Gael: The Callaghan Mafia Book 3 Page 11

  “This is definitely the one,” I said.

  They all clapped and high-fived one another. I got dressed into my regular clothes while they gathered earrings and decorative hair pins for me to purchase. After all was said and done, I’d spent well over two thousand dollars on clothes alone. Something I hoped Gael wouldn't be too upset with.

  But something told me he wouldn’t be.

  Now, to go get ready.

  With my bags in hand, I pulled out my cell phone. I walked outside, headed straight for the car as I typed a message to Gael. I told him I was finished. That all I needed was an hour before he came and picked me up. But just as I shot off the message, I heard a familiar voice behind me.

  “It does look nice on you, sis.”

  I blinked. “Ronan?”

  “And Liam.”

  I slowly turned around. “What—are you guys doing here?”

  Ronan grinned. “What? Two brothers can’t come to wish their little sister a happy marriage?”

  Liam slipped beside me. “Or are you just trying to write us off all together?”

  I snickered. “Dad wrote me off from the family the second he tossed me up onto that stage. You two should know that better than most.”

  Ronan gasped. “Wow, Colleen. I must say, that hurts.”

  Liam nodded. “Especially when you don’t know the part Gael’s playing in all of this.”

  I paused. “What are you talking about?”

  Ronan held out his hand. “See? You owe me a hundred bucks. She’s got no clue!”

  Liam sighed. “How could you not know? You practically live with the man.”

  I furrowed my brow. “Know what?”

  Ronan rolled his eyes. “About his deal with Dad, of course.”

  Liam clicked his tongue. “Yep. Pretty sneaky, if you ask me.”

  I set my bags down. “What deal?”

  Ronan snickered. “Dad’s deal to pimp you out, of course.”

  Liam interjected. “Which we’re not for, by the way. We wanted to come here and warn you of what’s going on.”

  Ronan nodded. “Gael doesn’t have your best interest in mind. He’s actually in cahoots with Dad.”

  I shook my head. “I don’t believe you.”

  Ronan shrugged. “It’s fine if you don’t.”

  Liam murmured. “I told you she wouldn’t.”

  Ronan shushed him. “Colleen’s smart. She’ll hear us out.”

  “Can you not talk about me like I’m not here?”

  Ronan cleared his throat. “Sorry. Anyway, what Dad’s trying to do is get you back up on that stage. He saw the money you brought in for him, and he wants more.”

  I shrugged. “He always wants more. But he’s not getting it. Gael and I are getting married in a couple of hours. And Dad won’t be able to stop that.”

  Liam licked his lips. “Actually, we were hoping we could.”

  My face fell. “What?”

  Ronan held his hands up. “Hear us out, Colleen. You’ve always been the reasonable one.”

  I put my hand on my hip. “Speak quickly.”

  Liam nodded. “Dad has bought up a piece of property Gael’s been looking at. You know, for warehouses and such.”

  Ronan furrowed his brow. “Were you aware that—”

  I waved my hand in the air. “Yes. I know. He’s searching for warehouses because his burned down. I’m not stupid. What’s going on?”

  Liam paused. “Dad’s bought this piece of property and he presented it to Gael in a deal.”

  Ronan butted in. “Essentially, Dad told Gael he could have the warehouse property, free of charge, if he handed you back over.”

  I blinked. “That’s lunacy. Gael would never go for something like that.”

  My brothers looked at each other and I felt my stomach drop.

  “Right?”

  Ronan sighed. “Actually, Dad’s in the middle of drawing up transfer of ownership papers.”

  Liam nodded. “Gael agreed to the arrangement.”

  I blinked. “But—but we’re getting—”

  Ronan sighed. “Married, yes. Our only assumption is that by marrying you, Gael gets leverage to access a slice of the Maguire wealth because, well, he’s your husband. He should get something out of the deal other than a warehouse if the two of you are married.”

  I shook my head. “No. No, you’re lying to me.”

  Liam pulled out his phone. “I’ve got pictures of the paperwork. If you want to see it.”

  I looked down at his phone, my knees growing weak. I had to get out of there. I had to get away from my brothers. I turned my back on them and almost fell into the car. No. I didn’t want to go back to the brownstone. Not if this was true.

  But I didn’t want to go to the courthouse, either.

  Not if our marriage was nothing but a pawn in his games.

  “I have to go,” I said breathlessly.

  Liam called out. “Wait! Colleen!”

  I ran down the sidewalk, pushing people out of the way. My purse dropped into my hand from my shoulder, but I kept running as I clutched it. Away from my brothers. Away from the brownstone. Away from the courthouse and Gael and whatever bullshit was currently going on. I was angry. Confused. I felt more alone than ever before.

  And I figured starving on the streets of Chicago was better than anything else the men in my life had planned for me.

  15

  Gael

  “Look who’s calling!?”

  Brody shoved his phone in my face and I saw Flynn smiling back at me.

  “Well, there’s the long-forgotten brother. How are things in the homeland?” I asked.

  Flynn smiled. “That boutonniere looks good on you.”

  “I appreciate that. Thank you.”

  “Declan sent me a picture of Colleen. She’s really grown, hasn’t she?”

  I narrowed my eyes. “That’s my bride you’re talking about. Watch yourself.”

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa. She’s beautiful, but you know she’s not my type. I like mine a bit more… feisty.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Those kinds of women you like are going to get you trouble one of these days.”

  He chuckled. “What makes you think I haven’t been in trouble already with one?”

  “Sounds like we’ve got some brotherly catching up to do soon.”

  “Yeah, once one of you guys actually makes it back to Ireland. Have you guys made any headway at all on what happened to Richard?”

  Declan peered over my shoulder. “No murder talk during a wedding ceremony. You have more couth than that.”

  Flynn grinned. “You sure about that?”

  Brody laughed. “We gotta go. Colleen should be showing up anytime soon now.”

  I nodded. “Thanks for videoing in, Flynn.”

  He smiled. “Anytime. Enjoy this. Oh! I’ve got a wedding gift coming to you guys. I don’t know where you’re living now, but it’s heading to the family brownstone.”

  Declan swiped his hand down my back. “I’ll keep an eye out for it.”

  Flynn nodded. “Great. Thanks for that. Knock ‘er dead, handsome. And try not to tie her up too tight tonight.”

  My brothers and I chuckled as Flynn winked. I shook my head as I turned off the call, then checked my watch. It was three o’clock on the dot. Which meant the car should’ve been pulling up to the courthouse now.

  “Declan?” I asked.

  “I’m going to check now,” he said as he walked toward the door. “After all, no girl should walk down her marriage aisle alone.”

  I nodded. “Thank you for that.”

  “Anytime. I’ll text Brody when we’re on our way.”

  Brody patted my back. “Can’t believe you’re getting hitched before me.”

  I snickered. “In your defense, you and Abby are the first out of all of us to have a kid.”

  “And while she’d love to be here, she’s pretty sick right now.”

  I peeked over at him. “Everything all right wit
h the pregnancy?”

  He nodded. “The doctor said that, for some women, morning sickness doesn’t quite go away. So, some days she’s fine. Other days, it’s like this.”

  “Well, I won’t keep you any longer than necessary. Once you witness the wedding certificate, get home to her. Okay?”

  “Trust me, that’s exactly where I’m headed after this. She does send her regards, though.”

  I checked my watch again. “Has Declan texted you?”

  Brody turned on the screen of his phone. “Nope. Don't have anything from him yet. Why?”

  “Just wondering.”

  I rocked back and forth on my feet. I was anxious, but I wasn’t sure why. Brody kept checking his phone and I kept checking my watch. Ten minutes passed. Then, fifteen. And with each minute that ticked by, dread filled my gut.

  “Call Declan. Something’s wrong,” I said.

  “Already on it,” Brody said.

  “Hey, can you guys hear me?” Declan asked.

  Brody held his phone between us as I held up a finger to the magistrate.

  “Tell me you’ve got something for me,” I said.

  “She’s not out here. I’ve tried calling your driver, but there’s no answer. Is that normal?” he asked.

  I pulled out my phone. “No. No it’s not normal at all. Get back up here, Declan. We’ve officially got ourselves a situation.”

  Brody hung up the phone as I pulled up the tracking application on my own. Every terrible thing passed through my mind as I waited for the damn thing to load. This application was scarily accurate at tracking other people. But it took for-fucking-ever to boot up on my phone. And as I stood there, shuffling from foot to foot, my mind practically tortured me.

  What if she’s been kidnapped?

  Richard’s murderer still hasn’t been found. What if they have her?

  What if she took off on me?

  What if she’s abandoned me?

  She promised me loyalty. What the fuck am I supposed to do now?

  What if she’s hurt?

  “I’m such a fucking idiot,” I murmured.

  “I’m sure there’s a logical explanation to all of this. Maybe she’s still not done getting ready,” Brody said.

  I shook my head. “She’s followed my every order up until this point. There’s no need to deviate from that. Something’s wrong.”

  I shook my phone as the dark screen tested my patience.

  “Got anything?” Declan asked as the doors burst open.

  “I’m trying to track her phone, but this fucking program takes forever,” I murmured.

  “I still can’t get your driver on the phone. I sent my driver the last known GPS coordinates of yours. Hopefully, he can drive around and pick up something.”

  Brody drew in a deep breath. “Does anyone want to try calling her father?”

  My eyes whipped over to him. “Not unless we plan to put a bullet between his eyes.”

  Brody’s eyebrows rose. “I take it you’ve had a run-in with him recently?”

  My eyes fell back to my phone. “Something like th—finally! Fucking hell.”

  The green light beeped on my phone as I zoomed into the picture. And the more I zoomed in, the more I recognized. The names of places to eat and get coffee lit up as I bypassed them. Continuing to zoom in on where exactly Colleen was.

  “What the fuck?” I asked.

  “What’s going on?” Brody asked.

  “Where is she?” Declan asked.

  I slowly looked up. “She’s at the airport.”

  Brody furrowed his brow. “Why would she be at the airport?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t know. The girl doesn’t even have a passport. Where the hell is she going?”

  Declan looked down at his phone. “Oh, boy.”

  “What?” I asked.

  He sighed. “He found your car and your driver. I mean, my driver did.”

  “Well? Where the fuck are they?” I asked.

  “Your driver’s in an alleyway with slashed tires on all sides.”

  I blinked. “She’s been kidnapped.”

  Brody shoved his phone into his pocket. “We have to go. I’ll get to the drivers and see to it that the tires are replaced.”

  Declan patted my arm. “I’ll escort you to the airport. We have to go quickly.”

  I turned to the magistrate. “We’ll have to reschedule. I think. I’m sorry.”

  Declan paused. “Did you just apologize?”

  I growled. “Shut up and come with me. And someone call the fucking airport to alert them! Hopefully, they haven’t gotten through security yet.”

  16

  Colleen

  I sprinted down the hallway in order to make it to my gate. The airport bustled with people, and I didn’t care about shoving them off to the side. I had a plan forming in my head. One that I hoped might work. I didn’t have a passport, but what I did have was a plane ticket to Texas, an appointment to file for an emergency passport once I landed, and cash in hand to pay for it. I wasn’t sure how long it would take to get one. I hoped it wouldn't take more than a few days. Because I had only borrowed a thousand dollars against Gael’s credit card before ditching it in a trash can. I needed it to be enough. Maybe the motels in that part of Texas were cheap.

  If I laid low and kept my head down, I might be able to pull this off.

  I finally got to my gate and I tucked myself away in the corner. I held my purse tightly against my body, hoping and praying no one found me. I turned my cell phone off just before I walked through security. And I had every intention of keeping it off until this was all said and done. I needed to get out of here. I couldn't live this life any longer. Death was better than this, but I wasn’t ready to die. All I wanted was a life that made me happy. A life that meant I’d wake up smiling instead of fearing for my every moment.

  This was my only choice.

  Gael and my father had forced my hand.

  Part of me wondered if I could call Fiona. Possibly get her to help me. But that meant turning my phone back on. And it had been on long enough. I knew Gael would try to trace my phone. Because my father would try the same damn thing. For all I knew, they already had a lock on me. Though, I prayed they didn’t.

  Come on. What’s taking this flight so long?

  I looked down at my ticket. Only forty-five minutes to go. They should’ve been boarding already, right? Didn’t it take, like, thirty minutes to board these things? I wasn’t sure. I’d only ever been on a private jet. Not my father’s, of course. Always someone else’s. The truth of the matter was that busy airports like this were foreign to me. Security, alone, took me an hour to get through! A time stamp practically unheard of in my world. It didn’t matter, though. All that mattered was that I was less than an hour away from—

  “Colleen!”

  My eyes widened at the sound of his voice.

  “Colleen! Hey!”

  I leapt out of my seat at the sound of his voice. Gael. He was here. Shit, shit, shit. That meant my father was here. My head was on a swivel as I searched for his face. I needed to run. I needed to get the hell out of here.

  “Colleen!”

  Finally, the crowd parted. And I saw Gael barreling toward me. I took off running in the opposite direction. Trying to find a safe place to seek out until my flight. Maybe I could duck into one of the restrooms. Or a restaurant. Or find a police officer and tell him what the hell was going on.

  “Colleen, no!”

  “I can’t do this,” I said breathlessly.

  My legs carried me as quickly as they could go. I took off, clutching onto my purse as I pushed through the crowd. They were all fighting me, though. Slowing me down. Cursing my name as I was shoved into trash cans and slapped into corners. My legs felt weak. Tears rushed my eyes. And when someone knocked into me with their shoulder, I tumbled backwards.

  Until someone caught me.

  “Colleen, what the hell?”

  I looked up into the eyes
of an upside down Gael. And I lost it. Tears streaked my cheeks as I stumbled to my feet, feeling him trying to pull me closer. I shoved him away. I hit him with my purse. I tried to beat him off me, but it didn’t work.

  And no one came to my aid.

  “Stop it, please,” I sobbed.

  “Colleen, take a breath. What's going on? What happened?”

  “I won’t let you sell me away. I won’t let you do it!”

  “What? What the hell are you talking about?”

  “Get away from me!” I shrieked.

  He finally let go of me and held his hands up. I was free. I was out of his grasp. Run! I needed to run!

  But, instead of running, I looked up at his face instead.

  “People are staring. You need to tell me what’s going on so I can help,” he said.

  “Why the hell would I trust you when you’re working with my father?” I asked.

  He furrowed his brow. “Who told you that?”

  “So, it’s true.”

  “Who told you that, Colleen?”

  “It’s true, isn’t it?”

  He stepped toward me. “Answer my question.”

  “Answer mine first.”

  He licked his lips. “It’s not true at all. Who told you it was?”

  I blinked. “I don’t even know if I can trust you anyway.”

  He snatched my arm. “I swear to hell on high, if you don’t start talking to—”

  I wrenched away from him. “I will have you arrested on the spot if you touch me again. You talk to me or I run. It’s as simple as that. How did you get back here anyway?”

  He held up his plane ticket. “Apparently, I’m going to Vienna right now. Where are you headed?”

  “Texas. To get a passport and go to Mexico.”

  “Because…?”

  “Because I won’t be sold back into slavery for money. I’d rather die at your hand than be given back over to my father.”

  Gael looked around. “We need to have this conversation in private.”

  I took another step back. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

  “If you want the truth about what’s going on? You’ll come with me. Setting aside the fact that I’ve never once raised a hand to hurt you, I’ll give you a pass because it’s clear to me that you’re frightened and you feel you have no other choice. So, let’s go sit, get some food, and talk.”