Aisling Chapter 16

You’d think with the threat hanging over my head, I’d be depressed, scared, and hiding behind the walls of the family compound. Wrong. I was actually super happy and was going about my day much the same as I would any other time. Sure, if I had to leave the compound, which was primarily to go to my office space at the new office in St. Augustine, I would have more than one or two guards with me. Most of the time, one of them was my ever-watchful and ultra-protective man.

The beauty was he didn’t try to prevent me from doing my work. If he had a concern, he’d voice it, and we’d discuss it. If the risk were worth it, I’d leave the safety of home. If it weren’t, I’d stay and do whatever I could from home. I thought we were doing an excellent job of compromising.

Another thing contributing to my happiness was that he was living with me full-time. It was wonderful to have someone to come home to at the end of the day, to share even small things like making dinner or watching a movie with, to talk about work and mundane things. Then, add the ability to go to bed each night with the one you love, and it was incredible.

The day after we got back from California, he went to his place, packed up the majority of his clothes, and brought them to the house. Over the next two days, he packed up other things he would want to bring later and was sorting through what to leave or get rid of. This was when he wasn’t busy working on something he had going with the Hounds.

I wasn’t sure what the job was, but it must have been important because I knew my brothers and cousins were spending a lot of time in the Command Center with him, Darragh, and some of the other Hounds. It wasn’t often that the whole family was involved, but it did happen on rare occasions. I asked him what it was about, but all he would say was they were still determining if it was valid, and once he had all the information, he’d share. Since the other women had been given the same answer basically, I didn’t push, but I was curious, to say the least.

Today, while he was busy with his work, I had to go into the main office. Or I should say, I wanted to go. With several of my cousins and a couple of my brothers going and all their security, I knew I’d be safe. Alistair agreed and sent me off with a kiss. I was happy he was staying behind because I wanted to plan something as a surprise for him, and it was hard to do when he could pop into the house at any moment.

The ride to work was entertaining when I rode with so many of my family and their guards. We were all laughing when we got out of the cars at the office. I grimaced when I saw paparazzi standing out on the main road with their telescopic lenses, taking our pictures. They needed to get a life. No one could possibly be interested in seeing us go in and out of work. If they did, they needed a life or medication.

I didn’t waste time getting to work, although I said hello to the staff first. It had been a while since I’d seen some of them. Most had made the move to the new office, and those who didn’t, remained behind to work in the satellite one we left in Jacksonville. We didn’t make the move to lose anyone and were happy we didn’t. Settling down at my desk, I got busy.

I’d been at it for maybe a few hours when my desk phone rang. We had direct extensions people could call, or they called the main number, and a receptionist directed them to the appropriate person. Since I didn’t get a heads-up call first, I guessed this was someone directly calling in. I was trying to think who it could be as I answered it. I was here so rarely it would be pure luck to get me. Those I dealt with regularly knew to call Carrie or had my direct cell phone number.

“Hello, Aisling speaking. How may I help you?” I asked pleasantly.

At first, I heard nothing, then a rasping sound. I was about to hang up, thinking it was an obscene phone caller, when a deep, somewhat mechanical-sounding voice finally spoke.

“Leaving California won’t protect you, Aisling. You can run, but you can’t hide. You’ll pay. Tell your family retribution is at hand. I’ll see you burn.”

I gasped but had enough sense to say something. “Who is this? What have I or my family done to warrant retribution? You’re the one who’ll pay if you come near me or my family.”

“That wreck should’ve taken you out. My men missed you. You should’ve stopped then, but you didn’t.”

“Stopped what?”

“You know! Don’t act innocent. I won’t let you ruin it!” the voice yelled. It sounded like a man’s voice.

“Ruin what? You’re not making any sense.”

“It’s a matter of family pride,” he said before hanging up.

I sat there in shock for a minute or two before I took action. I picked up the phone again and called Darragh. He was here today, and we needed everyone else who was here together.

“Hey, Ais, you’re bored already?” he asked pleasantly.

“Darragh, I need the family who’s here in the office to meet ASAP.”

“Why? What happened?” he barked, all humor gone.

“I had a very disturbing call. It was a man who made threats. I need to tell you guys, and then we can let the rest of the family know after we talk.”

“Give me twenty minutes, and then meet me in the main conference room. I’ll get the others rounded up.”

I didn’t bother to answer him, and it wouldn’t have done me any good anyway because he’d already hung up. I sat there going over and over what the man said and how he sounded. I tried to recall if his voice was familiar. It was hard to tell with whatever he was doing to disguise it with the mechanical sound. After about fifteen minutes, I gave up.

Standing up on shaky legs, I went for the door. Since I was inside and in a building full of security personnel and measures, Creed hadn’t been stationed at my door. A part of me wished he was. He gave me a sense of security, which I guess I took for granted, even though I was able to protect myself. I knew I should’ve called Alistair, but first, I wanted to let the others here know. The call made me fear I wasn’t the only target. As soon as I warned them, I’d let him and those at home know. It would mean Stair either rushing here or me being sent home under heavy guard.

I was the first one in the conference room. It wasn’t long before others began to stream in. They were all giving me concerned looks and asking what was up. Luckily, one of the first ones was Darragh, and he told them to wait until everyone was there. Glancing around the room, I counted and saw that all of us who came to the office today were here, but Darragh wasn’t starting the meeting. I was about to ask why when Alistair marched through the door. Daid , Patrick, and Sean were on his heels. Alistair’s eyes bored into mine. Oh shit, he wasn’t happy. I had to fight not to sink under the table and hide. I guess I should’ve known Darragh would call him.

He came around the table and sat in the chair next to me. The others found open seats wherever they could. I bit my lip as I looked at him. He was staring at Dar in front of the room.

“I’m sorry, mil . I was going to call you as soon as I told everyone here. They might be at risk being in the building with me,” I whispered.

“We’ll talk about this later,” was all he said, and he didn’t bother to look at me when he said it.

My heart sank. Had I truly messed up that much? It wasn’t a matter of me trying to hide anything from him. I weighed the primary needs and threats. Sure. I had time to call him, but I had no idea what he was involved in with his work, and it wasn’t as if I was in immediate danger. I was in a secure building. What if he was doing something dangerous, and my calling him distracted him to the point he got hurt?

I was about to say more to him, but Darragh called us all to attention. The room was full of not only family members but our security guards and the enforcers. Wow, I must’ve really scared him. I didn’t think I sounded that upset. What if it was all just an overreaction on all our parts?

“Aisling got a phone call not long ago. That’s why I asked all of you here. Ais, I called Alistair then I asked Cody to pull up your call. We record all incoming and outgoing calls just in case. Cody, play it so we know what we’re dealing with. It worried Ais enough to want us all to talk about it,” Dar ordered.

It was surreal to sit there and hear myself talking, and it was upsetting to hear my caller’s voice say all those things again. When the recording ended, it was quiet for all of three seconds max, and then they all erupted, talking loudly over each other—a typical conversation in the O’Sheeran family. I wasn’t able to focus on what they were saying or asking because all of my attention was on Alistair. His face was taut, and I saw fire in his eyes. He had turned to face me, and one of my hands was now practically crushed by one of his.

“Why the fuck didn’t you call me the second you got off the phone with this nut? Why did I have to hear about it from Dar? You got almost the whole family together but didn’t think once of me. Am I your goddamn man or not?” he snapped. His hand tightened on mine.

I jerked it hard. He glanced down, and I think he didn’t even realize he had a hold of me until I did. He let go. When he looked up at my face again, I fought not to cry. When I got angry, I did one of two things. I screamed, or I cried. I was in the middle of deciding which one I wanted to do. Deep down, I was freaked out, and all I wanted was for him to hold me, but he was yelling at me and asking stupid questions. Of course, he was my man.

There was no way I wanted to cry in front of my family or the guards. Fuck it. I stood up and skirted his outreached hand, and I went straight up to Dar. He gave me a concerned look. “Thanks for throwing my ass under the bus. You can deal with his butt hurt. Let me know if I should be worried about dying or not,” I hissed.

He reared back, stunned. I took the distraction of everyone talking and debating, and I shot for the door. Voices were calling me to come back and asking what was wrong, but I ignored them. I heard Alistair shout my name. I kept going. As soon as I got in the hallway, I tried to think of where to go. I needed to calm down before I could rationally talk to him or anyone. My office wasn’t an option. It would be the first place they’d go. Whipping a U-turn, I went for the stairwell just steps away. I’d go downstairs to our private garage. It was secure, and no one would be there. I needed air. Being in there with all of them had gotten claustrophobic.

The stairwell door barely shut before I heard Alistair calling my name. I listened, and his calling my name moved further away. He was headed for my office. Slipping off my heels, I started down the steps. No way was I doing four flights in those. My luck, I’d stumble and fall down all four flights and break my neck. As I kept going, I took deep breaths to calm myself. I knew I’d have to face them and explain myself, but not yet. My heart was racing, and I was having a hard time catching my breath. Was this what a panic attack felt like? I’d never had one before.

Opening the door on the last level, I sucked in the fresh air. This was where we parked our private vehicles. We couldn’t leave them on the other floors in the garage. I saw the two limos we came in this morning parked to the left. At the entrance, you had to enter a security code to get in, and there was always someone on duty. Sometimes, if our guards weren’t needed inside, they’d hang out down here or with the attendant on duty.

Right now, they were all upstairs except the attendant. I wasn’t sure who that was. I hadn’t paid attention when we came in this morning. I kept my heels off as I paced. My breathing was becoming more normal, but I was still jumpy. The tears I was afraid to shed had dried up. I knew I wouldn’t be able to stay here for long, but I needed to calm down and get a hold of myself. Alistair had upset me, but then I knew I had alarmed him by not telling him. It was never my intention to make him angry or to feel he wasn’t important.

Not wanting to talk to anyone, I stayed back by the cars. It took me time to calm down enough to know I had to go back in and apologize for running out. No doubt they were all angry with me by now for leaving. I knew I wouldn’t be able to go back up the stairs because the door was locked behind me, so I walked over to the elevator and entered my handprint to open it. As the door slid open, I jumped and cried out as I was almost bowled over by men rushing out of the elevator. They were scowling, but those scowls turned to relief, then to worry in a flash. One of them was Creed. He grabbed my arm and began to hustle me not in the elevator but toward one of the limos.

“What’s gotten into you?” I asked as I tried to get loose.

“We’ve been going crazy trying to find you. We thought someone grabbed you. Stay next to me and do as I say. Call up and let them know we have her. They can try to rein in Alistair,” he told Micah, Fallon’s personal guard. The other one with him was Nolan, Declan’s bodyguard.

“Just take me upstairs. I’ll talk to Alistair myself.”

“We’re evacuating. We’re the foreguards sent to make sure the cars are safe. The others are coming,” he explained in a rush as he practically dragged me to the limo. Thank goodness I still had my heels off.

They took out the scanners they used to check for bombs. Why would they need those when the cars had been here in the secure garage? As they worked, I was tucked behind a large cement column and told to stay. I didn’t argue. They were scaring me. I’d never seen them like this. What I wouldn’t give to have my purse with my gun. I didn’t even have my phone. I left it in my office when I went to the conference room. I had been more rattled than I thought.

I split my time between watching them and the elevator door. I jumped when the door opened unexpectedly, and out came a large group. I recognized several of my family members, along with a couple of guards. In the front, rocketing ahead of them all was Alistair. He had a spooked expression on his face. I stepped out from behind the column. He zeroed in on me right away, then ran over to me.

Before I was able to apologize for running out, he had me lifted off the ground in his arms, and his mouth was on mine. He kissed me desperately. I moaned in response and gripped the back of his neck. I had no idea how long we kissed before we stopped and became aware of our audience.

“Don’t ever run off like that again, mo ghràdh . You scared the hell out of us, out of me. I’m gonna tan that ass of yours,” he growled in my ear.

Was it bad of me to look forward to a spanking? Probably in this situation, but I grew wet at the thought. Not the time or place, Ais, focus, I chided myself.

“I’m sorry. I was on my way back up when Creed, Nolan, and Micah came out and said everyone was evacuating. They wouldn’t say why.”

“Let’s get everyone in the cars, and then we’ll tell you. The employees have all been sent home.” He gently herded me toward the limos. The others were all watching us.

“They have? Boy, that was fast.”

“How long do you think you’ve been down here?” Aidan asked as he came up to us. He didn’t appear happy.

“I don’t know, fifteen minutes or so.”

“It’s been forty-five minutes. Ais!”

“What!?”

“In the car. Talk later,” Darragh barked.

We divided up between the two, and then those guards not riding with us got in the other vehicles. It wasn’t unexpected to find Alistair getting in beside me. Into our car climbed Aidan, Daid , Darragh, Cathal, Sean, and Patrick.

“I’m so sorry. I know I shouldn’t have run off like I did. I got upset, and I let it get to me. I needed time alone. I couldn’t breathe, and the garage seemed like a place where I’d be safe and still get air. I lost track of time and had no clue I was gone as long as I was. Can someone tell me why we evacuated? Surely the call didn’t warrant this extreme of a response.”

“We’ll talk about you leaving later. Right now, we have other things to discuss. We didn’t leave because of the call. It was what happened right after you got up and left. A package was delivered to the lobby. It was addressed to you. With the security measures in place, no one brought it up to your office. Thank Dia . They called security, and they called me,” Darragh explained.

“What was in the package?” I asked fearfully. The way they acted and checked over the cars made me wonder if it was a bomb. But if it was, why would the cops let everyone leave? It didn’t make sense.

“The security guys scanned it through the x-ray machine, and it didn’t show anything resembling a bomb, so we opened it. Inside were pictures and a note. They were pictures of you with your face X’d out and their edges burned. The note said you would be the first to pay and for the rest of us to say goodbye to you,” Alistair said hoarsely. I gasped. He hugged me tightly to him.

“Who the hell is this freak? What in the world did we do to make him target us, me? Please tell me the cops are dusting it for prints and DNA. The cameras should’ve gotten a look at him. Whoever he is, we need to find him and put a stop to his bullshit,” I snapped. Instead of feeling scared, I was angry.

“Martin is on the way with his CSI team. Cian stayed with a couple of others to meet him. They’ll make sure Cian gets home safely, and if there’s anything to identify the sender, they’ll find it. We’re giving them a copy of the call you got. We felt it was safer to just have everyone go home for the rest of the day. Our worry is having you out in the open. We were searching the whole damn building for you. Why none of us thought to look in the garage, I don’t know. You left your phone in your office!” Aidan snapped at me.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t even notice I didn’t have it with me until I was about to come back up. I’m not stupid enough to go outside where I was exposed. The garage is secure and has solid cinder blocks except for a few small windows, which have bulletproof glass if you recall.”

“So! What if someone had gotten inside the building somehow and snatched you? Or got past the guard at the entrance to the garage and grabbed you?” Cathal argued.

They were getting themselves riled up, and there was no need. My daid wasn’t saying a word. He had his hands resting on his knees, and he was watching me. He was across from me. I reached over and placed my hand on top of his.

“I’m sorry, Daid . I never meant to worry any of you. I was upset, and I didn’t want to let everyone see me cry. It’s not an excuse. It’s my explanation for better or worse. I’m glad no one was hurt, and you sent them home. What are we gonna do next? We can’t have everyone work from home indefinitely. There are meetings and other stuff we all have.”

“We’ll talk about it when we get home. We’ll figure something out,” Patrick answered for them.

“Okay. I wish I knew who was doing this. I thought about it when I was cooling off, and I swear I have no clue who it could be.”

“What about Chris?” Cathal asked.

“I might think it is if the caller hadn’t said his men should’ve gotten me when the wreck happened. Chris could’ve been killed if it was his men. Too risky. And Chris’s anger is against me, not the whole family. The caller mentioned my family’s retribution is at hand, and he won’t let me ruin something that, to him, is a matter of family pride. It can’t be Chris.”

“I have to agree. It’s got nothing to do with Chris. That would make it too easy,” Darragh said quietly.

The rest of the ride passed in uneasy silence as we all were lost in our own thoughts. Stair didn’t let go of me. I knew when I got home, and the whole clan was together I was in for an ass-chewing, and I deserved it. However, I was more worried about finding out who was responsible for this and eliminating the threat. The last thing I wanted was for them to hurt one of my family members or someone innocently caught in the crossfire.

???

We were all gathered at the parents’ house in the massive family room. When we made it home, everyone there was anxious and asking questions left and right. Mam and the others couldn’t stop hugging us in between chewing me out. We held off on having a family meeting until Cian made it home to join us. When he arrived, he said Martin had taken the box back to the station, and he’d let us know if the techs found anything.

Alexis was keeping Khloe busy and watching baby Ronan for us. I still felt awful for worrying so many of them at the office. Alistair had been abnormally quiet. I apologized to him several times and begged him to talk to me. He kept telling me he was fine, but he wasn’t. Had my childish behavior made him rethink if I was the one for him? The thought he changed his mind made me sick to my stomach. Surely he wouldn’t walk away after one incident, would he?

I was sitting on the floor with my back against the side of the couch, and my arms curled around my legs. I was miserable, and all I wanted to do was go to bed and cry. Stair was standing across the room, talking in hushed tones to Darragh and Daid . I caught them casting frowns my way a few times. Finally, I had enough. I scrambled to my feet.

“Alright, just spit it out. I know you’re all pissed at me. I get it. Alistair, you won’t even talk to me, and the huddle you three are in tells me there’s more to come. Do it. Tell me you’re done with me. Just say something!” I shouted.

I saw shocked expressions all around me, but I only cared about one person at the moment. His eyes widened, and then he was striding across the room to me. I braced myself for his recriminations and rejection. He stopped less than a foot away. His hands came up to cup my face.

“Why would I be done with you?” he asked softly.

“Because you don’t want someone like me to be part of your life. I’m too rash, too hot-headed, and too immature. You realize you made a mistake, and you, my daid , and Darragh are trying to figure out how to tell me. Just do it.”

“ Chíost , she’s lost her mind,” I heard Rory mutter. The others shushed him.

“Don’t shush me. She has if she thinks he’ll ever not want her,” he defended himself.

“For once in his life, Rory is right, leanabh . I’ll never not want you. Yes, I was upset with you earlier. You scared the hell outta me. The reason I’m talking to your dad and Dar isn’t me trying to find a way to tell you I made a mistake. I love you, and I always will. The best day of my life was the one when you finally admitted you love me. I’m trying to decide how to tell you what I think needs to be done next.”

Relief flooded me, and my knees weakened. He swept me into his arms and held me to his chest. I snuggled into him and inhaled his comforting scent. “Thank you, Dia . I love you too,” I whispered to him. He chuckled as he squeezed me.

“Crazy ass woman,” he muttered in my ear.

“Alright, why don’t you just tell all of us what idea you came up with?” Declan asked my man.

Alistair eased back and went to the corner of one of the couches. He sat down, bringing me down to sit on his lap.

“Until we find whoever is making these threats, I want to take Ais somewhere he and his men can’t find her. It appears since he’s only targeted her and all contact has been made with her, he either blames her more than the rest, or he’s obsessed with her for a reason. That being said, we think she’s at the greatest risk. I want her out of sight and safe,” Alistair said.

“Okay, so why all the side talking? Take her on vacation. We’ll make sure the others are protected,” Shane exclaimed.

“It’s not fair for me to run and leave everyone else behind,” I protested.

“See what I mean,” Alistair said to Dar and Daid .

“ Cailín leanbh , baby girl, we can secure the other women and kids. You’re the one the most at risk. It’s not running. It’s being smart. I want you to go with Alistair and let him protect you while we figure out who’s behind this and why. Once the threat is neutralized, he’ll bring you home. You two can get on with your lives and give me and your mam those gariníonacha, grandbabies we want,” he said with a smile. I had to smile back.

The whole family was watching me, nodding their heads. As much as I hated to leave, the thought of them being in more danger if I stayed decided it for me. I half-turned so I could see Alistair’s face. He was watching me closely.

“Alright, where do you want to take me? I’ll go.”

“You will?”

“I will.”

“No matter where I want us to go?”

I hesitated for a moment, wondering if I was walking into a trap, but then I agreed, “No matter where you want to go.”

He glanced at Darragh. “We’ll get our things together, and I’ll take her out of one of the tunnels as soon as it’s dark. If he or any of his men are watching, they won’t see us. You know how to get a hold of me.”

“Wait, where are we going?” I asked.

“It’s better if we keep it on a need-to-know basis. I’ll tell you when we get to our house.”

“Is all this secrecy necessary?”

“Maybe not, but I’d rather do it than not. Trust me?”

“I trust you.”

His smile made me happy. We spent the next hour with the family, purposefully not talking about what was going on. I knew as soon as we left, they’d be all over it. When he said it was time to go to the house, everyone hugged and kissed us. As he led me outside, I wondered how long we’d be gone and where I was headed.