“I don’t know where they went, but I do know you’re going to need me in less than a minute when they storm this place. Uphold your promise and uncuff me so I can take out Mac Byrne. I swear I will not let you down.”
Someone has vacuumed all the air out of the room. I can’t fucking breathe, and even more so when she uncuffs him and hands over a pistol. They were behind the break in at my parents. The betrayal that I feel sliced me to my core. I don’tlike Calvin much, and that’s not a surprise after his stunt at the last family dinner, but I could have never guessed that he would be behind this.
Every soldier’s head turns towards the front door at the sound of vehicles coming down the driveway. We all watch in horror as the Byrne’s and their troops make their way to the front of their house at an alarming rate. Tires squeal on the driveway, and immediately gunshots follow. The click of two guns at once makes me jump. What the hell are they doing?
“Lee. Run the cameras. You guys don’t leave here until a Byrne comes and gets you or you watch Natasha die.” Sullivan says in a monotone voice as he secures his gun back into the holster at the back of his pants before pulling another and checking it.
“Absolutely not! What if you get hurt?”
“What if they do? If we go down, we’re all going down together. Don’t even try to stop us. Every single one of you would do the same for your families. Don’t you dare say a word to anyone outside of this room.” Flynn stands up while also checking his weapons.
Stopping them would be a moot point. They may be a hockey player and a firefighter to the naked eye, but they’re fucking Byrne’s through and through. Declan’s going to kill me for not stopping them, but I wouldn’t put it past them to tag us in the foot or hand to keep us in line at this point. They’re determined to get to their big brothers. They look every bit the mafioso’s that they are as they stand from their seats and walk out of the room. Gone are the men who chose a different path in life, and all that’s left in their wake are two men who were highly trained by the most feared men in the country.
We watch on the second set of monitors as Sullivan grabs Elle’s hand and pulls her from the room she was in and into the hallway. He wraps her up in his arms and surprises every single one of us when he dips her slightly and seals his lips over hers. The kiss seems intense even through the camera. It’s a declaration of love and devotion. When he finally pulls away, his words echo throughout the room.
“I’m a patient man, Boo. But I’m almost at the end of my rope here. I love you.”
“What– what is all this about, Monster?” Elle watches him like he’s a maniac, and I guess you could argue that he is.
“I just needed to tell you that. Can you go check on Annie? I’m sure it’ll mean a lot to Flynn.” He offers her a small quirk of his lips.
“Of course. We’ll talk about this later?” She asks with confusion lacing her tone.
“Yeah. I promise.”
She presses up on her toes and kisses the side of his jaw before pulling away and turning to go find my baby sister. I look over to the screen that shows the room she’s in and watch as Flynn presses his lips to her temple.
“I’m so sorry for everything. When we’re out of here I want to talk about what happened all those years ago. I know you don’t want to hear this, but I love you, Anneliese. I have to go help my brother, but when I get back we’re trying again. It was always you. It’ll always be you, Anam cara.”
I know enough Irish to know that Declan’s baby brother just called my baby sister his soulmate. Jesus, I mean, could our families get any more entangled?
“It doesn’t matter anymore. I forgave you a long time ago. I don’t even know why I’ve been denying this. Go help Sully,and when you come back you can take me to that waffle place we liked so much.” Her smile is so bright that it brings tears to my eyes. I don’t think I’ve seen her beam like that since we were kids. I guess if Flynn is going to make her smile like that then we’ll just have to be all up in the Byrne family tree.
I watch as he presses his lips to her forehead before running from the room to meet up with Sully. Once I confirm they’re together and Elle is with Annie, I turn back to the cameras to watch as gunfire is coming from every direction. It’s hard to tell who’s shooting from where or who has been hit. Motion in one of the cameras upstairs catches my eye as I watch Flynn and Sully emerge into the house from behind a bookshelf.
Declan’s voice booms from the speakers, and if I didn’t know it was impossible, I would swear I could hear him from outside of these walls.
“Jakob!”
44
Chapter Forty-Four
Declan
I’m so fucking tired of getting shot at—for the day, for the month, for the next thirty years. I’ve hit my lifetime quota of bullets flying by my head. My brothers and I storm into the house we were raised in without pause, taking out everyone in our path. Our partners and kids are in that house, and all I can think of is that I hope the twins got them to the bunker.
There are gunshots firing behind my back, but I trust my men to handle that shit. We outnumber them with great ease. We fall into our typical formation: Rowan to my left and Mac and Kieran flanking our sides as we enter the living room, where Natasha stands in the open area with Annie’s loser boyfriend beside her. She’s not even attempting to look for cover. It’s just her, Calvin, and Yuri. I’m actually going to killthem all, I think to myself as a new round of adrenaline zips through my veins. If even one hair on their heads has been touched, I will not stop until the entire East Coast is nothing but a blazing inferno.
“Oh, my sweet husband. I’ve been waiting for you.” The grin she’s sporting can only be described as manic when paired with the evil glint in her eye.
“Where’s Jake?” I ask with caution, knowing if she has him that anything could set her off.
“Don’t worry about him now. He won’t be standing in our way anymore.” She tries to sound soothing, but it has the opposite effect.
Panic fills my veins as my eyes scan every inch of space that they can. He’s not here, but neither is a bunch of blood. I’m going to hold on to that and tell myself that he’s safe inside of the bunker. The twins got them down there in time and everything’s okay. Unable to hold back a second later, I use all the strength in my lungs to roar his name into the vacant space.
“Natasha, this shit is done. Give us back Annie’s little douche bag and leave our family alone.” Rowan’s voice is smooth yet demanding. How he’s appearing this calm when he knows his wife and kids are here somewhere is beyond me.
