38. Thea
38
Thea
“ I hope you realize I don’t offer my time and resources for free, Thea.” Declan glared at me from behind his enormous mahogany desk inlaid with leather. I offered him what I hoped resembled a grateful smile.
“Of course not, Declan.” After uttering a non-committal hum that suggested he didn’t believe me, he poured some Irish whiskey into his coffee, even though it wasn’t even lunchtime. I could have done with a coffee as well, but I kept my mouth shut. And besides, I was restricting myself to one cup of coffee per day. The pregnancy website I’d checked said this was better for the baby.
The baby I was determined to pretend did not exist.
Shelves of books lined the cozy room. I’d walked in expecting lots of glass and chrome, but the decor screamed ‘English manor house’ rather than 21st-century minimalism. It felt warm, relaxing even. Or it might have if the man sitting opposite me wasn’t a mob boss with a fearsome reputation.
Declan’s menacing aura was enough to scare the shit out of most people, and I wasn’t entirely immune. I’d not met Seamus Kelly, his father, but from what Eden told me, Seamus had embraced his passion for fishing and spent most of his time at the family estate in County Antrim.
And who could blame him? Salmon fishing was a helluva lot more peaceful than running a mafia business empire. And less likely to lead to a premature death or life locked up in a maximum security prison.
Guards had frisked me before our meeting, so I’d entered Declan’s lair unarmed. I didn’t think for one second he planned to kill me, but I’d be a fool not to treat him with respect.
If Declan wanted to curry favor with my father, he could sell us out in a heartbeat. I hoped he wouldn’t do that, but my motto was ‘trust nobody’.
He sipped his Irish coffee while I struggled not to fidget. Eventually, I spoke, mostly to break the awkward silence between us.
“I’m truly grateful for all you’ve done for me… for us .” And I was grateful. He’d put himself and his family on the line for me when he could have ignored Eden’s cry for help on my behalf.
“As you should be.” He drained his coffee and huffed with annoyance. “It’s cost me a fecking fortune!”
“Like you’re broke,” scoffed Eden as she came sailing in, ignoring the guards who did their best to stop her. I noted her hair was now a vibrant shade of purple with icy blue tips. “You’re the richest fucker this side of the Atlantic.”
“Hardly, cousin.”
Eden perched on the arm of my leather club chair. “Ignore the grumpy bastard. He’s pissed I beat him at monopoly again. Such a sore loser.” She winked at me while Declan scowled.
“Only because you cheated, a bhobain .”
“ Nooo , I never cheat.” From her laughter, I strongly suspected that was a blatant lie.
“So, are you ready to party like it’s 1999 this evening?” This evening being New Year’s Eve.
“Um, I’m not sure it’s a good idea,” I hedged, aware Declan didn’t want any trouble. “And I can’t abandon my sister.” Verity had taken the sudden departure from the beach house in her stride. If anything, she seemed excited about visiting somewhere new. I guess after being locked up in a boring attic her whole life, going to new places was thrilling for her.
“Oh, don’t worry about Verity. She can hang out with Declan’s sisters. They’re staying here tonight and have a movie marathon planned.”
“Um, how old are they?” Verity wasn’t old enough to watch scary movies or stay up past midnight.
“Saoirse is 12 and Aoife is 14. Honestly, she’ll be fine with them. Ronan has Aiden and Cillian on guard duty to make sure they don’t get up to anything.” She leaned in and whispered, “Aoife has a huge crush on Aiden. It’s hilarious.”
“Um…” I blinked, not sure whether partying was a good idea with so many people wanting to kill or kidnap me. “Where is the party?”
“In the basement-level club. Fear not, Declan’s security is top-notch.” She cast a sly grin in his direction. “He’s invited his crush, so he doesn’t want any trouble.”
“Jesus fucking Christ, get the fuck outta my office, the pair of ye. I have fecking work to do!”
Eden grabbed my wrist and pulled me to my feet. From his annoyed mutterings as the door swung shut behind us, Declan hoped I never darkened his door again. And who could blame him?
We stepped into the elevator. The doors swished shut and Eden pressed a button for the fourth floor, where she was staying. From the outside, this building in central Belfast looked no different from the many other historical buildings in the city.
The exterior dated back to the 1800s, but the interior had been extensively remodeled to reflect the needs of the 21st century, complete with state-of-the-art security systems and all the luxuries money could buy.
Apartments for the family took up the upper floors, while the Kelly family maintained offices on the first floor. The ground floor masqueraded as the reception area for serviced apartments, which the building claimed to be, and in the basement, there was an exclusive nightclub.
When we reached Eden’s apartment, I heard my sister giggling, followed by more female laughter.
My shoulders tensed. I’d left her with the guys.
“What’s Verity doing here?”
“Oh, she’s having a makeover. The girls brought all their makeup and stuff over. She’s having a ball!”
Of course she was. I sighed. The longer my sister spent out in the real world, the harder it was to keep her safe. She had no sense of danger. Everything was new and exciting to her, and she soaked it up like a sponge.
“Don’t worry about her. The girls will take care of her. They love her to bits already.”
Eden’s assurance did not ease my mind.
“Really?”
Eden patted my arm, reading me like a book. “Yes. I promise she’ll be fine. You need to give her some freedom. Let her be a teenager.”
“She’s not a teenager yet!” I retorted, but Eden ignored me.
“Anyway, that’s not why I brought you here.” She pulled me through a spacious kitchen kitted out with modern appliances and cream cabinets, and down a small inner hallway. We passed a couple of bedrooms strewn with store bags, clothes, and other female detritus, and then entered the main bedroom.
Like the other bedrooms, bags, discarded clothing, and shoes littered the floor. Every other surface held an assortment of sketchbooks and pencils, books, makeup, and hair accessories.
“Jesus, has there been a home invasion?” I asked, not even joking.
“Very funny.” I’d always assumed Eden’s messy dorm room at Abernethy was because she lacked space. Her room had been smaller than mine, with barely enough space to swing a cat. But it was clear to me now that ‘mess’ was her default setting.
Eden dragged me into the adjoined bathroom, where I admired the white marble floors and counters, sea green tiles, and a lovely copper soaker tub.
The tub was gorgeous. I’d not had time to check out the apartment Declan had graciously lent our motley crew of fugitives yet, but I hoped it had a soaker tub as nice as this one.
Eden shut the bathroom door and turned to face me, a serious look on her face for once. Was she gearing up to force me into trying 50 million outfits on for tonight’s party? I hoped not. It had been a long drive from the coast and I desperately needed a nap.
“I bought some tests for you.” Tests? Oh .
“One is plenty, thank you. Pretty sure I’m not pregnant,” I lied through my teeth.
“Did you get the curse?”
“Well, no—”
“Then you’re probably knocked-up.” She opened a cabinet and pulled out a paper bag. “Here, use one or all of them. If you’re preggo, we’ll know in a few minutes.”
I opened the bag and stared at my doom. Denial had been my friend for the last two weeks. I would miss her sweet voice in my head, telling me there was no way I was with child.
Once I took a test, I’d know for sure. Still, it was early days. I had plenty of time to decide what came next. Once I’d eliminated the threats against me, that is. Until Dad was dead, figuring out what to do with a baby bratva heir was firmly on the ‘too difficult’ list.
I waited for Eden to leave, but she perched on the edge of the vanity unit and stubbornly refused to move.
“I’m not peeing on a stick while you watch.”
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t be silly. I don’t mind watching you pee.”
Did she have some kind of pee fetish? Gross . “Well guess what, I mind!”
That did it. She threw her hands in the air and huffed with annoyance at my refusal to let her watch me take the test.
“OK, fine! I’ll be in the bedroom. Shout me when you’re done.”
Once she’d left the bathroom, I locked the door and pulled out a box from the pharmacy bag. The instructions were simple. Pee on the stick and wait three minutes for a result. One line: not preggo. Two lines: very preggo.
I prayed for one line as I peed. Praying had never worked for me in the past, but there was a first time for everything. Perhaps God was in a listening mood today.
After flushing and washing my hands, I sat on the toilet lid and waited.
It really was a lovely bathroom. Declan must have paid a shit-ton of money for the marble tiles. Like thousands. Sadly, not even expensive marble tiles proved enough of a distraction, and no matter how hard I admired the lovely detailing and workmanship, all I could think about was how the fuck I was going to cope with being a mother when I could barely take care of myself and my sister.
All too soon, three minutes had passed.
It was time to learn my fate.