Dusting off this box leaves an uneasy feeling inside my belly.
“You’re shaking,” Haley whispers. “Are you good to help?”
I swallow the lump in my throat. “Yes.”
Haley glances at Callum, who’s watching from a distance, eyes trained on her. He’s not in his typical suit and vest, but dressed in jeans and a t-shirt with running shoes. It’s odd to see him dressed down, and also wearing a look of contentment, despite the situation occurring right now.
As if Haley is here, so he doesn’t need to stress out. He trusts her completely to do whatever she does and save his man. That contentment only lasts until he turns to me. “Tell me what happened,” he orders.
“I was walking home from work and took a shortcut behind an alley. There were footsteps and then I heard the gunshots. I didn’t see anyone. I don’t know what they wanted or who they were.”
Callum nods. “Did they take anything?”
I shake my head.
“Then this wasn’t a mugging.”
“What?” Haley asks, her hands buried into the chest cavity of a knocked-out Scotty. “You think this was a hit?”
Callum glances between us. “I don’t know, but if it were a mugging, they’d have approached Griffin after shooting Scotty and taken at least his wallet.”
Declan and Sean both come barreling into the basement while Haley is elbow-deep in blood and chest grossness. Declan stops mid-step when he notices what’s happening.
But Sean, not wasting a breath, starts in on Callum. His frazzled voice echoes off the walls. “What the fuck was he doing following Griffin? First, you take him out of my chain of command to watch over Haley. Now Paddy has him on Michael Griffin of all fucking people. He should have been with Saoirse like he has been all these years, Callum. This shit ends here.”
Chapter Nine
Myphonebuzzesinmy pocket, and I know it’s Camille. This will be the third phone call in thirty minutes from her, but I can’t answer right now. My mind is too preoccupied with making sure Griffin is okay.
She’s been blowing me up since I left her in the hospital to come back to Boston. I don’t blame her. We’d been talking about her coming to live here, meanwhile I just up and took off, and left her in the hospital by herself overnight.
I’m a jackass, but the doctor said she was okay, and I couldn’t leave this mess for Callum to clean up alone.
There’s commotion as I enter the warehouse, soldiers lined against the walls and whispering. Some are dressed in street clothes, others in suits, but they’re all smoking and drinking while they wait for news. A few heads turn toward the door I walked through, and slowly the silence falls throughout the room when they recognize me.
Everyone freezes, all eyes on me. And I walk through the center, taking in the faces of our men. Noting each one to remember who came to show their support while the others stayed back. Finn Black, one of Scotty’s closer friends on the security team, is the only one who has the guts to approach.
He’s leaning against a pole toward the back, his legs crossed when I spot him. When our eyes meet, Finn pushes off and starts toward me. Stuffing hands into the pockets of his black suit pants, he pauses when he’s about a foot in front of me.
“Please give us an update as soon as you can,” Finn says, his blue eyes dull with the pain of Scotty’s unknown status lingering behind them.
I nod, shaking his hand. “I’ll be up as soon as I have updates.”
“Callum brought the new doc in. She’s a woman.” Finn glances around, taking notice of the audience. When his eyes settle on me again, he says in a lower tone, “She looks young. Is she good enough for this?”
My lips curl into a grin, despite the heaviness that fills my entire being. Scotty isn’t just a guard for our family. He’s our friend and a family member. I know Griffin struggles with loud noises ever since the firefight that almost took our lives. I know he tries his best not to let it affect him, and that he’s got to be hanging on by a thread right now.
But the doubt Finn has in Haley somehow brings the humor out in me. If Callum heard any of the men doubting Haley out loud, he’d have a field day carving them with her name. A daily reminder left of how they could ever believe she wasn’t able to save any of them. He must not have brought her out in public much to make sure they know who she is, that she belongs to him.
Or if they do, they’ve elected Finn to do the talking for them, knowing he’d probably be the least likely to serve a harsh sentence.
My grip tightens around his hand, and I pull him in closer to me. Bringing my free hand around, I cup the back of his neck and squeeze. I lower my voice so only he can hear. “That woman served in combat. She saved my life, and if Callum Murphy ever hears any of you speak ill of her, you’ll be lucky if he leaves you whole.”
Finn tenses, realizing the mistake he’s just made. “I meant no disrespect, Paddy. We didn’t know and we’re worried about Scotty.”
“Don’t let it happen again.”
I release him, stepping away to put distance between us. The buzzing of my phone begins again. I groan inwardly. I’m not sure if she’s just pissed that I left, or if something must be wrong. And the dreadful feelings I have intensify. The baby could be hurt, and my heart can’t take that right now.
