Keira nodded against his chest. "You’re serious? About us?"
He rolled them over so he was gazing down at her, all that beautiful mess of hair spread out on the comforter.
"Please. Please say you’ll come with me."
Then he watched as her plush lips opened, and one word came out.
"Yes."
* * *
It wasn’t until they woke the next morning that Finn and Keira saw the envelope that had been slipped under the door.
"It looks like our mystery host isn’t done with us," he said as he tore open the legal-sized missive.
Inside were two charter plane tickets to an island that was all too familiar to Finn.
"Well," he whispered.
"What is it?" Keira asked, stepping closer to look over his shoulder. "Do you know who’s after us?"
He smiled crookedly. "No one’s after us—except family. I think maybe they played matchmaker." He winked at her. "And it worked."
"Who?"
He held up the tickets. "Want a vacation before we decide where to move next?"
"Finn. What’s going on?"
"Let’s go pack a bag for you and I’ll explain on the way to the airport."
Chapter 24
Lila sat on the recliner, her toes dug into the sand, as her floppy hat and sunglasses helped reduce the glare while she typed on her laptop.
The breeze was just enough to cool her off, but not so strong that it was distracting. Her fingers flew over the keys as she worked past layer after layer of security on the FBI’s internal filing system. An alert beeped on the cell phone sitting next to her and a small smile quirked her lips.
"Right on time," she murmured, continuing to work.
A few moments later, she lifted her hands from the keyboard and watched as strings of numbers and letters flew across the screen, millions of combinations, all of them designed to invade, consume, and then disappear. By the time the majority of the FBI agents in the organized crime division were awake and at their desks, their entire electronic filing system would be decimated. The work of decades gone in mere hours.
Lila shrugged lightly. It was unfortunate, but it had to be done. She took care of her own first.
The breeze rustled nearby palms, and a shiver crawled up her spine just before a shadow fell over her, blocking out the sun. She slowly turned her gaze to a pair of masculine legs clad in an expensive suit, up over the fine Italian leather belt, on to a snowy white dress shirt unbuttoned at the neck. And finally, into a pair of icy blue eyes she’d dreamed of every night for two long years.
"Hi," he said, quietly.
She slowly removed her sunglasses and gazed at Cian, her heart hammering like a hummingbird’s.
"Hi yourself."
He had his suit jacket slung over one shoulder, a single finger hooked around the collar. He squinted down at her, his long dark lashes stark against pale skin.
"I have to admit," he said, turning to gaze out at the ocean. "Until the plane landed, I wasn’t sure it was going to be you."
She swallowed, suddenly overcome by emotion. Had he hoped it would be someone else? It had been two years, after all. Maybe his feelings had faded?
"Was your flight okay?" she asked, standing so she could look at him more closely, watch his eyes for some sort of clue.
He nodded, finally turning his gaze back to her. His hand came up as though he were going to touch her, then he dropped it back to his side.
"You shouldn’t have taken such a big risk. If they ever find out it was you…" His voice faded and he seemed overcome by something before clearing his throat.
She took a step closer and laid her palm along his cheek. "I had to," she told him. Her voice was barely a whisper, but so fierce it carried between them like a bolt of lightning. "They’ll never find me, Cian, and if they do, even one day with you is worth it all."
His eyes shut and he released a deep shuddering breath. Her heart thudded painfully in her chest.
"I was dead in there," he told her.
She nodded, tears pooling unshed in her eyes.
"I was dead without you." His voice was as rough as gravel as he gazed down at her, digging a hand into the hair at the back of her head and dislodging her floppy hat. The hat drifted away, down the sandy beach, not unlike the last bit of sense she carried in her oversized brain.
"It’s all going to be okay now," she whispered as one lone tear slid down her cheek.
Slowly, as if seconds were hours and the world had come to a dead stop, he lowered his head, using one hand to angle hers until their mouths were perfectly aligned. Tentatively, he brushed his lips against hers. Then her entire world exploded into heat.
* * *
Cian’s heart beat heavy and hard. Like a limb that hadn’t been exercised and had atrophied. It struggled, burning with the exertion required to pump his blood, feed his veins, and feel again.
It had been fewer than twenty-four hours since he’d been woken by a guard he’d never seen, in the middle of the night, and handed a new suit, a passport under an alias, a wad of cash, and two credit cards. There had also been a note with instructions for when and where to board a plane.
The prison doors had closed behind him and a car and driver had pulled up in a carefully orchestrated maneuver. The driver politely asked if he needed to stop for anything, then drove him to the airstrip. He was in the air on the private plane before the sun rose and the FBI realized he’d been released.
He knew it was one of three possibilities—the Russians, Liam, or Lila. It didn’t feel like Liam—there was too much finesse involved and not enough force. It did feel like the Russians. They loved mystery and drama.
But what his heart told him was that it was Lila. Only his head wouldn’t allow him to believe that. Because if he let himself go there and it turned out not to be her, he knew he couldn’t survive it. And honestly, he didn’t even want to. If it was the Russians, he was fine with that. Let them take him. He’d accomplished what he’d set out to in his life. A few days of torture was easier than a few decades in prison.
But then they’d landed on the island he’d set up for her, and he knew. But still he hadn’t let himself have hope. He’d silenced all hope the day he’d let her go, and letting it back in wasn’t going to be easy. He’d walked from the hired car to the beach chair where he saw her sitting, looking more gorgeous than even his fantasies had conjured. And still he hadn’t believed it.
He’d stood and watched her lips form words, heard her throaty voice, smelled her sweet skin.
And still he hadn’t believed it. It was another dream. A stupid fantasy. He’d finally lost touch with reality completely.
And then he’d decided he didn’t care if she was real or not, he was still going to try to kiss her. Just like he did every night when he closed his eyes.
And she’d kissed him back.
Cian pulled away to gaze at her. The real Lila. Not a mirage. Not about to dissipate in the wind. This was her. The love of his life, safe and sound. Free. With him.
And that’s when Cian MacFarlane finally broke down.
The tears came faster than he could have imagined. They streamed from his eyes like he’d sprung a leak somewhere, and a choking sound wrenched from his chest. Lila’s eyes grew wide and then she was wrapping her arms around his shoulders as his knees gave way and he melted onto the sand. She knelt with him and held his head to her breast as he sobbed.
"You’re safe," she whispered over and over. "It’s real. You’re safe." She stroked his hair like a mother would a child, and he cried like he hadn’t since he was one. For twelve years Cian MacFarlane had lived with one objective—saving the people he loved. And now, at last, his mission was complete. Because he, too, was finally saved. He, too, was finally loved. He, too, was finally real.
* * *
"Did you check in with the guards when they changed shifts?" Cian asked Liam as his brother sauntered onto the patio that surrounded the pool at Lila’s estate.
"Cian," Lila said softly. "You can stop worrying. Liam doesn’t need to check in with them. We’re safe here. You set everything up so well, I’ve never once been worried."
"Anyone could have—" he began.
"No," she interrupted. "Anyone couldn’t have, and no one did." She stood from the chair at the outdoor dining table where she’d been hammering away at her laptop for the last twenty minutes. Keira and Finn were on the beach a few dozen yards away, and Katya read a magazine in a lounge chair at the edge of the pool.
When she reached Cian, Lila pressed to her tiptoes and kissed him on the lips. He might never get used to that—her being real and kissing him. It still seemed like a dream.
Her small hands were smooth on his bare forearms, and he saw Liam smirk when she cupped his scruffy jaw with her palm.
"You’re safe," she told him gravely. "I’ll tell you as often as needed. You’re safe. I’m safe. Liam is safe. Finn is safe. Connor is safe."
"The baby…" His voice was husky with emotion but he couldn’t seem to control it yet. He’d had to excuse himself twice in the two days since he’d arrived so he wouldn’t cry in front of his brothers. It was like all the unshed tears from a lifetime spent under Robbie’s thumb had waited to fall now.
"Molly is safe, my love," Lila cooed. "She’s beautiful and safe and she’s going to grow up in a regular house with a regular family."
"Okay," he rasped before he pulled her into his chest and just held her. Liam melted away to Katya, and Lila gently led Cian toward the house where there would be more of her special brand of rehabilitation. They hadn’t had sex yet, but there had been caresses, and kisses, and slowly, bit by bit, Cian was coming back online, like one of Lila’s computers after a reboot.
In bed, they held each other, and he slowly peeled her sundress from her body, finding her small breasts naked beneath the cotton fabric, only a slip of fabric between her legs.
"You’re so fucking beautiful," he whispered as sunlight streamed across her golden skin.
"So are you," she answered, running a hand over his bare chest.
His fingertips skated across the small scars that marred her back, and he shuddered. No matter how many times he saw them and felt them, he was afraid he’d never be able to control the visceral reaction he had. It was a reminder of what he’d fought, what she’d endured, and why this, right here, was so much more than just two people in love.
They continued to touch one another tenderly, and soon his swim trunks were gone, her thong melted away. And Cian felt the stirrings of a surge of desire that he hadn’t in years. "God, Lila." He breathed her in as his hand slipped between her thighs. "I want you."
She continued to kiss him and hold him and give herself to him, until finally he rose over her and gazed down into her velvet eyes.
"I love you, Lila."
She smiled. "I’m pretty sure I love you, too," she teased.
His voice was as grave as he felt. He didn’t have the words to describe what was happening inside.
"You didn’t just save my life. You saved my heart, and you saved my soul. How can I ever repay you for that?" he asked.
"All I did was love you, Cian. And you’re worthy of every bit of it. All you have to do is love me as long as you’re able. I’ll keep on loving you right back."
Then, after two long years, Cian MacFarlane finally came home.
Chapter 25
"You’re going to try Phoenix?" Cian asked as he sat on the veranda behind Lila’s house two weeks later.
"Yeah," Finn replied, handing Cian a tumbler of Jameson before sitting in an adjacent chair.
Liam held up his glass and said, "Sláinte."
Cian and Finn answered, "Sláinte."
“Sláinte,” came Connor’s voice from the speaker phone set on the coffee table.
"Keira really hates Chicago winters, and I like that it’s a half day’s drive from Connor and Jess."
“We like it, too,” Connor said. “We want Molly to grow up with some family. She needs to know you.”
Cian nodded, his heart swelling with warmth and pride as he thought of Finn being able to look out for Connor.
"And you’re serious about the P.I. thing?" Liam asked. "I mean, they’re kind of like fucking cops."
Finn chuckled and flipped off his older brother. "In case you hadn’t noticed, my girlfriend was a cop."
Liam shrugged. "Every family has to have their black sheep, I guess."
“But I am serious, and so is Keira. We’re thinking about expanding to security work once we get things rolling. Hire some former military, contract for concerts, celebs in town, that kind of thing.”
“I always knew you’d make a great businessman,” Connor said.
“You and Keira make a great team,” Cian told him. “You’re going to be big successes.”
On the speaker phone they heard Jess talking to Connor as Molly babbled in the background.
“Bedtime,” Connor said. “I have to sing the lullaby.”
Liam smirked, but Cian closed his eyes and laid his head back. “That sounds perfect. Let’s hear it.”
Connor chuckled on the other end. “It’s nothing special—the one Ma used to sing to us.”
The three brothers sat quietly then, the cooler night air bringing the scent of the ocean to them, as Connor’s voice drifted from the speaker, singing Toora Loora, the famous Irish lullaby.
“Over in Killarney, many years ago, my mother sang a song to me,” Connor began.
And as the lilting tones washed over him, Cian knew every bit of sacrifice had been worth this. To listen to his baby brother sing the family lullaby to his daughter was worth anything. It was worth everything.
“Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, Too-ra-loo-ra-li, Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, that's an Irish lullaby.” Connor’s voice faded away.
“She’s out,” he whispered.
Cian, Finn, and Liam smiled at one another.
“Slán abhaile,” Cian murmured before pressing end on the call. He paused to swallow down the emotion. "A new MacFarlane baby."
"Will wonders never cease," Liam said with a grin.
"You’ll bring Ma out once you’re settled?" Cian asked Finn. He knew he didn’t need to keep monitoring everything, Lila had been working to get him to let go, piece by piece, but the habits of a lifetime were hard to erase.
"We will," Finn said. "And we’ll put her on a plane under an alias and set her up in Phoenix under one, as well. We’ll do it quickly and quietly, no one will know where she’s gone."
"Safe," Liam said, shaking his head in disbelief. "Who’d have thought we’d ever be safe?"
"I did," Cian answered with conviction. "I always knew you would be."
Liam sobered. "I know you don’t want to talk about it—"
"You’re right," Cian warned, "I don’t."
"You know how we feel, though," Liam said roughly.
Cian turned his icy gaze first to one brother, then the other. "We are family. And we will die for each other if we have to. You for me. Me for you. But now, we are safe, and the women we love are safe, and—"
Liam put a hand on Cian’s shoulder. “And there’s a MacFarlane baby.” He winked.
"You going to have a Molly of your own?" Finn asked Liam.
If Cian didn’t know better, he would have sworn Liam blushed. "Not sure. Katya’s had a hard life. I don’t pressure her ever. Especially not where her body’s concerned." He shrugged lightly. "If she wants to, we will. If she doesn’t, that’s fine, too."
"What about you?" Cian asked Finn.
Finn snorted. "We’ve never even lived together. And we have a P.I. business to get up and running."
They all sipped some more of their whiskey, and then Cian raised his glass.
"To the one lesson the old man taught that was worth keeping," Cian said. "Family is everything."
"To family," his brothers echoed.
* * *
Lila heard the door slide open quietly before the so
ft footsteps padded toward her where she sat on a lounge chair by the pool in the dark.
“Can’t sleep?” Liam asked as he sat on the chair next to her.
“Sometimes I have dreams,” she said, shrugging one shoulder in Cian’s big dress shirt she wore as a nightgown. “Not often anymore, but once in a while.”
Liam nodded. “Katya, too. Hell, even I do once in a while. It took a lot of years to get Statesville out of my subconscious.”
They sat listening to the waves in the moonlight.
“Do you think he’s going to be okay?” Liam asked a few moments later.
She thought before she answered, because her beautiful Irish man had been through hell. He wasn’t going to forget it all overnight.
“Yeah, I do.”
“Can I tell you something?”
She turned to gaze at him. She knew what he was going to say, but she also knew he needed to say it, so she just nodded.
“What you did—spending two straight years figuring out how to break him out—I’m not sure you’ll ever realize what that means to me.”
“You helped. I couldn’t have done it without your contacts and ideas.”
Liam continued as if she hadn’t spoken. “Cian and I…”
“I know,” she murmured. “It’s okay. I know.”
“Thank you, Lila,” he finally said, his voice thick with emotion. “Thank you for Cian. Thank you for Finn. Thank you for saving us.”
Lila Rodriguez just smiled and then leaned over and kissed Liam’s rough cheek.
“I think you saved me first.”
“We saved each other,” Liam told her. “And we’ll keep on saving each other. That’s what family does.”
Lila had never had a family before, it made her smile.
* * *
The next night, as Cian lay in bed, Lila sprawled naked across his chest, he stroked her long hair and thought about his brothers’ new lives.
Touch of Dark: Dublin Devils 3 Page 18