I didn’t need to hear anymore. After I ended the call, the cell phone slipped from my shaky fingers and landed beside me. My grandfather planned to kill her even after I’d agreed to do his bidding. And, he wanted to wait until I was unable to protect her. As his orders echoed in my head, I realized I had a small window of time. Since he wanted them to wait to kill her, I now had the chance to save her myself. Only, it meant giving up everything else in this world but her.
Status...Money...Power...Family...
I could live without all of those things as long as I had Reagan. Grabbing my phone once again, this time I dialed a different number. “Cillian,” I heard come out in a whisper. “It’s late, and?—”
“I’m sorry to bother you, Anamchara?—”
“You’re never a bother to me,” she said, and I could hear the hint of a smile in her voice, which I usually returned, but not right now.
“Do you truly love me?”
“Of course, I do, Cillian. Did I not tell you as much when?—”
“Do you want to be with me forever?”
“Yes,” she quickly replied. I heard the slight rustle of fabric and assumed she was either taking clothes off or putting them on. Regardless of which, she then added. “What’s this about?”
“Run away with me,” I said.
“I can’t. You know Mamma needs me to?—"
“You just said that you love me and want to be with me forever.”
“I know, but can we talk about this in the morning? It’s been a long day.”
“We can’t. I need to see you right now.”
“Cillian—”
“Please, Anamchara!”
Men in my position didn’t beg for anything, especially from a woman, but time was of the essence right now. If I couldn’t get her to willingly agree to leave with me tonight, I’d have to force her to do so, which was the last thing I wanted to do. I’d always liked to think I was different from my cousins, and especially my grandfather. With her impending death looming over me, I’d be anything I had to be in order to get her somewhere safe.
“Okay, Cillian. Give me about fifteen minutes, and I’ll meet you back at the pier.”
“No,” I said, more rushed than I’d intended. “Meet me at our other place.”
“Okay, just calm down. You’re scaring me.”
“I’m sorry,” I said to her as I forced myself to calm down. I was never this forceful about anything when it came to her, but I would be tonight.
The call disconnected, and I exhaled sharply. It would take five minutes to get to the meeting place, so I only had ten minutes to pack. Making sure to grab anything that either she or I might need as far as clothing, I then emptied the stash of money I had in a security box hidden in the corner of my closet. Inside, there was not only about fifty thousand in cash, but there were various fake identifications, including driver’s licenses and passports. I grabbed them all and emptied them into my duffel bag.
The last things I grabbed were the various pieces of jewelry, most of which had been in my family for generations. Wheneverwe got where we were headed, I’d sell them, too. Once done, I looked over at my cell phone and realized I had taken nearly every second of those ten minutes. I grabbed my phone and keys last, then left my room fully intending to never return.
When I got the wooded area right off the parking lot, I counted the looming oaks and few maples intertwined and reached our tree. She was not here yet, and as I reached out to trace the ‘C + R’ that I’d carved into the tree months ago, I heard the crackle of leaves, and I spun around.
“Anamchara,” I breathed softly as she approached me.
Her sundress lifted slightly, as did a few of the long, flaming locks of her auburn hair as the breeze blew around us. I pulled her into my arms, then didn’t even bother kissing her as I just clung to her. It made no difference that I felt every bit of her embrace as she tightened her arms around me. We stood there for several seconds before I laid a kiss to the top of her head.
She pushed at my chest, so I loosened my own grip and stepped back. She moved slightly, then nearly stumbled over my duffel bag sitting on the ground. “Cillian,” she said as she looked down at it, then over at me. “What’s going on?”
“I have to leave tonight, and you need to go with me.”
There was no time to take her to bed, where I knew I could seduce her into doing my bidding. I had to get through to her now, and as soon as possible, because I knew my grandfather had men around here. With any luck, they had retired for the night. It was what I was currently banking on, but one could never be too sure.
“I can’t leave. Mamma needs?—”
