“All right. Someone tell me what’s really going on,” I said.
“Daly isn’t our only suspect,” Gael said.
“What do we have and what do we know?” I asked.
“Those two workers we lost? They were trapped in the supply trucks. They were murdered intentionally,” Declan said.
“So, you’ve been to the warehouse. When did this happen?” I asked.
“Around five this morning,” Declan said.
“This incident alone has cost us a great deal of money this month. We’ll have to dip into reserves to keep ourselves afloat until the first,” Gael said.
“Is there anything left of the place? Anything at all?” I asked.
“Three trucks we can probably save. And all of the employees other than the two that were killed,” Gael said.
“You said intentionally. Why? How do you know?” I asked.
Declan and Gael looked at one another before their eyes panned back to me.
“The doors on the supply trucks were all chained shut,” Gael said.
I blinked. “Come again?”
“Yeah. Only two of the trucks. We think they were targets. We’re looking into their backgrounds now to see who the hell they were and why they could’ve possibly been targeted,” Declan said.
“My guess is that we had a couple of rats in our territory,” Gael said.
“You think these men were targeted and killed because they worked for another family?” I asked.
“It’s only a theory. We have no proof behind it. But this kind of killing lines up with that kind of thinking,” Declan said.
“Two guys bought out by another family. Feeding them information. The information dries up, or they’re asked to do something they can’t deliver on, and boom. They’re dead,” Gael said.
“That would also explain why the family had access to the inside of the warehouse to torch it that way,” Declan said.
I ran my hand through my hair. “Fucking hell.”
“For now, though, we lay low. Keep our noses to the ground. We don’t let onto the fact that we have this working theory. At all,” Declan said.
“I’m assuming there’s going to be a massive investigation into things. What’s the plan with that?” I asked.
“We tell them exactly what we know,” Declan said.
“Which is…?”
“Gael got the notification on his phone around four this morning from the security system. He woke me up. We went to go see what was going on. By the time we got there, the place was engulfed in flames,” Declan said.
“We tried getting the two guys out of the supply trucks, but they exploded before we got the chains off,” Gael said.
“And I got the phone call this morning to be updated on what happened,” I said.
“Exactly. We don’t say anything except exactly what we know. For sure. Nothing more, and nothing less,” Declan said.
I nodded. “Got it.”
“I really am sorry, you know,” Ciara said.
I whipped my head up and saw the two girls coming out of the kitchen. Arm in arm, with Ciara talking softly to Abby.
“It’s really nothing you need to be sorry for,” Abby said.
“It is, though. That man is my father, and he took you because of a decision Declan and I came to about our wedding. You got entangled in the middle of it, and for that I am truly sorry,” Ciara said.
“Seriously, I’m okay. I know how ruthless things like this can get sometimes. If anything, it proves you two made a good decision,” Abby said.
Declan cleared his throat to get the attention of the girls. But much to my humor, Ciara simply waved him off.
“We’re walking through the house. Abby’s telling me all sorts of stories about when she grew up here. Give us a few seconds,” Ciara said.
I looked over at Declan as Gael started chuckling.
“She’s good for you,” Gael said.
I snickered. “She’ll be able to keep up with you, too.”
Declan grinned. “She’s a spitfire, that’s for sure.”
“And don’t you forget it!” Ciara exclaimed.
I watched as Abby peered over her shoulder and smiled at me. And when she did, my heart skipped a beat. She seemed so comfortable here. So comfortable, walking around with Ciara. The two of them laughed softly to themselves as they disappeared down the hallway. And I couldn't help but notice something.
Abby looked good in a place like this.
“What’s going on with her and Mom?” Gael asked.
“Not now,” Declan said.
I shook my head. “It’s fine. Abby’s under the assumption that Mom had something to do with Richard not handing over Abby’s accounts to her when she graduated from college.”
“Come again?” Declan asked.
“To make a long story short, her and Richard had an agreement. When she graduated college, he’d had over multiple accounts he’d set up for her. Monetary ones, I’m assuming. You know, to keep fueling her life so she’d never have to come back here and get caught up in this,” I said.
“And he didn’t give them to her? That doesn’t sound like Richard,” Gael said.
“Exactly. She’s under the impression that Mom had something to do with convincing Richard to go back on his word,” I said.
“Doesn’t really reflect well on her, considering the greeting Mom gave Abby when you guys first walked in,” Declan said.
I nodded slowly. “My thoughts exactly.”
We all fell silent as the giggling of the girls slowly faded into silence.
“How did things get so fucked up again?” Gael asked.
“Is that what Abby wanted to originally speak with me about? Her money?” Declan asked.
I nodded. “Yes. She came home to bury her father and to talk with you about money that’s rightfully hers. Because apparently, around the time you took over the family, her bi-monthly distributions her father was still giving her magically ceased.”
The three of us looked around at one another before our eyes slowly trailed up to the top of the stairs. Where mother disappeared to go to her room.
“You don’t think…?” Gael asked.
“Fucking hell, what is this woman up to?” Declan murmured.
“I don’t know, but it’s not good,” I said.
Declan sighed. “All right, one immediate thing at a time. We deal with the police and the fire marshal. We figure out who burned down the damn place. Then, we can juggle who the hell killed Richard and untangle this mess with Abby.”
“You might not have to do that, actually. With my plans,” I said.
“Oh? And do you want to fill us in on these plans?” Gael asked.
I nodded. “I know it’s shitty timing, and I know we have a lot we’re already dealing with. But when things settle down and get back to normal, I have plans to marry Abby.”
“Come again?” Gael asked.
Declan grinned. “You sly dog.”
“You’re going to marry Abigail,” Gael said.
“Yes,” I said.
“Richard’s daughter,” he said.
“Yes. That one,” I said.
“Does… she know this?” he asked.
I shrugged. “She will once I tell her what’s going on.”
Declan clapped my back. “I know better than to think I can talk you out of something like this.”
“I know you do,” I said.
“I’m sorry. Can we just—you and Abb—what?” Gael asked.
I chuckled. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so flustered.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever been in the middle of such bullshit before,” Gael said.
“I love her. I do. I know she’s put this family through some shit—”
“Shit, Gael finally filled me in last night,” Declan said.
I sighed. “I’m sorry I didn’t come to you with it. Things just got so out of hand so quickly—”
Declan gripped my shoulder. “You protected her. You did
the best you could under the circumstances. And, given the position Abby was put in when she first got here, I get it. I get why she did what she did, even though she went about it in a shitty way.”
“She had no knowledge of the kidnapping. Liam did that without her consent,” I said.
Declan nodded. “Once Gael told me what was going on, I figured as much. And I figured you already knew that. Hence why you were so upset with her last night.”
“I was flat-out raging,” I murmured.
His hand fell away from my shoulder. “If there’s anyone on this planet I trust, it’s my brothers. And right now—outside of Ciara—you guys are all I trust right now. If you love Abby and you know she’s not going to pull something like that again, then I trust you.”
“I’m telling you, Declan, all she wants is what’s rightfully hers. And I can’t blame her for that. She’s been done a lot of wrong, if you look at it from her eyes,” I said.
“And maybe when this is all said and done, she and I can have a serious one-on-one conversation about that. Because you’re right. How she’s been treated is not becoming of who Abby is. We’ll rectify that, once we can figure out the rest of the answers to this swirling madness of shit,” Declan said.
I nodded. “She’s a good woman. She’s just been lost and alone for a very long time.”
“Well, she isn’t anymore. She’s got us. Right, Gael?”
The two of us looked over at him and watched as he scraped his jaw off the floor.
“Yeah. Always. Abby’s part of this family, and we protect family,” Gael said.
“Right,” Declan said.
“So, where do we go from here?” I asked.
Declan smoothed his hands over his suit. “We talk to the police and tell them what we know.”
And right on cue, the sound of sirens wailed to life in the distance.
19
Abby
Two Weeks Later
“Authorities say the source of the fire was magnesium. Highly flammable, and when ignited, causes a burning white-hot flame that tears through metal like a knife through butter. There are still no suspects in play, and the only good thing to come from all this is that no one was fatally injured.”
As I listened to the news broadcast on my tablet, I sighed. At least Brody was able to cover up that particular shred of nonsense. And while the authorities didn’t have any sort of suspects in play, I knew it had to be one of two people.
Someone from the Daly family or someone from the Maguire family.
I looked over at the countertop and sighed. I stopped the news broadcast and put my tablet down in order to start cleaning myself up. I wasn’t sure how long I’d been sitting there, which meant it was probably time.
Maybe.
Hopefully.
“Fuck,” I murmured.
With Brody at a financial meeting with the brothers, things couldn't have come at a worse time. Things had been tight with the family finances since the warehouse fire, and the shipping to that particular one had come to a halt. Which didn’t do us any good, because that warehouse brought in the most income for our family. I knew better than anyone that an attack on that facility meant an all-out war. And more than not, I found myself looking over my shoulder and staying inside more than going outside.
Because I knew I was a substantial target in this war brewing between the families.
I walked over to the sink and washed my hands, trying to keep my eyes away from the two sticks on the counter. Away from the truth. Away from what I knew was happening to my body. There wasn’t any other explanation. The exhaustion. The headaches. The lack of appetite. Even Brody had commented on it. How I was harder to wake up in the mornings now. How I hadn’t been eating much. How he felt I had lost some weight. I sighed as I dried my hands off and turned toward the counter. My eyes fell upon those three little sticks. Three sticks that came in a small cardboard box that were about to flip my life upside down.
“You can do this. You have to do this,” I whispered to myself.
I took a step toward the counter and my heart seized in my chest. I craned my head forward, my eyes falling to the plus signs. Three blue plus signs. Clear as day. Not a blip on the screen or anything to call into question. And as my stomach dropped, one question soared through my mind.
How in the world am I going to tell Brody I’m pregnant?
My hand settled against my stomach. Tears rushed my eyes. The timing couldn't be more horrendous. My world couldn't have been in more chaos than that moment. My father, dead. Murdered, really. My family, close to an all-out war. Money, tight coming in and even tighter going out. I still wasn’t sure how Brody could afford to keep us in this penthouse week after week, renting it on his own dime.
“Oh, no,” I breathed.
I grabbed the pregnancy tests and tossed them into the bathroom drawer. I quickly made my way out, turning off the light. I had to keep myself busy. The last thing I needed to be doing was watching the clock. So, I cleaned. I swept and vacuumed. I washed dishes from the night before and rearranged the fridge to be more accessible. I ordered us some groceries online to be delivered and stacked the pantry with impeccable organization. I even rearranged a few pieces of furniture in the living room, just to liven up the place.
Then, I went to take a shower.
I cleaned myself up in the hottest shower I could stand. And it was there I let my tears fall. Tears of fear and uncertainty. Tears of worry and anger. I scrubbed my body down twice and washed my hair countless times to get the sweat and grime off my scalp. Because I didn’t have anything else to do. Not until Brody got home.
Then, it hit me.
“Shit,” I gagged.
I doubled over in the shower and vomited on my feet. My fucking feet. My stomach heaved up the little bit of lunch I did allow myself to eat, and I watched it swirl down the drain. I felt a headache coming on. One that blinded my eyes and pounded so hard my vision shook.
Which made me sicker.
Which made me gag even harder.
“Abby?”
The sound of Brody’s voice made my eyes widen.
“Abby, you in the bathroom?”
“Yeah, just give me—mmph.”
I vomited again, coating my legs this time as it erupted from me.
“Abby! Abby, open this fucking door.”
I heard the turning of the lock before the door finally gave underneath his insistence. I coughed up mucus as tears streamed down my face. The shower door rolled open. I felt Brody’s hands on my bare hips. And as he moved me off to the side, I felt the stream of water moving along my body.
“It’s okay. Get it up. I’m here,” he murmured.
“Brody, it’s ok—ugh.”
“Shh, shh, shh, shh. Don’t speak. Just get it up, sweet girl.”
I didn’t even know how this much puke was possible. Smelling it made things worse. I closed my eyes and let my body take hold of my presence. The pain. The headache. The way my knees shook. Brody washed me off, spraying my legs. Spraying the floor of the shower. Washing off my feet. He rubbed my back and patted my ass cheek softly, letting me know he was there.
“We need to get you to a doctor. I think I can find one to come here,” he said.
I nodded slowly. “Good idea.”
“What have you eaten in the past twenty-four hours? I’m thinking it’s food poisoning. Or, possibly related to these headaches you’ve been having. Are you having one right now?”
I nodded slowly. “Uh huh.”
“All right. We need to get you dried off and in some warm clothes. Up we go.”
My body soared through the air as Brody picked me up. With the squishing of his wet shoes against the floor, my head fell back. I gazed up at the ceiling. All I wanted to do was brush my teeth and take a damn nap. I felt so tired all the time. I hated feeling like this.
“Can you sit up for me?” he asked softly.
He sat me on the edge of the bed and my forehead fell against his. I
felt terrible that my breath kept hitting him in the face. But if it bothered him, he did a damn good job of covering it up. I swallowed, and it made me grimace. Before I heaved again. And as Brody moved like lightning, he got a small trash can underneath my face before I threw up.
Again.
“I’m calling a doctor now. Let me get you a towel,” he said.
“I’m sorry,” I breathed.
He pulled out his cell phone. “Don’t you dare be sorry. The family doctor is always on-call. I’ll get him over here to check out your—”
“I’m pregnant.”
I didn’t want to hold it in any longer. The anticipation alone was killing me. Tears rushed my eyes as the world around me fell silent, and I heard something clunk against the floor. I looked over and saw Brody’s phone laying there with a number half-dialed into it. And as I looked up, I expected to see him angry. Or shell-shocked. Or frustrated.
But I found none of those things.
“You’re pregnant?” he asked.
I watched a light soar behind his eyes as I nodded.
“Yes. I took, uh, three tests earlier. They’re in the drawer of the bathroom. To the left,” I said.
I pointed and he took off, racing back into the bathroom. He ripped open drawers until he found them. Then, he picked them up. Held them up to the light. I watched his smile grow as he turned them around in his hands. As if he were actually happy this was happening.
“Holy shit, you’re pregnant,” he said.
I nodded. “There’s no telling when I actually got pregnant, but I’d say—”
He laughed with delight. “We’re pregnant, Abby!”
He dropped the tests in the sink and barreled back for me. He wrapped me up in his arms and pulled me to my feet, cradling my still-damp body against his. My eyes widened, but I sank into his embrace. I drank in his laughter. His snickers. The way he kissed my head. My forehead. My cheeks. The tip of my nose.
And when his eyes finally found mine, I committed to memory the utter love he had swimming around in them.
“Brody?” I asked softly.
“I promise you, no matter what, that I’m going to take care of you. You and our baby. I’m going to protect this family from anything and everything. At all costs.”
Brody: The Callaghan Mafia #2 Page 14
