Chapter 24
CHAPTER 24
DAMIEN
I t was demented, but I was actually relieved that someone was approaching. I needed an outlet for all this rage, some Russian face that I could smash with my bare hands before I fucking exploded.
This whole time, I’d assumed that I’d gotten to her before the worst of it. That they hadn’t … violated her yet. She’d seemed okay, happy even, once she felt safe and full, but … fuck . When I’d touched her, she’d looked at me like I was one of them . Cowered from me like I was her captor. Flinched at my raised voice like I’d beaten her myself. I was furious over what they’d done to her. I was furious over what they’d taken from me . But I was fucking livid with myself for letting it happen.
If I’d gone with her that morning when I heard her leave, none of this would have happened. I should have looked for her sooner. Should have asked where she was going. I’d thought she just needed some air, but now—
The wooden floors creaked again.
Now, I was going to kill whoever the fuck was coming down those stairs.
Sliding my gun out of the holster as silently as possible, I stuck it in the back of my waistband. Not that I wanted to use it. What I wanted to do was beat this fucker to death. Kick him in the ribs, like they’d done to Clo. Feel his skull collapse around my fist and hear his screams of agony as I severed each and every appendage that might have been used to hurt my girl.
Another wooden groan echoed through the stairwell. I glanced over at Clover. She watched me with wide eyes, white knuckles clasped around her naked legs. A subtle shiver ran through her, so I picked up my blazer and took a step toward her.
This time, she didn’t flinch. She held my gaze as I draped the disgusting fabric over her body. It was covered in even more blood and bullet holes than before, but she smiled weakly at the gesture, which cooled my wrath. Slightly.
This fucker was still going to die.
Standing against the wall between Clo and the stairwell, I took an offensive stance, lifting my hands and waiting for the shadow to appear.
And when it did, I attacked.
A thrill shot through me as I grabbed the bastard and slammed him against the wall on the other side of the doorway. He let out a grunt, but it was hardly audible over the sound of a woman’s shrieking cry, coming from the top of the stairs.
“Jacqueline!”
Jacqueline?
“Let … me … go!”
The voice of the arsehole wriggling in my grasp was definitely feminine, so I released her immediately and took several steps backward until Clover’s body was safely behind my legs.
The stairs creaked and groaned rapidly now as the second woman flew down them. Barreling straight into the one she’d called Jacqueline, she wrapped her in an embrace without once stopping to assess the danger.
It was a miracle they hadn’t been captured yet.
“Is there anyone else here?” I asked, listening closely for the sound of movement upstairs.
“Just you arseholes,” Jacqueline said, straightening her back as she assumed a similar stance to mine, stepping in front of her woman.
They were facing the widows of the bakery, so there was enough light to see their basic features. The one standing in front had dark skin and short gray hair, faded on the sides, while the one behind her, who’d come charging down the stairs like an eejit, had fair skin and white hair, cut to her shoulders.
“Apologies,” I grumbled, sounding more annoyed than remorseful. “We thought everyone was gone.”
“So sorry,” Clover echoed, standing behind me.
“We’ve been tryin’ to lie low, but that’s kinda hard to do with the two a yous here, bickerin’ loud enough to wake the dead.”
“Jack, be nice,” the white-haired woman snapped. “Ya heard what they were sayin’. The girl’s obviously been hurt or …” Her concerned eyes drifted to mine, looking for confirmation, but her words trailed off on a sudden gasp.
The woman stared at me for a second, mouth agape. Then, she swallowed and shook her head.
“Sorry.” She laughed, rubbing her palms on her tightly cinched white bathrobe. “I’m Kate.” Stepping out from around her partner’s stiff back, Kate extended her hand. “Don’t mind Jack. She’s retired military. All bark and no bite.”
“I’ll give you a bite.”
“Damien,” I announced, giving her frail hand a single shake.
“Clover,” Clo said, leaning out from behind me. She clutched the backward blazer to her chest as she reached a hand around it to shake Kate’s.
“Oh, darlin’,” Kate gasped, her gaze dropping to Clover’s bloody wrist before traveling to her bare hip and battered legs. “What happened?”
I glared at her over my shoulder, silently asking the same thing.
Clo dropped her eyes.
“No matter. We’ll get ya cleaned up.” Kate took Clo’s hand and tugged her gently away from me, but Clo dug in her heels, afraid to leave my side.
A tiny ember of hope flickered in the wasteland of my heart.
“It’s okay,” I said, turning toward her.
Then, I grasped the jacket by both shoulders, holding it open so that she could turn around and slip into it properly. Once it was on and buttoned, Clo turned back around and gave me a grateful smile.
“You have clothes she can wear?” I asked Kate, guiding Clo toward her with my hand on the small of her back.
“Clothes, toothbrushes, a hot shower … we’ll get her fixed right up.” Kate glanced at me quickly before ducking her chin and looking away. “Both of ya.”
“Thank you,” I muttered, holding Clover’s worried stare as Kate led her up the stairs.
“Shouldn’t you be fightin’ up in Dublin right now?” Jack asked, folding a pair of thick arms across her broad chest.
“Sorry?”
“The boots on that girl’s feet, your holster over there … you’re in the military. Or ya were .” Her black eyes narrowed to slits as she sized me up. “Boy, if I find out you defected, I’ll drag your arse back to Dublin myself.”
I turned so that my left side was visible in the light and lifted the edge of the bandage Clover had made for me on the boat. “Got shot during the attack. Full discharge.”
Jack hissed at the sight of my bullet wound and wrinkled her nose. “Fuck. You’re lucky to be alive.”
“Am I?”
I thought about the way Clover had recoiled from my touch, flinched at my voice. How I had doomed her to a fate far worse than the one she’d faced in Howth simply by being near her. But mostly, I thought about how, once again, I’d failed to save a woman I cared about. They’d hurt her, and as soon as they found us, they were going to do it again just to torture me.
“Listen.” Jack stepped forward, placing a hand on my shoulder as she steered me toward the darkness of the stairwell. “I know how ya feel. When I retired, I felt like my whole life was over. I didn’t know who I was without the Rangers. I had no family, no purpose, no fuckin’ reason to live.”
If my bullet wound had been able to make a sound, it would have groaned just as loud as the planks beneath my bare feet as I gritted my teeth and began to climb.
“I was so depressed that my neighbor signed me up for a baking class just to get me outta the house and encourage me to consume somethin’ other than whiskey. And that’s where I met my girl.” Jack sucked her teeth. “I dunno why she puts up with me, but thanks to that woman, I have a reason to get outta bed now. Or not, if ya know what I mean.”
Jack chuckled and elbowed me in the side as we reached the top of the stairs, eliciting a grunt of pain.
“Oh, shite. Sorry, lad.”
I looked up and found one large space, about the size of the bakery downstairs, that had been sectioned into a sitting room, kitchen, and dining area. The lights were off, but the curtains were open, allowing just enough ambient light in to illuminate the edges of the furniture and cabinets.
More creaking and groaning echoed through the stairwell, and Jack and I turned to find Kate coming down from the second floor.
“Got her in the shower and put a first aid kit and some toothbrushes and spare clothes on the bed for ya. Had a few things from my son that should fit.” She smiled, but the expression faded as soon as she met my gaze.
Kate looked away immediately, like she’d done downstairs, and Jack pulled her in for a hug.
“You look just like her boy,” Jack explained. “Never had the pleasure of meetin’ the fella, but … he was Kate’s pride and joy.”
Was.
Fuck.
I didn’t know what to say.
“G’wan now.” Jack waved me off. “Ya kept us up past our bedtime. Just keep the lights off, and for fuck’s sake, try to be quiet.”
“Thank you,” I rasped, placing a hand on both of their shoulders.
Jack gave me a small salute before leading Kate toward their bedroom.
As I watched them go, that ember in my chest flickered.