Page 10 of The Enforcer's Redemption

"I'll be there in fifteen minutes." Ronan is already moving away from me as I hang up the call. He is a man on a mission.

"I'll finish up. Go sort out your wife," he calls over his shoulder, and I scowl as I move toward the car. This had better be good or I'm going to be pissed.

8

ISLA

The sun is hot. I like it this way, when the sunlight warms my skin to the point I can feel the moisture drying out, stinging it. It's the first time in a week I've been allowed to go outdoors. Otherwise, I'd have been on this patio next to Declan's garden every day. Finn is nicer than his brother by far—or more naive. I can't tell.

"I'd like more lemonade, please," I tell his maid, and she nods at me and scurries off. I've had lunch, a bit of tuna salad with crackers and some lemonade. And I've been plotting my escape.

Only one guard stands over me, a man in his early fifties with greying sideburns and strong shoulders. He stares off into the distance not watching me, but he stands close enough to me that I could reach out and touch him if I wanted to.

"Lovely day, isn’t it?" I ask him, toying with the idea of running from him. I don't know what lies on the other side of the tall pine trees near the back of the property, but I hope it's a pathway to freedom.

Dublin has so many neighborhoods, it'd be hard to tell where I'm even at to have someone pick me up. If I play my cards right, however, I could call Mum and Da and have them dig up the money I buried in their back yard without their knowledge. I could get them to meet me somewhere central and we could vanish together. It would be safer than my going to their house. Declan's brothers aren't likely to be following them, either.

"It's average," the guard says, tucking his thumbs into his belt. His biceps are as large as my thighs, tattoos snaking down both arms. He's scary and intimidating, but I know I could get his phone off him without his noticing it. It's clipped into a case that hangs from his belt, tempting me.

"Well, I think it's gorgeous. I'd love a walk around the property." A bird takes flight from the bush nearest the stone patio. The leaves shake, and the man's attention zones in on the movement as if preparing for danger. My hands think for themselves, reaching out and snatching the phone. Once I've got it, I don't know what to do with it. I bury it in my soft yellow skirt and tuck my head down for a moment. If it rings, I'll be caught.

"Just finish your lunch," he grumbles, and he looks down at me briefly before returning to stare out over the garden.

I swallow hard and glance up at him. He's not looking at me now, and I feel the tiny switch on the side of the phone with my fingernail and slide it to silent mode. Even a vibration at this proximity would be heard, but I have to risk it. I have to have a way to call my father and let him know I’m alright. If they've seen the fire at my home, surely, they'll assume the worst. I don't assume a man like Ronan O'Rourke knows anything about having compassion for a victim's family.

"I want a walk," I repeat, and this time, I don't take no for an answer. I rise slowly, wiping my face with the cloth napkin in a move that masks what my left hand is doing. The guard steps back, giving me more space, and I slide the phone into the waistband of the skirt and cover it with the flowing hem of the white blouse I'm wearing. "And I'm taking a walk."

My eyes meet his, and he scowls at me and rolls them, but he doesn't stop me when I start down the path. I hear his footfalls on the cobblestones behind me, almost like he's stalking me. I wonder if Declan ordered them not to touch me because if I had defied Ronan like this, certainly, his men would be all over me.

"The lupins are beautiful," I say absently, hoping to draw his attention to the flowers. The colorful spikes grow on either side of the path next to foxglove and lavender. The fragrant mixture perfumes the air, making me smile. If I didn't have such a hatred for the way I'm being forced against my will to marry a man I don't love, I'd admire the green thumb it took to grow these beauties.

"Bloody hell," he says, and I turn to see him patting his side.

"What is it?" I ask, and he glares at me.

"Don't go anywhere. I dropped my phone." The hulking man has his hand on the butt of his gun, and I wince as I realize I could've taken the weapon instead of the phone, but this is my opening.

"Of course, I'm just admiring the flowers." My hand caresses the soft purple petals of the foxglove, and I close my eyes as I lean down to sniff the aroma, one eye cracked to watch him turn back up the path and round the corner behind the bush.

The second he's out of sight, I turn and race off. I turn off the path, between two more bushes, running as fast as I can. Thereare enough towering plants, trees, topiary, and bushes to help me hide away from their eyes, but one of my shoes falls off, stuck in the mud from the morning showers. My skirt tangles in the brush and snags, but I fight to free it. I have to get out of here.

The phone on my hip, snugly pressed to my skin by my waistband, begins to vibrate, and I know I'm going to run out of time. The edge of the property is just within reach, and I squeeze myself between the pines only to find a towering fence. Impenetrable, not scalable. The black iron bars run parallel, rising up at least four meters, well out of reach. I slide my ankle through and my knee fits, but the bars are narrow, too close to fit my thigh through, let alone my hips.

"Mother of God!" I say, swearing quietly as I peek back into the garden. There are more guards now, searching for me. They have their guns out and raised. I tuck back into the trees and catch my breath. I have to think quickly. Surely, there has to be some way out of this property without climbing this fence. If not, I'm fucked.

The phone on my hip continues to vibrate as I push through the sap-covered fronds dangling from the pine tree. They claw at my face, cling to my hair, and I wince every few seconds as I make my way between the fence and the trees. I reach a corner, where the fence turns to the left, and look before I round it. More guards stand only a few meters away, talking. I hear their hushed voices. They're hunting me.

"Feck's sake," I hiss, and I drop to one knee and pull the phone out of my waistband. If I don't turn it off, they'll hear the vibration. My fingers work to press the power button, but I almost lose my grip and drop it.

My knee grows cold and damp from the moisture in the ground, and I rise slowly and peek out again, not seeing the guards there anymore. I don't know how long I've been out here running around this damn garden evading them, but eventually, they're going to find me. I have to make a run for it, and at the far end of this fence line, I see an opening, a gate, not even shut. I train my eyes on it and press the palm of my hand to my chest, hoping to make my heart stop beating so loudly.

"I am really angry with you, Da," I whisper, then I suck in a breath and dart forward. One foot sinks into the mud, one shoe slapping on the soggy topsoil, but I run. The trees reach out like wardens, attempting to hold me back, and I yelp when I step on a twig with a sharp edge. But the goal is in sight.

My arms pump, my lungs scream for air, and I break out of the tree line into the sunlight to shouts behind me. I'm free. My feet slap the pavement now on the driveway, both shoes now lost to the mud, and all I can think about is finding a safe place away from this house to hide and call my father. Tears burn at my eyes, but I blink them back, and just as I near the end of the driveway, a car screeches up and Declan jumps out.

There's no time to think, no time to evade him. He is right in front of me, and the momentum of my flight can't be stopped. I barrel past him as his arm reaches out, catching me, pulling me back against his chest in a move so jarring it nearly gives me whiplash.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Declan's grip is powerful, his arm locked around my waist. I'm heaving for breath, my lungs still burning for air, and he tightens his grip. "What the feckin' hell happened!" His boom of a shout scares me. I jump, but I can't escape him.

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