Page 33 of Coal
“Me too,” I reply, “but the quicker you get this done, the quicker I can get to work and the safer you’ll all be. And,mo ghrá,I need you allsafe. So,” I step back and tap his arse with my hand, making him jump and glare at me; I laugh and tell him, “get that axe swinging and hurry home.”
Turning, I walk away, and he gets his revenge by swiping at my arse as I walk past, making me giggle. I’m smiling the whole time as I strap a sleeping Shea into her car seat and get into the passenger seat, waiting for Tinman to climb in. Twenty minutes later, I’m waving goodbye to Tinman, and I’ve put Shea in her cot to finish her nap.
Making myself a cup of tea, I sit at the kitchen table and take the time to think over my morning and my declaration. Did I regret telling Coal how I felt about him so soon into our relationship? Was it too soon? Probably, but I find I didn’t care. Because of my upbringing, I learned to tell those closest to me how I felt, knowing that they could be taken from me at any time.
I’d made a commitment when I’d said,‘I do’.A commitment that I took seriously, and I’d cemented it when I’d agreed to have his name tattooed on my finger. So, no. I didn’t have one iota of regret in letting him know how I felt, not when he showed me every day how much both Shea and I meant to him.
I’d use the skills I had to keep my new family safe.
CHAPTER 11
COAL
“Fuck,” I groan as I sink into the chair. Every muscle I have protests at the movement.
“Yeah,” Copper grunts in agreement as he inches his way down until his ass hits the seat of the chair. “Holy fuck, man,” he groans out, “I used muscles today I didn’t even know I had. I thought we were fit, but this is a whole other level.”
Too tired to say anything, all I can do is grunt at him as an answer. Leaning my head back against my chair, I close my eyes.
Not only am I tired as fuck, but we’d been later than expected leaving the site, which meant I hadn’t got to spend time with Thea and Shea this afternoon like I’d wanted. Instead, I’d had to shower and hustle us out onto the road to make it to the clubhouse in time for Church. On the plus side, at least the road was nearly cleared. There was maybe a hundred meters or so left togo, then we could grade and compact it. Cross reckoned it would be ready in another two days or so. Then we could get the barn set up for Thea. If all went according to plan, she’d be in within three weeks. The timing was good with Copper leaving us this weekend to meet up with his contact. We’d be discussing that at Church this evening.
A knock on my office door breaks my contemplation of my mental list of all the things we still have to do to be ready for what’s coming. “Come in,” I call out.
The door opens, and Thea’s there with a couple of bottles of water and a box of painkillers.
“If the lot out there are anything to go by, I thought you two might need these,” she tells us, handing us each a bottle of water and then popping painkillers out for us to take.
“Thanks, baby,” I say, swallowing them down before snagging her hand and pulling her towards me and onto my lap. This time, she curls up without me having to ask. It makes me smile. I’m happy that she’s becoming more comfortable with her body. Wrapping my arms around her, I rest my head against hers.
I’d watched my parents over the years and hadalways vowed that I’d not settle for less. It had taken me longer than my dad to find my one, and I’d had to move countries to do it. Now that I had, I’d go to war to ensure she was safe. Aiden had been in contact to let me know people were looking for her. He’d done what he could to cover her tracks, and I’d had Sterling work on her paperwork this side. Soon she’d be untraceable except as my wife.
One good thing about her father keeping her hidden away is that very few people had met her, which meant that Aiden only had to make it very clear to a few that she was never to be mentioned, or it wouldn’t go over well for them. Nobody knew about Shea at all, which made the paperwork on her easier. As far as the world was concerned, she’d been born to Thea and me just over fourteen months ago, right here in Southampton Hospital. I’m not sure how Sterling did all the shit he did, but I was fucking happy he was one of ours.
Another thing I loved about my wife was that she was content to just sit. She didn’t feel the need to fill the room with constant chatter.
It’s closing in on time for Church when my phone rings. I reach for it from where I’d laid it down on my desk earlier. Thea goes to move offmy lap, but I stop her. “Stay, baby.”
She settles back on my lap. Turning the phone toward Copper, I show him who it is. Straightaway, he sits up straight, both feet now planted on the floor. “Cahir,” I answer.
“Coal,” he responds, “I hear congratulations are in order.”
Chuckling, I reply, “They are. How did you find out, or was it a vision?”
Cahir laughs out loud. “No vision. Word of mouth. Cai was booked in with Hawk, and he mentioned that you’d been around with your wife. I’m not sure who was more surprised that we didn’t know—Hawk or Silas. I told Silas his arse is getting old if he can’t see that our family is finding their one and only. And how is your wife?”
Smirking at his words, I tell him, “Here, ask her yourself.” Putting my phone on speaker, I put it on the desk, telling him, “You’re on speaker. I’ve got Thea and Copper in here with me.”
Turning toward Thea, I explain, “Cahir is a Cursed Skull, and he’s a distant family member. They are the ones organising and setting up everything. We’ll be taking most of our orders from them. Cahir, meet my wife, Thea.”
With amusement clear in his tone at my possessiveness in introducing Thea like I did, he welcomes her, “Welcome to the family, Thea. I hope you will be very happy.”
Thea looks at me before responding, “Thank you.”
“Now I wish this was a catch-up call. But we are looking to move the person who has agreed to go undercover, and Copper will need to move into the flat with her, as they are posing as a couple to make it easier for him to keep an eye on her. It won’t look strange if he checks up on her at work or meets up for lunch. We need to keep the relationship looking as normal as possible so that they don’t suspect anything.”
“When do you need me, and when do I meet her?” Copper wants to know.
“That’s why I’m calling. You’ll need to move next weekend at the latest. We’ve set up new identities for you so that what we are doing doesn’t blow back on your family. Not only to keep them safe, but also so that you can help with any victims we find. Do you have somewhere for them to stay if we need them to go somewhere safe before moving them on?”
