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“Where are you going?”
“We’re preparing.”
“Preparing? For what?”
As much as I didn’t want to say it, I did, “War.”
She drew in a large staccato breath, mentally steadying herself. When she looked up at me, there were tears in her eyes. “Just… be careful, okay?”
“Always,” I replied fiercely. Grabbing the back of her neck, I pulled her close and kissed her forehead once more. Against her skin, I said, “You remember where I keep the money?” I tightened my grip until she nodded. “If I don’t come back, take it and leave Ireland.”
TWENTY-TWO
SLOANE
As I was driven awayfrom the carnage of the Conclave, I lost all concept of where we were. Everything outside the windows was black, but I got the impression we were in the countryside—somewhere.
“How much farther?” I asked the driver in the dark confines of the car. I’d not met him before, but I had no doubt there were dozens of members of the Mac Tíre Clan that I’d never met.
The guy said nothing, and I wondered who the hell he was.
Torin had stayed behind at the restaurant, and I figured that had been under Grayson’s orders—to get me out safely so he could return to the fight. In the warm darkness, I thought about Grayson. About whether he was okay. Had he gotten hurt? Had he been shot?
My heart squeezed in my chest, but I shook my head. Worrying about the things that might have happened was pointless. It was all out of my control. Slipping off my shoes, I rubbed at my sore feet, hissing in a breath when I pressed too hard into the heel of my right foot. Strong and Silent in the front seat looked at me briefly before returning his attention to the road.
It seemed like forever had passed before the car began to slow. It turned into a long driveway, and I watched as a large building came into view as if it was rising from the earth. Spotlights flooded the sides of the building, bathing them in golden light that the rain cut through in sharp slashes. We passed through the stone wall and wrought iron gates that were guarded by men carrying rifles at their sides.
My stomach bottomed out. “What is this place? Another safe house?”
When the driver said nothing, I surreptitiously tried the handle of my door. It was locked from the outside. Fuck.
More lights had come on, so I could see that the building was made of red bricks that seemed to absorb the moonlight. A horseshoe-shaped driveway skirted a fountain in the middle of the courtyard. There also appeared to be two other buildings in the same style as the main house on either side of us. It looked like a manor house, but one that had been modernized with extra security and lighting.
The car was brought to a stop on the gravel drive, and another man I didn’t know opened the door, holding an umbrella over him. His dark gaze traveled over me, and my instincts began to scream.
“Good evening, Ms. Kavanaugh,” he said.
“Who are you?”
“You can call me Sam.” He held out a hand to me. “Please step out of the car.”
“I think I’ll stay right here,” I told him, my eyes darting to the side when another
man came into view—this one openly leering at me.
“I really must insist.” He reached forward, taking me by the forearm. I let him pull me from the car, letting him think I wasn’t going to resist.
The wind chose to howl across the open expanse of lawn, flinging needles of rain at my bare skin, and I shivered in my barely-there dress.
“Where’s Grayson? Finnan?”
He smiled. “I expect they’ll be along soon.” His eyes darted down to my goose bumped skin. “We should get you inside.”
The other man chuckled and licked his lips. Yeah, I just bet he wanted me inside. But it was clear that this was not a Mac Tíre safe house, and there wasn’t a way in hell I was going to volunteer to serve myself up to whoever the fuck employed these men. My eyes darted to the side, eying the lawn that was being swallowed by the darkness. If I went inside, there was an incredibly good chance I wouldn’t come back out again.
I looked back into Sam’s face. “Fuck you, asshole.” I took off running. The first few steps were torture on my bare feet. When I reached the lawn, I slipped on the slick grass. Landing on my knees with a huff, I risked a look over my shoulder to find Sam staring after me with an amused expression.
Well, fuck him and the horse he rode in on.
