Page 16 of Highballs & Hexes

He merely shrugged off her question and turned his broad back. “You should get comfortable, love. It’s going to be a long while before anyone knows we’re missing.”

“Da’s gone missing,”Bridget informed the remaining three of her four siblings as they gathered with their mates around the table. “Cian and I were there when he began to teleport, but the room went black. Like someone turned off the lights.”

Cian, the oldest of her three brothers, rose and shut the double doors leading to the pub from their private meeting room. The low light caught the strands of his dark-blond hair, causing a gleam, not dissimilar to an angel’s halo, though he could be a demon spawn when riled. When he returned to his seat, his normally bright eyes were dark with concern.

“What’s this, then? And how do ya know he’s missing?” Carrick’s black brows clashed together in the center of his forehead. As the most serious of the O’Malleys, he always took things to heart, and the worry on his face said he’d do whatever it took to make the situation better.

Cian shrugged and answered matter-of-factly. “When I teleported directly after them, they were nowhere to be found.”

“Them?”

“He’s with a woman named Fionola Bohannon.”

With a heartfelt sigh, Ronan rubbed the back of his neck and stared at them in confusion. “Who’s she?”

“The sister of a man gone missing. Her brother’s name is Tadhg Bohannon, and he was one of Loman’s victims on the island,” Bridget explained. “And before ya ask, she’s as lovely as the day is long. She’s not involved in this other than to be a victim herself. I’m sure of it.”

Cian nodded. “Sure, and I agree.”

“Is it possible Patrick and Fionola changed their minds and went somewhere else?” Eoin’s mate, Brenna, was a shy creature and tended to stay silent unless spoken to, but in the last year, she’d grown comfortable around the O’Malleys and come out of her shell a little at a time.

“Aye, anything is possible. But he’s been gone over twenty-four hours now, and tonight is Aeden’s birthday celebration. Da promised to be here for it.” Bridget heaved an impatient sigh and pushed her wayward auburn hair away from her forehead. Although her father’s focus had been turned inward since his return from the Otherworld, the man wasn’t selfish. And he certainly wouldn’t miss his grandson’s birthday if he could help it.

“He’s been absentminded of late,” Dubheasa added, stating what Bridget had just been thinking. “Could it be he’s just gone off and forgotten?”

Feeling helpless, which wasn’t at all like herself, Bridget simply stared at her family. What could she say? Yes, it was possible he’d lost track of time again, but how did she explain this disappearance felt different, more urgent in nature?

“Aye,” she finally replied.

“But you don’t believe so?” asked Piper Thorne. Her amber eyes were thoughtful as she studied Bridget, and she saw what the others didn’t: Bridget’s anxiety. But then, she’d always been perceptive. Likely, it came with the name Thorne. The Thorne family needed to continually be alert to danger. Theirs was a magic everyone envied and would do their best to destroy if possible. The surname brought enemies slinking out of the shadows.

A little over a year ago, the American had wandered into their pub while on vacation. With one flirty conversation, Cian had fallen head-over-heels for the dark-haired beauty, and Bridget had enjoyed watching their dance, as clumsy as it was.

“No, I don’t.” She sank into her chair and lifted her pint glass for a sip, needing the rich taste of Gran’s brew to moisten her dry mouth. “The others were too young to remember”—with a nod, she indicated Eoin and Dubheasa—“but Da’s not the same as he was. When he’s not taking the piss, he’s angry or dismissive.”

“Sure, and I’ve noticed,” Carrick said with a sage nod.

As the serious one of their family, he was a watcher. Similar in looks to Dubheasa, with his black hair and green eyes, he possessed a calmer temperament and tended to consider a problem from all angles before jumping in head first, as Cian and Dubheasa were wont to do.

Only Eoin, Dubheasa’s twin, remained quiet on the subject, as if he didn’t care about Patrick’s safety one way or the other. And perhaps he didn’t. Their da had disappeared when the twins were young, and Eoin had never formed a connection to him.Hell, he didn’t know the man. How was he supposed to feel love for a total stranger?

Granted, Da had practically been forced from his home by their mother and held prisoner for years by Loman O’Connor, that horrid gobshite. The youngest members of their clan, Dubheasa and Eoin had felt abandoned, though. As a moody artist, her brother internalized his feelings until he could display them on a canvas or through sculpting.

The double doors burst open, startling them all.

A tall black-haired man with midnight-colored eyes stepped through the entryway, and Bridget had the fleeting thought he, although more rugged and a helluva lot less pristine in nature, resembled the Aether with his seductive, dark looks.

“This is a private meeting,” she snapped. “You’ll be taking yourself back out the way you came and shutting those doors behind you, ya will.”

His brows practically hit his hairline. “And you must be related to Patrick O’Malley. He’s an arrogant fecker, too.”

All her brothers stood. Menace was in every line of their bodies, and the fight had entered their narrowed eyes.

Bridget laughed.

Their visitor wasn’t wrong. The O’Malleys were arrogant when the occasion warranted.

“What is it you’re after, then?” she asked in a less combative tone.

---