Page 14 of Coal
Her eyes grew a little shiny at my words. “What about my daughter?”
“Is she safe for now?” I ask seriously.
Thea nods, “She is. Our younger sister is looking after her for me, but I’ll need to get her withinthe next two hours.”
“Okay, so I’m taking that as a yes to marriage.”
Thea again laughs.
“Babe, I’m not sure what it is about that word that keeps setting you off. But we need to get to the registry office within the next forty minutes for our slot.”
“Oh feck,” she whispers, her eyes wide with surprise. “You’re actually serious about marrying me.”
“Yep,” just then a thought flits through my mind, “Fuck, you’re not already married, are you?”
She snorts another little laugh, wiping at the tears under her eyes, “No. I’m not really the type of woman most men go for.”
My eyes narrow at her words, but I didn’t have the time to explain that they were all idiots.
“We’ll talk about that later, but first we have to go and pick up your ID and get down to the registry office.”
“No need,” she assures me. “I have my ID on me.”
I wave at her father. “Do you want him to come with?”
Her lip lifts in a slight sneer as she looks at her father.
‘I guess there was no love lost between them then.’
Turning back to me, she asks, “Do you promise my daughter will be safe?”
“I promise, Thea, she’ll be safe.”
“Then no, just leave him like that here. Someone will be here shortly, and they can deal with him. I would like my brother and sisters there, though.”
Bolt was still standing next to her father. “Make sure he’s secured properly,” I order him.
Immediately, Bolt drops to the floor to do as I ask, securing Kelly’s legs to the chair he’s sitting in.
There’s a commotion outside the dining room. Grabbing hold of Thea’s hand, I push her behind me, taking my gun from behind my back. Nickel’s done the same thing to Kara.
“Wait,” Thea shouts simultaneously as Kara shouts out, “Don’t shoot, Aiden. We’re all good in here.”
A deep voice with a broad Irish accent calls out, “I just want to check on my sisters. Can you call your watchdogs off?”
Looking around at all the brothers in the dining room, it can only be Brass or Iron out there. I’d not noticed that Iron had left us earlier. I’d been so fixated on the woman currently clutching the shirt at my back.
“Iron?” I call out.
“Nope, it’s Brass. Iron’s checking on the staff they secured.”
“Bring him in, brother, we need to clear a few things up anyway,” I tell Brass.
Brass pushes Aiden Kelly through the door, and my estimation of him rises when the first thing he does is check on his sisters. The surprise and relief show on his face when he sees us protecting the two of them.
And my estimation rises when the first thing he does is ask them, “Are you both all right?”
Thea moves from behind my back to my side, but I wrap my fingers in the loop of her jeans, holding her next to me. He may care for his sisters, but I wasn’t ready to trust him just yet.
