Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 107306 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 537(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107306 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 537(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
“Shut the fuck up, Rory. I’m going and you know it.” And then Cillian turns his intense gaze on Shai, watches him as Shai stands there, arm threaded with Ollie’s. “Shai is ours. We’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again—we protect what’s ours.”
Yes, we do.
“Am I that big of an asshole that you’d think I would deny you this?” Tiernan asks.
“No,” I answer. “It wouldn’t be because you’re an asshole; it would be because you love us.” This isn’t like walking into a fight we’ve scoped out for weeks or months. This is going in blind, which is always dangerous.
Tiernan rolls his eyes, but there’s a small smile on his lips. “You didn’t have to say the words.” But they’re true. We all know they are. “We’ll do this. As a family. The way it’s supposed to be.” And that easily, Tiernan’s word is law.
“I’ll help any way I can,” Ash says.
Dean focuses on my guy. “Tell us everything we need to know about your father.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Shai
I’ve never felt a part of something bigger than myself, of a real family, until tonight. That’s not what I should be thinking about—my mom has been kidnapped, has been hurt, and for all I know, she might not even be alive anymore—yet I’m sitting here obsessing about how it feels to belong.
We’ve gone over a million scenarios, yet the truth remains, we have no idea what we’re walking into. It’s hard to prepare when we don’t know what we’re preparing for. Does Jagger know who they are? Does he have more than his two ever-present bodyguards with him, and if so, how many more? Ten? Twenty? I really don’t see him coming to Ashford with a large entourage, but he’s also unpredictable, and he must have connections I don’t know about. Is it possible he has some close enough to Ashford? All we have is unanswered questions.
Dean has tried to track my mom’s cell. It was off, so he couldn’t, but he did find where it last pinged. We scoped the area, but it only had an abandoned building, so it’s not where he’s keeping her.
“I’d rather go in with too many men than not enough,” Dean says.
“Conan will come,” Tiernan answers.
“Even if it gets him into trouble with Rian?” Ollie asks. I was surprised he stayed for the discussion. He mentioned preferring not to know the details, but this time, he chose to stay. Cillian hasn’t let go of his hand the whole time, comforting his boyfriend while we discuss things that could get us all killed. Another stab of guilt hits me.
“Conan loves Tiernan like a son. He’ll do anything for him,” Cillian says.
“And your father loves you too.” Ollie’s voice is gentle.
Cillian nods as if Ollie just reminded him of something he didn’t know. He looks at Rory, then at me, before pulling out his cell and making a call. “Dad…I need a favor.”
I don’t know the details, but from what I’ve pieced together, Cillian and his dad have had a rough relationship since his mom died. They’re working on having a stronger one now, but I can see in his eyes that this isn’t easy for him, calling on Rian this way. But he’s doing it for me, for us.
We all listen while Cillian speaks to Rian, telling him everything we know, which only emphasizes how much we don’t know.
Cillian watches us as he listens to his dad, then replies, “He’s Rory’s. And mine and Ollie’s.”
The room is silent, but even if it wasn’t, I’m not sure I could’ve heard anything over the blood rushing through my ears. I belong to them…all of them. And they belong to me.
“Thank you,” Cillian tells him. “I’ll see you soon.”
He ends the call, and before I can do or say anything, Rory is with him, hand on the back of Cillian’s head, their foreheads pressed together. “Thank you,” Rory tells him.
“Always, brother,” Cillian replies, and though I know I should deal with this on my own, know I shouldn’t pull them any deeper into my shit, it would be throwing their love and sacrifice into their faces to do that.
Whatever happens, we’ll do this together, and I couldn’t feel luckier to have them.
*
“Wherever we end up, you know Spike is gonna have to go in alone at first, right, kid?” Finan says to Rory. We’re all assuming he’s holding her at a location close by but we don’t know for sure.
“Spike?” I ask.
“The hair.” Finan points to my head.
“No. Fuck that,” Rory says. “Not happening.”
“How do we make sure his mom is safe if he doesn’t go in?” Rian asks. “If we all go storming in together, they’ll put a bullet in her head or use her for leverage.”
I wince, though I know everything Cillian’s father said is correct.
“He knows about me,” Rory tries again. “I was on the phone when they spoke. I can go in with him. The rest of you come in afterward.”