Alistair

We’d talked for hours, laying out our plan. As thoroughly as we vetted it from what we thought was from every angle and ran through every possible scenario, I was still anxious. I was terrified something would go wrong we didn’t account for, and she’d get hurt or, worse, killed. If the latter happened, they needed to be sure to end me right then and there and bury us together. I didn’t know if I could even stick around long enough to get revenge, but it would likely fall to her family to do it. Aisling seemed confident in the plan and was going about preparing for it as if this was an everyday occurrence for her. She was spending time with her mam and the other women at the moment. I was down in the Command Center, rechecking the location and escape routes again.

The sound of footsteps caught my attention. There were more than one pair. Glancing up, I saw a large group of O’Sheerans and some of the guards and enforcers coming toward me. I straightened from where I was hunched over the screens.

“Did something happen?” I asked.

“It did. It’s a damn good thing we made our plans when we did. Cody found him. Danvers Kelly is on the move, and he’s coming our way. We don’t know the exact numbers, but he did get help. By Cody’s calculations, they’ll be here the day after tomorrow at the latest. We’ve got to get our spot ready and make it well known where she can be found. We hate that you have to announce your engagement this way,” Darragh stated.

We’d decided on a way to bring Danvers out and to where we wanted to confront him. We’d have to be someplace private, so we had minimal chance of collateral damage. But there had to be a reason for the public to know where we were. The family came up with the idea to announce we were going away to celebrate our engagement. It would get a lot of attention in the media. It always did when an O’Sheeran got engaged.

The place we were going to was a beach house the family kept in southern Florida. They used to go there in the summer for family vacations when they didn’t have much time to go somewhere further away. I’d gone there several times with them when I was a kid.

“We need to head there no later than this afternoon then to give it time to catch the media’s attention,” was all I could say in response.

“We know you’re not thrilled about this, Alistair, but we’ve got a super solid plan. Have faith in us and your men,” Patrick added.

“I’m trying, but it’s still hard. I’ve waited forever to have her be mine, and I don’t want anything to change that.”

“We know, and we won’t let it. As for the media getting a hold of the news, there are a few of the paparazzi we get along with. I wouldn’t call them friends, but they tend to present us in a better light than the others. We’ll give them a scoop, and they’ll keep their mouths shut about where it came from. Believe me, when they report it, it’ll catch like wildfire. Be thankful the beach house is walled-in and protected from outsiders. We can’t prevent them from being outside, but they should be safe. I don’t believe Danvers will pass up the opportunity, not when he’s been so hot and vocal about stopping her online,” Cormac said.

I saw the tension on his face. While all of them were concerned to a degree, he was more so. This was his daughter, his only daughter. She was the apple of his eye, so to speak, even though he loved his sons. Patrick, Sean, and he had been desperate to have a daughter years ago. It had been a crazy coincidence when all of them got one with their fifth child. Once they did, it was the end of any more kids for all of them. They deemed they had a complete family once they got a girl. It was the fact they waited so long, I think, that made them even more protective of the girls.

“I don’t believe he’ll pass up the opportunity either. All right, everyone should be ready to deploy and be in position. The team will be sent ahead, so they arrive before we do and before the media gets wind of where we’re going. We’ll arrive later, and no one will be the wiser that we’re not there alone other than her personal bodyguard with us. We’ll keep it to just Creed being visible. He’s expected any time she goes somewhere. It would seem odd if he weren’t, and if we add too much visible security, Danvers may not strike. I want this over with so we can get on with living our lives.”

“So do we. Alright, let’s go find her and get this mission in motion. By tonight, hopefully, the threat will be neutralized,” Aidan stated.

“At least this one. Has anyone heard anything from Brynes? I don’t see him not running his mouth still over his butt hurt,” I growled.

“No, but then again, he may be involved in other stuff. Cody and his team are still trying to verify everything the Bragans said. Chris will be dealt with one way or the other. If he’s innocent in those women’s disappearances, then we’ll deal with him making waves or saying stuff he shouldn’t about Aisling and you. If he’s responsible, then he’ll be made to disappear, and no one will know where he went. The same for those involved in that reprehensible business,” Darragh said with a scowl.

“So be it. We’ll concentrate on him after we get Danvers out of our lives. I’m ready. Let’s go,” I told them confidently. I had an escort as I made my way out of the tunnels and into the house.