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“Right. And how do you suggest we do that?”
He swallowed. “I know you’re not going to like this. But I think we need to call Dad.”
“Are you out of your mind?” I spat back, the venom in my voice evident. “After what you’ve done, after the mess you’ve created, you want to bring Dad into this?”
He shrugged helplessly. “Well, do you have a better idea?”
The only sound filling the vehicle for several moments was the low hum of the engine as I grappled with my thoughts. Bringing Dad into this was the last thing I wanted. But if we were to stand a chance against Rossi and his goons, we needed all the help we could get. And for all his faults, Malachy Callahan was an unstoppable force. No one I’d ever met had managed to stop him.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this,” I said, my voice barely a whisper, “but I think you’re right.”
A wave of relief washed over Kieran’s face but it quickly evaporated as I added, “But remember this, little brother. If anything happens to Adriana or our child, it will be on your head. And I don’t care that you’re family, I will murder you with my bare hands.”
His gaze dropped to his hands, and he clenched and unclenched them repeatedly. The implication of my threat hung between us, as heavy and formidable as an executioner’s guillotine.
“Call him,” I said, feeling lost. I didn’t know where the truck had gone, night was falling and it was hard to see in the rain.
Without a word, Kieran pulled out his phone, his hands shaking. I stared at him for a moment, my anger subsiding somewhat as I saw the guilt etched on his face. I turned my attention back to the road, my heart pounding against my ribcage. I felt like I was suffocating, each breath harder than the last.
Kieran dialed our father’s number and put him on speakerphone.
“Kieran?” Dad’s voice sounded rough, like he’d been sleeping. He was probably on the drink.
“Dad,” Kieran began, his voice shaky. “We have a problem.”
There was a pause on the other end of the line. “What did you do?” he asked finally.
I clenched my teeth together; even from miles away, our father knew who to blame.
“Nick Rossi has Adriana, she’s pregnant, and he wants to use her as leverage in Boston,” I answered for Kieran. “We were following him but there’s a pretty good chance I just lost him. It’s only Kieran and I here and we could use back up.”
A beat. “Aye, lad. She’s pregnant?”
“Yes,” I managed to say, despite the lump in my throat. “She’s pregnant.”
“Ah, Jesus Christ,” Dad’s voice came through the phone, heavy with worry and something else…regret? Relief? It was hard to tell.
For a minute, none of us said anything. The only sound was the soft hum of the car engine, filling the silence. Then, Dad took a deep breath and spoke again.
“Kieran, send me a pin. I’ll send you back-up. You two, stay safe,” he said before he hung up the phone.
I let out a long, heavy sigh, my fingers clenching around the steering wheel. Kieran was quiet, his gaze fixed on his phone. The car was filled with an uncomfortable silence.
One thing was becoming painfully clear. We were in over our heads. Rossi was not some two-bit thug we could scare off, he was a force to be reckoned with.
“I’m sorry,” Kieran finally muttered, breaking the silence. I glanced at him, the apology doing little to quell the storm of anger inside me.
“We don’t have time for your apologies,” I said, my voice cold. “We have to find Adriana.”
Kieran’s phone suddenly lit up, an incoming message breaking the heavy silence. He read it, his face turning ashen. “Tristan,” he whispered, his voice trembling. “It’s from Nick.” My stomach dropped, and I felt the cold chill of fear snake its way down my spine. Snatching the phone from Kieran’s hand, I saw a photo—Adriana, bound and gagged, her eyes wide with terror. And below the photo, a message that read: “Tick tock, Callahan.”
The truck’s tail lights had vanished now; the night had swallowed them whole. With the rain pouring down harder than ever, every second that passed felt like an eternity slipping through our fingers. Adriana was out there somewhere in the darkness, and with every heartbeat, I knew we were running out of time.
“Drive faster,” Kieran urged, a sense of desperate urgency pushing us forward into the unknown. I pushed the pedal to the floor, willing the car to fly if it had to. But deep down, I knew it wasn’t just about speed—it was about wits and connections. And right now, we were at the mercy of a vicious game set by Nick rossi.
I needed to find Adriana. Before anything else happened to her. Before he hurt her.
It didn’t matter if anyone else got in my way. That meant I had to do something I really, really didn’t want to do.
