Page 185 of Destined Lovers

Killian lifts his hands, and I flinch, unsure what he’s going to do, but he shakes his head with a look of regret from my reaction. “It’s not what you think, Nora. I promise you. Please let us explain,” he says softly.

“Explain what?” I yell. “Why would you do this? I don’t understand. I trusted you!” I scrunch my eyes up and hope for the best. I’m defenseless between the two of them.

“Nora,” Killian whispers.

I can’t look at them. I keep my eyes shut tightly and envision Declan.

My poor guy, what he must be going through right now. He has no idea where I am. I’m sure of it. Otherwise, I would be home safe in his arms. He would have saved me already if he knew.

I try and think of something happy. If I’m going to die today, I want to go while pretending I’m anywhere but here.

I imagine we’re at home, lying on the floor of my art studio after hours of lovemaking. I’ve just told him I’m pregnant, so he maneuvers his enormous muscular body to hover over my stomach, pressing kisses everywhere while tears of happiness drip down his cheeks.

I run my hands through his hair, pushing it back so I can watch him in awe of the news. He introduces himself to our little one and promises to love them as much as he loves me. He breaks and kisses my tattoo a few times in between talking to our baby, smiling up at me every few moments.

A hand runs up and down my arm in comfort. “Nora.”

I open my eyes and stagger back, nearly falling off the bed. “Don’t fecking touch me! You won’t kill me. You won’t!” I yell at Killian and wipe the tears that must have formed from my pretend memory, wishing with everything I am it was real.

“Kill you?” His eyes widen, and he draws his head back quickly. “We don’t want to kill you, Nora. We saved you,” he tells me.

Saved me?“What on earth are you talking about, you gobshite! You kidnapped me!” I shout with a shaky breath, then turn my attention to Bennett, who hasn’t said one word.

“What, you have nothing to say? You kidnap me, then let Killian do all the work? He must be the boss, right?” Bennett flinches at my words.That’s what I thought.

I look between them. “Oh my god, did you drug me?” My hand drops down to my stomach again, forgetting where I am.

“Ar-Are you pregnant?” Bennett murmurs.

I clench my hands together in anger. “You lost the privilege to know anything about me, Ben!” I bite, and he winces.

“Aye, Nora, let me explain before you two go at it, and no, he did not drug you. You passed out. Otherwise, Bennett would have explained everything in the car.”

Thank feck.

Bennett would have been the one to die for putting my baby at risk. If not by me, Declan would have killed him in a heartbeat. Although a gentle giant, if someone messes with the people he loves, there is no stopping him.

“Get on with it then,” I spit. What could they possibly have to say to make this better?

Killian maneuvers his body in front of me, I’m sure, so I stop shooting daggers at my kidnapper and supposed friend. “Please be patient.” He widens his dark green eyes to get his point across, knowing that’s not exactly my strong suit.

I move my hand in a gesture to keep going—hisnotspeaking is making me impatient, not the other way around.

“The reason we ‘kidnapped’ you, as I said, was to save you, not harm you.” I narrow my eyes, not understanding his screwed-up logic, but he ignores me. “The man on trial for your parents’ murder, Conor Byrne, he’s my da.” He puts up his hands to calm me when I take a deep audible breath while goose bumps of unease scatter up my arms.

What the actual feck is going on here?

“I want no business with what he does, Nora. I’ve been secretly trying to change how things are run for a long time now, and I don’t condone murdering innocent people. I can promise you that.” He takes my hand for reassurance, and I probably shouldn’t let him, except at this moment, I need the comfort. “Bennett doesn’t work for me. He was honestly your guard for all those years, and our friendship is very much real. All of ours.” He looks between the three of us, “Bennett has been my best mate since we were young lads, and when we were old enough to realize what my dad was doing, our conscience took over, and we vowed to work together and clean up my da’s fecked up ways. He went into law enforcement, and I’ve been putting on a show for Da so he would trust me and hand over everything when it was his time to retire or die.”

He pauses and checks to see if I’m okay and for once in my life, I’m shocked into silence.

“Years ago, Bennett told me he was protecting a young girl from my da, and I knew it then; it was my time to finally step up and take action. I couldn’t let him harm another innocent person, especially once I met you, although you are a pain in my arse,” He smirks.

“I’ve kept my eyes and ears open and fed any information I had to Bennett. It’s why I was around all the time. I needed to be one step ahead.” He pauses again to let everything sink in.

“Is that why I ran into you in Galway? It wasn’t just a coincidence?” I ask, putting all the pieces together.

“Aye, I’ve been following you for years when Bennett couldn’t be there. Do you remember Hannah?”

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