Chapter 42
Chapter Forty-Two
ISLA
I’ve been here for three days. I have a bathroom, and I’m fed, but I have no contact with anyone throughout that whole time.
They wait until I’m asleep or in the bathroom to bring my food in and take the dishes out.
I am on twenty-four-seven surveillance from the camera in the corner of the room.
Then, the door to my room opens, and the big man who hit me, Reese, comes inside.
What does he want?
Running, I put the bed between us. If I could, I’d close myself in the bathroom, but he is closest to the door than I am.
“Come with me.”
I shake my head. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
He smirks. “Yes, you are. Because though the boss told me not to rough you up too much, he did not say that I couldn’t hit you again. And my patience is very short.”
Not rough me up?
I can barely see out of my left eye, and my nose is still blocked with blood. But I guess it could have been worse. I remember how battered up my mom was after my father was done with her.
I shake my head, keeping quiet. Last thing I want is to be forced to leave this room. I have been locked here, yes, and this is nothing like the guys did with me, but I have no desire to find out what is waiting for me outside that door.
The guys at least had morals; that is the only reason I’m still alive, but Cormac?
“Boss wants to see you. You’re coming.”
He jumps the length of the bed and grabs my elbow.
I scream and try to shake him off, but his grip is too strong. So strong I know it will bruise.
“He climbs out of the bed on my side, his face coming up to mine. “Stop it or I’ll make you stop.”
My body quakes, but I can’t help the flight reaction my body is screaming at me.
His hand draws back, and pain explodes through me as his fist connects with my stomach, and I double over.
My baby.
My stomach revolts, and I dry heave, but nothing comes out.
He lifts me up by the arm, pulling me along. “Try that shit again, and there is more where that came from. Plenty of places to hit that I can still rough you up without the boss ever knowing.”
I stumble but recover; his pull on my arm hurting more than it should. Either the circulation is fully cut off from his grip, or he has dislocated my shoulder.
“I'll go, but don’t touch me.”
Another punch to my stomach has all the breath leaving my lungs, and tears start flowing down my face.
I’m so sorry, baby.
“I’m in charge here, not you. Bitch.”
I can’t let him hit me again; it might hurt the baby if it hasn’t already, so I just obey the best I can as the ability to breathe slowly comes back.
He drags me behind him.
This place is huge.
I take a deep breath as we approach a door.
He knocks, and Cormac’s voice orders us to enter.
As we step inside what I now see is an office, Cormac stands, giving me a dashing smile.
He really must have turned heads as a young man with his piercing blue eyes and strong jaw, but there’s no life behind those ice-cold eyes or that smile.
I stand where Reese drops me, and he turns to leave the room, closing the door behind him.
Fuck, I’m alone with Cormac Callahan.
I take in everything around me.
His eyes fly to my cleavage in the V-neck shirt.
“Magpie.”
“I told you, you have the wrong person. I am not Maggie Sullivan.” I’m becoming more and more terrified by the dead look in his eyes.
He scoffs, plopping back down in his chair.
I take a deep breath. “Please. You have to believe me. I’ll do anything for my freedom.”
“Aye, anything, except tell the truth.” He narrows his eyes. “Sorry, love, but I’m not buying what you’re selling.”
Why the hell did I have to come out with a doppelganger that is a traitor?
He extends his hand to the minibar in the corner. “Would you like a drink?”
Before I answer, he starts pouring us each a glass of brown liquid.
My eyes sweep his desk quickly, and I spot a small sword-shaped letter opener.
As he pours the drinks, I slide it into the sleeve of my hoodie. It may be small, but it’s all I’ve got.
When he turns back, he extends one of the glasses to me.
I won’t drink this, whatever it is. I wouldn’t even if I wasn’t pregnant, but there is no way in hell I’m endangering this baby any more than it already is.
“Wh-what are you going to do to me?” The stutter in my voice isn’t practiced.
“Nothing.”
I blink at him. “Nothing?”
“For now. You’ve been good to me, Magpie. You’ve fed me all of Ronan’s information, and I want you to do it again.”
“I don’t know anything.”
He huffs, shooting his drink back. “I’ll tell you what I need from you.”
“And what is that, exactly?”
“Liam has been spending a lot of time at his family cottage.”
I freeze.
He knows that Liam has been at the cottage?
“I find it interesting. He usually avoids it, and now he can’t stay away. So, I think he’s got himself a woman.”
“I have no idea who you’re talking about. I told you, I’m not Maggie Sullivan. She’s dead.”
He chuckles darkly. “What’s this, then, love? Another personality?”
I have no idea what sort of relationship he might have to Maggie. Glancing at his left hand, I catch the glint of a silver band on his ring finger.
“You're married?" My shock is real, even if changing the subject will help me stall.
“Aye. Matilda Grace was the best thing that ever happened to me. We lost her last fall, breast cancer. It took her beauty and her grace.”
“I'm sorry.”
Telling the truth hasn’t worked, and as far as I can tell, this man will never believe I’m not Maggie, so I have to play the game. I have to pretend to be Maggie, pretend to know something. And I suppose I do know something.
Liam does have a woman, and he’s sharing her with his two best friends. And she’s pregnant.
For once in these crazy few months, being Maggie Sullivan is less dangerous than being Isla Quinn.
I swallow hard. I need to get back to my men. Liam, Cillian, or Dare will come for me. Maybe they’ll all come for me.
And Reese will be sorry he ever touched me.
Cormac waves a hand in the air. “We all go, love. She lived a good life. But you know as well as I do your wiles are useless with me. Matilda Grace is the only woman who could have swayed me, and she’s gone.”
I blink.
Not that I was thinking of offering, but he has such a weird moral code, given what I know about him. He traffics barely-of-age girls, boys, whatever he can get ahold of.
It’s all about money and power for him, and he’s got plenty of both.
I pretend to take a sip of my drink, and my eyes water at the fumes alone.
What is this thing?
“So, what now?”
“Now, Magpie, you sing. You tell me everything you know, and Reese won’t have to hit you again.”
I flinch and shudder. “What if I don’t have anything to tell you?”
“Then I don’t have any use for you, Magpie,” he says casually, almost cheerfully, grinning up at me. “But something tells me you’ll talk.”
Fear rushes through me, threatening to make me drop to my knees, tell him everything just so Reese won’t hit me again.
“You remember where you found me? I’ve been keeping my distance for a while now, lying low. How would I know anything? But I can find out. Let me go, and I’ll tell you what I learn.”
He laughs, loud and hard. “Funny, very funny. Time to start singing, magpie.”
I touch my nose. “Fine, but can I see a doctor first? My nose is fucking killing me, and my eye is useless like this.”
“Reese can be… overzealous.” He waves a hand toward me. “Back to your room, Magpie. I’ll send for a doctor, and when you’re all patched up, we’ll talk.”
“Aye.” I sigh.
I bought myself some time, bought the guys some time to get to me.
As I head back to my room, I pass Reese in the hallway and give him a wide berth.
Back in my room, I hurry to lift my shirt.
Purple and green fight for space on my belly.
I touch it, but it’s too tender to keep my fingers there for longer than a second or two at a time.
Fucking Reese.
Clothes have appeared on the bed, along with fresh towels.
Heading to the bathroom, I start undressing, relief flooding me when there is no blood on my underwear. I can just pray all is well with my baby and that it is as tough as his dads.
I groan when the hot water hits my skin. I took a bath before, but I was too dizzy from the beating to stand up. This is so much better.
My sore muscles relax under the spray, and all the blood in my nose comes out in a rush when my sinuses open up. It’s gross, but it makes me feel a hundred times better.
When I’m feeling almost like myself again, I turn off the water and step out of the shower, trying to lay a hand on my still flat but heavily bruised belly.
“We’re going to get out of this, sweet pea. Ma’s got you.”
“Who are you talking to? Are you going to have a baby?” The high-pitched voice coming through the crack in the bathroom door makes me nearly jump out of my skin.
I grab the closest towel and clutch it close to me, covering myself.
“You scared me to death! Who are you?”
“My name is Irene. What’s yours?” The disembodied voice sounds cheerful and bright and... young.
I throw on the clothes that were clearly left for me—a simple pair of sweats and a large black t-shirt that hangs down almost across my ass. The letter opener slides into my back pocket, and I keep a hand on it as I slowly open the door.
Standing right there, with no sense of personal space, is a teenage girl fiddling with her septum piercing.
“Hi!” She waves, a wide smile on her face. “It’s so nice to have another girl in the house. Da and his men are so boring.”
She’s Cormac’s daughter? I didn’t even know she had one. The guys never mentioned her.
This can be good for me.
Sweeping my wet bangs back from my face, I smile at the girl. “It's nice to meet you, Irene. I’m… Maggie.”
She tilts her head. “Da told me you were visiting for a while."
“Your Da is wrong."
She sighs. “It has been known to happen, yes.”
There’s not the same dead look in her green eyes, even though she's the spitting image of her father. Can she be my ticket out of here?
“How old are you?"
“I’ll be sixteen in a few days. Da is having a party for me.”
“Happy birthday.”
She smiles again, and it really lights up her face. She plops down on my bed as if we are old friends instead of strangers. “Thank you. Sweet sixteen is a big deal, right?”
Good. I need her to like me. I need her to trust me.
I nod. “My mom threw me a big party when I turned sixteen at a roller rink. Brought all my friends.”
Irene pouts. “Ugh, that would be so fun! Da keeps me in the house all the time. He never lets me leave unless I’m with Reese.” She wrinkles her nose. “I don’t like Reese.”
“Me either,” I say dryly, pointing to my black eye.
She winces. “Sorry about that. Reese has never hit me, but I’ve seen him hit a lot of people.”
“It’s not your fault.” As I say the words, I realize the truth in them. And I can’t help but feel sorry for her.
From what it sounds like, Cormac has been hiding her from the world, desensitizing her to violence.
She’s just a kid.
I walk over and sit next to her, only slightly wary.
She seems nice and innocent, but she is still Cormac’s spawn.
She brightens up even more. “Do you want to play cards? I’m really good at gin rummy.”
I can’t help but smile.
She must be so bored in here all the time.
Even though I’m connecting with her, I can’t help but think this may be my way out.
She appears to be very trusting of me already, and I can exploit that.
Guilt burns hot at the back of my head, but after this is all over, I’ll try to help her.
I bump against her shoulder. “I’m pretty good at gin rummy, too.”
She grins and sprints out of the room, returning in a few moments with a deck of cards and a big bowl of popcorn.
I give her the brightest smile I can manage.
Irene Callahan is going to be my way out of here.
I can feel it.