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I called Rory once I got in the car, the phone connecting after a couple rings.
“Hey, meri jaan. I’m heading home now, so I’ll stop by to pick you up.”
“No need,” she said. “I had John bring me home so I could start dinner.” She pitched her voice louder, and I imagined her calling to John in the other room, “You would never miss my world-famous baked spaghetti, would you, John?”
I heard his deep chuckle in the background, “As long as it’s not flavored cottage cheese you’re putting in there.”
“It was one time,” Rory grumbled, and I couldn’t help but laugh at her annoyance. “I swear, he never lets me live anything down. They were out of regular cottage cheese, and I figured the pineapple would only add to the flavor!”
My laughter only got worse, and Rory eventually joined in, though she gave one last weak argument. “I was fourteen!”
“I’m excited to try it,” I told her once our laughter died down, eventually bidding her and John goodbye after the latter ribbed her a little more on her cooking disasters in the past.
I mentally made a note to have some takeout options ready, just in case, as I glanced into the rearview mirror.
I immediately made another call, the phone barely ringing before a familiar voice picked up.
“Alex, I’m being followed,” I said without preamble, barely realizing I’d used his actual name. I nudged the gas pedal to pick up speed, cursing under my breath when the SUV behind me matched my speed, their car inching close to my bumper.
“Where are you?” Alex was already in business mode, voice steel. I listed my general location and the direction I was headed. Alex’s car revved, and I knew he was coming toward me.
“What’s the car?”
I glanced behind me, trying to keep my speed steady and act casual in case they weren’t aware I’d caught onto them yet. “Late-model SUV. Black. License plate is -” I sat up straighter in my seat, pushing my car faster until there was enough space for me to see the license plate in the rearview mirror. “Zulu Foxtrot Delta-9418.”
“I’ll run it. Is Rory still with the girls?”
“She’s with John at home, so she should be safe. But I can’t go home with this guy following me.”
“I’m heading toward you now, and I’ve already texted Bex. We’ll box them in and-” Alex started, only his words were cut off by the grinding sound of metal-on-metal as the car slammed into mine.
Chapter 26
Rory
I knewsomething was wrong the moment someone knocked on the door. Instinct had me grabbing a knife off the countertop, gripping it in my fist as I made my way to the door. John’s sudden departure ten minutes earlier felt even more ominous now.
He’d gotten a phone call while I was assembling dinner, and I had thought nothing of it until he jumped to his feet, face pale as he listened to whoever was on the other end of the call.
“What happened?” I asked, spaghetti left abandoned on the counter as I made my way over to John.
“It’s Declan - he - the hospital,” he stumbled over his words as he pocketed his phone and pulled his keys out of his pocket, only looking at me once he was halfway to the door, a question in his eyes.
“Go, John!” I pushed him toward the door, reassuring him, “I’ll be okay. Dev’s almost home, and your family comes first.”
Ten minutes ago, the decision felt easy, my safety guaranteed after weeks of Dev watching over me. But now, with a stranger knocking at the door, dread creeped in around the edges, and I wondered if I’d made a mistake.
The dread coiling in my stomach only grew when I peeked through the peephole to find Seamus standing there, fidgeting as if he were running out of time. My great-uncle hadn’t been to the house yet, and while it wouldn’t have been hard for him to get my address from my father or one of his men, his unannounced visit spelled danger.
He burst into the house before the door was even fully open. Luckily, I’d tucked my kitchen knife into my waistband; otherwise, his abrupt entry would’ve resulted in a stab wound.
“We have to go,” he said, urgency in his tone as he brushed past me and ran up the stairs into my bedroom. He grabbed a duffel bag out of the closet, throwing it at me. “Throw some things in there. Enough for a couple days, at least.”
I had never been one to question orders, and I started throwing in the essentials for the next few days. Underwear, shirts, pants, a couple sweaters, socks. Only once I’d finished packing did I turn toward Seamus. “What’s wrong?”
His face turned to one of sympathy, and I took an instinctive step back, trying to escape the news I knew was coming. “Dev was attacked.”
My phone was in my hand, ringing in my ear before I consciously registered what I was doing. Seamus watched with a tight jaw as one ring turned to two, turned to a half dozen until finally Dev’s chipper voice echoed in the dead space between Seamus and me.
