Page 179

One of the invoices belongs to the Kinnanes’, and Eilish pops into my thoughts.

I glance at the wall clock. It's half past three, and she hasn’t replied to any of my messages. In fact, my best friend has left every single one unread.

When I pick up my phone and tap her name, the call disconnects immediately.

I check the signal bars and try again.

Nothing.

My thumb hovers over the screen while I search for a reasonable explanation. Eilish once answered me from the chapel toilet during mass. Two days without a single phone call is unheard of.

I type a message.

Text: Where are ya?

Boots scuff in the aisle beyond the office door, and Shay appears again, smoking a cigarette.

“You heading somewhere?” he asks because I’m already standing and shoving my phone into my jeans pocket.

“I need to check on Eilish. She’s not picking up my calls.”

“Maybe she’s busy with the wedding plans.”

“Eilish is never too busy for me.” I round the desk and check for my car keys in my jacket. “And even if she was, she’d call me back an hour or two later.”

Shay braces one shoulder against the timber frame. “Want me to do anything?”

“You’re tasked with keeping Rafe inside.”

“He’ll be out through a window within the hour.”

“Board them up.” I pass him and pat his shoulder. “Good luck.”

The drive to the Kinnane estate takes sixteen minutes with my foot down. The gates open before I reach them because the guard recognizes my car and even salutes as I drive past him.

Eilish’s black Mercedes is sitting on the gravel by the main entrance. I park next to it, kill the engine, and climb out, already smiling at the doorman.

However, this time, instead of standing aside, he blocks the entrance.

“Miss Tallon.”

“Hey.”

He stays put. “Miss Kinnane no longer lives here.”

I stop one step below him and make a face at him. “What?”

“I’ve been instructed by Mr. and Mrs. Kinnane to inform you that their daughter no longer resides at this property.”

My breath stutters.

“What do you mean she doesn’t live here? Then where does she live?” There’s a horrible nausea churning in my gut and then it hits me. “Did she move in with Fionn?”

He looks past my shoulder toward the gatehouse. “She was taken away by Mr. Kinnane the other day.”

My lungs cramp. “Why?”

He doesn’t give me anything, so I step into him. “Where did he take her?”