Page 3 of Reclaim (Deadly Hearts 3)

ChapterTwo

Declan

“Murderous, it’s the only word for it,” Cillian mutters, giving me an intense stare. Sometimes, I hate it when my own face looks back at me with an expression like that. “You are murderous.”

“And why wouldn’t I be?” I growl. “She just fecking left.”

“She didn’t have a choice,” David says quietly.

“Oh, you,” I say, spinning to face him. “You had better step away from me, Sunshine. This is all your doing.”

“It’s not his fault,” Layton says, coming to his defense. “He did what he needed to get the heat off Ruby so she could come home, and now we are all paying the price. It isn’t anyone’s fault.”

I let out a low growl, but turn away and stalk over to the other side of the casino. “Did you know Caoimhe was involved with Maverick?” I ask Cillian suddenly.

“No, she kept that quiet.”

“No fucking wonder.”

“Are we going to talk about the…”

“Are we feck,” I snarl. “If I do…I can’t…you know what…Forget it.”

“Yeah,” Cillian says, looking away.

I feel sick to my stomach. Everything I did to keep our bastard father away from her and it was pointless. Absolutely, sickeningly, disgustingly, vomit-inducingly pointless. I can’t think about it or I’m going to go homicidal on every fucker I come across. Beating Connor to death was not enough to assuage the horror that we endured at the hands of our father. Not even killing the culprit did that. This is just extra weight to bear, and I don’t think I can.

Not anymore.

Not without Ruby.

Focus, Declan. Focus on the matter at hand.

Closing my eyes, I breathe in deeply and shove the memories back in the box where they belong. Chained up, never to be thought about again.

Opening my eyes again, I say, “Ruby isn’t ready for this. If she misfires in the middle of a dangerous situation, she is going to get herself killed. We have to go for her.”

“We can’t,” Ramsey says carefully. “If she doesn’t do this for the Southside gang, then she is toast. Those wankers don’t mess about. Vinnie is notorious for not giving a fuck. He will take this away as quickly as he arranged it.”

“In case you hadn’t noticed, I am notorious for not giving a fuck,” I retort.

He snickers. “Yeah, I’d noticed. Kind of loses the dramatic effect when you mention it yourself, though.”

David tries his hardest not to laugh out loud, but doesn’t manage very well, coughing and spluttering like an eejit in the corner.

“Sunshine, this is your time to step up. Find her,” I bark, shutting him up instantly.

“I’ve tried. Her phone is switched off and I would hazard a guess, taken from her by now,” he says.

“How well do you know Liverpool?” I ask Layton, switching tactics.

“Not that well,” he says, grimly. “Never had cause to.”

“Ruby’s sister lives there,” David ventures, giving me the side-eye. “Shall we contact her?”

“What for?” I growl. “She won’t know anything about any underworld activity.”

“How do you know?” he asks. “She might know something. She’s not clueless. In her line of work, she must have her ear to the ground.”

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