Page 57 of Redemption

Kelsey

From the time the guyswalked out the front door there’s been an awkwardness lingering in the room. One I’m having a hard time moving past. Even when Lily woke up from her nap a few hours ago and Keegan helped Charlee bring her back out here, I’ve been feeling off. I can’t explain the heavy feeling in the pit of my stomach, but I suck in a deep breath and attempt to exhale it all out. My fingers twist in my lap as I attempt to slow my racing pulse, but it’s pointless. I won’t be able to calm down until Axel and the guys are back here safe and sound.

Keegan slumps back against the couch with his an ankle resting on the knee of his other leg, looking at home with Lily nestled in the crook of his arm. Tattoos run along one of his arms and both hands. My eyes trail up the intricate pieces of art admiring them. I’m sure Asher would shit himself if he saw his daughter content with him. Then again, maybe it’s all his tattoos that are soothing her.

He catches me staring and smiles. “You stare at all your cousins like that? Or am I just that bad arse?”

“No, it’s always been just me and my parents. I’m an only child and we don’t have much family.” I squirm in my seat, unsure why hearing my life explained out loud sounds so depressing.

“You do now, mhainséar.” Teegan smiles from his spot on the sofa. Feels weird to hear him say that, but also comforting at the same time.

“Does that mean ‘cousin’?” I tilt my head to the side and study Teegan. He resembles Keegan, but there are slight differences to me. His nose turns up a bit more at the tip and he doesn’t have as many tattoos on his arm as his brother. Not to mention he seems the more serious one of the two.

“It does.” Teegan lifts the corner of his mouth into a slight smile.

“The better looking ones, anyways.” Keegan nudges Teegan’s shoulder as he lets out a laugh that lights up his face, showing how young he really is.

“No doubt about that.” Teegan slaps his shoulder and peers down at Lily as she makes a noise. “I don’t know why she likes your ugly face so much.”

“Feck off. She has good taste is all.” Keegan hands a drooling Lily his fedora and lets her chew on the ends of it. “She’s a cute lil thing.” He runs a tattooed finger along her chubby cheeks, his fair skin a deep contrast to her olive one. The shamrock tattoo on his finger catches my eye. It’s done in a similar design to the butterfly my mother had on her wrist.

“See something you like?” Keegan’s laugh breaks my stare as I flick my gaze up to him.

“Your tattoo. My mother hand a butterfly on her wrist similar in style to it.”

“It’s a Celtic design.” The corners of his blue eyes crease as he pins me in place with an assessing look.

“I’m sorry about your, mum. We didn’t know her, but our dad told us all about how close they were.” Teegan offers me a small smile.

“Thanks.” A dull ache pings in my chest at his words. With everything going on I haven’t had the proper time to mourn her loss and it kills me.

Our conversation stalls out until Keegan breaks it. His nose wrinkles as he sniffs the air a few times and then pulls his shirt over his nose. “Oh bloody hell. I think the little one has nasty arse juice.”

“I’ll take her.” Charlee laughs from her spot in the corner. I’ve been so absorbed in these two that I forgot she was even here until now. She takes Lily from Keegan and smells her butt. “Yup, that’s a bad one.” She plants a kiss on Lily’s cheek and goes into the other room to change her.

The second Charlee rounds the corner out of sight a phone rings. Teegan pulls it out of his pocket and answers.

“Yeah?” A beat of silence goes by as the voice on the other end fires off at a rapid pace into the phone. “Stall the ball for a minute, Connor. I can’t understand you.” Teegan toys with the edge of his fedora as Keegan sits up straighter at the mention of their brother’s name. The tension in the room has multiplied tenfold. His eyes flick toward mine as he continues to listen to his brother. “Yeah, she’s right here. All the women are fine.” His dark eyebrows pinch together, but he doesn’t break my stare. “Shit. Let me see your phone, Keeg.”

Keegan hands him his phone without complaint and we watch as Teegan pulls something up. Whatever he sees as a muscle in his jaw jerking.

“What the bloody hell do you want us to do? Are you sure that’s smart? We might have a better chance if we stay and—” Teegan listens a beat longer leaving us to wait on pins and needles.

I hold my breath waiting as I slide to the edge of my seat and watch Teegan for any signs of distress, but he has one hell of a poker face for someone so young.

“Got it.” He hangs up the phone and turns to his brother. “Tell Charlee to pack up anything she needs for the baby as fast as she can, we need to leave.”

Keegan nods and goes into the other room without a word.

My muscles tense at the clipped edge to his tone. “What’s wrong? Why do we need to leave?”

“I know you don’t know us that well, but I need you to trust me. They asked us to get you out of here and to my dad’s, so that’s what we’re going to do.” He glances down to my bare feet. “You have some shoes you can slip on fast?”

“Yeah, I do.” I jump up from my spot on the love seat and run upstairs into my room. I grab my tan cowgirl boots and slide them on in record time before I rush back down the stairs to find Teegan waiting by the door. Keegan is next to him with a diaper bag strapped to his chest and a distraught Charlee standing between the two of them carrying a squirming Lily in her arms.

“You take Charlee and the little one in her car. I’ll take Kelsey with me in our truck.” Teegan pulls out a gun and cocks the trigger as he issues orders.

“Why are we splitting up?” I can’t stop the shaking in my voice and judging by the look Teegan gives me he picked up on it as well.

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