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Around me, my brothers and our loyal Callahan gang members stand victorious, their determination evident in their eyes.
Giovanni DeLucci, his once formidable force now decimated, stands before us, a shadow of his former self. His pride wounded, he reluctantly concedes defeat, his gaze burning with anger and frustration.
“You lost, DeLucci,” Theo says, a smirk on his face as he crosses his arms, a smear of dirt across his nose and his jacket torn from the fight. “I suggest you prepare to face the consequences.”
After tense negotiations, Giovanni begrudgingly agrees to our terms, his power significantly diminished. We demanded a truce, good for the next ten years. The DeLuccis will not come onto Callahan turf and will no longer go after our territory. They have to give us back the financial district as well, a symbolic gesture of his defeat.
As the agreement is finalized, I can't help but feel a sense of satisfaction. We've emerged victorious, our enemies vanquished and our dominance solidified.
Even so, I know the battle is far from over. We might have stopped the DeLuccis today, but the threat of Declan is still hanging over us like a looming specter.
“Let’s go find him,” Ryder mutters once it’s all over. Theo nods in agreement, and the three of us take off, prepared to fight the next battle.
44
EVANGELINE
The night is quiet outside as I lie in the apartment above the club. Restless energy courses through me, a subtle reminder of the life growing within as I stare at the ceiling.
I can’t sleep, worries circling my mind like a predator ready to attack. Are the boys okay? Are they safe? Has Declan gotten to them yet?
Suddenly, the quiet is shattered by a sharp, insistent pounding at the door. My eyes snap open, fear coursing through my veins like wildfire. Who could be calling at this ungodly hour? My heart races as I place a protective hand over my swollen belly, feeling the reassuring presence within.
With cautious steps, I move toward the locked door, reassured that the chain is still securely fastened. Every fiber of my being screams at me to be careful. I look through the peephole, but no one is in sight, so I push the door open lightly, the chain still bolted, and peek outside.
The door lurches, a splintering sound cracking through the air as the chain is broken from the latch and the door is shoved inward.
I stumble back, almost toppling over as Declan O’Malley bursts through the open door, grabbing me by the arm and pulling me toward him in one motion. He presses the cold barrel of a gun to my temple, my insides turning to ice.
“What do you want?” I beg, my arm going around my belly on instinct to protect my daughter. “What do you want from me?”
“I want you to come with me,” he growls low, his voice menacing. My body shakes as I nod, tears blurring my vision.
“Okay!” I say loudly. “Okay! I’ll go. Please don’t hurt me.”
Adrenaline whispers at me to fight back, but fear keeps me frozen. I’m so far along in the pregnancy now that something bad could happen to our baby if I tried to fight.
“Good. Now get moving,” he orders. He keeps the gun trained at my lower back as we head out the door, pushing me toward the back stairwell. I clutch the railing for dear life, trying to keep my balance as I waddle down the stairs and out the back door.
He’s got a car waiting there, and he shoves the gun hard against my back until I climb inside. Keeping the weapon trained at me, he makes his way around the car before I can bolt and climbs into the driver’s seat.
“Don’t even think about it,” he says, using one hand to hold up the gun while the other stays on the wheel, navigating us away from the nightclub.
Bile rises in my throat, the knowledge that no matter what we do, Declan will always be one step ahead of us making me ill. Why can’t he just leave us alone? Why does he seem to hate me so much?
Questions fill my brain as we get further outside the city, streetlights giving way to utter darkness. Where is he taking me? Why are we going so far? And what is he going to do with me?
The further away we get, the more panic I feel inside. How am I going to escape this? I have to do whatever it takes to keep my baby safe, but I have no idea where he’s taking me.
We finally stop somewhere after an hour of driving. Declan pulls off onto a side road, navigating over bumpy terrain until he takes a smaller dirt road down a lane and parks the car outside a cabin.
“Get out,” he orders, keeping the gun on me. I push the door open with shaky hands, and he races around the vehicle, grabbing me and dragging me toward the rustic home. Pushing me up the steps, we enter the cabin, and he quickly forces me into the lone bedroom.
He shoves me down onto a wooden chair and makes short work of tying me up, then ties a gag around my head, preventing me from making any noise.
Once that’s done, he shoves the gun under my chin, forcing me to look up at him. My eyes are wet from a steady stream of tears that drip down my cheeks as I try to be brave, to be courageous right now, but all I feel is sick dread.
“I knew you wouldn’t be able to keep your little mouth shut,” Declan said, the gun jammed against my skin. “I knew the second you could, you’d go running to them. You might not have acted on their orders when you came to see me but you weren’t fooling me, princess. You came for their sake, not yours.”
