Page 58 of Vengeful Union

Rory brings his finger to his mouth to shush me.

I frown, following his gaze.

The bushes across from us are shaking, just slightly.

Rory must have heard it before I caught sight of it.

“Someone’s here,” I whisper.

Rory nods slowly, holding up his finger again and slowly standing up, dropping his phone on the ground softly.

He walks slowly over to the bushes, and a man pops up from behind them. I gasp in surprise, but I don’t go over toward them.

I can’t hear what they’re saying, and my heart is racing.

What if the man heard us talking to my brothers? What if he heard that we’re doing this as a plan to take down Niall? What will happen to Rory?

I can’t deny that I’m worried about him. He’s become my friend, even if it can’t be anything else. I don’t want him hurt or killed.

It seems to take forever, but eventually Rory walks back over to me, his face serious.

“What happened?” I stand up, and Rory looks over his shoulder to make sure that the man is walking away.

“It's fine. One of my father’s men making the rounds. He doesn’t know anything.”

“Are you sure?"

Rory shrugs. “Pretty sure. The wind was against him. But I’ll make sure to memorize his face.”

I let out a breath and take Rory’s hand. “We should go back to the mansion.”

Rory doesn’t let go of my hand until I’m seated in the golf cart.

“We really need a plan,” he says in a low tone as we sit there.

I look up at him. “Okay. So, what's the plan?”

He huffs out a breath. “I don’t know. We need to find something against my father. Something concrete.” He pauses, looking at me with his brows furrowed. “We could turn his people against him, so that he’ll be weak, and your father and brothers can help take him out. Or we can just get irrefutable evidence of his crimes. Something not even he can pay his way out of.”

“You’re really willing to help your father be arrested?”

Rory just looks at me, his expression shuttered. “He’s never been much of a father to me. And he never will be. He’s just not that kind of man.”

“Still. It must be hard.” I put a hand on his knee.

He nods. “Are you hungry? I could make you dinner.”

I wrinkle my nose. “In our room? I don’t want to have to see your father.”

“Fair enough. In our room. But you’ll have to help me in the kitchen. My father never sets food in there.” Rory gives me that half-smile of his.

He takes off on the golf cart.

I clutch onto the top of the vehicle for dear life as he takes a sharp turn.

Rory laughs at my fright, but eventually slows down, and we make it back to the mansion without an issue, passing a few of Niall’s men who I suppose have started to patrol since it’s nearing dark.

Thank God that man hadn’t heard us. If he had, we’d be sitting ducks.

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