CHAPTER SEVEN
DECLAN
“Jesus Christ, Killian. Fuckin' relax already,” I muttered under my breath as I pulled my pants on and headed toward the door. “It's too fucking early for this bullshit.”
It was just after seven in the morning when the pounding on the door started. Sure, normal people would probably be up at that hour, but that wasn't me. I was anything but normal, and I'd never been a morning person. I worked better at night, when the rest of the world was asleep. I counted the number of beer bottles on the coffee table, and while at least one of them wasn't mine, I realized that most of them were. Kara was still in the bedroom, hopefully fast asleep. After we'd hooked up, she went to bed and I passed out on the couch. That had technically only been a few hours ago.
But, well worth losing a little sleep over.
I pulled open the door and my brother was standing on the other side of it, well dressed as always in his nice, designer business suit, looking especially chipper given the early hour. Once the door was open, I turned and walked back to the couch without a word. Killian and a few other guys stepped into the cabin, closing the door behind them.
“Where is she?” he asked.
I pointed to the bedroom and grumbled something – I didn't even know what it was or if it was even in English. It was too damn early, and I was too damn tired for words.
Killian motioned to a big burly guy with a thick, red beard. “Go get her.”
“I'll get her,” I said, standing up, coming fully alert in that moment.
Killian held the big guy back and allowed me to pass instead. I sized the guy up as I passed him. He was big, as in wide, but most of that size wasn't muscle. He relied on his enormous frame to intimidate people and it probably got him out of plenty of fights. But, if push came to shove, I knew I could take him if I needed to. He wasn't in shape and wouldn't last long in a real fight.
The big guy was eyeballing me up and down the same way I was him, and in his mind, I would be willing to wager that he'd already won the fictional match as well. One of us was overestimating our abilities, and I was counting on it being him.
I knocked on the door and called out, “Kara?”
No sound came from within and a nervous tremor passed through my body. Had she snuck out while I'd been sleeping? My brother and his goons were watching me. A couple of them were amused, the other two seemed less than impressed.
Killian, however, had that normal, friendly smile on his face, as if he could wait all God damn day for me to get the girl up.
I knocked again, this time louder.
No answer.
“Just open the fucking door already, man,” the big guy said.
Killian turned his eyes toward the man. “Jim – ”
The sharpness in Killian's voice was enough to make Jim back down – even though Jim was twice the size of my brother. The harsh, but unspoken threat in his voice had been enough. It both impressed and frightened me, but I tried not to let it show on my face.
I turned the doorknob and opened the door just a bit. Glancing in, I saw Kara asleep in the bed and let out a small, silent sigh of relief. She hadn't run. Thank God.
Her dark brown hair was splayed out around her on the pillow, framing her head and making her look like Snow White. Her skin was porcelain and clear, and her lips were slightly parted as she breathed evenly. It was the breath of somebody in a deep, peaceful sleep. She looked so perfect, she didn't look real.
I stared at her for a moment before stepping into the room. She was covered up, so I couldn't tell if she was sleeping naked or if she had clothes on, and I didn't want the other guys to see her if the former happened to be the case. I shut the door behind me, and the sounds of grumbling from Killian's guys was silenced immediately.
As soon as the door closed behind me, Kara's eyes opened just a bit. She blinked slowly and sleepily at first, and then they popped wide open. She sat up in the bed, pulling the blanket even higher around her. I could see her hands trembling and fear etched upon her face as she searched the room, looking at every corner as if expecting to not be alone with me.
“They’re here aren't they?” she whispered.
I nodded, running a hand through my beard. “Yeah.”
Seeing the look on her face killed me. Last night, she'd been so calm and relaxed with me, more relaxed than she probably should have been, given the circumstances. But, we'd fucked, for God’s sake. Now though, she looked tense and terrified with her eyes as wide as dinner plates and her hands trembling.
“I won't let them hurt you,” I said without thinking it through.
There were more of them than there was of me. Sure, I was a fighter, but could I take all of them? And what if they had guns too? They probably did, knowing my brother like I did.
Kara's gaze met mine and her face suddenly calmed, looking somewhat less frightened. She believed me. I guess that was all that mattered to her. She believed that I'd get her out of this mess. I just hoped it was a promise I was going to be able to keep when the time came.
“Thank you,” she whispered, climbing out of the bed.
She wasn't naked, I was disappointed to see, but she was only wearing a t-shirt and panties. Her jeans were on the floor beside the bed. She didn't have a change of clothes on her. Hell, neither did I, come to think of it. She bent down to pick up the pants off the floor, and I couldn't help but check out her tight little ass. It wiggled as she pulled the jeans up over her hips, and I imagined what it would be like to fuck her from behind, driving myself into her with a view of that perfect, round ass.
As if she could read my mind, she glanced over her shoulder and smiled.
“Should you really be checking out the hostage like that?” she teased.
“Probably not. But then again, I probably shouldn't be fucking them either,” I teased back. “But we've already broken that rule.”
Once her pants were on, she sighed. I saw her steeling herself for what was to come. She clenched her jaw, narrowed her eyes, and lifted her chin defiantly. She was strong, she had guts. I had to give her that. In her place, most people would be freaking out, probably curled up in a ball on the floor sobbing their eyes out and pissing all over themselves. Kara was obviously made of much stronger stuff and I couldn't help but be impressed.
“Alright, let's do this,” she finally said.
We stepped back out in the living room, side-by-side, which seemed to amuse the guys even more as they chuckled and elbowed each other in the ribs. There were four large guys beside my brother, looking like some old-world gangsters, and making the room too crowded to stand in, so we stayed in the hallway.
“Tie her up,” Killian demanded of the big guy.
Kara looked at me, her eyes wide.
“Just go with it. It's all for show,” I said, staring hard at Killian the entire time I spoke, making sure he heard the words and the hard edge in my voice. “They're not going to hurt you. You're not going to hurt her, are you, Killi?”
My brother's smile wavered for only a second before he managed to catch himself. I'd used his childhood nickname on purpose, to remind him of what he used to be. He didn't say anything about me using his old nickname, tried to brush it off like it was nothing.
“No, of course not,” he said smoothly – maybe a little too smoothly. “Like Declan said, it's all for show.”
“It better be,” I said, my voice low and filled with a dark threat.
Killian recoiled, looking like I'd slapped him for a second. But, then he gathered himself, shaking his head and his smile returned. He looked at me and I saw that smile didn't reach his eyes. His face was cold and emotionless.
“Don't worry, brother. From a business standpoint, a hostage isn't worth much to us dead or broken,” he said. “So for now, she's safe. Go easy on her, Jim. Ease my brother's mind and be gentle.”
That was all that I needed to know. Kara was safe – for now. If nothing else, it bought us a little time to come up with a plan to get her – and my son – the hell out of this mess.
~ooo000ooo~
“Oh, just so you know, Jack is a really good baby,” Killian said as they finished with the photos and videos of Kara. “A really sweet kid. Meredith has grown quite fond of the little guy.”
“Well, don't get too attached,” I said. “Because I'm taking him back.”
“Of course,” Killian chuckled, patting me on the back. “We're going to be family again soon, Declan. A real family. Just wait and see.”
I pushed his hand off me and stepped back. As much as I wanted to knock the shit-eating grin off his face, being surrounded by four other big guys with guns meant it would have been a bad move to make. I was angry, but not stupid. Now that I had something to live for, I needed to be careful with my own life as well. Getting myself killed wasn't going to do Jack any favors.
“When can I expect the payment you promised?” I asked.
Killian raised an eyebrow. “When the job is done.”
“I did what you asked. I went over to Michael Boyer's house,” I said. “I think I deserve some payment for that. This all is extra. I fulfilled your original request.”
Killian looked amused and contemplative at the same time as he stared at me. “Not thinking about running away, are ya?”
“I’m not going anywhere without my son.”
Killian nodded, knowing I wouldn't abandon my kid. It was the only reason I knew he believed me.
“Fine, I'll give you the first half off your fee,” he said. “Just for going to the Boyer house, not for collecting the money since that part of the job has not yet been completed. Once it is, you'll get the rest.”
“That's fine with me,” I muttered.
Anything would help, truthfully. Not that I could get out of there without my son, but once I found a way to get him back, we were going to be on the road – long gone and out of there before anybody could say boo. Kara too. She was coming with us because I owed that to her for everything I'd put her through so far – everything my brothers had put her through. Also because it was partially my fault she was in this mess in the first place.
Killian handed me a stack of cash and they dropped off some supplies and food and left. As soon as they were gone, I flopped down on the couch and let out a long breath. Kara just stood there, stunned. Almost like she hadn't expected them to leave so easily.
“Sit down, relax a bit. Not like we've got much else to do,” I said.
Kara continued to stare at the now closed front door, through which my brother and his goons had left. She cocked her head and stared at it, as if half-expecting them to come bursting through it again and fill her full of bullets. When it didn't happen after several long moments, and the sound of the car dwindled into the distance, she relaxed and let out a long breath of her own.
“They're not going to go so easy on me next time, are they?” she said softly.
“Probably not,” I said.
She nodded. Most people might have a panic attack or freak out, but she managed to remain fairly calm, even though I noticed a slight tremble in her hands. “We need to get my son,” I said.
“What's that?” she asked.
“My son,” I said. “We get my son, then we get the hell out of here.”
“We? As in, you and me?” she asked, her eyes growing a little wider, as if she hadn't even considered the idea.
“Not gone like forever or anything,” I said quickly. “I just want to get us out of town and figure out our next moves from there. Once you're safe, you'll be free to go. But, I made a promise to protect you and I mean to keep it.”
Kara walked across the room, and I thought she would take the couch on the other wall, but instead, she sat down next to me with our legs touching. She took my hand in hers and gave it a squeeze, running her thumb across my knuckles, a thoughtful look on her face.
“Alright, what's the plan?” she asked.
“The plan?”
“To get your son back?” she said. “I want to help, anyway I can. The sooner we get him, the sooner we can get the hell out of here.”
“I don't think it'll be that hard, honestly,” I said. “I just have to go over to my brother's house when he's not home. His wife has no idea what he's caught up in or what kind of monster he really is. She'll give me my son if I ask for him.”
“Fine. Let's do it,” she said. “Let's get your son back.”