Page 150 of Illicit Heir

"You're such a selfish bastard. It's your nephew," I remind him.

"I'm selfish? You're the one who's stopping me from getting pussy."

"Jesus. Really, Tynan!" Alaina reprimands.

"You're such a dick," I mumble, brushing past him.

"Spoken from the king himself," he mutters.

I glance at my watch. There's only a half hour until it's time to meet this girl. I ask, "Scarlet thinks this is legit?"

"Aye, she does," Aidan confirms.

"Let's go, Tynan."

Aidan calls out, "I'll follow you, just to make sure."

For the millionth time, my hope ignites. I try to shut it down, but all I can see in my mind is Lauren and our child.

I've seen pictures of him. Caleb's been releasing photos online, touting him as his. It only makes the situation worse.

I never thought I wanted kids, but all I want to do is hold him and Lauren and know that they're safe and away from Caleb forever. Whenever I think I'm going to get that and then fall short, it deepens my craving to the point it's painful.

Tynan's car is in front of mine. He slides in his driver's seat, and I get into the passenger side. We make our way through town, barely speaking. When we pull up to the pub, I direct him to pull into the alley.

We wait until it's almost eight o'clock and then I tell him, "Make sure ya shut your mouth. I'll do the talking."

"Whatever. Just hurry it up. I still want to go out tonight."

I refrain from smacking him. I need to focus, so I enter the pub from the back door. It's dark and reeks of stale alcohol, cigarettes, and cigar smoke.

I glance around, my eyes adjusting to the dim light. All I see are men, except for the shadow of a person in a hoodie in a back corner booth. I mumble to Tynan, "I think that's her."

He doesn't say anything and follows me to the booth. I slide across from the woman, and Tynan sits next to her.

Her eyes widen as they dart between my brother and me.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Aidan step inside and sit at the bar where he can view the entire room. I lean closer to the young woman. "Assuming you're Maeve?"

Her lip trembles, as does her voice. She nods, confirming, "Yea."

"Well, we don't have all day. Spit it out, lass," Tynan demands.

I kick him under the table.

He grunts.

The fear in Maeve's expression grows.

Tynan eyes her over, adding, "Ya are a pretty thing, for an O'Leary."

"Shut up, Tynan," I warn.

He keeps his focus on Maeve.

Even though my insides are boiling over, I calm my voice, asserting, "It's okay, lass. Just tell us what ya know."

She takes a deep breath and relays, "I have information about Lauren." She glances at Tynan and then focuses on me. "You're Devin, right?"

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