Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 100086 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100086 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
He was suffering from a hell of a lot more than a few bruises. If he walked through the door looking like that…Yeah, she could see how it would send an already tense situation over the edge. Damn it. “Is there someone you can call? I can stitch you up, but it won’t be pretty.”
And everything about Cillian was pretty. Well, pretty was too delicate a word. But he was perfectly put together from his hipster hair to his tattoos to his expensive clothes. Though he didn’t look particularly put together at the moment. His shirt was torn and had blood spattered over it, and his hair was totally screwed up. For the first time since they’d met, he looked almost…human. Approachable. She busied herself with folding another towel and making sure the bloody one wasn’t leaving a stain on the table.
Finally, he said, “I think my phone fell out of my pocket in the alley.”
She knew there had to be someone he could call. Ignoring the strange disappointment at the thought of sending him off with someone else, she straightened. “Give me a second.”
“Wait.” When she paused, he started to stand. “You can’t go out there alone. What if those idiots come back? I’ll go.”
“You can’t even stand.” She gently pushed him back into the chair, slightly alarmed at how easy it was. Yeah, it was definitely time to call in reinforcements. “If I’m not back in two minutes, feel free to swoop in and save me.”
It wouldn’t be necessary. She could take care of herself. She’d been doing it since she was a child.
Olivia grabbed the shotgun and opened the back door cautiously. It was entirely likely that the Halloran men were long gone, but Cillian was right—no point in taking chances.
But the alley was empty.
She found his phone easily and hurried back into the bar, relocking the door behind her. Cillian was exactly where she left him, and he relaxed when she walked back into the room. “No trouble?”
“None.” She wished she could chalk his concern up to self-preservation, but he seemed genuinely worried about her. It was…strange. She passed over the phone. “Call your people in.”
“You’re awfully sure I have people to call in.”
“You’re an O’Malley, aren’t you?” The question came out harsh—harsher than she intended. It was as much to remind herself as anything else. O’Malley, Halloran, Romanov—it didn’t matter. They were all the same. Dangerous and selfish and willing to do horrible things in the name of some higher cause that usually boiled down to power and money. She’d left that life behind, and she wasn’t about to let it sink its claws back into her again.
Not even for this man who she was starting to see wasn’t completely like she’d expected.
You’ve known him a grand total of a few hours. You don’t know a damn thing about him. He could be even worse than Dmitri.
He shifted, leaning against the table as he paged through his phone with one hand. “You sound like you’re holding a grudge. Did someone in my family hurt you?” The question came out deceptively simple, but there was tension in his shoulders.
Would it matter if they did? She managed to keep that thought internal, but she couldn’t let him think that she’d been wronged by one of his family. It just wasn’t right. “No, nothing like that. I just know the type.” Men like Dmitri. Men like Sergei.
She palmed her phone, cringing when she saw the time. There was no chance she’d make the last train now. I’m going to owe Mrs. Richards in the worst way for this one. “One second.”
“Sure.”
Mrs. Richards answered on the first ring. “Olivia, dear, is everything okay?”
The worry in the woman’s voice made her feel even worse. But then a horrible thought struck. Maybe I’m wrong about why Sergei is sniffing around. Maybe he was just waiting for me to leave the apartment to take Hadley. She gripped the phone tighter. “Have you had any trouble?”
“No, of course not. Hadley wasn’t too keen on bedtime, but a few times through Goodnight Moon was enough to change her mind.”
Her breath left her in a whoosh, and she fought dizziness. Everything was okay. She was overreacting. Again. She cleared her throat, and tried to bring some calm back into her voice. “Good. I had a problem come up at work, so I’m running late.”
“Don’t you worry about a thing. I’m holding down the fort just fine. Do what you need to do.”
Thank God for Mrs. Richards. She didn’t know what she’d do if she had to leave Hadley with anyone else. No one in the world seemed as capable and able to deal with whatever complications arose without it ruffling her feathers. “Thank you.”
“No need to thank me. Now, go take care of what you need to take care of. We’ll be here and waiting for you when you’re done.”