Page 44 of Raptor

A yawn escapes me, and I know he's right. I need to sleep but I'm not sure if I'll be able to. "Come on," he says. "Up to bed."

I do as he says, knowing that if I protest, it won’t work. Once I'm lying in bed, I reach for my phone that's currently chargingand quickly send a text to Ma, letting her know I'm safe and Shane's with me.

Ma: I'm with Nicola and Eric. They're letting me stay with them this evening. I'll be home tomorrow. I hope you and Raptor have managed to speak. I love you, Mallory. Be safe.

Me: Love you too, Ma. Have the best night. x

It doesn't take me long to drift off to sleep. I know Shay's safe. He's with his da. And I'm safe too. My family is alive and well, and that's all that matters.

Chapter 18

Raptor

Iquietly lie Shay down in his crib. Mallory's fast asleep and hasn't moved since I walked into the room. She needs the rest as her body recuperates. I'm still fucking pissed about everything that went down today. She shouldn't have been touched, not fucking once. I'm going to find Micah O'Leary and I'm going to enjoy killing him. Hearing her recount what happened the night she returned home from the hospital after giving birth to our son was harrowing. I could hear the fear in her voice. It was like she was back to that time, reliving it all over again.

She's so fucking strong. Time and time again that cunt has hurt her and she's picked herself up and focused on our son. It doesn't matter that she's hidden away. I'm proud of her. She's done everything she can to ensure that our son is safe. There's nothing I could ever do to thank her for what she's done.

I press a kiss to her head and leave her room. I know she's checked in with her mom. Denis messaged me earlier to tell me that Callie's mom had let Callie know that Jayne's okay and she's spoken with Mallory.

I make it downstairs and reach for my cell. I've had multiple missed calls, the majority from Pyro. My brother fucked up and he damn well knows it. There's absolutely no justification for what he said today, especially with Mallory in the room. Just as I'm about to hit dial on Py's number to ream his ass out, I see headlights in the window. Someone's here.

I reach for my gun, something they don't use much here if at all. But with all the shit that's happened with Mallory, I'm not taking any chances. A gun is going to do a lot more fucking damage than a knife would. I open the door and see Maverick and Freddie walking toward me, both looking grim and pissed the fuck off.

"Sorry to disturb you, Rap, man, especially with what today is for you, but we've got to talk. You got a minute?" Maverick asks, his gaze assessing everything around him.

Since I moved to Dublin, I've learned a lot about the hierarchy of the criminal world here. The Gallaghers are the most powerful family, but that's due to the size of them along with the way they have their organization spread out. It spans through Ireland, the UK, Spain, and the US. The Houlihan Gang has a lot of ties throughout Europe. They're next on the hierarchy, but since they work closely with the Gallaghers, they've grown in stature. Everyone is entwined in the businesses. Denis' wife, Callie, is the niece of the head of the Houlihan Gang. Jerry Houlihan loves his nieces and nephew, which is why Maverick is now his right-hand man. He'll be the one to take over the organization once Jerry steps down.

Not only is Callie Jerry's niece, Jessica is also, which means Mallory is close to Jerry through both of her girls. And that's what fucking angers me the most. She's tied to so many powerful people and yet not one person has been able to help her.

I open the door wider for them, letting them into the house. "Mallory and Shay are sleepin'."

Freddie nods. "Good. She looked dead on her feet earlier. How is she doing?"

I glare at him. "How the fuck do you think she's doing? She's in pain and terrified."

"We know you're pissed, Raptor, and we're going to make sure that Micah doesn't get away with this," Freddie says, raising his hands in surrender.

"Tell me somethin'," I growl low. "How long have you known Mallory?"

"Years," Maverick replies. "Since she was a kid. She and Jess have been best friends since they were in junior infants. They’ve been inseparable since then."

"So explain to me why no one, not one fuckin' person, knew that she was in hidin'? I mean, you saw that her house had been ransacked and that Mallory and her mom had left in a hurry, so tell me, Mav, why the fuck did no one try to find her to help her?"

"There's no excuse. We should have known."

"That fuckin' Maguire," I snarl. "He started this shit. Where the fuck is he?" He's not been mentioned at fucking all since we found Mallory.

"He's got shit goin' on right now," Freddie snaps. "His wife is also in hiding, something that Mallory knows. Jess' father is a fucking cunt and has been severely torturing his daughter for years."

"He killed that fucker's brother, and now when that bastard comes to the surface and beats my woman almost to death, he's nowhere to be fuckin' seen. Tell me how that makes sense." My anger is at the forefront. I was never going to unload this on Mallory. She's been through too fucking much to have me spew shit at her. I need her safe and I need to ensure that I'm that safe space for her. There's no fucking way I'd jeopardize that by being a fucking ass to her.

"Like I said," Freddie says, "he's dealing with Jess right now. If you knew what she's been through you'd understand why he can't be here. But he knows what's going on and wants us to assure you that he's looking for Micah, along with Fintan—Micah's father. We're not going to let Mallory get hurt again."

My laughter is icy cold. "Excuse me if I don't believe that shit. I'll make sure my woman isn't found by that cunt again."

Maverick sighs. "I get it. If it were my woman, I'd be the exact same. We've all fucked up when it comes to both Mallory and Jess, but we're going to do everything in our power to ensure we rectify that shit and make sure neither of them are hurt again."

"Any idea where the cunt is hidin'?" I ask, needing to get a lead on the fucker so I can track him down.

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