Page 80 of Illicit Heir

I almost text him back, and Emily grabs my hand. She orders, "Delete the chain, Lauren."

I glance up at her. My lips tremble, and my voice cracks. I admit, "I don't want to."

I don't know why I want to hold on to these messages. Most of them are the two of us fighting and accusing each other of things.

Emily takes my phone and does it for me. Then she turns my phone off. She says, "We need to wait," just as there's a bang on the door.

A man's voice shouts, "Anybody in there? Answer or I'll have to shoot through the door."

Emily shouts, "There're two of us! We're just barmaids!"

"Unlock the door with your hands in the air," the voice orders.

We do as we're told.

The door opens, and a man I've never seen asks, "Are ya lasses okay?"

"Yes," we both state.

"Is anyone else in this flat?" he asks.

I answer, "No, just us. My place is small, as ya can see."

He nods. "I'm glad to see ya lasses are safe. Ya were smart to hide up here."

"What happened to everybody in the pub?" I question, but my gut already knows the answer.

His face darkens with hatred. He sniffs hard and relays, "We killed all of them. And I suggest ya stay up here for a while. I'll let ya know when we've disposed of the bodies and what's going to happen next."

"Happen next?" I fret.

His nods. "Aye. This pub is now property of the O'Connors."

14

Devin

I've never felt so anxious before.

Thank God she's alive.

I stare at the messages for another moment, then do exactly what I told Lauren to do. I delete the chain, put my phone back into my pocket, and leave the bathroom. I return to the game room where all my brothers, Boris, Killian, and Dante have set up camp.

Alaina's not been present the entire night, and her absence strikes me for the first time. I ask Brody, "Where's your wife? She's missed the show."

His face hardens. "She's been doing other things." He turns and tosses his dart at the board.

Bullshit, I think.

I barely listen to the conversation for another half hour, then decide to go find Alaina. I'm pissed that she put Lauren and the others in that position when she runs around claiming how O'Leary women don't have choices or rights. Yet when push comes to shove, she does nothing to protect them.

I enter her office and find her staring at her TV screens, watching our men in the sewers, on the docks, and in different parts of the city.

I hurl out, "So ya don't like to think about the O'Leary women dying, but ya do nothing to stop it, do ya?"

She spins and gapes at me.

I add, "Ya hide up here when ya know the danger you've put them in."

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