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“Promises, promises.”
“So yes, we’re going?” Mac asks, practically bouncing in his seat with excitement.
“Yes!” she claps. “Yes, we’re going.”
Mac thrusts his fist in the air. “Hell yeah!”
“Wait!” Harper’s eyes go wide with panic. “I don’t have anything to wear!”
Finn waves his phone in the air. “Already got it covered, Angel. Your dress should be here in an hour or so. I got it in a couple different sizes because I wasn’t sure which would fit you best right now.”
Harper’s face softens. She walks over to Finn and slants her mouth over his. “Thank you. You’re forgiven.”
Mac stands abruptly from his chair. “Hey! What about me?”
She walks around Finn and wraps her arms around Mac’s waist. “Make me some chocolate chip pancakes, and we’ll call it even.”
Mac plants a wet kiss on her lips. “You got a deal, Pretty Girl.”
24
Mac
“You think she’s about ready?” Ronan asks, looking at the watch on his wrist. It’s about twenty minutes to nine, which is when Ralph and his men will have a car waiting for us in the parking garage. We’re not risking loading her out front where anyone can see us leaving.
“Judging by how excited she’s been all day, I’d be willing to bet she’s still bouncing around her room.” Finn laughs as he pulls his cup of whiskey to his lips. He’s dressed in a navy blue suit, a white shirt with no tie, and the top button is undone. He’s wearing caramel-brown brogue shoes and a matching belt. His whole look is relatively casual as far as Finn is concerned. It doesn’t even look like he’s applied the slightest bit of gel to his hair. I know Harper likes it when he leaves his hair like this, and I’d be willing to bet my left nut that’s exactly why he left it.
Ronan downs the rest of his whiskey and aggressively sets the crystal tumbler on top of the bar where we’re all standing, waiting for Harper to finish getting ready. “Are you guys sure this is a good idea?”
Finn claps his shoulder. “She needs this. We all could use a night of fun before diving back into the shit show that is our lives.”
He scrubs a hand down his face. I know he’s worried. We all are. But Harper deserves this. She’s gone through hell and back, and a night out is just what she needs. She was so excited when Ronan suggested it this morning. I can’t even imagine how happy she’ll be once she actually gets out of the apartment. Our girl loves to curl up in her sweats and spend all day inside reading a good book, but she also thrives on human interaction. Harper misses working at the bookstore and interacting with customers. She misses going about her usual daily routine and smiling at passersby on the street. She misses talking to the barista when she gets her daily coffee in the morning. Since we met her, we have done nothing but keep her hidden from the life she once knew. And, while she will never fully regain that life, we can help build her a new one. One she loves.
“Kings will be locked down tighter than Fort Knox, Ronan,” I say, trying to ease the tension I can practically see rolling off him in waves. “We will all be with her. We’ve taken all the necessary precautions, and Luca and his guys will be there. If, by some miracle, Declan or Logan make a move, there is no way in hell anyone will be able to get within twenty feet of her. We’re good.”
“You’re right. I’m just starting to freak out a little.”
Finn shoots me a look. It’s not like Ronan to admit he’s scared. Like ever. But I know it’s because he’s terrified of something else happening to her. I know it’s because he blames himself for what happened. No matter how much Harper, Finn, or I try to tell him it wasn’t his fault, he will always carry that guilt. My brother isn’t one who lets his failures go, and if anything were to happen to her again, I don’t think he’d survive it. None of us would. But keeping her locked away in this apartment isn’t a life worth living either. So, the best we can do is not let the guilt eat us alive and do anything and everything to keep Harper safe while giving her the life she deserves.
“We’re all nervous too, man.” Finn pours Ronan another finger of whiskey. “But, regardless of how much we would like to, we all know we can’t keep her locked in here forever.”
“I know.”
“I’m gonna go see if she’s ready.” I squeeze Ronan’s shoulder and down the rest of my drink.
The door to Harper’s room is cracked open, and I hear her softly singing “Ruin My Life” by Zara Larson. Her voice isn’t even remotely in tune with the song, but that doesn’t make it any less adorable. I wrap my knuckles against the door and push it open. “Mo Grá, the car will be here soon. You almost—”
The words die on my tongue as Harper spins from her spot in front of the full-length mirror to face me. Her every movement feels like it’s in slow motion as I drink her in. She’s dressed in a skin-tight blood-red velvet cocktail dress that hits her just above mid-thigh. The dress has long sleeves with a dangerously low square neckline, perfectly showing off the tops of her breasts. It clings to her every curve like a second skin. For the first time since I’ve met her, Harper’s changed her curls, which are now lying in soft waves down her back. She has on the sexiest pair of strappy black heels I’ve ever seen, and her lips are painted in a shade of lipstick that matches her dress. She looks stunning. But I can’t help but think what the lipstick would look like smeared across my cock.
Holding her hands out, she does a little twirl. “What do you think?”
I run my fingers through my hair, unable to form words. I think she’s actually broken my brain.
She stares at my face in confusion and looks down at herself. “Is it not okay? I didn’t quite fill out my old size, so I had to pick the smaller one, but I was worried this one was too tight. If you don’t think it’s okay, I can try to find something else?”
“No,” I blurt out before she even attempts to find something else to wear.
“No?” she asks, tilting her head. My eyes trail up the slope of her neck as she does so. I can feel my cock hardening in my pants from just looking at her. We’re going to be lucky if we even make it out of the damn apartment once Ronan and Finn see her.
