Quinn~One month later

I rattle my chains against the stones of the old castle wall, the sound almost soothing at this point. I have no idea exactly where I’ve been this last month, but I do know I’m in Ireland. After I woke up from being tranqed I was here, in what looks like a dungeon. I haven't been in Ireland once the O’Sullivans took me with them to America, but I will never forget the fresh air of the wild countryside, even if I'm surrounded by stone.

I haven't seen much of Murry since I woke up. He’s come by once to tell me he sent demands to Molly. Her for me. I knew right away she’d never comply, or at least I hoped so. I don’t want her anywhere near him, or Ireland for that matter. Murry’s men are everywhere, and I heard Connor went into hiding. They’ve been trying to find him but haven’t had any luck.

Fuck I miss her. I think about her every minute of each day. Her wild curly red hair, green eyes, and freckles dusted all over her body, but that’s just her physical appearance. Her sassy Irish mouth is what I miss most, and her laugh, so full of life just like her.

The old wooden door creaks open, ruining my memories of my Molly. Shane walks in with a tin tray of food. Like clockwork this bastard. He comes toward me and places it on the ground, using his foot to push it closer so he can stay out of my reach. Scared fucker. I guess the time I grabbed him and tried to choke the life out of him has made him cautious.

“We got word that Molly is in Ireland.” The first words he’s spoken to me this whole time.

“What?” I growl out. “She agreed to Murry’s terms?”

“No,” he pauses “But she’s here. Not sure what she’s thinking.”

“You can't let her be with him, Shane. The guy is fucking messed up. All he has on his mind is power for Ireland's underworld. Something he will never get. The Dunnes have too much respect and history here to let some thug like him take over. No one will work with him,” I yell at him, but he already knows all this.

“Which is why marriage to Molly will help. Having a Dunne as a wife will fill all those empty holes.” He says, as if it’s all okay and he’s not setting her up to marry someone almost her father’s age.

“She will not go willingly,” I warn him.

“That’s why we have you.” He sighs like I'm trying his patience. “We hope she will in exchange for your safety.

I fucking give up trying to talk to this man. I’m too furious with him to continue. “Did you ever love her?” I ask in a low voice.

“I’m doing all this to fucking protect her,” Shane yells at me. “Everything I've done has been for that same reason.”

I pause at how he uses the word everything. Murry said he’s been working for him a long time. “And what exactly have you done for her so-called protection?”

He takes a deep breath, letting it out again. “Murry has been planning this for quite a while. He’s always played the long game to someday take over the Dunne empire. All I wanted was to protect Molly, keep her out of this and Murry agreed to it.”

“What did you do?”

He looks away, sadness and shame covering his face. “It shouldn’t have been this way, they were just supposed to have an accident, enough to scare them into giving up control to Murry, but something happened, and it all went wrong.”

“You killed Molly’s parents?” I knew he betrayed Molly and Connor, but I had no idea the magnitude of what he’s done. “Why? Why do such a thing! He was your best friend,” I yell.

“I know!” He screams at me. “The plan wasn’t for them to die and I made it so Molly wasn’t in the car. And when they swerved, and it all went to hell. But I did everything in my power to protect her.”

“And let me guess, you never thought Connor would leave retirement to take over again after his son died?” I throw at him, my voice full of anger.

“No, we were not planning on that. We thought that once Brian had passed we’d make our move, but instead Murry told me to stay there and report back to him on Connor’s work. Hell, he even grew the businesses for us, and that also gave me the ability to be close to Molly, but then…” he pauses, but I can already guess what he is going to say.

“Molly grew up and caught Murry’s interest.” Shane nods.

“But that was okay because he’s a good man. Once he’s in charge he’ll give Molly everything she would ever need. Money, power, and so much more. This is the better life for her, here in Ireland, where I can continue to protect her.” I decide then that he’s absolutely fucking insane.

“Have you ever met Molly? She doesn’t care about all that. You don’t even know her, and when she finds out all you’ve done she won’t stand idly by. She’ll never forgive you.”

He shrugs and says, “She’ll get over it, see that this is the way. Murry in charge and her at his side. We can learn to be a family again.”

I jerk against my chains trying to get to him but he stays out of my reach. “You're fucking crazy,” I yell once again. “And when I get out of here I will kill you.” My tone is a deadly promise.

“Don’t worry, you’ll be in Vegas soon, and you’ll forget all about Molly. You can go back to living as you did before you met her.” And with that, he leaves, slamming the door behind him.

He doesn't know me very well if he thinks I could ever forget Molly, or that I’ll let him live after everything I learned. I lean against the cold stone wall and close my eyes, thinking about Molly again. I don’t know how the fuck I'm going to get out of this mess, but I must find a way. I need to get back to Molly. I hope to god she’s not doing anything stupid.