she was okay.
Coughing, she rasped, “I’m okay. I’m okay.”
“Let’s get the fuck out of here,” Mila added.
The cart moved. Once we were in the elevator, Molly murmured, “Why wasn’t that hallway swarming with people? Didn’t they hear the gunshot?”
“The rooms are soundproof,” Mila said. “Nobody knows what just went down in Seamus’s room other than us and Seamus.”
This was an absolute clusterfuck. “Let’s just get out of here, Jynx.”
The second the elevator doors opened, she shoved the cart out, struggling with the extra weight.
When the smooth concrete floor shifted to uneven cobbles, I knew we’d made it outside again.
The trip back to the van was slow, and every pause, every sound of a Fiach Clan member’s voice set my teeth on edge.
As soon as the van doors shut, I threw back the canvas cover and stepped out of the laundry cart.
Mila scrambled after me, though the van lurched and threw her off-balance. Her hand shot out to the side. “Where are we?”
“In the back of a van we borrowed.”
She arched a brow. “Why do I think borrowed is a euphemism?”
Ignoring her comment, I went to the small window between the cab and the back, tapping quietly. Molly slid the glass open. “Back to the Rover. I’ll drive that and you follow me. We have to get rid of this thing.”
“Okay,” she replied calmly, sliding the glass back into place.
Pulling the phone from my pocket, I dialed Finnan.
“Where the fuck are you?” he answered.
“Fiach territory.” There was no need to lie. Seamus had been shot by the woman we’d pulled out of there so he would find out soon enough.
“What’s happening?”
I told him all about Molly’s sister being snatched in the middle of the night. The diversion for Molly’s mam. The Dogs shot in the back of their van. Everything.
“Was the sister at the Fiach compound?”
“No. But we found someone else, though.”
“Who?”
“Says her name is Mila Vassilieva.”
“Fuck,” Finnan cursed. “Sweeney had her stashed there?”
I eyed the woman in question, who had rested her back against the side of the van. She glared up at me with those pale gray eyes, daring me to fuck with her newfound freedom.
“Aye. Said her father sold her to Gannon in exchange for a foothold in Ireland.”
“Where’s this cunt now?”
“Sitting about two feet from me. We got her out, but she shot Seamus in the process.”
“Let me get this straight. You broke into the Fiach compound, stole one of Sweeney’s prizes, shot his son, who is the Chief of the goddamned clan and left?”
Technically, Mila had been the one to do the shooting. I let out a deep breath. “Aye.”
Finnan was silent on the other end of the phone. “Did you get confirmation Sweeney was the one to send the bullet?”
“Seamus denied any knowledge. His father could’ve been working alone on this, but I find that hard to believe.”
“He could’ve been lying,” Finnan replied.
“Could’ve been,” I conceded. “But why would he?”
I didn’t want to have to tell him I now owed Seamus Sweeney a favor. Something about that exchange made me uneasy.
“Just get back here. I can’t afford to have you away right now.” He hung up, ending our conversation.
Tucking my phone back into my pocket, I saw Mila’s eyes had closed.
The skin beneath them were stained with purple rings, and I knew exhaustion when I saw it.
Her lids fluttered open once the van pulled to a stop and the engine cut out.
We were back at the Rover. Molly’s door opened, the rear doors following suit a moment later.
Unlocking the Rover, I gestured for Mila to get into the back. “Where are we going?” she asked, her fingernails digging into the leather headrest of the front seat.
“Have to get rid of the van. After that, we’ll figure something out.” After shutting her door, I walked Molly to the driver’s side of the van. Before she could climb back in, I spun her around and pressed her against the side panel with my body.
She blinked at me, her pulse fluttering against the delicate skin of her neck. I pressed my thumb against it, feeling her life battering against mine.
“What we did was reckless and dangerous,” I told her, stroking my thumb over her pulse point. “You could’ve died. Seeing—” I bit the words off, swallowing down the rage that tried to surge. “Seeing you pinned under him like that made me want to burn down the fucking world.”
“I’m okay, Keir,” she replied, her tongue darting out to swipe across her bottom lip. “He didn’t hurt me.”
Somehow, I found that hard to believe. He may not have hurt her, but the bastard had found my weakness. My one flaw. Her. I didn’t know when she’d sunk so deeply into my soul, but Jynx was there now. Pressing my forehead to hers, I said softly, “I can’t see you like that again. I can’t?—”
“You won’t, Keir. And next time you want to burn the world down for me? I’ll be the one handing you the match, okay? But right now, we need to get out of here. Dispose of the van. And get back to the safety of the Mac Tíre Clan’s territory.”
I knew she spoke the truth; we couldn’t linger here for long. Seamus would have already reported this shit to his father, and we had to be ready for the storm his rage would bring.
“Kiss me, Keir?” Molly whispered, as her face tilted up to mine. “Kiss me now, and later you can make me forget everything else.”
Unable to deny her a damned thing, I slammed my mouth against hers, demanding she open to me with the slide of my tongue against her lips, letting me claim her. She broke away first, panting hard.
“We need to go.”
I nodded, letting her move past me and into the van once more. Once the window slid down, I reminded her, “Follow me.”
Turning, I climbed into the Rover and led the way to an abandoned warehouse down by the bay.
Popping open the trunk, I pulled out the lighter fluid and matches I kept in two separate containers, then motioned to where Molly should park the van.
Both women watched me torch the van, and we did not leave until I knew it was well alight.
“Get in, Jynx.”
She did as I asked, sliding into the front passenger seat and buckling up. “Where are we going now?”
Although I wanted to get her back to the safety of my clan’s territory, I knew we couldn’t leave yet. Orla was still missing and Mila needed protection. There was only one place I could go nearby where we would be safe.
“Back to the Sionnach compound.”