Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 105065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 525(@200wpm)___ 420(@250wpm)___ 350(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 525(@200wpm)___ 420(@250wpm)___ 350(@300wpm)
He brushes his fingers over my lips to silence me. And then he leans in and whispers in my ear. “Ye must’ve been chewing on four leaf clovers all along,” he says.
I blink up at him in confusion.
He smiles. “I’m completely mad for you, sweetheart.”
Hands grab me from behind and drag me away as I scream. Lachlan gives me one last glance, and then he’s walking away from me. Out of the door, and out of my life forever.
I try to fight off whoever’s holding me back, but I can’t. I’m too emotional. It’s too much. It’s all too fucking much. It doesn’t matter anyway. Because when I feel another needle in my arm, I realize they aren’t giving me a choice.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Lachlan
I’ve always said you can’t trust a woman.
Mack wrecked every bit of common sense I had left in me. I was blind to it. Blind to everything else but her. Now there’s only one thing left to do.
I call Niall first and organize to meet him at the club. And then Ronan. He tries to argue my decision as I knew he would, but it’s useless. I will hand myself over to Niall and abide by whatever penalty he feels is necessary.
So long as it’s nothing to do with Mack.
I love her. Can hardly believe it myself, but it’s true. I’m fucking mad about the girl. I’d like to believe that if she’d only told me what the problem was, I’d have helped her. But I can’t say for certain that is true.
I knew Talia was trouble when she started working at the club. She was a bit too fond of one of the Russians. Dmitri, his name was. He wasn’t part of Alexei’s faction, but Ivan vouched for him at the door. That should’ve been my first clue. If I’d had any concrete evidence it was him involved in whatever happened to Mack’s friend, then sure I’d have sent him into the cellar for Ronan to deal with.
We do not tolerate that kind of shite in our club. You touch our women, you meet with Ronan. Simple as that. But Talia had only been working at Slainte for two weeks. She told me she was going on a holiday and she needed some time off. When the cops started sniffing about the place, Detective James mentioned he had reason to believe she ran off to Mexico for one reason or another. So I left it at that. The girl never saw anything, didn’t know anything, so it was no bother to me what she wanted to do with her life.
All of these events culminated to bring Mack into my life. I’d like to say that I’m sorry for it, that I wished it never happened, but that isn’t true. I am sorry for her mate. If anyone can find her, Alexei will.
Mack will be safe with him too. I know that much. It’s all that matters now. She didn’t do this with evil intent. I on the other hand have done plenty. I lied to her, hurt her… planned to hand her over to the Russians for my own selfish reasons. I don’t know what that says about me. But I meant what I told her.
I’d actually considered a life with her. How fucking stupid is that? Bringing a woman into this world is always a liability. This whole situation has wised me right up. Regardless of what lies ahead for me, the best thing I can do for Mack is to let her go. It’s the unselfish thing. The hard thing, too. I don’t want that. I wanted none of this. But I’ve no choice now.
Alexei gave me his word. He will get her out of the state. Set her up with a new identity. And Mack will never know if I live or die because she’ll only be told one thing.
To her, Lachlan Crow is and always will be- dead.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Mackenzie
When I wake up in a pitch black room in a bed that feels unfamiliar, dread snakes its way inside of me. I’m disoriented, exhausted, and for a moment, I have no idea where I am.
But when I sit up and glance out the window, I remember with painful clarity.
Lachlan.
Where the hell is he? And how could I just let him leave without me?
I’m in the middle of nowhere, but that isn’t going to stop me. I’m going to get to him. I’m not going to let him sacrifice himself for me.
I find my shoes near the end of the bed and pick them up so as not to make any noise. This house is much bigger on the inside, and from my vantage point I’d guess I’m on the second or third floor. When I get to the bedroom door, it opens without protest. I creep down the hall, pausing at a cracked door with a light on inside.
Someone’s probably in there, no doubt. And I have to walk right past it to get downstairs. How the hell I went from being trapped inside the Irish mafia to the Russian, I haven’t a clue. I have to wonder if there are more men here that I don’t know about. Surely, Lachlan must trust them to protect me. But he has to know I would do this. That I would try to get to him. What were his orders in such circumstances?
There’s only one way to find out.
I wait for a full two minutes and hear nothing. But instead of creeping past, my curiosity gets the better of me. I push open the door, and stand in the frame. Alexei is passed out on his desk, bottle of Cognac still in hand. But it isn’t the sight of him that has me in a state of shock. It’s the room filled with an entire wall of monitors that surrounds him.
My eyes rove over the screens, and it takes me a minute to realize what they’re for. There are live poker tournaments, chess games, horse racing, and pretty much anything that can be considered gambling on display.