Page 69 of While You Sleep

A few minutes later he was fast asleep. I blinked through my tears, staring at the clock, watching the minutes tick by. Tommy was all that mattered, and I’d do whatever necessary to protect him, to stop his life from being blown apart.

Chapter Twenty-One

Sophia

God, my heart was banging wildly in my chest as I keyed in the code to turn off the alarm. I’d seen Danny do it enough times that I’d memorized it without even knowing I needed to.

I slipped out the door, my sneakers silent on the path as I eased along the side of the house toward the pool area. Leaving out the front wasn’t an option when at least one of Cillian’s men would be patrolling. Moving as quickly and quietly as I could, I grabbed one of the chairs from under the pergola and sprinted across the grassy area behind the pool to the fence.

Any minute now, one of the guys on security detail would make their way back here, or Cillian would wake and wonder where I was. Shoving the back of the chair against fence, I took several steps back and ran at it, jumping into the seat and throwing myself at the fence to get higher. My fingertips curled around the top, the tips of my shoes trying to grip the planks, scrambling for purchase. I didn’t know how I did it, probably fear and a huge amount of adrenaline, but I managed to get high enough to hook my arms over, so I was hanging by my armpits, then hooked a leg across the top and finally got over.

I dangled down the side, let go, and winced as I hit the ground. My shoes sunk into sand and then I jogged toward the street behind the house. There weren’t many streetlights along this stretch of road, so it wasn’t hard to spot the headlights shining several houses down the street. I straightened my spine. If my father thought I’d do what he said without question, he was wrong. I hadn’t been his to give away in the first place, and I sure as fuck wasn’t his to take back now. I didn’t know what he was up to, but betraying Cillian and voiding the alliance between our families behind his back, by attempting to take his wife from him, was an insult that couldn’t be ignored. Not in our world. I couldn’t let that happen. Whatever this was truly about, doing dealings in Cillian’s territory, or something else, I needed to try and talk my father down, so we could all walk away from this in one piece.

I reached the car and the back door was shoved open. My father sat there looking nervous.

“Get in.”

“No.” I hated the way my voice shook. I didn’t defy my father. Ever.

“Get the fuck in the car,” he said, fury in his voice.

I took a deep breath. I needed to keep him calm or there was no way he’d hear me out. “Dad, you can’t just expect me to leave. Taking me away from Cillian will only make this whole situation worse. You said things are about to change, what did you mean by that? Were you telling me the truth, the things you said in Tommy’s room or is this some ploy to force me to do what you want.”

He leaned forward, his eyes black in the shadows of the car. “I don’t explain myself to you, now get in.”

I shook my head. “I’m not a child anymore. You can’t—”

Fingers curled around the back of my neck, and I felt hot breath against my ear. “Hello, Soph.”

Paolo.

He pressed his body against mine, then thrust his hips forward, ramming his hard-on against my ass, making me stumble forward. “In you go.”

I tried to pull away, to yank out of his hold, but he jerked my arms behind me, forcing me to bend forward with a hand at the back of my neck, and shoved me in the car. I fell on the seat beside my father and quickly struggled into a sitting position as Paolo got in, sandwiching me in the middle.

“Let me out,” I said, trying to dive for freedom.

Paolo shoved me roughly back into the seat as the car started. Headlights from several more cars shone through the back window as they pulled up behind us.

I turned to my father. “What the hell is going on?”

He wouldn’t look at me. “Let’s go,” he said to the driver.

The car eased out onto the street but didn’t go far. It slowed outside Cillian’s house and, just for a moment, my stupid heart almost believed he was going to let me out. Instead, he pulled over again, and I watched as a small figure behind the gates ran toward them. The other cars sped up, driving up onto the sidewalk. Men jumped out, all armed. The gates slid open, and a person dressed in black, hood pulled up concealing their face, stood there, waving them in.

Oh god.

“Have you figured it out yet?” Paolo said beside me.

I watched in horror as men stormed Cillian’s house.

“My uncle’s time as the head of the family has come to an end. Cillian fucked with me, and tonight, your father and I will take everything from him. Brennan will take control of both territories, and thanks to our new alliance, we’ll run this city together.”

I tried to dive for the door again and Paolo shoved me back harder this time.

“Do you really think Cillian will let you get away with this?” I fired at him.

Paolo shrugged. “If he survives tonight, let him come. I’d love nothing more than to put a bullet in his brain myself.”

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