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Orin was silent.
“Why is it that you cut out the tongues of your victims? Why is that the first thing you do?”
“You don’t want to go there with me right now.” I could hear the tension in his voice, imagine his hands curling into fists at his sides.
“Oh? I think I do. If you want Fallon to disappear, I could always give Velvet a new girl.”
Velvet?That was the name of that horrible strip club the clan owned. Had Orin wanted me to go there? Was that ever an option? If it was, I’d played straight into his fucked-up plan by practically throwing myself at him.
A chair slid against the floor, then clattered to the ground. The next time Orin spoke, his voice was hard. Black. Savage.
“Talk about her like that again, and you’ll be the next one to lose your tongue,” he hissed.
Finnan’s replying chuckle set the fine hairs on the back of my neck on end. “I see she’s already gotten under your skin. Is that why you want her gone?”
“My reasons are my own.”
There was a beat of silence before Finnan spoke again. “You want her gone. She’s gone.”
My fist came to my mouth as the effect of Orin’s wishes and Finnan’s words struck home. I didn’t want to hear anymore. I couldn’t. Turning, I rushed back down the hall to the bedroom, where I stuffed a duffel bag with all the clothes I had. It was late. I had no phone. No money and no way out of here. It would be a cold day in fucking hell before I asked Orin for one single thing, so I tiptoed downstairs and to the front door, jerking to a stop at the sound of Keir’s voice.
“Going somewhere?” he asked.
I peered at him through the doorway of the living room, finding him lounging on the couch with one arm draped over the back of the cushions. He had a beer in his other hand and wore sweats and a black t-shirt.
“I …” What the hell was I going to say? “I need to leave.”
Keir’s brows shot up, the ring through one of them catching the light. “It’s nearly midnight, lass.”
Shifting the bag higher onto my shoulder, I said, “I realize this.”
He leaned his big body forward and placed the bottle on the table. “Does Orin know you’re leaving?”
“Orin doesn’t give a shit about me. I want to leave, and that’s all there is to it.”
“Okay, do you need a ride somewhere?”
I clutched at the handles more tightly. I had to remind myself that Keir had been nothing but nice to me all this time, and although I didn’t trust him, I didn’t think he’d try and hurt me intentionally.
He seemed to see all these thoughts flash across my face because he added, “How about you drive. I’ll sit in the back, then whenever you get to wherever you want to be, I can return here with the car. Does that sound okay?”
Licking my lips nervously, I tried to think of another work-around but came up empty. I nodded. “Yes.”
He smiled at me. “Okay. Let me grab some car keys, and we can go.”
I watched him stand to his full height, then walk toward me. He held his hand out for my bag, which I clutched even more tightly. I thought he’d be offended by the rejection, but he smiled and walked past me to the entry hall.
There was a small locker on the wall. He reached in and pulled out a set of keys, dangling the metal ring on his index finger. “Are you ready?”
I nodded. With one final glance over my shoulder, I followed Keir out into the night and to the Rover parked at the front of the turning circle. After unlocking it, he handed me the keys without question and hopped into the rear seat. I stood there a moment, staring up at the compound before shoving my duffel onto the passenger seat and climbing into the driver’s side.
The engine sounded like a gunshot in the still night, and as I peeled out of the driveway, something in the rearview mirror caught my attention.
It was Orin.
He was standing on the front doorstep looking pissed. I kept my eyes on him until he disappeared around the gate. Letting out a breath, I hit the accelerator, propelling us toward Galway.
“Where are we going?” Keir asked from the back.
