Chapter 2

Sullivan drove me back to his house, showing me to his room.

I can't stay here; I have done enough to come between them. Darragh doesn't like me, and even if he has no real reason to feel that way, it's not the point. I won't be that woman. Right now, Darragh needs them. Finding out he has twin daughters, and he has missed out on their entire lives so far, would be so hard. I can't stay here, no matter how badly the others want me to.

Tears stream down my face, but I can't change my mind no matter how much my heart hurts walking away from Sullivan or knowing Cian is in the hospital because of my actions.

I sigh as I realize the only solution left is to call the one person I promised myself I would never call—my stepbrother, Ransom. He hates me and it is one-hundred-percent mutual.

My biological father is a waste of space, and he shacked up with Ransom's rich-as-fuck mother. There was one summer I lived with them, hoping maybe my father finally wanted me around. News flash—he didn't. It was all some ploy, as he wanted me to marry Ransom, ensuring my father's place in the family.

I was barely sixteen and fell in love with Ransom that summer. I gave him my virginity. Then my heart broke when I overheard my father tell Ransom he was proud of him for getting me into bed.

I left that day.

I hesitate for a moment, then click on his name and the phone rings. Right when I think it's going to ring out, he answers the call.

"What!" he barks.

"It's me," I whisper.

"Harper?" he asks. His voice cracks like he can hardly believe I would call him.

"I need your help," is all I say, and he chuckles.

He said I would come crawling back to him, but it was a long time ago.

Despite our familial ties, I have no loyalty to him. The second Ronan mentioned some artwork went missing, I knew Ransom was involved. Last I heard, he had disowned his mother and started running with a crew who steal lots of valuable shit. While I would have loved nothing more than for him to be involved in the heist Ronan mentioned, I know stealing guns from the Irish isn't his style. His crew are modern-day Robin Hoods from what the media report.

"You know where to find me."

I chuckle. I have kept in contact with one person from that time in my life—his friend Payne, his best friend growing up. He tried to warn me Ransom's pretty words were laced with poison and to watch myself, but at the time I didn't believe him. I thought he was just jealous, as Ransom convinced me his friend was crushing on me. It's laughable looking back, but the na?ve teenager... she believed every word out of his pretty mouth.

He ends the call.

I know where they are, right where no one would even think to look for them. Home base is in Huntersville, the polar opposite of where he was raised.

Grabbing one of Sullivan's black hoodies, I pull it over my frame. He would easily be six foot six and stacked, so the hoodie falls well below my ass, and I'm not short at five foot nine. His smell envelops me, and a pang of guilt hits at the thought of leaving without saying a word.

I sneak out through the back of the house, then around the building toward the driveway and the street. There is security scattered throughout the grounds, but tonight they are not guarding the doors. I hurry, knowing the Uber will not be able to get through the main gates to the street, let alone the house. Maybe they will alert the guys I'm leaving if I walk right up to the security fence, but the guard buzzes me out without a word.

The security let me out right as headlights come into view and the Uber pulls up beside me. I jump into the car, remaining silent as tears fall down my face. Once I have begged Ransom for help, I will send Dolly a message. It will let her know I'm okay and I'll call her soon. It would also be wise to message Sarge to make sure he keeps her safe. I don't want Ronan or Cian to cause issues for her while trying to find me. Dolly should never be in danger because of me. I need to make it clear even she does not know where I am.

It takes almost forty minutes to reach the old run-down warehouse. When the Uber drives away, I take a deep breath. I know he's in there. He found me once and had his dickhead friend drag me here so we could talk. Ransom spouted some shit about being a changed man and wanted me to join their crew, so I no longer needed to "whore myself out." I couldn't help but laugh in his face and tell him I would never need a thing from him. He said he would be here when I changed my mind.

Bringing my fist down sharply against the door, I bang a little harder than necessary. I hope to scare the life out of him—maybe he'll think the cops are here. Then I see the security camera move above me, so I flip him the bird.

The door flies open, and Payne throws himself at me. "Harpy, you've come to your senses and are moving in with us!"

The sound of smashing glass has the hair on the back of my neck standing on end, but Payne just laughs and drags me inside.

"Don't worry, it's our new houseguest. They aren't thrilled with Ace right now."

I shake my head, not wanting to know more. I'm not getting involved in their drama. The space is simple; there is a lounge in the corner and a large television on a table. The room where the crash originated is on the right, and upstairs seems to have a few bedrooms coming off a catwalk. Once upon a time, they were likely office spaces.

"Ransom, my future wife is here to see you!" Payne's words echo out into the space.

I chuckle. "In your dreams."

Ransom comes down a set of metal stairs, and all the air is squeezed from my lungs. Even after seven years, he still has an effect on me. His blond hair and piercing blue eyes are the only parts of him left that scream wealth, as his preppy clothes are gone. They have been replaced with ripped jeans, a tight shirt that hugs all his muscles, and tattoos down both arms. I don't miss the angel wings on his neck and shake my head.

"Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in." The deep voice comes from behind me.

"Acer Kenzie. Unfortunately, I can't say it's good to see you," I reply, and he laughs, pulling me into his arms. Acer used to work for Ransom's mother doing yard work. He also started the Ace Crew, but he now no longer has an association with them.

"I bet she is just sick of working on the corner and needs some money," Ransom snaps.

"No, actually," I say, turning back to face Ransom. "But I do need help."

"Fucking prick!" a woman screams as Crash comes running out of the room to the right of the living area.

"She fucking bit me," he says, excitedly holding his jaw. "Someone get the tattoo gun. I need to ink this shit."

"On it," Payne says, giving me a wink, and Acer just shakes his head.

"If you need anything, let me know. Especially if the dickhead gives you any trouble," Acer tells me, before Ransom grabs my arm and drags me upstairs. I let him because whatever is going on downstairs is none of my business.

"That isn't what it looks like," he says, closing his bedroom door behind us. "She knows who we are, and now we have to deal with it."

"You mean you have to kill her," I say, and he raises a brow.

"You know who we are, and you're still alive."

I don't tell him I almost ratted him out to the Irish, nor that I put them on their radar... I might have been feeling a little spiteful that day.

I sit on the edge of his bed while he scowls and leans against the far wall, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Bullshit aside, Harper, why are you here? I'm not the same young, spoiled rich kid anymore. What happened between us is history."

I pull in a big lungful of air, mainly to prolong having to share what has brought me here before I answer. "Ransom, I did the one thing I swore I would never do. I fell for my clients, and now I need to run. I need a new identity."

He scratches the side of his face. "Who are you running from, Angel?"

I hate it when he calls me Angel, as there is so much history behind it. I used to swoon and get giddy on the inside, and I'm transported back to the heartbroken sixteen-year-old girl who, for one summer, thought she could get her fairytale ending.

"The O'Briens."

His eyes widen, and his pupils dilate. "What have you done?"

"Besides making an enemy of Darragh and letting the others fall for me? Nothing much. I also may or may not be responsible for Cian being in the hospital—it's currently under debate," I rush out, lacing it with sarcasm and causing him to shake his head.

"When they find you, are they going to kill you?"

I laugh maniacally. "Why does that matter?"

"Because I want to know how fucked I am for helping you if they find out. We have kept out of that family's way for a reason. I don't want this to cause a run-in with them."

"Well, they forced me to move in with them because, and I quote, ‘The Italians couldn't keep me safe, and I can't keep myself safe.'"

Ransom pushes off the wall. "Yeah, I heard your friend got knocked up by Enzo. I thought you would be smarter than to get tangled up in that world."

He stops in front of me, leaning down and crowding my space. I fall back onto his bed, and he traps me with a hand on either side of my body. "Why couldn't the Italians keep you safe, Angel? I highly doubt the Irish make a habit of bringing home strays and protecting them."

Tears well in my eyes.

"TELL ME!" he yells, and wraps a hand around my neck, stealing the air from my lungs as he applies pressure.

"I was raped and kidnapped," I gasp out.

That is the first time I have spoken the "R" word out loud. A crash freezes Ransom for a second before he slides his phone out of his pocket and swears under his breath.

"I don't know how you think I can help you, Angel. Those men have connections. It would be easier to dig my own grave."

The door to Ransom's room flies open.

"Didn't take you long, did it?" a voice sneers.

Ransom jumps back from the bed and holds his hands in the air. "It's not what it looks like. She's my sister."

Darragh laughs. "This keeps getting better and better, whore. First you move in on my cousins, and now you also fuck your brother."

"Hey, Darragh!" a female voice shouts. "Can I kill the pretty one, or at least carve up his face?"

"No!" Darragh shouts back. "We came for the whore. But if they interfere again, you can kill them."

Darragh stalks across the room and grabs a fistful of my hair, using it to drag me to my feet. "I promised Cian I would chase your ass until he can walk again and do it himself. And just so you know, I won't be as nice as he would about it."

He doesn't let go of my hair, so I move my hands up to brace the roots, hoping this way he doesn't pull all my hair out. Darragh moves us out of the room, practically dragging me down the stairs at a pace that has my legs struggling to keep up.

A woman who has a similar body shape to me and is dressed head to toe in a leather one-piece suit smirks at me.

"Cian told me you were smoking hot, but I didn't believe him." She then turns to Ransom and the rest of his crew. "If any of you little bitches breathe a word to anyone, I will be back. Your security system sucks, by the way."

"Why are none of you doing anything?" I grit through the pain, looking around at the men in the room.

"Baby girl," Payne says, "you didn't mention you fucked with the Irish. We may not have issues killing people, but we won't touch them. You don't mess with one of the six families—we know our place."

"I like you—you're a smart one. It's a shame, I would have fun gutting you like a fish." She leans her leather-lined body over his, her blade trailing down his stomach. "Please fuck up, so I get the chance."

Payne laughs. "When I'm ready to die, I promise to come find you."

"Nora, let's go," Darragh snaps.

So this is Nora—Lucky's daughter. She straightens and tucks her blade back into a sheath attached to her thigh.

Darragh drags me out of the warehouse with my hair still tightly in his grip and shoves me into the back of his Jeep. Nora jumps into the front. I try the door handle and he laughs—the asshole has activated the child lock. Fuck my life. If he thinks this is the last time I will try to escape, the man has rocks in his head.