Page 150 of Three Irish Kings

I really shouldn’t have takenthat nap, but the pregnancy makes me exhausted all the time. It’s like my two moods are emotionally exhausted or ridiculously horny. I guess it’s the hormones and building a whole person in my uterus.

Cillian said that he knew where they were, but I’m worried.

What if they ran off half-cocked to do something stupid? God, what if they just...leave? I couldn’t blame them if they did. After all, that’s what I did.

I ran away. I didn’t talk to them about everything like I should have. Now what reason do they have to trust me? Not to mention, maybe Dare and Liam don’t want kids. I smile slightly, looking down at my still flat belly and thinking of how sweetly Cillian had treated me.

I think it's pretty clear that Cilliandoeswant kids, but I can’t guarantee that he’s the father. Even if I could, I don’t know if I’d want to.

I don’t know who I want the father to be. Honestly, there’s merits to all of them. Liam is well put-together, stable, intelligent. Dare is charming and fun. Cillian is sweet and protective.

They all have such wonderful traits, and the problem is, I’m in love with all three of them.

How is that even possible? To really have deep love for three different men?

I look out over the balcony, thinking of where I first met Dare, my heart falling.

It’s not like I would want for anything if I did choose Cillian, if the baby was his. He’d make me happy. I know it. But I don’t know if I could be as happy as I was with all three of them.

Even though I was a prisoner, that cottage felt like home, those men like my lovers.

I used to only be interested in my work, thinking that love was something people just put in books and movies, some fantasy to help people sleep at night.

I groan, pacing around the room for what feels like hours before I realize I have to go and find them. I need to tellallof them how I feel about them, tell them that I want them all, see what happens.

My mother always told me that if I want something, I have to go after it. And I always have. Until now. I’ve been keeping secrets, more than just the baby growing in my belly.

I slide on a pair of drugstore flip-flops—how I’ve fallen from my designer heels at the gala—and exit the room, not bothering to lock it behind me. I figure I’ll find at least Dare at the bar downstairs.

Liam doesn’t drink often, but Dare does, and I can’t imagine he’s not there after everything that’s happened.

The other two won’t be far.

I walk out into the hallway. An older man, handsome and casually dressed, stands by the elevator, waiting for it to ding.

“Oh, it doesn’t work,” I tell him as I walk toward the staircase.

He chuckles. “Thanks. I would’ve been standing here for God knows how long.”

He turns to look at me, and his dark eyes widen slightly.

I look away, not wanting him to get any ideas. I’m beyond taken, and besides, he’s probably my mother’s age.

I try not to be nervous as he follows me down the stairs—after all, he has no choice–but I feel strange as we reach the lobby, like something’s wrong.

I shake it off.

Of course, something’s wrong. Everything’s wrong because my men aren’t with me, and they’re hurting. And it’s my fault.

“Excuse me, ma’am?” the man calls, and I turn, a frown on my face, ready to tell him I’m not interested, but the words die in my throat.

There’s something… wrong with him. Something dead behind his eyes.

The metal he shoves between my ribs is cold, and I gasp.

“Don’t say a word, Magpie, if you don’t want a bullet between your ribs.”

The baby.