Page 152 of Three Irish Kings

I break down, dropping to my knees, covering my face with my hands and sobbing.

I sit there, shoulders shaking, letting it all out, for a long time.

When I finally collect myself, I notice a sandwich and a bag of chips sitting on the vanity.

This was clearly a woman’s room at some point, because there are lavender curtains and expensive makeup on the vanity.

I sniffle, pulling myself together to go and sit at the vanity, chewing and swallowing the small meal mechanically.

The baby needs to eat, even if I’m injured and terrified.

I have to keep going for the baby. I have to stay alive, just long enough for the guys to find me.

I finish eating and manage to keep it down, crawling back into the empty bed.

I close my eyes, trying to ignore the pain of my black eye and possibly broken nose.

My only hope is that Dare finds my bracelet and tells the others. He’d foundmefor God’s sake, and I’d done everything I could to keep him at bay.

Please, please, Dare. Cillian. Liam. Find me.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

DARE

I’m drunk,but it’s not numbing me out like I want. I just feel shitty, maudlin, thinking of all the good times with Isla.

There were so many good times, despite how she left us, how she played all of us.

Even Cillian is having another drink, ordered a pitcher for us, and I drank half of it before I went silent.

Cillian and Liam are talking about babies, or rather Cillian is talking, and Liam is sitting there, swaying slightly in his seat, his face sullen.

I’ve never heard Cillian talk this much, and frankly, it pisses me off. I can tell he’s sure she’s going to choose him, all because he didn’t spin out when she told us she was pregnant.

Can we even believe that she’s pregnant? How can we, after all the lies she’s told? Even if she is really pregnant, we won’t know who the father is for months.

If at all.

She may just take off.

I can’t even wrap my head around it because I’m so angry with her. I never thought she’d leave like that, never thought she’d lie to us. I’d believed her from the very beginning and tried my damndest to make Liam believe her, too.

And for what? For her to end up choosing Cill?

Maybe Liam’s right. Maybe he is the best of us.

He’ll protect her, I know that. He’ll always be good to her. Maybe being a lifelong bachelor like I planned is what’s in the cards for me.

And I’ve been doing that for years, so why does it feel so bad to think of it now?

I eye the cute redhead who’s been serving us. She’s practically bouncing around, probably happy about the hundreds of dollars we’ve tipped her.

I could take her home pretty easily, know it by the slow way she grins at me and the way she’s been whispering to her co-worker while staring at me. Could probably rent a room with cash in this shitty bed and breakfast and rail her next to where Isla sleeps.

But nothing about me wants to, not even my dick. It’s like I can only get hard for Isla now, and it pisses me off.

“You’ll be good to her, Cill,” Liam slurs, leaning against him in the booth.