Page 138 of Vengeful Guard

He better not be messing with me, or I will kill him, right after I wipe all the Murphy scum.

I try to call Gray again. Now that I have a few locations, I could use the help. I also have a plan, and it would help having someone in on it. Someone to have my back as I get my princess.

As the call goes to voicemail, I let the beep do its thing.

“Aiden and Jeremy are dead, and Murphy’s got Paige. I’m getting her back now. If you want to help, just track my location at any time.” I hang up and call Declan, and when he also doesn’t answer, I leave him the exact same message.

Whether they help me or not is up to them. Right now, my concern is Paige. I need to get her back. Now.

She needs to be safe, needs to come back home, and feck it if I’m not the guy who gets to save her.

That’s my princess, and I want her back.

As I get in my car and aim in the direction Aiden pointed, I mentally scroll through the addresses Cormac gave me.

A few of those are really good possibilities so I’ll start from the closest one and work my way through them until I find her.

“Hang on, sweetheart. I’m coming to get you.”

I only hope I’m not too late.

38

PAIGE

Cars whizz by, and I have no idea where we’re going. I ache all over, bruised in places I didn’t even know existed until today.

I can’t stop thinking about Da, wondering if he’s okay. Thinking about my childhood.

I’m so tired, oblivion’s pulling at me.

Next thing I know, I’m lying in my childhood bed. Da sits next to my bedside, his hand on my knee. He looks up, seeing that I’m awake, and I realize that he’s crying.

“Da? What happened?”

“You’ve been asleep so long, Paige. We didn’t know if you would ever wake up. You’ve been like Sleeping Beauty.”

“I don’t feel very beautiful.” My head pounds as I sit up.

I’m dizzy, too, and the sound of cars whizzing by confuses me. The mansion sits a mile back from the street, so why can I hear traffic?

He chuckles. “You’re always beautiful, Paige.”

Realization dawns on me as I look at Da. He looks fine, dressed in the same suit he was wearing the night he was...

“Wait…”

Da smiles wider.

As I watch, blood trickles down from the corner of his mouth, and a blooming red bullet hole opens up in his chest.

“Da!” I cry, and I reach out to him.

Now I’m in the restaurant, and I know that I’m dreaming, but I can’t quite figure out what happened.

Did I fall asleep at the hospital? Back at the mansion?

Something happened. Something important.

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