Page 80 of Black Heart

“It’s Tristan,” he murmured, shooting one last glance at Shayne’s retreating back before heading down the stairs as he carefully pulled the tee-shirt on.

“Tristan!” Hank shouted as he walked down the hallway towards the front door, his weapon drawn with Tom close behind as the two men quickly made their way towards him.

“Where’s Marty?” Hank demanded.

“She’s upstairs lying down. What’s going on?” Tristan asked, pretending that he didn’t know exactly what brought them here.

“That’s good, lad, really good,” the man that followed him downstairs said with an approving nod.

“What’s going on?” his father repeated in disbelief, sharing a confused look with Hank. “We heard a gunshot that’s what’s going on!”

Tristan shrugged. “Didn’t hear a thing.”

“You didn’t hear it?” Hank repeated, frowning as he looked past Tristan towards the stairs.

“No,” Tristan said in a bored tone as he gestured to the door. “But I’ll call Green and have him check into it.”

“Already called him,” Hank said with a sigh as he put his gun away. “Sorry that we woke you up. Give Marty my love.”

“Will do,” Tristan said, relieved when the men started for the door.

When his father shot him a wink and started out the door, Tristan almost stopped him and pulled him into his arms so that he could tell him how much he loved him, but somehow, he held back. He didn’t know what was going on and he wasn’t sure how far these men were planning on taking this. He wasn’t about to thank his father for everything he did for him by putting him in danger.

He wasn’t that much of an asshole.

CHAPTER30

“Are ye all right, lass?” the voice with the light Irish brogue that made her feel protected and safe asked as a cold cloth was pressed against her forehead.

“No,” Marty said with an embarrassing sniffle. She definitely wasn’t okay. Confused? Scared? Embarrassed? Dizzy? Close to vomiting? Yes, she was all of those things, but the one thing that she was definitely not was okay.

“Declean, did ye get the fritters?” another man, whose voice was slightly deeper and sexier, asked.

“They were out,” she heard a man mumble and she considered opening her eyes to see who’d spoken, but that would only cause more problems like more vomiting, doing something embarrassing like passing out, or losing it again.

Was that…bitch slapping that she was hearing? Yup, she was pretty sure that there were currently ghosts in her room bitch slapping each other from the sounds of it.

“Ow! What the hell was that for, Declean?” someone demanded, sounding like he was pouting. Why that made her lips twitch, she didn’t know. Maybe it was the start of a mental breakdown?

“Cause ye didn’t get the lass her baked goods, ye lazy bastard!” another one snapped, followed by the sounds of more bitch slapping.

“Hit me again, Connall and I’ll-Ow!”

“Stop yer bitching and go get the lass something to eat!”

“What am I supposed to get her, then?”

“Apples?” someone suggested, sounding hopeful.

“Oh, God,” Marty mumbled weakly, her stomach doing backflips at the mere suggestion of her favorite snack.

“Ye dumb bastard! Ye know that she can’t eat apples when she’s pregnant!”

A heavy sigh was followed by, “Aye, yer right. Then, what are we supposed to get for her?”

“Why are ye asking me? I’m not the one that’s pregnant!”

“Lass, what would ye like to eat?” the man that had carried her into the room asked and, although she could use a fritter or an apple donut or two, she was having a difficult time wrapping her mind around one little thing.

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