Chapter Four
CILLIAN
I stand a little off to the side of the elevator, silent, watching the doors and waiting for them to open as she approaches me.
She hasn’t seen me yet, distracted by looking around. Maybe looking for Dare.
Good luck with that.
I want to make sure we are alone in the elevator, so, I scan the area, relieved that no one else is heading this way.
As the doors finally open, my target slips in.
I follow her in as the doors begin to close.
She smells like lavender and fresh cotton, and my body reacts.
Her eyes widen when they land on me, only for a moment. Then she smiles, her hands rubbing on her thighs. “Oh, hi.”
I grunt as she presses the button for the lobby.
I take her in.
This woman has been giving our clan a run for our money.
Her picture really doesn’t do her justice. She’s way more beautiful, her face slimmer, but she’s been on the run, so it makes sense that she lost some weight.
But she’s kept her curves, her ass a bubble in her backless dress.
Makes me wonder what it looks like beneath that silk dress she’s wearing.
My mind starts playing a looping feed of images of all the ways I’d take her in, all the ways I’d make her submit to me and take me deep.
What the hell is wrong with me? This is Maggie Sullivan. A traitor. She has an expiration date.
And considering who I am, I might be the one to enforce that expiration.
What a waste.
Stop it!
As she turns to look at me, I give her the smallest smile.
She can’t suspect the reason I am here, but I also don’t want her to notice the monster stirring awake below my belt.
She smiles back brightly.
Fuck.
I hate this. I hate kidnapping women. It’s against the Hayes code, and I don’t know what’s going on with Ronan right now that he’s ordering this.
Of course, kidnapping, torturing, or even killing those who deserve it, those who cross us, I have no problem with. As I see it, it is a matter of survival. If I let them live, they might either kill me or someone I love. That is an easy choice.
But women?
However, this is Ronan. I have too much respect for the guy. I owe him too much. And I don’t ever question my clan leader. Even if I think this is the wrong thing to do.
As the elevator doors close, I catch a glimpse of the commotion, Liam is putting up his act. Good.
Maggie doesn’t seem to notice, humming under her breath before she turns to me.
“Have you been to one of these galas before?”
“No.” I keep my head down, keep my voice barely more understandable than a grunt.
“It’s been wonderful. The food, the booze. It’s really impressive how they always put these together in a week.”
I don’t respond, and she keeps going, babbling as we descend.
It appears she’s never going to let me get a word in edgewise. Not that I would even try.
“And everyone’s so pretty, even you. You’re handsome.”
I blink at her.
It’s not like it’s the first time I’ve been called handsome, but she’s talking to a complete stranger in an elevator. Does she have no sense of danger?
But I remain quiet.
“You’re Dare’s friend, Cillian, right? He pointed you to me before. Said you guys were here to network. Did you get any luck?”
"Fucking Dare,” I mutter, and I’m surprised I said it out loud.
“Cillian?”
There’s something about the way my name rolls off her tongue.
She turns to look at me, her hazel eyes sparkling.
Fuck, she’s pretty.
“Yes?”
“Even if you weren’t Dare’s friend, I’d still think you are handsome.” There’s a teasing edge to her voice.
“Thank you.” It sounds stupid coming out of my mouth, but I can’t help it.
I’m not like Dare who can flirt with a lamppost, or Liam who can do anything to further his career.
I am flattered, which confuses me.
It’s not like I’m a fucking virgin, for crying out loud, but I’m usually the one taking the lead, not women. I have no idea if it is the way I look or the vibe I put out, but yeah, I’m usually the one to take that first step.
I wonder if they sense the darkness festering inside me, the cold. If so, that begs the question, doesn’t Maggie have self-preservation skills?
“But maybe you shouldn’t go around complimenting men you don’t know. Never know how they might react.”
“What? Like they could be offended?”
“No. Like they could slam you against a wall and have their way with you, wreck you, own you, and make you beg for more.”
Her mouth opens and closes a couple of times before the elevator doors ping to open again.
It’s time.
Before she even takes her first step, I hold her around the waist, pulling her body against mine.
She gasps, a whimper escaping her.
My cock reacts instantly, both to the sound and to the closeness, but this is not what we are about now.
Or ever.
Clapping my hand over her mouth, I hold her closer to me.
She screams, but the sound comes out muffled, and disgust rushes through me.
Am I really doing this? Am I kidnapping a woman?
I have to trust Ronan and that this is what is right. I can’t fail him or Liam.
I get my lips as close to her ear as I can, struggling not to close that final almost-non-existent gap and taste her. “I’m going to take you to the car, and you’re not going to scream again, got it? Because if you do...”
It’s an empty threat. I’m not going to harm her. I can’t. Maybe Ronan’s code has changed in these last few months or so, but mine hasn’t.
I half carry her to where I know Liam’s SUV is waiting to take us away.
The little hellcat fights and squirms every step of the way, nails scratching down my arm.
We would have fun if this was a different scenario, and she’d be punished for this.
When she reaches back and punches me in the balls, I hiss, and my grip loosens.
It’s not enough that I let go of her, but it is enough that, with little effort, she breaks free and takes off running.
Fuck.
I take off after her, ignoring the throbbing pain still rising all the way to my scalp, and right now I couldn’t be happier that we are in a deserted parking garage.
The hellcat will not escape, but she is giving me a run for my money. All that running has made Maggie Sullivan a bit of a track star, it seems.
I cut her off, going around the cars where she’s running straight ahead, toward a beat-up sedan.
As she runs past the car next to Liam’s SUV, I grab her again, my breath coming hard and short, dragging her upright as she screams and kicks and claws.
If she were a man, she’d be lights out by now.
Sometimes, I hate having a code of conduct.
Dare is waiting at the other end of the car. He was ready to save the day and cut this chase short. Thank god I was able to get to her before him.
It wasn’t lost on me how he was fucking her with his eyes at the gala. Even now, his gaze is eating her up.
I drag her to Liam’s car.
With Dare’s help, I bind her hands together, stuff her in the trunk, and close it.
As soon as she is locked inside, I sigh.
Thank fucking Christ.
I look down at myself to assess the damage she rained down on me.
Blood drips from my arms, and the throbbing between my legs, though less now, is still there, reminding me that if I were anyone else, I might want kids someday and she could have just jeopardized that.
Little hellcat.
She is screaming again, and though the sound is muffled, it is still loud enough in the silence of the parking garage that it almost feels like it echoes. “Let me out of here. Let me go. What the fuck? Dare?”
He looks like he is hurting, hand rubbing his face as he paces back and forth along the width of the car. ”Fuck, fuck, fuck. This is wrong, man.”
It seems as if none of us wants to do this.
I’m breathing hard, and Dare is too.
Finally, after what seems like too long listening to Maggie banging around in the trunk, Liam comes from behind his SUV.
“Let’s take her to the safe house.”
I stare at Liam, my mouth opening and shutting, unable to form words. Because what the actual fuck. This isn’t us.
We take, kill, maim, torture, punish men, not women. Never women.
“Are you sure, boss?”
“I’m sure.” He sits on the passenger seat.
I sigh as I look at Dare, who stands there for a moment, staring after Liam.
It’s strange to see Dare in a melancholy mood. He’s usually the clown of the group. Not that he is a happy go lucky kind of guy. I mean, in our field, who can afford to be that? But he is the one who brings levity to an otherwise dark and drowning world.
I guess I need to be the one bringing the levity now, since I need him to cheer up, or at least, snap out of this funk. “At least, we got it done without bloodshed.”
“Not yet.” His words sound ominous, and I hope to God they don’t come to pass.
I don’t know if I can kill a woman, and since I’m the weapon, it will fall on me if that is Ronan’s decision for her. I can’t afford to lose Ronan or Liam. They are my family. The only ones I have, even if not by blood.
If they send me away, if I disappoint them, what will I do then? Who will I be if not their weapon?
And as much as being a weapon takes its toll on me, as much as it breaks my spirit a little more each time I have to watch life leave someone’s eyes, the thought of having no one, of losing these two men, destroys me even more. It would crush me.
I guess my soul is already gone, hopeless, so I might as well do whatever I need to make sure my time on Earth includes the people who matter the most to me. The Hayes.
Dare shakes his head and gets into Liam’s SUV’s driver’s seat, taking off.
I follow them to the house, not sure what to expect.
All I know is it’s going to be a long night.