AllFreeNovel
Share Us
CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE
With its two-story structure punctuated by dramatic towers on either end, the Wild Irish Rose Inn would be a marvelous getaway for her and Liam at some point.
But today she was arriving without him, to wage war against their enemy. And when she could slip away from Eoghan and the others, she would enact her plan to ensure Liam was vindicated of being Veritas. She’d stayed up all night researching possible cities and walls before settling on one and then designing the most perfect mural she’d ever painted. One she hoped to execute tonight. She’d had to downscale her design after Linc had insisted on having his private plane take them to Cork as opposed to them driving the six hours by car. If they’d taken the car, she could have stocked some supplies in the trunk.
“It’s a lovely sight,” Eoghan commented, patting his heart, as Trevor unloaded their suitcases in the front of the inn. “Even dormant, the wild roses call to my Irish heart, as does the sea. You have a beautiful place here, Trevor Merriam.”
He touched the older man on the arm gently. “You can tell my wife. Oh, here she is. Eoghan and Taylor, this is Becca, along with my other favorite people, Brenna and Roarke, who is holding our cat, Hatshep. The Irish setter is Boru, and the lovely couple coming around the side are Cian and Aileen, who are like Becca’s own family and run the inn with us.”
Taylor heard a loud animal cry and turned at the pounding of feet on the ground. My God, that alpaca was grinning. She took a step back and hit the car Trevor had picked them up with from the Cork airport.
The animal dove at Trevor, pressing its fuzzy cheek to his as he cringed and playfully pushed it away. “Buttercup, I told you. Roarke is the one who wants your kisses, not me.”
The little boy giggled as he set the cat down and rushed over. The alpaca did indeed give him her version of kisses, which had Taylor smiling. Trevor swung the boy up in the air and then hugged him before setting him down and turning to hug the little girl, whom he set on his hip. Then he planted a healthy kiss on his wife.
“Welcome,” Becca said as she crossed swiftly, her shoulder-length dark brown hair swaying in the sea’s cold breeze. “I’m sorry to meet you under such horrible circumstances. Even as an Irishwoman, I’m shocked by it all. I hope you enjoy your stay, even though I know you have serious business. Please let us know if there’s anything we can do to make things easier.”
“You’re very kind,” Taylor responded, glancing over as another man stepped out of the cottage. “You came! I can’t believe it.”
J.T. opened his arms as he strode out. “Aren’t we lucky it’s low tourist season and we can take over the inn? Welcome to the Merriam Investigative Unit’s HQ. You’re looking at its smartest member.”
Becca and Trevor snorted at the same time. “He’s addled,” Becca said, and Trevor nodded and grinned. “Delusional. Like always.”
“I’mthe best of the MIU,” another man said as he stepped out after J.T. The Merriam in him was very evident in his handsome jaw. “Flynn Merriam. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I think we met at a museum party in Stockholm twelve years ago, but I didn’t stay long.”
“He was probably with a model,” Becca laughed and murmured to Taylor. “He used to love them.”
“All in the past now, and happily, being a family man and all,” he answered. “I believe you’ve met my brother Quinn at a gallery showing in London. Or so he thought.”
A third man emerged from the inn’s doorway, and she caught sight of Arthur and Clara standing inside, along with a Merriam she was sure she hadn’t met. That meant it had to be Connor, the Big Bad Wolf, or so he’d been called by his younger brothers in the past.
“Hi, Quinn,” Taylor said as Flynn started talking excitedly to Eoghan, leading him to the inn. “Thank you for your help. Arthur said you’ve been using the sources you and your wife have cultivated since moving your company here to look into matters. Please give her my thanks.”
He inclined his very impressive chin, one all of the Merriam men shared. “You’re actually helping us out. Malcolm is the kind of guy we’d probably knock heads with at some point, having a company in Ireland. Better to knock him out of the way before he darkens our door. I’m very sorry for your troubles, but we’re going to fix them. Right, Con?”
He stepped out, a quieter man than his brothers, with gray at his temples. “Absolutely. I’m Connor Merriam.”
“Quinn and Connor compete for the Best Fixer Award in the family,” J.T. explained, “while the rest of us loaf around eating bonbons.”
“I thought it was biscotti, J.T., given your Rome fetish,” Quinn shot back. “Let’s get you inside before you freeze. The sea air is a bitch today. I told Uncle Arthur and Aunt Clara we don’t have time for frostbite.”
She shot Arthur Hale a smile. “I’ll bet they loved that. I see Flynn has already managed to draw Eoghan inside.”
“Aileen probably has him beside the fire in the front hall with a cup of tea in his hand,” Trevor told her with a laugh. “I asked her to give you some space, but I predict she’s going to shower you with the inn’s famous scones. She can’t help herself, between strong motherly impulses and Irish hospitality.”
“It’s all right,” she answered as he picked their luggage up before Taylor could grab her carry-on. “I just can’t thank you all enough for helping. When I asked J.T. to contact your uncle—”
“You didn’t know you’d be getting all the Merriam men?” J.T. asked, making a sweeping gesture at his brothers. “Even if you weren’t a good friend, most of us admire and respect Veritas. Some of Arthur’s kin in Dare Valley would have given their right arm to join us, but he drew the line, saying we had more cooks in the kitchen than he’d ever had on a story. Come on. Let’s head on in.”
She smelled baked goods the moment she entered the inn and the cozy setup around the fireplace. “I’ll never be able to repay you for the kindness. All of you. But most especially you, Arthur. Hello, Clara.”
“Come and warm my cheek up with a kiss,” Arthur called, pointing to his craggy visage. “These idiots worried I’d get frostbite if I put a toe out of the inn today. Which is ridiculous since we’re not even staying in the inn. My lovely wife and I always stay at the Honeymoon Cottage, where we began our journey here. It’s outside the main building.”
“They were saving me from knitting you another hat you won’t wear,” Clara said, wrapping Taylor up in a hug. “My dear, I can’t imagine what you must be feeling with your boyfriend in jail. And those poor sheep…”
“Aunt Clara, we said we wouldn’t talk about it,” Trevor murmured in a low voice. “Roarke and Brenna would cry for days if they heard about that.”
“Fine.” She mimed zipping her lips. “We’ll have tea instead, and then we can get to work.”
