Page 156 of Dust to Dust

“Considering she was in a religious order when you and your brothers kidnapped her, that would have been very surprising indeed.”

Of all times for my phone to start ringing, now wasn’t the time. Since it was Callum, I knew I needed to answer it. At that moment, Maeve appeared. The sight of me holding her phone to my ear caused crimson to flood her cheeks.

I shoved the phone at her. “I have to take this call from Calum. But when I’m finished, we’re going to have a little chat about Raphael Neretti.”

Before she could protest, I then spun around and grabbed my phone out of my pocket. “Yeah?”

“I need you to step outside the pub.”

Furrowing my brows, I asked, “How the fuck do you know where I am?”

“Your tracker.”

“Was it necessary to stalk me down? I told Mam I was going to Dublin to see Maeve.”

“Just go outside.”

I flung open the door and stepped out into the street. “What am I to do now? A little dance?”

“Look up the street to your right.”

“Jaysus Christ, Callum, I’m not in the mood for your fucking games. I flew thousands of miles to get away from your bullshit”

“Just do it.”

When I whirled around, I stared up the street. The phone dropped to my side at the sight of a tiny blonde standing just a few yards away. “Little Dove,” I murmured.

She was so close yet so far away.

We stood there for a moment, staring at each other like we feared the other might disappear before our eyes. And then I took one step forward.

That was all it took for Isla to start running to me. My heart leapt into my throat at the sight. She’d come for me. She still loved me.

Hope wasn’t lost.

And just before we could reach out to touch each other, a dark figure swept from the alley, grabbing Isla off her feet and jerking her back against his front. My heart dropped to my feet at the sight of Mikita holding a gun to Isla’s head. He dragged her further away from me.

When I reached for my gun, a pop went off. Anguished horror rocketed through me that Mikita had shot Isla. When I saw her unharmed still struggling against him, relief filled me. It was short lived at the sight of Maeve’s bodyguard sinking to the ground, blood and brain matter spraying from a wound in his head.

Screams and shouting rang out all around me as people began to drop to the ground or scramble to try to find safety behind cars or bins in the street. After a few seconds, nothing stood between me and Mikita.

“Throw down your gun and any other weapons you have, or this will all end sooner than later.”

I stared into Isla’s frightened eyes. Slowly, I reached inside for my gun. I tossed it to the ground and then added my knife next to it–the same one I’d used to give Isla pleasure.

“That’s it?”

“Yes.”

“I hope for her sake it is.” Tilting his head, he mused, “Bet you never thought you’d see me here.”

“Look, this is between the two of us. It has nothing to do with Isla.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. You see, your girlfriend and I had a deal. She would leave and break you, which perfectly enacted my revenge. In turn, I wouldn’t hurt her sister and nephew.”

“What?” I questioned Isla more than Mikita .

Mikita laughed. “She was pretty convincing, wasn’t she? Considering how you’ve left home and tried to leave your clan, revenge was looking really sweet. But then, she just had to go to your brothers and spill her guts about what had gone down between us.” He tsked at Isla. “That was supposed to be our secret. I’m going to have to punish you for that.”

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