Page 15 of Dublin Charmer (Emerald Isle Mafia #5)
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Nyx
I ’ve been laying on the foam mattress on the floor for what seems like hours, listening to the sounds of the building.
The room I’m in is almost completely soundproof, but when I’m quiet and close my eyes, I hear the faint beep of technology down the hall.
Considering it always sounds right before I hear footsteps, I’m pretty sure there’s a security pad on the door.
Given that the Quinns are a long-standing mafia family, there’s no big surprise there. I’m sure their security is just as tight as Gravely’s is across the river.
So, where do they have me?
I’m pretty sure I’m in the basement of the Quinn Castle because I’ve seen the pictures of the bloody interrogation room Brendan and Bryan use in their warehouse down by the docks and this isn’t anything like that.
I also doubt that the people getting taken there are offered sterling silver tea trays of Michelin Star quality food.
No, I’m pretty sure I’m within the walls of the Quinn compound.
The hum of the furnace blowing warm air out the vents almost completely eclipses the sounds beyond the room, but they’re there. A few people came through earlier, but they didn’t come to this room.
No one has been here since I told Finn to get out.
I don’t understand why the disappointment on his face made me feel like such a shit. He doesn’t know me or my brother. What the hell makes him think he can weigh in like he knows my situation?
If it was a ploy to get me to trust him, he obviously has no clue. This ain’t my first rodeo with powerful families. I grew up a princess of the inner circle of the Rossi family. They valued and trusted my father, which made me and Gio family, too.
Until we weren’t.
We lost more than our father that day…we lost everyone.
But while I have no regrets about keeping my business close to the vest, there’s a part of me that wishes things could be different. Finn is exactly my type. He’s wicked skilled in the ways of my world, he knows who he is, and he’s hot as sin whether dressed up or dressed down.
And oof …the way he looks at me makes all my girl parts ache.
But it doesn’t matter that he could undoubtably give me endless orgasms while rolling on a bed covered in money, the fact is—he’s endangering my brother’s life by keeping me here.
That’s why nothing can get in the way of my escape.
I tighten my grip around the syringe, my blood thrumming hard in my veins. If Finn comes in here alone, I’ll make my move. The serum takes even the strongest, most hardcore guy and reduces him into a little loosey-goosey puddle of cooperation.
Once I stick him with it, he’ll tell me how to get out of here. If I’m right and there’s a security pad to get through the door, he’ll tell me the combination, and I’ll be on my way.
I draw a deep breath, knowing it won’t be that easy.
I’ve studied the Quinn Castle for months.
I know the general layout of the compound and the tactical readiness of their security staff.
The place is a fortress and me racing across the expansive gardens in broad daylight and making it over the stone fence before one of the dozens of grounds security catches me has little to no chance of success.
Still, for Gio, I have to try.
A soft beep of technology sounds down the hall and snaps me out of my reverie. I tense, straining to hear who is coming and if they are coming here for me. Footsteps approach the outside of my door, and my heart rate kicks into high gear. Rolling to my feet, I stand, waiting to greet whoever it is.
If it’s Finn and he’s alone, it’s on.
I position myself in the center of the room, breathing slowly.
The door unlocks.
Finn enters carrying a tray, his gaze finding me as an amiable smile spreads across his stupidly sexy face. “I’m sorry about before and for missing yer lunch. I got caught up with a few things, and time got away from me. So, I brought ye an early dinner instead. Yer in for a real treat because?—”
The moment he gives me his back to set the tray down, I lunge. The needle pierces his neck, and I press the plunger. He grunts, twisting to shove me away with a wild swing, sending the tray crashing.
Food splatters across the floor as he knocks me backward. I hit the ground hard, the shooting pain in my hip nothing I wasn’t expecting. With adrenaline pumping, I scramble onto my knees.
Finn lunges for me, his movements already a little uncoordinated. It’s fast-acting stuff, but I need to keep his attention on me and keep him here for a few more minutes before he’ll be submissive enough to tell me what I need to know.
I move toward the door, feigning an attempt to go for the hall and he shifts to block my exit. His fingers graze my arm but his window for retreating and getting help is rapidly dwindling as the sedative takes hold.
“Fuck.” He drops to one knee and then falls forward to brace both palms on the floor.
Good enough. I sprint past him into the hallway, my heart soaring at the possibility of freedom. The victory is short-lived.
The first door I try is locked.
So is the second.
And the third.
I race down the corridor, yanking frantically at each handle. Nothing gives.
At each end of the hallway stands a heavy security door with digital keypads. Six digits? Sixteen? I have no idea, and no equipment to crack them. My stomach sinks—I was afraid of this.
I’m out of my cell room, but I’m still trapped, just in a bigger cage.
“Okay, Plan B.” I return to the cell and find Finn lying collapsed on his side, breathing heavily. I drag him to the mattress, struggling under his weight. “Sucks to be drugged and helpless, doesn’t it, pretty boy?”
“I’m sorry, Nyx. I needed ye away from Gravely.”
He’s blinking up at me with those brilliant green eyes and my defenses crack a little more.
“Yer too good. I was protecting my family.”
“So was I!” The words tear out of me with more force than I intended, but who the hell cares.
It’s not like he’ll remember any of this anyway.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I need to get back to my life and fix whatever damage has been done by him bringing me here.
“Finn, tell me the combination of the keypad.”
He shakes his head. “We can help ye get Gio back. Tag already agreed. Sean has an army.”
My mind stalls out on that. There’s no way. They just want to keep me away from Billy and out of their business. But I want to believe him. The sting of tears burning behind my eyes catches me by surprise, but I can’t trust it.
Gio and I have been alone so long, I don’t believe in the promises of other people. There’s only him and me. That’s all that matters.
“Why are ye crying?” His glazed gaze is locked on me, and I hate it. I hate how when he looks at me, I feel it deep in my soul.
I wipe my face roughly. “What do you want from me?”
“I told ye. Stop infiltrating our systems.” His head lolls slightly. “Yer too talented for that brutal thug.”
“What choice do I have?”
“We’ll help get yer brother back. Whatever Billy’s paying…we’ll double it.”
His eyelids flutter and I stare at him, stunned. “That’s it? No retaliation for helping him? No blackmail? No threats?”
“Not the way we do things...”
The syringe lies empty on the floor, and guilt twists in my stomach. Maybe I’ve misjudged these people. Or maybe this is just another game.
Either way, I’ve just made everything worse because whatever they were offering is off the table now that I’ve attacked and drugged Finn.
“What’s the code for the keypad on the door, Finn?”
He shakes his head, pursing his lips.
“Don’t fight it. You know you want to tell me. Just give me the code and you’ll feel better.”
“I won’t,” he hisses. “I don’t want ye to go.”
“Then what do you want?”
“I want to kiss ye again. I want a chance to know ye.”
I close my eyes and ignore how hearing those words affects me. He’s a stranger. He doesn’t even know me. And he sure as hell won’t want to get to know me after I drugged him. “Tell me the code, Finn. If you do, I promise I’ll think about what you said.”
His eyes flutter open, and he smiles. The dimple in his left cheek shows and I can’t help but think about how sexy I thought it was when we danced last night.
Shit. Was that only last night?
“What’s the code, Finn?”
He sighs and relents, giving me a string of numbers before relaxing and letting the drug in his system zone him out.
I rush out of the cell, heart hammering against my ribs, the empty syringe clutched in my hand.
The corridor stretches before me—stone floors worn smooth by centuries of footsteps.
This place really is a castle, not just some modern compound with fancy architecture.
The walls are thick, ancient stone that probably muffles sound perfectly. No wonder no one heard the tray crash.
The security keypad glows faintly at the corridor’s end. Ten digits. I punch in the numbers Finn mumbled, my fingers trembling slightly.
Please work, please work.
A soft beep and the click of the lock disengaging sends a wave of relief through me. I ease the door open just enough to peek through. No guards. Just a narrow stone staircase spiraling upward, lit by small wall sconces that cast long shadows across the stone steps.
With no other choice, I slip through and begin climbing.
The stairs wind upward, each step taking me closer to freedom—or at least I hope. My muscles burn from the tension of the last twenty-four hours, but adrenaline keeps me moving.
At the top, another door blocks my path.
And worse—another keypad.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
I stare at the digital display, heart sinking. Different door, different code.
I try the code that unlocked the lower keypad, holding my breath.
Nothing. The red light blinks mockingly.
“Fuck.”
These people really don’t want anyone getting out. Or in. I press my forehead against the cool metal of the door. Without my equipment, I can’t hack this system. I could try to guess it, but that wouldn’t get me anywhere. If I armed it, I’d switch things up.
There are too many combinations and permutations. The system would likely shut me out after two more attempts anyway.
The weight of my situation crashes down. Even if I somehow got through this door, how many more would there be? And then what? I still haven’t figured out how I’d get across the grounds without getting caught by their security team.
The image of Gio stuck in Gravely’s cell is burned into my mind.
I need to get to him. Or, at the very least, I need to keep Gravely on the hook long enough for me to find him.
Defeated, I turn and head back down the stairs.
Maybe there’s another way out through one of the other doors in the corridor. I try each handle again, pulling harder this time, searching for any weakness. I wonder if I could pick the locks with the tip of the syringe. That’s not going to work either. I’d need a second picking tool.
I’ve got nothing.
My only chance is if one of these doors isn’t locked.
I’ve checked each one and am halfway down the hall when I reach for the next handle. Only, it drops before my fingers tighten around the metal.
The door swings inward and I freeze.
I stare wide-eyed at the Finn’s scarred older brother now glaring at me from less than three feet away.
Sean Quinn fills the doorframe and radiates pure menace. Long black hair falls past his shoulders, and those unmistakable Quinn emerald eyes stare coldly at me. The sneer he’s giving me makes the jagged scar that runs from his temple to his jaw pull and twist his cheek.
The Dublin Devil.
I stumble backward until my back meets the wall across the hall. On instinct, I raise my hand, pointing my syringe at him. “Stay back.”
He has his gun drawn and pointed at my forehead faster than I can track. “Gun trumps needle, bitch. Drop it.”
I swallow and let it drop to the ground.
His gaze flicks toward the open cell door down the hall and then returns to me burning with quiet fury. “What the fuck did you do to Finn? You better hope he’s okay or your life is about to go to shit.”
My life has been shit for longer than he knows, but I keep that to myself.