Page 35 of His Temptation

Con sighed. “The bastard’s done waiting. He just put a hit out on you.”

Siobhan jerked upright, the lingering haze of pleasure vanishing. “What?”

Daragh stared at her with dark, furious eyes.

“She is no longer his top priority,” Con continued grimly. “He wants you dead.”

Daragh’s grip on the phone tightened, his jaw clenching. “Let the bastard come.”

Siobhan’s blood ran cold. Sebastian hadn’t just escalated the hunt… he had declared war.

The cold, brutal truth of Con’s words settled over the room like a suffocating fog. Sebastian Wolfe had put a hit out on Daragh. Not a warning. Not another failed attempt to steal her back. A kill order.

Siobhan stared at Daragh, searching for any sign of fear, any flicker of hesitation, but there was none. He was still, too still, the kind of stillness that preceded bloodshed. His fingers curled around the phone, his knuckles taut, but his voice was calm.

“Who took the contract?”

Con sighed. “Word is, Sebastian isn’t relying on just one crew. He put the bounty up for any merc or syndicate willing to collect.”

An icy dread seeped into her, causing her stomach to churn uncomfortably. That meant everyone would be coming. Every rogue gunman, every power-hungry assassin, every two-bit hitman looking to make a name for themselves.

She wondered if the O’Neills would be able to stop all of them. “I’ve called our people back. Even Killian is sending people from New York. Gavan, Joshua and Braden have all said they’d send men. In fact, it was Joshua who gave me the heads up.

Siobhan pressed a hand to her chest, forcing air into her lungs. She was used to being hunted, to being the one running, but Daragh—Daragh wasn’t a target. They shouldn’t have dragged him into this. But he had been. Because of her.

Daragh set the phone aside, his focus settling on her, his gaze unreadable. “I’ll get the men ready and the women and children to safety.”

Con hesitated. “Daragh, send them to the abbey and let me know if I need to make special allowances for your mate.”

“Siobhan stays with me…”

“Dar…”

“The others will be safer with you, but I won’t bring Sebastian’s level of violence to those at the abbey. Besides if he knows she’s here, he’ll fixate on the estate. She’ll be safer here than anywhere else on earth.”

A beat of silence, then Con muttered a curse before continuing. “You’re probably right. I don’t like it, but you probably are. Poor old Sebastian doesn’t have a clue as to the level of hurt he’s about to experience. Con said, “Take care of Siobhan,” then hung up before any more could be said.

Siobhan forced herself to sit up, ignoring the way her limbs ached from what Daragh had done to her just moments ago. “This is my fault.”

Daragh’s gaze snapped to hers, dark and fierce. “No, kitten. This is Sebastian’s fault.”

She shook her head, her mind racing. “He would never have come after you or challenged the O’Neill if you hadn’t taken me…”

“And if I hadn’t, you’d be dead.” His voice was steady, absolute. “Sebastian doesn’t tolerate disobedience. If he’d gotten you back, he would have punished you. Then he would have put you in the ground just to make sure no one else ever thought of defying him.”

She swallowed hard because she knew he was right.

Daragh reached out, his fingers brushing against the fresh bite on her neck, the place where he had claimed her. A deep, satisfied sound rumbled in his chest. “You’re mine, Siobhan. And no one takes what’s mine.”

The words shouldn’t have comforted her. They should have terrified her. Instead, heat unfurled in her chest, something dark and possessive curling around her like an embrace she couldn’t escape.

A knock sounded at the door.

Murphy stepped inside without waiting for permission, his face grim. “Daragh, Callum spoke with Con, the heads of the different cities are inbound, and our people are going to want to know what you want.”

Daragh gave a slow nod and Murphy left. Grabbing a pair of sweatpants from the dresser, Daragh pulled them on without bothering with a shirt, his body still humming with heat from what they had just done. “Stay here,” he ordered Siobhan, his tone brooking no argument.

She scoffed. “Not a chance.”

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