Page 33

TWENTY-NINE

emmanuel

I couldn’t sleep. I held Clodagh in my arms all night, my hand splayed on her stomach, right where our baby is growing. Christ, she’s having my baby. I’m going to be a dad. Fuck.

I’m beyond happy, this is all I have ever wanted, for Clodagh and I to have our own family. But with what happened last night with Ava, things are up in the air, so we couldn’t even celebrate properly.

It was around five a.m. when it hit me—the piece I had been missing, and fuck, everything fell into place the moment I realized it.

Michael Reeves. That fucker sang like a canary about the Harringtons. He told us they had planned for something called the Ace of Hearts. It was years ago, which is why I forgot. But fuck, I’ve remembered. Shit. Which means this is down to the Syndicate. Cunts.

I need to get Clodagh up. It fucking pains me to wake her, especially now that she’s pregnant, but I need her to come to Jer’s with me, and I have no doubt that Lisa and Jess will be there also.

I press a kiss to her shoulder. "Baby, I'm sorry to wake you, but we need to go."

Clodagh blinks sleepily, glancing up at me. "What's wrong? Is everything okay?"

"I remembered something important about what happened last night," I say, already moving to my clothes. "We need to go to Jer's. It’s going to be a hectic day, baby, but I need you with me."

Clodagh sits up, suddenly alert. "What did you remember?" she asks softly, her eyes wide, and I see the fear in them.

I shake my head. "I love you, baby, but this shit doesn’t touch you. I promise if it ever involves you or our baby, I’ll tell you. But we need to go."

My stomach is in knots as we hurriedly get dressed. Clodagh is pale, and it fucking guts me as I realize she’s probably been sick while I’ve been away. "Are you feeling alright, baby?" I ask.

Clodagh nods, plastering a smile on her face. “I'll be fine."

I pull her close, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "We'll stop and get you some breakfast on the way. No doubt you didn’t eat properly last night."

Twenty minutes later, we’re in the car and almost at Jer’s. I reach over and hold her hand. Christ, I’m so fucking glad she’s with me. I’d be losing my mind if she were still in Galway.

"Emmanuel," Clodagh says softly. "What are we going to tell everyone? About us? About the baby?"

I sigh, running my hand through my hair. "I know you wanted to wait to tell Lisa, but with everything that's happening... I think we need to come clean. All of it."

Clodagh nods, her free hand resting on her still-flat stomach. "You're right. It's time."

As we pull up to Jer's house, I notice several other cars already parked outside. Looks like I’m not the only one who couldn't sleep.

I’m not surprised to find Jer, Maverick, Lisa, Stephen, and Jess all gathered in the living room.

"Emmanuel," Jer says, nodding in greeting. His eyes flick to Clodagh, then back to me, a smile on his face. "You're early. Is everything okay?"

I nod. “Let’s go talk in the office,” I say, and he doesn’t hesitate. He walks ahead of me toward his office. I hear Lisa and Clodagh talking and I know they’ll be fine. Lisa may be pissed, but right now we’ve got other things to deal with.

"I remembered something,” I begin once the office door is closed, Maverick and Stephen having followed us in. “About the Ace of Hearts."

The room falls silent, all eyes on me.

"It was years ago," I continue. "Michael Reeves mentioned it when we were interrogating him about the Harringtons. He said they had plans for something called the Ace of Hearts."

"Fuck, yeah, I remember that. Fuck!" Maverick hisses. "So this is connected to the Syndicate?"

I nod. "I think so. It’s the only thing that makes sense. Although, why Ava?” That shit still doesn’t sit right with me. Why the fuck did they take out Ava?

Maverick begins to pace. “From what Callie said, she had a new guy in America. She was in Boston. Could there be a connection?”

“There must be,” Stephen snarls. “The fuck? She was in Boston and no one thought to fucking say anything?”

Something must have gone down. “Did Callie mention who the guy was?”

Maverick reaches for his cell, but before he can make the call, the office door bursts open and Denis storms in with Danny and Pyro—the head of the Fury Vipers Motorcycle Club. He’s got blood on his cut.

“Someone took out one of my guys,” Pyro snarls, his voice vibrating with anger. “A direct shot to his chest. I found this,” he grunts as he throws an Ace of Hearts card onto Jer’s desk. “What the fuck is going on?”

"Who?" Maverick asks. "Who did they take out?"

"Hustler," Pyro grits out. "He was just a kid. Barely fuckin' eighteen and they killed him. I want this cunt found."

“We need to close ranks, protect the women. We have no idea who the next target is,” Jer says. “Where should we bring them?”

“Do you think that’s wise?” Denis asks. “Having them all in one place?”

“Jess is pregnant. I want her safe,” Stephen bites out. “That means she’s where I am.”

I nod in agreement. “Clodagh’s pregnant too. She’s not far from my side. Ever.”

Maverick’s eyes narrow. “Kept that quiet, didn’t you?”

I shake my head. “Only found out last night. Right now, I’m not willing to let her out of my sight.”

Denis stands up straighter. “The Vipers’ clubhouse is on lockdown,” he tells us. “Callie is here with me, and my kids are with Callie’s parents. We need to figure out who the fuck is doing this and we need to find out now.”

I totally agree. The sooner we uncover who’s behind this, the sooner we take them out and my woman and child will be safe.

"So we need to dig deep into the Syndicate and find out what the fuck they're planning," Jer hisses. "I'll take the lot of them out."

"It's too fucking early in America for me to call Makenna or Hayden, but we need eyes on those fuckers," Denis grunts.

"Freddie's on his way," Stephen announces, and my entire body stills at his words. "He's on the way to Boston as we speak. In fact, he should be arriving soon."

I narrow my eyes. "You knew about the connection to the Ace of Hearts?" I can't keep the anger out of my voice. It's like a fucking whip.

Maverick turns to Stephen. "Did you?"

He shakes his head. "No, not until Emmanuel said it. Freddie's on his way to Boston to uncover what the fuck was up with Ava. He wants to know what she was doing while she was there. And I know him; he's not going to return until he has answers."

"Fuck," Maverick growls, running a hand through his hair. "We need to get in touch with Freddie, let him know what we've uncovered. He could be walking into a trap."

Stephen nods in agreement. "I'll try to reach him. In the meantime, we need to start digging into the Syndicate. See if we can find any of those Syndicate cunts entering the country. They’d have to have arrived recently."

"I'll get on it," Denis says, already pulling out his phone. "I'll have Melissa working on it. If anyone can find out for us, it’s her.”

"Good." Jer nods. "Pyro, what do you need?"

Pyro runs a hand down his face, his features still twisted with rage over the loss of his young member. “We’re good. We wanted to let y’all know what went down. This isn’t just some random attack on Ava last night. Someone is targeting us. All of us.”

"What about the women?" Stephen asks, his voice tight with concern. "We can't keep them locked up forever, but we can't risk them being out there either."

"For now, they stay here," Jer decides. "It's the most secure location we have. We'll rotate guards and keep them protected."

I think of Clodagh, pregnant with our child, and it pulls on every protective instinct I have. "Agreed. But we need to tell them something. They deserve to know the danger they're in."

Maverick nods. "Lisa's going to be pissed, but you're right. They need to know."

“I’m heading out,” Py tells us. “I’m going back to my own woman and informing my brothers of what’s been uncovered so far. Once morning hits in New York, I’ll be calling Ace, but we’re going to need to inform everyone. If they’re targeting us, they could target them.”

Stephen and Jerry follow Pyro out of the office, and before Maverick can join them, I grab a hold of his arm. "There's something else you should know," I say quietly. "Clodagh and I... we're engaged."

Maverick's eyebrows shoot up in surprise. "Shit, man. Congratulations. Does Lisa know yet?"

I shake my head. He’s kept our relationship a secret from her, something he’s not been happy about, but thankfully he’s not told her. "I’m pretty sure she’ll know now. Clo had planned on telling her."

He claps me on the shoulder. "Better late than never, I guess. But fair warning—Lisa's going to flip her shit."

I grimace. "Yeah, I know. But Clodagh needs her best friend right now. Especially with the baby coming."

Maverick nods understanding. "I'll try to run interference if I can."

As I enter the living room, I see Clodagh sitting with Lisa and Jess.

She looks pale and tired, and I hate that she has to deal with this stress on top of her pregnancy.

But fuck, nothing is going to happen to her.

No fucking way. She’s dealt with more than enough violence in her life.

I won’t let any more violence touch her.