My foot hits the bottom step when my youngest brother, Sean, comes into view. He’s pacing the length of the basement between Callum and our other brother, Declan. His hand drags through his jet-black unruly hair, the other fisted at his side, and his rant continues.
He’s angry, and he has every right to be. Callum put Sean in charge of our security team, yet here we are with one of his best employees lying on a table and being cut open. Sean takes a deep breath and stops, his head turning toward me. Wild blue eyes meet mine.
“What the fuck, Paddy?” He steps toward me, a malicious glare on his face.
I’ve never been scared of my youngest brother. He’d never been prone to violence and prefers to do his dirty work behind a computer screen. This side of him, the angry side, rarely ever comes out. But when it does, he’s uncontrollable. The rage consumes him, and he goes off the rails.
I take a step back, not wanting to have to fight him. Not when all I want to do is find Griffin and make sure he’s okay. Not when I want to make sure Haley has everything she needs to save Scotty. My hands raise in defense. I open my mouth to come up with something to say. Anything that can calm him. Anything that will stop him from flipping that switch.
Callum speaks before I can. “Sean, back off. It doesn’t matter.”
Sean snaps his head toward the eldest brother. “It doesn’t matter?” His voice comes out in a dangerous snarl. “One of our men was shot tonight. It very well fucking matters, Callum. We’re responsible for them.I’mresponsible for them. I will not be a failure because my brothers continue to see me as the baby of the family. All of you refuse to look past my rules. How many times must I remind you that I’m the head of security?”
“We know what your job is,” Declan says. He steps forward, so he’s beside Sean, and clasps his hand around his shoulder. “We respect you and love you. You keep all of us safe, Sean. Scotty is the best. There’s a reason everyone keeps pulling him from you.”
Sean turns to him, some of the tension in his shoulders lessening. “And what would that reason be, Declan?”
“Haley had a stalker,” Callum interjects. “And she was too precious to lose.” His gaze settles on me, unspoken words circling between us.
My stomach dips. Does he know my secrets? My cheeks flush, the sudden heat making me dizzy. I’m going to throw up.
“And Griffin?” Sean asks.
“Griffin and Paddy have a complicated past that involves things we can’t even begin to understand,” Callum says. “The way you’re protective of your soldiers? Well, that’s the way Paddy and Griffin feel for each other. They’re family, Sean. We protect our family and we don’t question why they decide to put extra protection on the people they love.”
Sean’s chest is still rising with each deep breath, but his red face softens. He’s forcing himself to calm down and see whatever the hell is going on rationally. And what Callum said is true. Griffin is my family. I’d do anything to keep him safe, including piss off my brothers. So, here we are.
I glance at Callum. “Where are they?”
“Haley and Griffin are in the other room. She says Scotty should be okay. The bullet struck his phone first, which helped keep it from penetrating too far into the heart.”
I nod. “So only one bullet hit. And Griffin?”
“Griffin is shaken up, but fine,” Declan says. “We think this was an act of war, not a mugging.”
My head cocks to the side as I stare between each of my brothers. “They were in a dark alleyway. How can we be sure? Especially when whoever it was clearly had shitty aim. They’d have shot both of them execution-style if this was an act of business.”
“Because they didn’t take anything. They shot him and ran. Sean, I need you to access the cameras in the area.” Callum rolls the sleeves of his white dress shirt to his elbows. “We’re all O-negative blood type and we don’t know Scotty’s. Haley needs us all to donate and Paddy, she says you’re the man to do it for us.”
I gulp. We’d been trained in basic on how to do blood transfusions, but I never had to actually do one. Though I suppose that’s better than the zero experience my other siblings have. Nodding, we all follow Callum into the next room.
It’s far from sanitary, but in a pinch and unable to get to an actual hospital, it works. Everything I need is on the table in the center of the room. Callum sits on the single chair and rests his elbows on his knees while I glove up, and again my phone goes off.
I blow out a breath, trying to maintain my composure. This isn’t normal. Camille only texts me when she has an appointment. This amount of calls is making my stomach turn into a bundle of nerves. Something is wrong, and I don’t think I can wait much longer to find out.
I pull out my phone, reading the text that just came through from Sergio, the bodyguard I outsourced, to drive her around. I don’t trust her father or his men to keep her safe. Not while she’s carrying my child, so it was an easy decision to make sure that she was safe.
Sergio:Camille is still okay. But she’s angry you’re ignoring her.
Fuck. My heart pounds in my chest so fast, I can feel the pulse in my ears. Being this far away from them is driving me insane. I punch out my response.
Paddy:Thanks for the update. When they release her, please keep her home until I can come to see her.
Sergio:I’ll tell her you’re busy. Make sure you call her when you can.
“Hello? Earth to Patrick?” Sean waves his hand in front of my face. It’s too close for my liking, so I reach out and swat his hand away.
“Get off your phone and draw our blood,” Callum says. “What’s been up with you lately? It’s like your head’s been completely somewhere else.”
