by Anna Castor
Caitlin wasn’t having this discussion with Pops. She pursed her lips, and if it was any other person butting in, she surely would have bitten their head off.
But it was Pops, and they all loved his ass, so she forced a small smile and said, “Pops, nothing is to come of it. He lives on the other side of the country.” She stood from her chair, patted Pops on the back, and gave him a sweet kiss on his cheek before she went to the bar.
“Sean Senior, you should let these kids figure things out for themselves,” Maureen tried.
But Pops didn’t listen to Maureen. “Now, where are Kayla’s sisters? Let me see if they are anythin’ like Kayla. Maybe one’s a good woman for our Declan, so he can stop pinin’ over Bree.”
Declan looked over at Pops, and he might as well have had steam coming from his ears. “You know what? I... I....” He sighed, took a long gulp from his beer, and lowered his head.
”Aye, that’s what I thought, boy. Ye know, I see Bree. She’s lookin’ over her shoulder every five minutes, doin’ her best to get yer attention while that boy next to her is busy butterin’ her up. What are ye doin’ here for, sittin’ with Maureen and me?”
Declan stood immediately, but instead of walking over to Bree, he walked out of Lucky, never once looking over at Bree. She watched Declan’s back as he passed her by. Bree’s shoulders slumped, but then the guy from her team gave her a beer and she sat up straighter. She smiled softly at him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Fuck, this was not good at all.
Declan was majorly fucking this up, and Duncan knew he couldn’t help his brother. He had told him often enough that he should go for Bree, but Declan said that he didn’t want to jeopardize their friendship. He had seen what a breakup did to Fianna and Ronan, and he said he never wanted to miss Bree from his life.
Donovan came into the pub and strolled directly toward Pops’s table. He took Declan’s seat and treated Pops and Duncan to a nod after he’d kissed Maureen’s cheek. His eyes scanned the room, suddenly looking unnerved. Duncan followed his line of sight and noticed Kayla coming over to them with her sisters in tow. He glanced over at Donovan, who sat straight with his eyes pinned on one person only. His eyes never broke contact with Kate as he shook hands with Errin, who tried to joke, but he didn’t even acknowledge her.
The moment Kate looked up into Donovan’s eyes, she swallowed and her big blue eyes grew wide. They shook hands, and Donovan didn’t even have something clever to say. They stood there, holding hands, gazing into each other’s eyes. Pops had to butt in, of course, and Kate reluctantly took her eyes off Donovan.
She softly smiled at Pops as he said that she looked like a fine thing. “Ah, don’t ye blush, ye hear? Yer makin’ me blush with ye.”
Giggling softly, she let go of Donovan’s hand and introduced herself to Maureen as Donovan grabbed her a chair from the table next to them. She looked up at him with a smile that brought out her dimples. Donovan cleared his throat, still at a loss for words, and took his seat next to Kate.
All the while, Errin stood there with both hands on her hips. “Fine, leave me standing. No problem.”
Donovan jerked his head toward Errin, as if he’d just noticed her.
“I’m sorry, Errin. Forgive me.” He went to stand up from his seat, but he was stopped when Errin put out her hand.
“No, don’t bother. I just wanted to yank your chain a little. You did well helping Kate there. I’m going to shoot some pool.” Errin turned and walked toward Calum, who hugged her tight the moment she arrived at his pool table.
“Ah, some hellion she is. Aye, nothin’ like some Irish fire, I tell ye.” Pops clearly wasn’t upset that Errin would rather play pool than sit at his table. He seemed to appreciate the unabashed way she carried herself. Perhaps because he wasn’t shy about doing and saying things himself, so he could relate to Errin.
“Dunc, I introduced my sister to Bree, and she told Kate that they have an opening coming up, as one of her colleagues is going on maternity leave two months from now. I didn’t know Bree worked as a kindergarten teacher. This is perfect.”
Duncan nodded at Kayla and looked over at Kate, who seemed to be blushing even more.
“Kayla, you know I can’t quit my job. I.... Those kids need me.” She barely whispered the words, and Duncan feared it would take a lot of effort to get Kate out of her shell.
“Well, we need you here even more. It’s not safe at home, you know. Donovan, can you please help me out here?”
Donovan simply narrowed his eyes at Kayla in response, but she didn’t seem one bit unnerved by him. Duncan chuckled at the thought of these two together at the office, staring each other down.
Kayla continued, “I mean it, Donovan. You know Tom’s crazy. Please help me persuade Kate to come live with me.”
“What is all that, fine thing? Yer in trouble?” Pops looked worried as he leaned over the table and took both Kayla’s and Kate’s hands.
“Sean Senior....” Maureen tried to temper Pops, as he seemed eager to go after whomever they needed.
“My boyos lookin’ out for ye?”
Kayla nodded and made sure Pops wasn’t frightened for them. “Some guy is bothering us, but we have everything under control.”
Pops seemed to know there was more to the story. “Hmm, I’ll let my boyos tell me about it later.”
Errin and Kate had gone home yesterday after they’d stayed for another two days. Calum went with them to New Jersey, but he’d said he was considering transferring to Austin. Kayla smiled at the thought. She wondered if he would transfer for her sake or to be close to a certain beautiful police officer with long curly brown hair.
It was Wednesday morning, and Kayla was in a hurry to get into the office. Sighing, she checked the time and pushed the elevator button once again. It usually took five minutes to get to the right floor, and it was already five minutes till nine.
When she looked in the shiny closed doors of the elevator, she caught sight of movement right behind her. Skin crawling, she took a deep breath and looked over her shoulder, but she only saw a clerk sitting behind the reception desk. Two women stood next to her, waiting for the elevators to open up, but they couldn’t have caused the movement behind her.
It had been a while since she acted this skittish. After the attack, she’d never let her guard down and always looked twice across a room before entering, and she would never stand with her back to an entrance.
It made Kayla realize that she was in a good place as she followed the other women into the elevator. She was getting back to her old self with each passing day.
As she arrived at her desk, she opened the drawer for her purse and turned on her computer screen at exactly nine.
When she went inside Donovan’s office, she was greeted with a growl. “Morning, Kayla. Good of you to join us today.”
“Stop right there, buddy. No growling at me, okay? I was right on time. But I will be here tomorrow five minutes before my workday starts. Would that take the scowl from your face?”
He nodded at Kayla and took his seat behind his desk. “Sorry. I’m glad you’re not taking any shit from me.”
Kayla had a soft spot for Donovan. He might be her boss, and although he seemed to be a distant and controlling jerk to others, he resembled her brother Calum, and she could appreciate that side of him. She knew the best way to deal with their moods was to simply draw the line and push back. It always worked with her brother, and she knew she would gain a lot more respect from Donovan by standing up for herself.
“What’s wrong, Donovan?” He wasn’t looking at her. Instead, he typed away on his phone. When she cleared her throat, he looked up.
“Okay, I just got off the phone with my friend in New Jersey. He got some intel that Tom wanted to take some time to take a leave of absence. He wasn’t at work yesterday, but he also wasn’t at home—”
Kayla stood up from her chair. This could not be happening. He might come after her or.... “But if you don’t know where
he is.... Kate? Is she safe? Tell me she’s safe.”
“I know she’s safe, Kayla, and so is Errin. My friends are looking out for both of them. Just to be on the safe side, I’ve texted Ronan to pick you up after work and to escort you home. I’m going to check all flights to Austin, see if his name comes up. But he could easily take another route. We have to tread lightly here. I’ve sent a group text so Dec, Cait, and Calum are up to speed as well. Will you call Dunc to ask if he would stay with you tonight? I feel like we’d be better safe than sorry, you know?”
“Okay, I’m calling him first thing.”
“Good. You know that we’re doing everything we can to get him back on our radar. If something comes up, I’ll let you know. For now, I think we should have someone with you 24-7. When you’re at work, you’re with me or the guys, and when you’re going somewhere else, Ronan or Duncan will be with you. I must say that I would be happier if your sisters stayed here in Austin. I want to protect her myself.”
Her? “You mean them?”
Donovan shook his head. “Yeah, sorry, both of them.”
Kayla had noticed the way Donovan had reacted to Kate. Kate always hated meeting new people; it messed with her head, as she often said she thought of herself as the quiet, perhaps even the boring sister. With Errin and Kayla as her sisters, people could easily mistake Kate for someone less bubbly or challenging. What Kate failed to see was that her virtues weren’t any less valuable than her sisters’.
Kate was the sweetest, most loyal and trustworthy person you could ever meet. She cared with all of her heart, and she would do anything for the ones she loved. And when she was comfortable, she was so full of life and humor that she could give Kayla and Errin a run for their money.
At high school, other girls made snide remarks, saying Kate was stuck up, that she chose to not interact with them and thought she was better than them. It was a load of crap, but it made it even harder for Kate to open up.
Donovan was so out there, so self-assured, and Kayla liked that he wanted to take her sister under his wing when they’d met. Kate had smiled at Donovan as they softly spoke to each other at Lucky. Neither of them even noticed when Pops and Maureen had gone to sit next to Bree at the bar.
Kayla had left the table by that time as well, and when it was time to go home, Donovan offered to take Kate home. She’d jumped from her chair and said she wanted to leave with Kayla. Kate said goodbye to Donovan and walked away from him at record speed. She’d also seemed to hit it off with Bree, who even invited Kate to her workplace so she could have a look at St. Helena’s Kindergarten, as there would be an opening in two months’ time.
“Did you know Kate applied for a job at St. Helena’s?”
Donovan scowled. “Yes. I know.”
Kayla was fed up. “Donovan, what’s up with the look?”
Donovan turned his chair so he faced the window. His voice was even when he said, “Kayla, I told Duncan already, I don’t want to talk about it.”
Hmm, what in the world? “I don’t know what you’ve discussed with Dunc, Donovan. I’m only wondering what’s been bothering you. Ever since....” And then it clicked. “Donovan, I respect that you don’t want to talk to me about Kate.” He opened his mouth to say something, but she kept on talking. “No need to deny it. I know Kate, and I’d like to think that I know you as well. Please, just look after my sis.”
Donovan nodded briefly, and Kayla walked out of his office. Now that Tom had fallen off their radar, fear was creeping back in. A shudder raced down her spine, and she had to remind herself that there was nothing she could do about that. After taking a deep breath, she dialed Duncan’s number.
“Hey, beautiful. What’s up?”
“Have you heard from Donovan about Tom?”
“No. What’s going on?”
“He’s gone, and they don’t know where he is.”
Kayla heard something breaking in the background before he cursed out loud. He growled, “What the fuck? How did this happen? I’m going to knock my brother out for this. How could they lose him?”
She sighed and said, “I don’t know, Dunc.”
“I’m sorry. I’m not helping here. I’m coming over and taking you home.”
“No, no need, Dunc. I’m safe at the office, and he might not even be here in Austin. For all we know, he’s lying in a ditch somewhere.”
“If only we’d be so lucky.”
“It’s all going to be okay.”
“Isn’t that supposed to be my line? Shit, Kayla, I’m sorry. I—”
“Stop it. I’m going to hang up so I can start my workday. You do your stuff at the dojo, and I’ll see you at my apartment. Donovan arranged for Ronan to escort me from work to my apartment, so I’m covered.”
“Hmm. I don’t know....”
“Come on, Dunc. You can’t stay with me during the day. You’ve got your dojo, and I’ve got my own work to do.”
“Hmm, if there is anything, anything at all, you call me. Okay, wildflower?”
“Okay. I will.”
They hung up and Kayla started her workday. Surprisingly, the day passed quickly, and sure enough, at the end of her workday, Ronan stood next to her desk.
“Hey, Kayla, what’s shakin’?”
“Hi, Ronan. Thanks for pick—”
Ronan held up his hand and said, “No. Just no. You’re not thanking me. I’m glad that I could help out, really I am. And as a plus, we can have dinner together and get Duncan insanely jealous. And on top of it all, I’m getting paid for babysitting your ass. This is going to be the best job I ever did for Mills Security thus far.” He smirked while getting Kayla’s coat off the hook and holding it up for her to slide in.
As she put her arms in the sleeves, she noticed that Ronan was the same height as Duncan. He towered over her, and she was glad that he would be escorting her. It was reassuring for sure that this big MMA fighter would hang around.
The drive in Ronan’s truck to her apartment was fun, oddly enough, as he kept bantering to distract her. Coming into the downstairs hall of her apartment, they bumped into Caitlin, who was waiting on the elevator to arrive.
“Hi, Cait.”
“Hi, Ro. Hi, Kayla. I heard about Tom. I’m so sorry. Dec said that if they can’t find Tom within the next twelve hours, Donovan is going on a plane to your family and that he will protect them himself. I’ve heard that Donovan even threatened his lifelong friends in New Jersey, as they let Tom out of their sight.”
“I know, Caitlin. He’s doing everything he can. I’ve never seen him like this.”
“Me neither, and I’ve known the guy all my life,” Ronan cut in. “That’s one cool dude, you know? Never lets anything get under his skin. Except maybe that sister of yours. That quiet one.”
“Her name is Kate, you big ape.”
He chuckled at Caitlin’s name for him. “Yeah. Pretty little thing.”
“Am I going to regret letting you stay with me, big ape?” Kayla said and narrowed her eyes at him.
“Jesus, you’re a real ball buster... but I already knew that about you, didn’t I?” He barked a laugh as he stepped into the elevator. He wasn’t paying attention to a dark figure in the elevator, and before Kayla could recognize Tom in the dark hoodie, he stabbed Ronan in the neck with a syringe.
The doors closed behind Caitlin and Kayla, and Caitlin tried to jump Tom, but he sidestepped her and hit the back of her head with the handle of a gun. He pushed the emergency button and the elevator came immediately to a halt.
“So, two down and one to go.”
Kayla had screamed when she identified Tom as the one in the corner, but before she could scream once more, she was roughly turned around, and a big hand went over her mouth as she was dragged to the back of the elevator. Kayla kicked and fought, but the large hand kept her screams barely audible. Glancing sideways in the mirrored walls of the elevator, she tried to see what kind of shape Caitlin and Ronan were in.
“Shhh. We have some unfinis
hed business, you and I. I guess that you did your best in making it hard for me to contact you. Were you playing hard to get, dear Kayla? You know that you can’t escape me. After all this time, you’re still mine. I don’t know what you think you were doing with these Mills brothers. Those fuckers tried to scare me off, but you can’t break the bond we share. The idiots didn’t know I was tracking Kate’s phone. She led me right here to you.”
Kayla was still eyeing the mirrors and noticed that Ronan was out cold with his mouth agape. Caitlin had landed with her back against the elevator wall, and she sat with her legs stretched out in front of her. Her head was bowed, and Kayla couldn’t see her face. She had no idea how she was doing.
Kayla nodded as she tried to cooperate with him so he would let down his guard long enough that she could do something. She had no idea as to what exactly, but she had to try. She wasn’t going to suffer another attack from Tom and just stand there frozen. This time, she would fight for her life. And the lives of Caitlin and Ronan.
He let go of her mouth and let his hand rest on her throat before he whispered in her ear, “If you scream, I’m going to cut our rendezvous short. And you don’t want that.” He waved the gun around by its barrel, and Kayla saw some blood on the handle of the gun.
“Please, Tom. We have to get them some help. I’ll come with you, but we have to help my friends.”
“Your friends?” He screeched the words, and the grip he had around her throat tightened. “I was your friend. But you left me! I told you that night that we could be together, but you threw my words back in my face. You ran from me. I can’t have that, Kayla. You are mine.”
Kayla nodded, but before she could say anything, her phone rang in her purse.
“Fuck. Fuck!”
She eyed Tom in the mirror. His frantic eyes were scaring her. “It’s going to be okay, Tom. We’ll just go down with the elevator, and I’ll leave with you. Let’s go back to New Jersey, together.”
