Page 151 of Forbidden Romeo

“Even though I’m a Maguire?”

He pulls me down to kiss him gently. “He’d come around. Quicker than I did, probably.”

I pull away with a sad smile. “I’m sorry I never met him.”

“Me too.”

We take a final jerk to the left and suddenly plunge into darkness. The driver turns around in his seat.

“Mr. Duffy? We are almost here.”

‘Here’ turns out to be a little further down the dark tunnel we just entered. A few seconds later, lights begin to flicker on, guiding our path toward some industrial-sized garage doors.

They open with a shudder, and the creeks echo throughout the tunnel around us. But as it rises, the more I can’t tear my eyes away.

Behind the door is what looks to be a car showroom more than a garage. Already, almost half of Jack’s cars have been lined up in rows along the gigantic room. The whole place looks like some kind of warehouse, except…

“We’re underground?” I say, looking back down at Jack.

“It would appear so.”

Waiting for us in the garage is a small group of people—two of them standing next to a gurney. Thank God.

To their left, another group of people gets out of the car. They must have arrived just a few moments before us. Among them is the signature blonde hair of the safe-house owner herself, Kate St Michael.

The way she maneuvered us out ofLuckieshad been beyond anything I had ever seen. The woman must have made a deal with the devil in order to move like that. Pushing through the crowds efficiently and without drawing attention to the two people she’d shoved into oversized hoodies. Hoodies both Jack and I are still wearing.

She truly thought of everything.

When Alexas comes to a stop, he exits the car and runs around to the back seat of the SUV, beckoning the gurney over.

“This is going to sting like a bitch, isn’t it?” Jack says, wincing a little as he tries to sit up.

“Yes,” I say honestly. “But I hear your doctor is pretty cute.”

***

It takes several hours to clean Jack up and fully assess the damage done during the fight. By the time I’ve finished strapping him up and prescribing him painkillers from the impressive collection Kate seems to have amassed, all sixteen of our new family have arrived and settled into the safe house.

Jack insists on a brief meeting, even though I put him under strict bed rest—so we compromise by moving to a lounge next door, equipped with a fully stocked bar that everyone eagerly makes use of.

“I’ll keep this short,” Jack says once everyone settles down. “As it’s been a long day, and I imagine some of you feel worse than I look.”

This earns him a few chuckles, and I smile at him fondly.

“I want to first thank you for trusting me and for going along with all this. What you saw tonight was the result of Padraic’s careless revenge. Weeks, maybe even months in the making.” Jack says solemnly. “For a while now, Padraic’s goal has been to remove me from the picture by any means necessary. Even if it meant collaborating with his own son’s murderer.”

I duck my head as a few of the men begin to murmur to themselves.

“Understand, my fiancee and I never intended for any of this to happen,” Jack says, looking at me with a small smile. “And it’s my fault for not anticipating Padraic’s reaction to our engagement.”

“It’s not your fault,” Kate speaks up suddenly. “You had every right to his empire, to be named heir, but he was never going to give it to you. Your engagement was just an excuse for him to latch on to.”

She turns to the men, only a flicker of anger showing under her practiced calm and perfect makeup.. “For too long, we’ve played this game under a leader who’s willing to sacrifice his men to fulfill his every whim.” Kate glances back at Jack. “I think it’s about time we put our faith in someone who actually gives a shit.”

The men launch into whoops of applause, much to Jack’s apparent surprise.

“Thank you,” he says once it finally calms down. “At present, our only objective is to lie low for a couple of weeks. That means no contact with the outside world, no leaving the property. Take this time to rest and make yourselves at home. I’ll be putting together a group of you to form my inner circle, and we’ll keep you informed about any new developments. I also want to hear all your thoughts, ways you think we can streamline operations or outsmart theDead Eyes.”

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