While you sleep, p.19
While You Sleep, page 19
I shook my head. “I’m not a child anymore. You can’t—”
Fingers curled around the back of my neck, and I felt hot breath against my ear. “Hello, Soph.”
Paolo.
He pressed his body against mine, then thrust his hips forward, ramming his hard-on against my ass, making me stumble forward. “In you go.”
I tried to pull away, to yank out of his hold, but he jerked my arms behind me, forcing me to bend forward with a hand at the back of my neck, and shoved me in the car. I fell on the seat beside my father and quickly struggled into a sitting position as Paolo got in, sandwiching me in the middle.
“Let me out,” I said, trying to dive for freedom.
Paolo shoved me roughly back into the seat as the car started. Headlights from several more cars shone through the back window as they pulled up behind us.
I turned to my father. “What the hell is going on?”
He wouldn’t look at me. “Let’s go,” he said to the driver.
The car eased out onto the street but didn’t go far. It slowed outside Cillian’s house and, just for a moment, my stupid heart almost believed he was going to let me out. Instead, he pulled over again, and I watched as a small figure behind the gates ran toward them. The other cars sped up, driving up onto the sidewalk. Men jumped out, all armed. The gates slid open, and a person dressed in black, hood pulled up concealing their face, stood there, waving them in.
Oh god.
“Have you figured it out yet?” Paolo said beside me.
I watched in horror as men stormed Cillian’s house.
“My uncle’s time as the head of the family has come to an end. Cillian fucked with me, and tonight, your father and I will take everything from him. Brennan will take control of both territories, and thanks to our new alliance, we’ll run this city together.”
I tried to dive for the door again and Paolo shoved me back harder this time.
“Do you really think Cillian will let you get away with this?” I fired at him.
Paolo shrugged. “If he survives tonight, let him come. I’d love nothing more than to put a bullet in his brain myself.”
I spun to my father. “You have to know you can’t trust him. He’ll kill you as soon as you turn your back.” Paolo was unstable, twisted. “Dad?”
“Don’t question me. I know what I’m doing,” he said, still avoiding my stare.
Paolo’s clammy hand gripped my chin, forcing me to look at him. “Unlike your soon-to-be ex-husband…your marriage will be nothing but a bad memory by the time you wake up tomorrow, just FYI, I would never murder my father-in-law.”
“What?” I whispered, horror stealing my voice. He couldn’t be serious. That’s why my father wanted me to leave Cillian, because I was part of the deal he’d made with Paolo. “I won’t do it.” I felt sick to my stomach. The annulment had been a safeguard, in case Cillian survived their attack tonight.
Paolo laughed, and it sent ice through my veins. “It’s cute you think you have a choice. I told you, Sophia, I’m taking everything from Cillian O’Rourke, including you.”
The car sped away as the sound of gunshots filled the night.
Cillian
I strode out into the hall as gunfire came from the floor below. Sophia was gone from our bed. I didn’t know what the fuck was going on, where she was, but whoever had the balls to break into my house would leave in a black plastic sack.
A gunman rounded the corner. I aimed for his shoulder and fired. He jerked back, dropping his gun and hit the ground. I strode forward, leaning over him. “Where is my wife?”
He scowled up at me, mouth shut.
I pressed my thumb into his now bleeding, fucked-up shoulder. He screamed. “Where?” I demanded.
“I—I d-don’t…know.”
His eyes darted behind me. I spun and fired another shot at the guy behind me, hitting him in the chest. He went down. I turned back to the bleeding, writhing fucker on the floor. “Tell me.”
“I t-tell you, I’m a…d-dead man.”
I pressed my gun to his forehead. “You were a dead man the moment you walked into my home. But you have a choice; die a slow, agonizing death or I keep it simple and just splatter your brains all over my floor. What’s it gonna be?”
Tears filled his eyes, his face contorted with fear. “Paolo,” he rasped.
I straightened, aimed, and shot him between the eyes, then headed downstairs.
Danny stood in the living room. There were several bodies on the floor, all dead.
“How many?” I asked him.
“Eight, the others are outside. Braiden and Lance are doing another perimeter check. Seamus and Sally are fine, but she’s pretty freaked. I told her to stay in her room.”
“Sophia?” I asked, while my heart slammed wildly in my chest.
A look slid through his eyes I didn’t like. “She’s gone. Sally saw Sophia leave and followed her. She jumped the fence and took off before the men stormed the place.”
“She look scared? Was someone forcing her?”
Danny shook his head.
Fuck. I wanted to roar, to kill, but we’d already killed everyone.
She said she’d find a way to leave when I first brought her here, that she wouldn’t be my wife for long… I’d thought…
I’d actually convinced myself she was finally happy, that she actually liked it here with me.
There are things you should worry about, husband, like if your wife is slowly losing her damned mind with all the ways her world has been thrown on its head, or if I’ll do to you what Alto’s wife did to him or whether I’ll run away in the middle of the night, because sometimes I have to seriously talk myself out of both of those things…
She’d said that to me. She’d made it clear she was unhappy, but I didn’t want to see it.
My fingers curled into a tight fist. I didn’t like this feeling, the monster roaring inside me, the grip of its claws digging into flesh in the center of my chest.
What she somehow hadn’t fully grasped was that when I made something mine, I didn’t give it up. Ever.
No, pet. This wasn’t happening. You don’t get to leave.
You are mine.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Cillian
Alto stood as I strode across the restaurant. It was early, the place closed. His gaze darted behind me, looking for his guards, they were both bleeding on the ground.
“Your men will live, if you move fast.”
Vince stood beside Alto and drew his gun. So did Conor and Declan who stood either side of me.
“What is the meaning of this, Cillian?”
“You lied, old man,” I said.
He straightened, fury filling his dark eyes. “What is it you accuse me of?”
“Paolo. He never left.”
Alto’s gaze sliced to Vince. “My word is my bond. I didn’t lie. Vince put him on the plane.”
I raised a brow. “Did he now? Then how is it that Paolo’s men broke into my home last night?”
Alto turned to his second. The asshole was sweating. “Tell him, Vince, that my nephew left the city.”
Vince scowled at me, but he was shaking. “O’Rourke lies.”
I stared the fucker down, and he shifted uneasily. “He has my wife,” I said to Alto without looking away. The fact that Sophia left willingly was irrelevant. I didn’t know why she’d go with Paolo. I had my suspicions and, looking at Vince, I was sure the fucker had the answers.
More of Alto’s men rushed into the room, guns raised. Alto shook his head, and they lowered their weapons. His cold gaze slid to Vince. “Did my nephew leave?”
The fucker continued to scowl at me, mouth jammed shut.
“Answer me,” Alto demanded. “Or I’ll have Carmine get you to talk.”
Sweat poured down the fucker’s face, even as defiance straightened his spine. “He did not.”
“You betrayed me?” Alto said, menace in his eyes.
Vince shook his head. “We did this for you. To strengthen our position, to—”
“No,” Alto roared. “You undermined me.” One of his men pressed a gun to Vince’s head. “You think you can take my place? You think Paolo would let you live once I’m gone.” He said something in Italian and Vince flinched. “Speak,” Alto demanded.
“Paolo, he did a deal with Brennan. They tie the families together, a marriage, Brennan would take O’Rourke’s territory, and Paolo would take your place.”
“And you’d be his second?”
“Yes.”
“Where is my wife?” I said, interrupting. I’d heard enough.
Vince’s gaze slid to me. “She isn’t your wife anymore. The annulment went through this morning. Her father arranged it.” He smirked. “She wanted this, wanted to get away from you. She wanted an Italian between her thighs, not an Irish piece of shit.” He spat on the floor, narrowly missing my shoe.
She said she loved me, but it could easily have been an act. How would I know what real love looked like? I didn’t. I’d hurt her when I told her I wasn’t capable of returning her feelings. I did feel something for her, what that was, I wasn’t sure. The thought of her leaving me willingly—I wanted to tear this room apart. I lifted my gun and shot Vince in the face, blood and brains splattering Alto’s men.
Their guns flew back up. Con cursed beside me, but Alto barked for them to lower their weapons.
“We’re even,” I said.
Alto nodded. “Vince was a treacherous fuck, but he was my brother-in-law.” He glanced down at the dead man. “I’m sure you understand the alliance between us can no longer go forward, not now. There will be no wedding between your brother and Gaia.”
Declan shifted beside me. “Agreed,” I said.
Too much had passed between our families. Any alliance would have to wait until everything died down, and that could take years. We strode out of the restaurant. “Gather the men,” I said to Conor.
I was going to get Sophia.
Sophia
I paced my old bedroom in my father’s house. Scared out of my mind. Was Cillian okay? Goddammit, I needed to know.
He had to be all right.
Please let Cillian be okay.
My gaze slid to the dress hanging on the wardrobe door. Paolo had chosen it. He wanted a proper wedding. This felt like deja vu, only this time my new husband would make my life a living hell.
The annulment would have gone through this morning. I was no longer married to Cillian O’Rourke, and it felt as though a part of me had been ripped from my chest and set ablaze.
Cillian may not know what it was to love, but he’d made me feel more loved than I had in my whole life. I didn’t want to leave him. I wanted to stay. I wanted to keep shining light on the shadows inside him. I wanted to keep bringing to life parts of him that he only shared with me. I just wanted him. I didn’t need him to love me, not when whatever it was he did feel for me was more than enough.
I’d been locked in my room since we got here last night. I would find a way to escape, though. I had to, and I was taking Tommy with me.
There was a tap on the door, then the sound of the lock. I scrambled back as the door opened.
Paolo walked in, a wide smile on his face. “Soph.” His gaze slid over me. “You look a little rough, sweetheart. I hope you’re going to clean yourself up for our big day tomorrow. If you embarrass me in front of my men, looking like dog shit, I won’t be happy.”
“I don’t give a fuck if you’re happy. I’m not marrying you, I will never marry you—”
He backhanded me, sending me across the room. I hit the floor, and he strode over, straddling my hips and fisted my hair. “You do not speak to me that way, ever, understand?”
I stared up at him in shock. I could taste blood, the inside of my lip split, and pain radiated through my cheek and jaw.
“Nod if you understand,” he said and used his grip on my hair to force me to do as he said. He leaned closer, swiping blood from my lip with his thumb and sucked it off, then grinned, flashing me his bloody teeth. “I can’t wait for our honeymoon, Soph. The things I’m going to do to you.” He shook his head. “Poor thing. You won’t like it, any of it.” He dragged his mouth over mine, then bit my lip, making me cry out. He fisted my hair tighter and looked into my eyes. “But the thought of you screaming in pain makes me hard as fuck.”
He shoved away from me, stood, and straightened his jacket, an obvious tent in his trousers now. I shrunk away, and he chuckled.
“Shame I have some things to organize or I might give you a little taste of what’s to come,” he said, staring down at me.
He was breathing hard, the look in his eyes sending a shiver down my spine.
“Fuck it,” he said and took a step toward me. “I should make time, right? I deserve some fun after everything I did to get you here.”
I scrambled back.
“Paolo,” someone said from the door. “You’re needed downstairs. Now.”
He turned to the guy standing there. “It’ll have to wait.”
The other guy shook his head. “This can’t wait.”
Paolo cursed and turned back to me, his gaze moving over me. “Clean yourself up,” he said, then strode to the door. Just before walking out, he turned back. “And if you think O’Rourke is coming to save you, don’t hold your breath. Turns out if the annulment hadn’t gone through, you would’ve been a widow, anyway.”
He smirked, then shut the door, locking me in.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Cillian
Brennan’s house was mostly dark, only a couple lights shining from inside.
I signaled Declan and he moved forward, then nodded to Conor. He whistled to the guard, and when the guy turned, I ran up behind him, smashed the butt of my gun into his head, and knocked him out cold. He was one of Brennan’s men, and though Sophia’s father was trying to fuck us over, we knew a lot of them, had known them for a long time. Some of them were good men, loyal men; they didn’t deserve to die because of Brennan’s fucked-up decisions.
Paolo, on the other hand, would fucking choke to death on his own blood, after I made him scream.
We made it to the house, and I quickly picked the lock and slid inside. The alarm was off because his men were supposed to be coming and going while they patrolled the house and the grounds. My men had seen to them, most were currently lights out.
The downstairs was dimly lit, except for Brennan’s office, where the light shone from beneath the closed door. I waved Danny and two other men toward it. There was no sign of Paolo yet. I headed upstairs, Declan and Conor behind me. All was dark and quiet up here. Paolo had to be up here somewhere, but getting Sophia out of this house was priority.
I rounded the corner, and one of Paolo’s men sat in a chair outside what was obviously my wife’s bedroom. He was slumped, fast asleep. Fucking useless. I turned to Dec and he nodded, then he and Conor carried on down the hall. I moved in behind Sophia’s guard, hooked my arm around his throat, and squeezed. He thrashed awake, gripping my arm. I squeezed tighter until he went limp.
Taking the key from his pocket, I unlocked the door and eased it open.
Sophia
I startled awake when I was roughly hauled out of bed. I tried to scream, to kick and fight, but a strong hand held me in a bruising grip, another clamped over my mouth.
“Quiet,” a familiar voice growled against my ear.
Cillian.
He was alive. I’d cried until I’d passed out from exhaustion. Paolo said he was dead. But he was alive, and he’d come for me. I tried to turn in his arms, to reach for him so I could tell him I loved him, but he threw me back on the bed, one hand still over my mouth while he undid his tie with the other. I nodded, telling him I’d be quiet, that I knew it was him, that he could take away his hand.
He did.
When I opened my mouth to talk, he jammed his tie across my lips, flipped me to my front, and secured it around my head, gagging me. I heard the clink of his belt, then my hands were gripped behind my back, where he secured them tightly with the thick leather.
Oh god, he thought I’d betrayed him. He thought I was here willingly. He wasn’t saving me, he was abducting me. I didn’t struggle when he lifted me again and tossed me over his shoulder. With an arm wrapped around the backs of my thighs, he strode from the room. I thumped his back when we hit the hall and flailed, trying to motion to Tommy’s room.
“Nothing will happen to your brother,” he said, reading my mind, his voice pure ice.
A shiver slid through me at how cold and devoid of all emotion he sounded. He carried me through the house and down the stairs.
“Any sign of Paolo?” Cillian asked someone.
I didn’t hear their response.
“Clean house. None of that fucker’s men are left breathing, understand?” Cillian said.
“Got it.”
That was Danny’s voice.
Cillian strode outside. The sound of a car came next. I was jostled and tossed into the back seat. I scrambled to sit up, but it was hard with my hands behind my back—
A shot rang out, and Cillian jerked to the side. I screamed behind my gag as Paolo walked out, fury in his wild eyes, gun in his hand raised.
“Get her out of here,” Cillian said, slamming the door closed as gunshots rang out.
The car sped off, leaving him behind, while I screamed.
I lay on my side in Cillian’s bed, the gag in my mouth and my hands still bound with his belt. My feet were tied as well now, and I could do nothing but lie here terrified for him, and for Tommy. Cillian said he wouldn’t get hurt, but what if he got caught in the crossfire. He must be so scared.
I don’t know how long I’d been lying here, but my hands and feet were numb, and the room was slowly growing lighter. It had to be the early hours of the morning.
