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Chapter 39

Declan~

I should have made her agree to marry me for the shit that she was putting me through right now. Just knowing that she was here had me feeling like fire ants were crawling all over my body, and I was probably going to get shot in the face with how distracted I was. However, looking at Keavy, she looked like she was taking a stroll through the park on a sunny Saturday afternoon.

After Keavy had agreed to trade her life for this fucking insanity, Noah had called me about some hiccup with our latest drug shipment, so I'd had ended up putting Keavy to bed alone, hating every single fucking minute of walking out of the house. Nevertheless, no matter what I felt for her, I had an organization to run, and if you let one person slide, then motherfuckers began to think that they could ice skate, and I didn't get down like that.

That was also another thing that had been playing heavily on my mind since last night. Considering who I was and what I did for a living, it was going to be hard to keep Keavy locked inside a gilded cage. She wasn't the type of woman to appreciate hypocrisy, so how could I come home with bullet wounds, yet still lecture her on being careful?

At any rate, after we'd taken care of the cargo attendant at the airport, Noah and I had stayed behind to discuss the cabin and who we could trust on this. While Tearney and Brody already knew about the cabin, it was the cellar that was causing me concern. No one outside the family could know about it because temptation came in all forms, and though I paid well, the stuff that Keavy had down in that cellar was worth a small fortune.

So, after hours of discussing all the pros and cons, we had decided to pull Tearney and Brody back in, letting them believe that this was revenge for shooting my girl. Only Noah, Lochlan, and I knew what we were protecting, and I'd get around to telling the others soon enough. However, for right now, James and Desmond were with us, making it eight in total, including Keavy.

When I'd gotten home this morning, I'd gotten a few hours of sleep, then had told Keavy the plan when I'd woken up. Luckily, she'd been onboard with all of it, and six hours later, all I could do was pray that we didn't find Klive or any of his men.

"Okay, this map shows us the ranges five miles out, but I have other maps that will break up those ranges," Keavy said as we were all surrounding the kitchen table at her cabin, which wasn't easy. None of us were small men, and armed the way that we were, we took up a lot of space. "Now, if they're going to be anywhere, it'd be these two sections to the east. There's a creek there, which is ideal for long stretches of camping. These two sections over here are dense enough to hide in, but unless they're making regular trips into town, there's nothing there in the way of plant-based edibles. Of course, if any of them know how to hunt, then they don't need to forage off the land."

"They have to have a vehicle of some sort," Noah reasoned. "It's two hours into Port Townsend, and even if they're not making regular trips there, it's still miles to the nearest town or grocer."

"If they have a vehicle, then my guess would be somewhere northwest of the creek," Keavy replied. "Even a heavy-duty truck would have problems with the terrain if there's no makeshift trail to help them along the way."

"How do we get the drop on them without announcing ourselves with every broken branch or dry leaf?" James asked.

"We can't," she answered. "However, there are enough animals in these woodlands to camouflage us coming."

"So, they'll have their guns cocked and ready for us," Desmond drawled out. "Lovely."

"You can always stay behind," Keavy replied, not caring that she was insulting an O'Brien.

"I'm not a little bitch, lass," Desmond responded.

"Then quit complaining like one," she fired back. "This is the deal, gentlemen. If you don't like it or if it makes you feel uncomfortable, you don't have to go." Keavy eyed every single man surrounding the table. "Like I've told Declan before, I have no problem doing this by myself."

Desmond cocked his head a bit. "Relax, lass," he told her. "It's not that big of a deal. Plus, you're out of your mind if you think that I'm going to let my future sister-in-law do some crazy shit like this on her own."

Before Keavy could respond to that, James was saying, "Yeah, what kind of shit is that anyways, Dec? How in the fuck are you going to let her come along?"

"Because you win all the arguments in your house, James?" I asked pointedly, arching a brow.

"He's got you there," Desmond snorted.

"Are you gentlemen done?" Keavy asked, sounding annoyed, and I didn't blame her.

"I'd listen to the woman," Brody chimed in. "I've seen the dead bodies that she's left in her wake."

Ignoring us all, Noah asked, "And you're absolutely sure that they can't be hiding in these other areas?"

"I can't guarantee it, but it's highly unlikely," she answered. "Unless they have an experience camper in their group, they're going to pick an area that's safe enough to hide in, but not too deep that they'll get lost or set themselves up to be bear food." Adjusting her rifle over her good shoulder, she added, "And remember, if you can, use the shotguns. Anyone nearby will think it's hunting gunfire and stay out of the way. If they hear semi-automatic guns going off, that could bring the authorities."

"We'll approach this area from all four sides," I said, giving further instructions. "Tearney and Brody will take the north end, James and Desmond will take the south end, Noah will take the east end, and Keavy and I will come in from the west."

"Since I know this entire area, I think that you and Noah should take the east end, and I can go in on the west side," Keavy said, and I almost choked on my immediate rage.

I grabbed her chin in my fingers, then forced her to look at me. "Dinna push yer luck, lass," I practically snarled. "Yer lucky da yer here ta begin with."

Her green eyes were shooting fire up at me as she said, "That's the other way around, Declan. Now, if you'll quit forgetting who I am, then I'll keep in mind who you are. Until then, you might as well get used to these kinds of fights, because they're going to happen often." She jerked her chin out of my hold to prove her point, and it was hard to focus when she was this fiery.

"I know exactly who da feck ye ere," I shot back. "Yer mine. Yer mine, ana I will always pretect what is mine, lass."

"Okay, we'na have time fer this," Noah drawled out. "Ye ta can ‘ave yer foreplay later."

I flipped him off, but his sarcasm broke the tension like he'd meant it to. "Fine."

"Besides, Imma big boy," he went on. "I canna take da east side oll by meself."

"I have a question," Tearney announced. "How will we know if they're Klive's men or honest-to-goodness campers? I mean, I have no problem with shooting first, then asking questions later, but I'd rather not murder a slew of people minding their own business if I don't have to."

"He's got a point," Brody chimed in.

"You'll be able to tell by their firepower," Keavy answered. "If you see shotguns, then they're probably hunters. However, if you see anything that looks like it will hold up a bank, then they're more than mere campers that are minding their own business."

"Plus, I seriously doubt that they'll be dressed for camping or hunting," I added. "These are small-time criminals, so I don't see them dressed as experience campers, hunters, or hikers."

"Oh, for fuck's sakes," James drawled out. "As long as there aren't any children in the picture, just start shooting."

"You really need to get right with God, James," Desmond quipped.

"Yeah, I'll get right on that," James deadpanned.

"Is everyone ready?" Keavy asked, ready to go do what needed to be done, regardless of the ten years that she was taking off my life by just being here.

I stared at her as the men all agreed that they were ready, and I had no idea how I was going to handle anything happening to her. She held my soul in the very palm of her hand, and she didn't seem to care or realize just how much power that she had over me.

As the men started filing out of the kitchen, I grabbed her hand, then stopped her, yanking her back towards me. Staring down into her emerald gaze, I said, "You save yourself if anything goes sideways out there, Keavy. Do not risk yourself for any of us."

Her eyes lit with fire. "Because you think that I'm just going to leave you guys to die?"

"Every man here knows what he signed up for, Keavy," I reminded her.

"And so did I when I agreed to hand over the rest of my life to you, Declan," she fired back. "The deal was that we'd do this together , and that includes dying together if that's the case."

My heart dropped to my stomach as she mentioned dying so casually. "Baby, don't do this to me."

Keavy placed her left hand on my cheek as she said, "Quit underestimating me, Declan. Let me show you what I can really do."

"Just as long as you don't die on me, lass," I ordered before doing the unthinkable.

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