Page 28 of The Enforcer's Redemption

One by one, I tug at the fasteners until I decide it's not even worth it. I didn't pay thousands for this dress, but I do have multiple hundreds of thousands stashed in my father's back yard, buried in various coffee cans on the property. Besides, the O'Rourkes won't even miss this damn dress, but if I don't get out of here, I'm not even giving them a chance to miss me, and I have a point to prove.

I yank on the thick bedazzled satin fabric and hear it tear. A button skitters across the hardwood floor, and I yank again. Little by little, I work the train off the dress and lessen the weightI’m carrying. If I could, I'd race to my room and change into jeans, but if I do that, I'm risking their finding me. It will take too long.

I've only just gotten the train removed and turned toward the door when Maeve appears at the head of the hallway. She is smiling, carrying a few tablets on her palm in one hand and a glass of water in the other. Her eyebrows go up and she looks hurt as she asks, "What are you doing?"

"Sorry, Maeve, I can't do this. I know you think Ronan is so amazing, but I am not going to be trapped here against my will. I am leaving." I hike the dress up and hear the water glass crash to the ground and shatter as I start for the door. The dress is still bulky, still hard to move in, and it slows me down enough that Maeve is able to grab ahold of the bulky skirt and stop me.

I lurch forward, almost falling, and the top of the dress nearly comes down, exposing my chest.

"No, please, Isla. It's not safe. I know you want to run, but trust me. You can't do this on your own." She's pleading now? I wonder if she really does know the whole truth.

I take the hem of my dress and yank it back, trying to wrestle it away from her, but the feisty mare has a strong grip.

"Leave it," I snap, yanking hard, and she stumbles.

"Please, Isla…" Maeve isn't letting go, and my fight or flight is in top gear now.

I lunge toward her with both hands, pushing her hard until she stumbles backward into the open door of the toilet. As she begins to fall, she lets go of the dress, and I whisk it out of thedoor before I slam it shut. As the latch clicks, the knob falls off, which is even better. If it's broken, she can't chase me down.

"I'm so sorry," I tell her through the door, then I glance up the hallway to make sure no one hears me and I yank the dress up higher again, covering my chest more fully. And then I'm free.

Rushing up the hall toward the door, my heels click on the wood. They’ll slow me down too, so I kick them off and let my bare toes feel the wood. I may not get far, and I may need to reach out to a perfect stranger for help. I know I can't go straight to my parents' house—Mum and Da are too connected to this. They won't help me until they're desperate to make sure I'm safe. So I have to lie low somewhere and sneak home to get my cash only when it's safe. Then later, when I know they'll come away, I can return to get the rest or pay someone to get it for me.

The plan plays on repeat in my head as I open the door and look around. There is no one on this side of the house, a flaw in the security plan I picked up when we did our walk-through of where all the guards would be standing last night. They made it far too easy for me to walk right out of the house, with only one hiccup. I have to get past a guard near the driveway.

The ground is cool on my toes as I run up the garden path toward the front of the house, and I hear a commotion happening around back now. No doubt,, Declan has seen that Lochlan lost sight of me. When I peek around the front corner of the house I see the guard who is supposed to be standing here is gone, chasing off toward the chaos, and I almost cry. I'm so happy.

For six weeks, I’ve been their prisoner. Seven, maybe—I've lost count now. And my feet carry me down the path away from this house of torture faster than I even knew I could run. They don't own me. They can't control me. I won't stay here and besomeone's penance. I am my own woman. I am strong, and I'm going to fight to get my family free from the control Ronan O'Rourke exercises over them.

Finally off the property, I turn toward the sun, which I'm assuming is westward now, this late in the afternoon. I'm winded. My arms are tired of carrying the skirt of this dress, and I imagine that they're finding Maeve now in the toilet. It brings a grin to my lips to know I've bested them, and then my smile sours as I hear tires squealing.

My heart feels like it will explode. They're coming after me now. I haven't even gotten a few blocks away yet. I have no place to hide, and I can't go back. A few more strides, a few more meters away from Ronan's home, and the car comes from a direction I'm not anticipating. I'm expecting them to come from the house, to chase me down, but a long black sedan stops right in front of me and I nearly slam into it.

I move to run around it, and the door swings open, slamming into me. I hit the pavement hard and look up to see my worst nightmare. Sebastian O’Reilly's evil grin stares down at me as I suck in air and writhe on the ground in pain.

"Well, well, well… Runaway bride?" he says, then he chuckles. "Get her in the car, boys. They'll be coming."

21

DECLAN

My eyes search the crowd angrily as I stalk over to Lochlan. I see the whiskey in his hand, and before I can stop myself, I smack it away. It falls to the ground, spilling and shattering the glass, and he jerks his head up and glares at me as I press my chest into his and push him backward a few steps.

"Where is she, you eejit?" My push is a little too hard. He stumbles backward and comes back at me with both fists. Ronan stands beside me, and the shadow of his presence is the only thing that keeps Lochlan from putting a fist to my face.

"She went to the toilet. Christ almighty." Lochlan straightens his tie and takes a step back, glaring at the mess on the walk beneath my feet. They crunch in the glass as I rake a hand through my hair and glower at him.

"You let her go to the toilet alone?" I ask, seething. "Did you not see how she almost ran off during the fecking ceremony?" My brother is an imbecile, though I see it's the alcohol that's in charge right now. He probably started drinking hours ago. His words are slurred and he can't stand straight. I've been so out ofmy mind with trying to make sure everything went perfect that I didn't see it.

"She didn't go alone," he slurs. "Maeve went with her… They just went in there. Put the banshee on a leash if you're so worried about it." He gestures at the house as one of Ronan's men hands him a new glass.

"Just go," Ro tells me. He tightens his tie, and I turn away before I smack my other brother silly.

A few heads turn away abruptly as I stalk toward the house. They've been staring at the commotion and I’m not even ashamed of it. Almost everyone here knows how important this moment is. The security alone should be enough to discern that.

Inside the house, I fight against the flow of foot traffic, the scurry of waiters carrying trays, women ushering the last few centerpieces out, and a slew of already-drunken guests milling about. I hear Ronan drawing more attention toward Lochlan, probably for being so foolish, and ignore it. Things got substantially less dangerous the moment Isla said, "I do," but letting her go unguarded even inside this house is risky.

I know how badly she wants to flee. While I don't think any of Sebastian O’Reilly's men are brazen enough to crash this wedding, I do fear Isla will get smart and try to run off. The nervousness I saw in her eyes at that altar discouraged me. She still really doesn't want this, even after the moment we shared last night. I know she wants me. Deep down, she needs me. But she won't allow herself to believe that, and I hate it.

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