Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 91266 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91266 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
“This brute?” Doc Jones shook her head. “You O’Malley women sure like ’em big, don’t you? Women after my own heart.” She turned away, effectively dismissing Sloan, which was just fine because she was focusing on Jude.
It removed her distraction from the man sitting next to her, though.
Jude didn’t flinch, didn’t so much as deign to notice the woman bandaging him up, his gaze tracking James Halloran, and the distance between him and Sloan, and the pilot, who hadn’t taken off his helmet.
“I told her this was a mistake.”
Sloan went still and looked at the blond giant across from her. They all had a set of headphones on, but no one else seemed to have heard him. “Then why did you come?”
“Because your sister loves you and you getting yourself killed would break her goddamn heart.” His blue eyes gave nothing away. “Not that you give two fucks, since you’ve been breaking her heart from the time she chose me, but I care. I’ll break you before I let you fuck with her further.”
“Stop it.” She didn’t want to hear how she’d hurt her sister. Carrigan was a warrior in high heels, the fearless one. How could Sloan hurt her?
She knew he spoke the truth, though. She’d known the endless unanswered calls wore on her sister, because they came less and less often as the months went on. She hadn’t relished that knowledge, but she couldn’t pretend she was the wounded party.
Not anymore.
“You’re going back to Boston, Sloan. I don’t care if you go back to the O’Malleys or the Sheridans or stay with us, but you’re going back. That Russian bastard will skin you alive if he catches you, and—”
“That would break my sister’s heart. I understand.” She wanted to hate him for it, but she couldn’t. Of them all, James was the one willing to put Carrigan first and let the world burn if that was what it took. He was entitled to his anger.
“But I’m not going back to Boston.” Her going back to Boston would cause more problems than it’d solve. It sounded like a simple solution to everyone involved—get her somewhere safe where no one could hurt her. But things would become unforgivably complicated once they found out she was pregnant.
She wouldn’t let her baby be used as a political pawn.
She refused.
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “We’ll see.”
The rest of the flight passed without anyone attempting conversation, the helicopter setting down gently on the top of a building in Seattle. James was the first to jump down, holding out his hand for Carrigan. He pulled her against him for a quick kiss, the casual intimacy of it making Sloan’s chest ache. Her sister truly was happy with this man, no matter how deplorable Sloan and the rest of their family found him.
But then, she could no longer throw stones—not when she was living in a glass house by being with Jude.
She hopped down without assistance and waited for Doc Jones and Jude. He still looked pale, but that terrifying glazed look in his eyes wasn’t there anymore. Thank God.
They followed her sister and James through a door and into an elevator that only had one destination. “The penthouse,” Carrigan explained, punching the button. “We’ll iron out the next step and go from there.”
“I’m not going back to Boston.” She shot a look at James, who pointedly ignored her.
“After that shit our darling brother just pulled, I don’t exactly blame you.” Carrigan shot a look at where Jude tried to shrug Doc Jones off and got smacked upside the back of the head for his efforts. “MacNamara, huh? I thought your lot was all killed off.”
“Not all of us.” His voice gave nothing away.
“I can see that.” She turned back to Sloan. “I need to speak with you without all the overwhelming masculinity smothering us.” Her practiced smile flickered, just a little. “It’s been a long time.”
“It has.” Sloan pressed her lips together. “Jude, will you be okay?”
“Go. I won’t die in the time it takes for you to talk with your sister.” He saw too much, just like he always seemed to.
“Not for lack of trying,” Doc Jones muttered. “Now hold still or I will have Thing Two tie you down.”
Sloan hesitated for a moment longer, but the truth was that she wanted to talk to Carrigan, and not only because she needed to convince her sister not to strong-arm them into going to Boston. Keeping Jude away from the Sheridans was paramount—more important than the chance Dmitri Romanov might hunt her down.
No, not might. He would.
It was only a matter of time.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Carrigan led the way into an en suite that was downright ostentatious. The bed looked big enough to sleep six people, and the doorway leading into the bathroom was more like a massive arch into another world.