Page 50 of Beautiful Trauma (The Irish Rogues #5)
A s I bounced Rian in my arms, he gave me a toothless smile that looked ridiculously like Quinn. After Callum and I had met with our developer, we needed to brief the others very quickly on our options. So, we’d called a meeting at our homebase.
When Callum entered the office door and saw Rian, he rolled his eyes. “What the hell is he doing here?”
Quinn’s jaw clenched. “I didn’t plan on an emergency meeting, and Isla had a doctor’s appointment.”
Patting Rian’s back, I asked, “Is everything okay?”
Quinn ran his hand over his face. “She might be pregnant again.”
“Quinn, you old dog,” Dare mused.
With a grunt, Quinn replied, “We sure as hell weren’t planning on another wain so soon.”
“You do know that raw dogging is what causes that, right?” Dare questioned with a grin.
“Feck off.”
“Maybe it’s just a false alarm,” I said.
With a shrug, Quinn said, “I really wouldn't mind.”
Callum grunted. “As someone with twins, let me assure you that you would mind.”
“Can we just get on with the bleedin’ meeting?” Quinn growled.
With a nod, Callum motioned for us to have a seat. When I tried sitting down, Rian wailed, so I popped back out of my chair. “We have a buyer for the 2nd Street building.”
“I didn’t know we wanted to unload it,” Dare said.
I nodded. “We hadn’t talked about it, but the price is too good not to pass up.”
“Just how good?” Dare questioned.
At that moment, Quinn’s phone went off. “Shite,” he muttered before grabbing it up. While Callum glared at him for taking the call, Quinn said, “Hey, Little Dove. How did it go?”
When the color drained from his face, we knew that Isla was pregnant. “Yes, love, I’m still here. I’m in a meeting and can’t really talk. Okay.” He glanced around the table before grimacing. “I love you, too.”
After he hung up, he just stared straight ahead. With a grin, Dare clapped Quinn on the back. “Congratulations!”
Eamon and I echoed the sentiment while Callum shook his head. “Your first whiskey is on me today,” he mused.
“Why don’t Mila and I take Rian for the night?”
Quinn’s brows popped wide. “You want to babysit overnight?”
Nodding, I replied, “It would give you guys a break, and I think it would be good practice.”
“Practice?” Callum questioned.
Dare winked. “Have you and Mila been raw dogging, too?”
As mortification shot to my face, I quickly shook my head. “We aren’t even married yet.”
“Take it from me. That shit can happen when you’re not,” Dare replied.
As Eamon and Callum chuckled, I replied, “Yeah, well, the Catholic guilt says to wait until we’re married.”
“When do you plan on giving the poor girl a ring?” Callum asked.
That was the million-dollar question.I’d wanted to propose to Mila since the day we got to Boston. But everything had been such a fucking mess that I kept waiting for the right time. I’d started to think there was never going to be a right time, so I might as well do it.
“I have the ring. I’m just trying to find the right time.”
“Good for you, boyo,” Quinn said, looking a little less green than he had before.
Dare nodded. “You can’t go wrong with a woman wh risked her life for you. I mean, that’s some fucking commitment.”
I laughed. “Thanks. I’m glad I have your blessing.”
Nodding at Rian, Quinn said, “If it’s okay with Isla, then I’d love to take you up on your offer.”
“Yeah, I should probably clear it with Mila, too.” Reaching into my pocket, I took out my phone. After dialing her cell, I was surprised not to get an answer. But I also knew she’d stayed up late working on a project for the class she was auditing.
When I tried her again, unease pricked over my skin when she didn’t answer. I switched over to try Andrew. After he didn’t answer, I fought the rising panic.
My finger trembled slightly as I pulled up the cameras from the apartment. At the sight of Andrew crumpled on the floor, I sucked in a harsh breath. “Oh fuck.”
Without a word, I handed Rian over to Quinn. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Andrew’s down, and Mila’s missing.”
“I’ll call in the downstairs guard to go upstairs,” Quinn said.
As my brothers circled around me, I started rewinding the feed. Terror swirled through me as I waited to see Bratva men on the screen dragging Mila away. Bile rose in my throat when I saw her grabbing her purse and leaving the apartment. “What the fuck?” I muttered.
I went back even farther on the feed. When Andrew fell over and Mila did nothing to assist him, betrayal echoed through me. My brothers said nothing as I scrolled to when Mila poured something in Andrew’s coffee.
“She drugged him to escape,” I muttered under my breath.
“There’s no way in hell Mila is leaving you. She didn’t even take a suitcase,” Dare protested.
“But why did she drug Andrew?”
“Maybe she’s going somewhere you wouldn’t approve of,” Eamon remarked.
“But there’s nowhere I wouldn’t let her go.”
Eamon grimaced. “Yeah, there is.”
At the thought that Mila could be on her way to Philly, I staggered back. “Oh God.”
“I’m calling Leo,” Callum said as he pulled out his phone.
Brushing past my brothers, I started for the door. “Where the fuck are you going?” Callum demanded.
“To get Mila.”
“You walk into Philly, and we’ll bring you home in a body bag.”
“You can’t expect me to just sit here and do nothing.”
Shaking his head, Callum countered, “Let me see what the Carusos and Nerettis can do.”
“What kind of man would I be if I just sat back and let them handle this?”
“The kind that’s alive to see Mila another day,” Dare argued.
“Are you two fucking serious right now? When your women were in danger, you risked everything to bring them home.” I glanced at Quinn. “And so did you.” With an angry shake of my head, I said, “So either come with me or shut the fuck up.”
Callum grunted out a frustrated breath. “Fine. Let’s go.”