Page 109 of Illicit Heir

I step aside and wait. As soon as Emily steps through the door, I call out, "Emily."

She snaps her face toward me with a look of confusion. She hesitates, then leaves the crowd.

I guide her to the other side of the building.

She asks, "What are ya doing here?"

I announce, "I need to talk to ya about Lauren."

"Why?"

"Where is she?" I question.

"How would I know? Besides, Auntie Kathleen said she's with ya... That ya took her." She narrows her eyes.

I firmly assert, "I didn't take her."

Emily glances at both of us.

Tynan winks at her. "How ya doing, lass?"

Her cheeks slightly heat.

Now he's going to be like this?

She replies, "I'm okay. How have ya been?"

"Good. So ya got a new job."

She glances back at the door and shrugs. "It pays the bills."

He declares, "Would've been nicer if ya got your pub job back."

Her face hardens. "Well, that wasn't really my choice, was it?"

He slinks closer and puts his arm around her.

She looks up at him, then freezes as if unsure what to do.

He leans closer. "What would ya say if I said I could get your job back for ya?"

She scrunches her face and then pushes him away. She warns him, "Don't touch me." She refocuses on me.

Tynan's eyes widen, and I withhold my chuckle. Women never turn him down. It might be the first time he's had that happen in his entire life.

Emily refocuses on me and states, "I don't know where Lauren is. I haven't heard from her since the day before you showed up in town."

The hairs on my arms rise. It didn't take much to see that Emily was probably the closest person to Lauren. I was hoping she knew something and hadn't told Kathleen. I state, "Okay, let's assume I believe ya."

Emily huffs. "Believe me? Believe me if ya want or don't, but that's the truth."

"Okay, lass. What's her mum hiding?"

Something passes in Emily's expression, but she quickly turns her face neutral. "Her mum's not hiding anything."

"Bullshit. She said Lauren had a condition going on. What does that mean?"

Emily's lips form a tight line. I glance around us, making sure no one's near. Then I lean closer to Emily. "Listen to me, lass. Lauren's missing. I want to go find her, but I need information. Caleb is out there, and ya know how obsessed he is with her. So if there's something ya know, whatever it is, I don't care how minute ya think the detail is, I need to know."

---