Chapter 32

Shea~

W hen we'd finally gotten back into town, Noah had been kind enough to inform me that they'd been able to retrieve my car. So, even though I wasn't able to drive anywhere on my own, I had my car back, and that gave me a false sense of security, which was probably what Noah had intended all along.

At any rate, after Noah had spent all day Friday doing his best to convince me that he loved me, we'd come back to the city this morning, and as soon as we'd walked into his penthouse, I'd taken a shower, allowed Noah to check my injuries without complaint, then had gone straight to bed. Once upon a time, I'd been one of those women that had fantasized about a man being able to go all night long, but now that I had one of those, the reality was quite different from the fantasy. In short, I was fucking exhausted, and it had nothing to do with being shot, running away, or trying to recover from my wounds. Noah Murphy had the stamina of a racehorse, and my body was paying the price for it.

When I'd woken up, it'd been to answering more texts from my co-workers and an actual conversation with my boss. Though I had an unofficial medical pass because of who my husband was, it wasn't anything that I wanted to take advantage of. So, while I wasn't scheduled to work until tomorrow, I'd be on light duty because of my arm, and so it was being strongly suggested that I take a few more days off, which was their way of telling me that no one was looking to piss off Noah Murphy.

So, being married to Noah was what actually had me down in the garage, checking out my car. If Noah was telling the truth, then it made no sense that he'd parade me in a black town car, instead of letting me drive myself or have one of his mercenaries drive me in my own vehicle. The town cars were magnets for unwanted attention while my car matched any of the average cars that you saw on the street. No one would ever look for me in my car because no one would ever suspect Noah Murphy of letting me drive around in the damn thing. Granted, that reasoning only mattered if it wasn't one of his guys trying to kill me, but still.

Nonetheless, I was looking my car over, and though it looked used, it didn't look like it belonged in a junkyard, either. It had some scratches, and the white paint was dull, but there weren't any huge dents in it, and no pieces were broken off inside. If I had the inside detailed and the paint restored, then it'd be almost as good as new. Now, while I was sure that Noah Murphy wasn't the kind of man that cared what other people thought, I could see him irritated by his wife driving a car that was already seven years used, but if it ran, then I didn't see the problem.

As I began to check the tires, a buzz sliced the silence in the garage, and when I whirled around, it was to see Keagan on the ground, blood oozing from a hole in his chest. Keagan was one of the guards that Noah had assigned to me while in the building, and when I'd told him that I'd wanted to check on my car, he had dutifully followed me to the garage.

I raced over, and his eyes were wide as I placed a hand over his chest to help stop the bleeding. "It's okay," I lied. "I've got you."

"Mrs…Mrs…" His chest vibrated as he struggled to speak, and tears stung my eyes.

"I really thought that this was going to be a lot harder than the first time."

As soon as I recognized the voice as one of the men that had tried to kill me the first time, I didn't hesitate. I reached inside Keagan's jacket, grabbed the gun that was in there, then turned my head, raised my arm, then fired. The shot rang out like a cannon in the garage, but that didn't stop me from aiming at the second guy, then firing for a second time. I couldn't care about the ringing in my ears, and because I wasn't a fucking idiot, I jumped to my feet as quickly as I could before emptying the entire clip in both my attackers.

It all happened within a matter of seconds, but even when the clip was empty, I didn't stop shooting at them. I knew that it was hysteria threatening to set in, but I didn't care. I didn't care about anything but making sure that these two men were dead.

I jumped when I felt a hand on my arm, and when I turned, I saw that one of the other guards, Odhran Kelly, was gently trying to take the gun out of my hand, his green eyes regarding me carefully, almost like he was afraid that I was going to lose it, which wasn't far off.

"They're dead, Mrs. Murphy," he said, his voice calm and soothing. "Give me the gun."

"We need an ambulance!" another guard shouted, snapping me out of my nearing hysteria.

Ignoring the fact that I had just killed two men, I raced back to where Keagan was struggling on the ground. I quickly began to move his jacket, and that's when the other guard, Donal Moore, started to help me undress the man.

"Someone go get Lochlan," I ordered as I began to survey the extent of his bullet wound. "If he's home, it'll be a lot faster than an ambulance."

However, before anyone could go get him, Lochlan was dropping next to me on the ground. "The alarm was sounded."

"He's been shot," I remarked unnecessarily.

"Donal grab four other guys, then do a complete sweep five blocks out," he instructed. "Odhran, check the bodies." Lochlan started looking around the garage. "Where's Niall?"

"He's with Noah," Odhran answered.

Lochlan's turquoise gaze slid back my way. "Are you okay?"

I nodded. "I'm fine."

"I'm serious, Shea," he said. "If there's even one new scratch on your head, my brother will burn this entire city to the ground."

I swallowed, not sure why that made me feel nervous. "I'm fine," I promised. "I…I shot them before they could kill me." He didn't look like he believed me, but even if I'd been injured again, Keagan was the priority right now. "Keagan needs our help."

Lochlan gave me a terse nod before saying, "There's a one-room clinic behind the elevators. I'm going to go grab a gurney, then you're going to help me fix this, okay?"

I nodded. "Yeah…of course."

"Keep pressure on the wound, and I'll be right back."

As soon as Lochlan took off, I looked back down at Keagan. "You're going to be okay," I semi-lied, not sure if he really would be or not. "While I know that it's hard, just don't panic on me. If you get excited, your blood will pump faster, and we can't have that." I brushed his hair back from his forehead. "Lochlan is going to take good care of you, Keagan."

The tears were back, but I didn't bother brushing them away. I knew nothing about Keagan, but I wouldn't insult him by trying to hide the fact that his injury mattered.

When Lochlan finally returned, another guard was coming out of the elevators, then walked with him towards me and Keagan. I quickly moved out of the way, so that Lochlan and the new guard could get Keagan on the gurney, and as they were getting him situated, Odhran walked back over to us.

"I've got a Sergey Alexeev and Andros Makarov," Odhran said.

"Call Noah," Lochlan ordered. "Tell him what's happened but be sure to tell him that his wife is fine and uninjured. Well, no more than she already has been." Lochlan shook his head as he and the other guard lifted the gurney with Keagan's weight on it now. "Whatever…just make sure that he knows that she's alright."

"Okay," Odhran replied.

"Also, let him know that she'll be in the clinic assisting me," Lochlan added. "I don't want him going upstairs to find her missing."

"God help us all then," the other guard muttered under his breath.

"What about the bodies?" I asked, my hands starting to shake with adrenaline.

"I'll take care of that, lass," Odhran promised. "We all know what we're doing here."

"Come on, Shea," Lochlan ordered. "We've wasted enough time."

Without another word said, I followed Lochlan and the other guard to a metal door that was hidden behind the elevators, and when Lochlan opened the door, we walked into a fully-functioning one-room clinic, complete with an operating table. It was so incredibly stocked that you'd never guess that we were in an underground garage. Even though Lochlan had a legitimate practice, it was clear that the family business was his priority.

After Lochlan and the guard got Keagan on the operating table, the guard turned towards me, smiling. "I'm Connor, Mrs. Murphy. Nice to officially meet you."

Only an Irish Mobster would think that it was nice to meet under these conditions. "Shea Burke," I said, finishing the introductions. "It's good to meet you, though it'd been nicer without the gunfire."

"Shea, grab that tray in the corner," Lochlan ordered.

"Of course," I quickly rushed out, getting myself into work-mode.

When Connor stepped out of the way to let me and Lochlan work, Lochlan said, "If you ever introduce yourself as Shea Burke again, I guarantee that my brother will have something to say about it."

"Yeah?" I retorted. "Well, I'll get right on that as soon as your brother stops trying to kill me."

"Uh…I think I'll just wait outside, Conner muttered, and it really was hard to blame the man.