Page 68 of The Chief
“Says her name is Mila Vassilieva.”
“Fuck,” Finnan cursed. “Sweeney had her stashed there?”
I eyed the woman in question, who had rested her back against the side of the van. She glared up at me with those pale gray eyes, daring me to fuck with her newfound freedom.
“Aye. Said her father sold her to Gannon in exchange for a foothold in Ireland.”
“Where’s this cunt now?”
“Sitting about two feet from me. We got her out, but she shot Seamus in the process.”
“Let me get this straight. You broke into the Fiach compound, stole one of Sweeney’s prizes, shot hisson,who is the Chief of the goddamned clan and left?”
Technically, Mila had been the one to do the shooting. I let out a deep breath. “Aye.”
Finnan was silent on the other end of the phone. “Did you get confirmation Sweeney was the one to send the bullet?”
“Seamus denied any knowledge. His father could’ve been working alone on this, but I find that hard to believe.”
“He could’ve been lying,” Finnan replied.
“Could’ve been,” I conceded. “But why would he?”
I didn’t want to have to tell him I now owed Seamus Sweeney a favor. Something about that exchange made me uneasy.
“Just get back here. I can’t afford to have you away right now.” He hung up, ending our conversation.
Tucking my phone back into my pocket, I saw Mila’s eyes had closed. The skin beneath them were stained with purple rings,and I knew exhaustion when I saw it. Her lids fluttered open once the van pulled to a stop and the engine cut out. We were back at the Rover. Molly’s door opened, the rear doors following suit a moment later.
Unlocking the Rover, I gestured for Mila to get into the back. “Where are we going?” she asked, her fingernails digging into the leather headrest of the front seat.
“Have to get rid of the van. After that, we’ll figure something out.” After shutting her door, I walked Molly to the driver’s side of the van. Before she could climb back in, I spun her around and pressed her against the side panel with my body.
She blinked at me, her pulse fluttering against the delicate skin of her neck. I pressed my thumb against it, feeling her life battering against mine.
“What we did was reckless and dangerous,” I told her, stroking my thumb over her pulse point. “You could’ve died. Seeing—” I bit the words off, swallowing down the rage that tried to surge. “Seeing you pinned under him like that made me want to burn down the fucking world.”
“I’m okay, Keir,” she replied, her tongue darting out to swipe across her bottom lip. “He didn’t hurt me.”
Somehow, I found that hard to believe. He may not have hurt her, but the bastard had found my weakness. My one flaw. Her. I didn’t know when she’d sunk so deeply into my soul, but Jynx was there now. Pressing my forehead to hers, I said softly, “I can’t see you like that again. I can’t?—”
“You won’t, Keir. And next time you want to burn the world down for me? I’ll be the one handing you the match, okay? But right now, we need to get out of here. Dispose of the van. And get back to the safety of the Mac Tíre Clan’s territory.”
I knew she spoke the truth; we couldn’t linger here for long. Seamus would have already reported this shit to his father, and we had to be ready for the storm his rage would bring.
“Kiss me, Keir?” Molly whispered, as her face tilted up to mine. “Kiss me now, and later you can make me forget everything else.”
Unable to deny her a damned thing, I slammed my mouth against hers, demanding she open to me with the slide of my tongue against her lips, letting me claim her. She broke away first, panting hard.
“We need to go.”
I nodded, letting her move past me and into the van once more. Once the window slid down, I reminded her, “Follow me.”
Turning, I climbed into the Rover and led the way to an abandoned warehouse down by the bay. Popping open the trunk, I pulled out the lighter fluid and matches I kept in two separate containers, then motioned to where Molly should park the van. Both women watched me torch the van, and we did not leave until I knew it was well alight.
“Get in, Jynx.”
She did as I asked, sliding into the front passenger seat and buckling up. “Where are we going now?”
