Page 17 of A Seductive Beauty
"I told you, at a friend’s." She gives me the same line from earlier.
"But you snuck away from him?"
"Yeah, well, it's for the best. Come on, don't you have to go to work. We'll walk you." Kayla changes the subject.
"Seriously." Wesley shakes his head, and I don’t understand why he’s upset about us walking, it’s only a couple blocks to the bakery.
"Come on."
I grab my coat and we head out after we arm the flat. Usually, this walk is calming and relaxing. I take a deep breath of the crisp cool air and try to get myself geared up to tell Kayla I’ll come to the wedding on Saturday but I’m not going for the week.
We stop in front of the bakery, and I take another deep breath, ready to tell her my decision. Suddenly Kayla turns her head, and Wesley grabs both of us and pulls us to the ground behind a vehicle. I’m about to yell at him when I hear loud banging sounds and glass shattering around us. I scream and cover my ears as I realize the banging is gunfire. Then I hear another sound and turn to see a motorcycle on the sidewalk coming toward us. It’s Seamus. He slips off the bike and pulls me from Wesley’s arms.
"I got the lass, take the Lady and get out of here." He holds the bike out to Wesley, and they jump on, leaving me with Seamus. A car accelerates and Seamus pushes me back to the ground. Kayla and Wesley take off around the corner, leading the car away from us.
After a moment I hear gunshots in the distance and push away from Seamus to jump up. I start to move in the direction they went when arms wrap around me.
“Stay here, bo ´in de ´.” Seamus pulls me back against him as his mobile rings in his pocket.
“Why are you here?” I demand as I pull away from him. “Did he send you? Or do you like me now?” I’m confused by all this.
“Fiona, are you okay?” Mrs. O’Sullivan yells from inside the shop. I turn toward her and try to give her a smile, but I can still feel the tears on my face and my body trembles.
“I’m okay. Are you?”
“Yes, but look at the shop.”
“I’ll be in to help you in a moment,” I say, and turn toward Seamus to get answers.
He folds his arms across his chest. He’s dressed in all black, including a black stocking hat to cover his dark hair. I force my hands to my hips as I cock my head to the side.
“I can’t tell you,” he answers, “but I can say that I’m here to make sure you are safe.” It’s not enough. Everyone thinks they are protecting me by not telling me what the real situations are.
I turn from him and move toward the ruined storefront.
Seamus grabs for me and pulls me back again. “It will be taken care of, just give me a moment.” His mobile starts ringing again. This time he answers it, and I can tell it’s Aidan. I yank my arm from his grip and push through the broken door.
“Let’s get this cleaned up,” I tell Mrs. O’Sullivan as my own mobile starts ringing. I pull it from my pocket and see it’s Kayla. “Are you okay?” I answer.
“We are safe. How about you?”
“I’m okay. I’m helping clean up.” I look out and see Seamus arguing on the phone. I need to get away from all of this. I look around the shop and take in the mess. The bakery will probably be closed for a few days if not the rest of the week. “I’ll get packed after this.”
"Okay, Fiona. We'll meet you at your flat shortly and you can come back to Surrey with us," she says, and hangs up.
“We are going to be closed for several days, Fiona.” Mrs. O’Sullivan broaches the subject I was hoping she would.
“I’ll help you clean up and then I’m going to go with Kayla to Surrey early instead of leaving Friday. Is that okay?”
“Oh, yes, darling. You’ve got quite a bit of vacation accumulated and we’ll be closed, so now is a perfect time.”
We both turn as several men step into the shop and start cleaning up and placing boards over the broken windows. I stand back as Seamus tells Mrs. O’Sullivan that Mr. Tiernan is taking care of everything, and he will help get a crew over to get the shop opened. I grab my purse and head out the door. I make it down a block before I turn and see that not only is Seamus following me but a blacked out SUV is as well. When we get to my flat, I turn toward Seamus.
“Tell him I not only don’t want to see him again, but he doesn’t have to help Mrs. O’Sullivan. You don’t have to follow me anymore either. I don’t know why you are, but I got the message loud and clear yesterday.”
“Fiona, please wait.” He tries to stop me, but I push through the door and slam it closed. I’m not going to allow any of them to hurt me anymore than they already have.
I make my way upstairs and pack a bag to spend the week with Kayla and get away from all this. I tell Moira the bare minimum. Us getting shot at and me going to Surrey for the week. I don’t tell her about Aidan.
