by Nashoda Rose
I lightly placed my hand on Deaglan’s back. I wouldn’t risk him being shot. Not ever.
His hand snagged mine before I could move past him. “No.”
“You promised,” I whispered, looking up at him. He promised not to get shot. It was a ridiculous promise, but I was holding him to it.
“Do not move,” he said, shielding me with his body.
“Wrong answer,” Curran said, and fired.
“Now.” Deaglan shoved me to the ground and landed on top of me.
A barrage of bullets pelleted the container near Curran. I didn’t know where they came from, but I knew it was Deck and his guys.
Curran dove for cover between the shipping containers and Deaglan ran after him.
“Deaglan.” I jumped to my feet at the same time as he lunged for Curran.
Curran raised his gun again, but Deaglan was already on top of him and knocked it from his hand. The metal hit the deck and slid under a container.
Deaglan didn’t hesitate as he slammed his fist into Curran’s jaw, sending him staggering back.
Curran gained his balance. “I’ll fuckin’ kill you.”
Deaglan smirked. “You can try, asshole.”
It was hard to tell who was who in the shadows as they fought. Blood sprayed. Grunts bounced off the deck into the night air. Bone pounded bone.
And thumps echoed as bodies smashed into the hollow metal containers.
Curran’s fists swung wildly. But Deaglan was calmer. Precise. Methodical. Every blow a precision missile.
Deaglan continued to pound into Curran, who tried to escape the relentless blows by staggering back farther and farther.
I held my breath. Heart pounding as I watched Deaglan.
This was Crown. This was the man who fought in cages.
This was the man who fiercely protected. And fiercely loved.
The man I loved.
But it was also the boy who lost a mother to a monster like Curran. A mother who gave up everything for him. Whom he loved and couldn’t protect.
“Get back,” a deep, raspy voice growled.
Vic.
His arm hooked my waist and pulled me farther from Deaglan and Curran. I hadn’t realized I’d been slowly moving closer.
I glanced away from Deaglan and Curran for a second to see Deck and Tyler, too. No one moved to help Deaglan, although he didn’t look like he needed much help.
“He needs this,” Deck said, as if knowing what I was thinking.
Salty iron pooled in my mouth as I bit the inside of my cheek. Tears pooled. My heart pounded. It wasn’t because I was scared Deaglan would lose. It was because I imagined him fighting as a kid. Fighting to end the guilt. To end the pain that drove him.
Deaglan plowed his fist into Curran’s throat. He staggered, hands to his neck as he struggled to inhale. His eyes widened before he fell to the ground like a cement block.
My fingers dug into Vic’s arm as he kept me locked to him.
Deaglan straddled Curran’s body. He grabbed him by the shirt and half-lifted him as he watched him take his final breath.
Curran went limp and Deaglan tossed him aside like garbage.
He stared at Curran’s lifeless body. His chest heaving and blood dripping from his damaged fists.
“Let me go,” I said, prying at Vic’s hold.
His arm unlocked and I ran for Deaglan.
I slammed into him and he grunted as he staggered back a step.
My arms hooked his waist and I pressed my cheek against his chest, hearing the distinct thump of his heartbeat. His arms remained at his sides for a second as if he didn’t know who I was.
Then… then he enclosed me in his embrace. “Eva,” he whispered in a ragged breath.
I sagged against him. God, I loved this man. All of him.
Because love wasn’t about loving only the best pieces. It was about loving all of them.
He pressed his lips to the top of my head. “Cuisle, moi chroi.” His hand cupped my chin and our eyes locked. “You’re the pulse of my heart, Eva.”
2 months later
“His feet smell like pancakes and birthday cake,” Maddie said while holding the five-week-old, black-and-white-spotted puppy, she’d aptly named Polka-a-dot, in her arms.
We were in my backyard on the patio with the remnants of a busted piñata scattered across the grass that had hung from the large oak tree. Everyone was here except for Kendra, who was in Niagra Falls covering the hockey training camp. But Deaglan’s brother Ronan was flying in tomorrow, and she was coming back to interview him.
Hope’s eyes widened and Skye gaped as she stared at the oversized puppy paws.
Deaglan crouched in front of Maddie and cradled the pup’s paw in his palm. He brought it to his nose. “She’s right. They do smell like birthday cake and pancakes.”
Maddie’s grin broadened. She had insisted the pup blow out the candles with her. Polk-a-dot had other ideas and squirmed out of her arms and dove head first into the horse-shaped vanilla cake Ally had brought.
Within seconds, he was covered in white and pink icing.
“Really?” Skye asked, shifting closer.
“Reckon it’s good enough to eat.” Deaglan opened his mouth and pretended to put the paw in his mouth.
The three girls burst out laughing.
This was the man I’d met at the charity event… casual, charming, and playful. The dangerous, bossy, and overly protective demeanor was still a part of him, but it had eased without the threat of Curran lingering.
“Go ahead, smell.” Deaglan winked at Maddie as he straightened. She giggled and readjusted her hold on what looked like a mastiff cross pup. Someone found it on the side of the road in a garbage bag when it was a few days old. Charlotte was handraising it until it was old enough to be adopted.
Skye and Hope leaned in to smell Polk-a-dot’s paw.
I laughed, as did London, Georgie, Charlotte, and Ally, who sat at the patio table with me.
The screen door slid across the tracks, and Kai strolled out with three juice boxes in his hand.
London’s eyes swung to her husband. “Uh-oh.”
Kai’s brows dipped as he looked over at the girls and Deaglan. “What the… Hope, don’t put your face near that filthy animal’s paws.”
“But, Daddy, his feet smell like pancakes and birthday cake,” Hope said. “Deaglan tasted.”
Kai’s glare flashed to Deaglan, who shrugged with a smirk. “Yeah, because he ran through the fuc… fridgin’ cake.” He dumped the juice boxes on the patio table. “Sweetie, dogs walk through their own—”
“Skittles,” Tyler blurted as he came out of the house.
“Uncle Tye Tye, that’s just silly,” Skye said, rolling her eyes.
“It’s not silly, you little monster.” He made a low growl and dove for her. She took off running with a squeal of laughter.
The restless puppy wiggled out of Maddie’s arms and clumsily galloped into the backyard. Hope and she went running after him, while Deaglan sauntered over to my dad and Vic.
It was late afternoon, and my dad and Deaglan had barbequed hamburgers and veggie burgers, and the girls had brought salads and chips. It was Deaglan’s idea to have a get-together before my women’s center opened in a few weeks. The house was finished along with the detached, two-car garage that was insulated and renovated into a quaint space for group counseling.
Two social workers from the Treasured Children’s Center, who had also personally escaped abusive situations, were volunteering at my center part-time. I’d cut back my hours at the hospital in order to focus on the center and spend more time with Deaglan.
He had his visa and was officially part of ‘Vault’s Unyielding Riot’. He’d also officially moved in with me. He was flying back to Ireland with Ronan when he left next week to ‘deal with things’, and those things included Crown.
He suggested he find someone he trusted to take it over, but I knew Crown wasn’t only important to him, but im
portant to the girls he protected, and I wanted him to keep it and continue to help them.
It was a lot like my center, in that sometimes the path isn’t always the one a girl has chosen, but the path they’re given.
And when that path cracks and bleeds beneath her feet, it’s not the fall, it’s how she survives it. How she finds her way back. I didn’t know how the girls at Crown came to be on that path, but Deaglan helped them survive it and gave them a chance for a new beginning if they wanted it.
“Deaglan is really good with kids,” Charlotte said, interrupting my thoughts. She placed her white wine on the patio table. “You guys talk about having any?”
“Uh, no. Not yet.” I wanted kids, but I didn’t know how Deaglan felt.
“That man is a gift from God.” Ally’s eyes roamed the length of Tyler as he jogged over to Deck and Connor with Skye perched on his shoulders. They were in the backyard cleaning up what was left of the piñata the three girls had beat up with a baseball bat. “And God wrapped him up in a big red bow of deliciousness.”
I smacked her arm. “Don’t even think about it. Tyler’s a total player.”
Georgie sipped her sparkling water. “So was Deaglan until he met you. And Tyler needs a woman to come home to after killing bad guys.”
“What’s Vic’s story?” Charlotte asked. “Besides being seriously scary.”
Vic stood leaning against the wood railing, arms crossed and an untouched beer cradled in the crook of his arm. His scowl was fierce, but then it was rare it wasn’t.
Deaglan told me they were working on finding Curran’s connections and who he’d planned to sell me to. Vic interrogated one of Curran’s men, but had obtained nothing from him yet. It could explain the numerous cuts on his knuckles, though.
Georgie caressed her palm over her swollen belly. “That guy needs a woman to teach him how to dance in the rain.”
I laughed because I couldn’t imagine Vic dancing and I’d heard he hated the rain.
“Hey, did you hear Tear Asunder’s new hit song?” London asked.
The girls chatted about the rock band, mentioning they were coming back from their North American tour next weekend. Deaglan had informed me yesterday that we were going to Logan’s house, the lead singer of Tear Asunder, for a get-together so I could meet his cousin Kite.
My eyes shifted to my dad as he barrelled out a laugh at something Deaglan said and slapped him on the back of the shoulder before shaking his hand. Deaglan grinned and Vic’s mouth twitched.
I smiled to myself as warmth settled over me. God, I loved that they got along so well and I knew it meant something to Deaglan. He’d never had the chance to form a relationship with his real father when he’d been so consumed by rage and hatred.
As if sensing my eyes on him, Deaglan’s head lifted and he looked at me. My heart squeezed like it always did and I snagged my lower lip with my teeth. His eyes flicked to my mouth and heat blazed in the depths.
He said something to my dad and Vic then pushed away from the railing and stalked toward me.
Goosebumps rose and tingles scattered.
“I know that look,” London said as her gaze went from me to Deaglan and back again. “I think it’s time we head out.” She stood. “Hope, sweetie. Time to go.”
I knew that look, too, and an ember ignited in my belly.
The other girls stood, too, and Charlotte snagged the pup as he ran by her with a shoe in his mouth.
“Hey, sweetpea,” Georgie called to Deck. “Deaglan wants his girl.”
I felt the heat burn in my cheeks, but I wasn’t sure if it was from her comment or the fact that Deaglan was looking at me like he was going to strip me naked and fuck me right here on the patio.
When he reached me, he pulled me into the cocoon of his arms. “I do want my girl,” he drawled against my neck as he trailed kisses. “Naked. Moaning. Begging.”
A twinge squeezed between my legs and I shoved at his chest. “Stop. My dad is here.”
He chuckled. “Your dad knows we fuck, baby. And he wants grandkids.”
My heart stopped and my fingers curled into his white tee as I looked up at him. “He said that?”
“Mmm,” he murmured.
“What did you say?”
He smirked, eyes twinkling. “I said we’d work on it.”
My breath locked in my throat. We’d work on it. We’d work on having kids.
“You want kids? I mean, you’d be an amazing dad, I just didn’t… I mean, we’ve never talked about it and we should talk about it. I want kids. Two, really, but I’m good with—”
“You’re babbling.”
I totally was.
His heated breath wafted against my neck, causing an army of goosebumps to invade. “And just so you know, baby.” His voice lowered. “I’m marrying you first.”
I tried to swallow, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t do anything but breathe, and even that was hard to do because Deaglan wanted kids. He wanted to marry me.
I didn’t have to time to respond or think or process as I was swept up with goodbyes as everyone filtered out. As soon as the front door closed behind my dad, whom to my utter horror had winked at me knowingly, Deaglan corralled me against the wall in the foyer.
“I’m marrying you, Eva, but I’m going to give you some time to process that. Because when I give you the ring, the processing is over. Your dad’s good with that.”
I jerked. “My dad? You asked my dad?” The words barely passed my lips.
“I asked him weeks ago when we were having a beer after working on your garage.” My mouth dropped open. My dad hadn’t even hinted that Deaglan asked him. “But, baby, tonight we have some unfinished business we need to deal with.”
That unfinished business was the name of my center. I promised I’d make a decision on what to call it by tonight. And I had decided, I just hadn’t told Deaglan yet.
He locked my wrists in his hands above my head. “What’s the name, Eva? Or would you rather I fuck it out of you on a bed of your sticky notes.”
I smiled. “Tempting.”
“Mmm. Or hazardous.”
I ran my tongue over my lower lip and his eyes flared. “For you or me?”
“Babe. Fuck.”
I inhaled a breath. “I’d like to call it Caitlyn House.”
His body froze and his eyes glassed over with emotion. “Caitlyn House,” he repeated.
I nodded. I’d been a little concerned that he wouldn’t like it. That naming it after his mother was too personal, but she was important to him and he had meant the world to her.
“Jesus, Eva. It’s beautiful. She’d have loved that.” He released my wrists, and his hand curled around the nape of my neck. “Fuckin’ rare.”
There were no pieces he hadn’t given me. Some may be ruined and damaged, but they fit. We fit.
“Going to fuck you now and show you how rare,” he said. “I want you off the pill, baby.”
“Okay,” I whispered.
“Love you, Eva.” His lips met mine.
THE END
Want to read about Deaglan’s friends?
Deck’s Story: Perfect Chaos
Kai’s Story: Perfect Ruin
Connor’s Story: Perfect Rage
Coming: Vic Gate’s Book
To the readers,
Thank you for reading Irish Crown. I hope you enjoyed Deaglan and Eva’s story.
I’m always humbled by the kindness book lovers have shown me throughout my career and thank you is never enough, but know that it means the world to me.
Happy Reading,
Books by Nashoda Rose
Irish Crown
Tear Asunder Series
With You (free)
Torn from You
Overwhelmed by You
Shattered by You
Kept from You
Unyielding Series (A Tear Asunder spin off)
Perfect Chaos
Perfect Ruin
Perfect Rage
&nbs
p; Scars of the Wraith Series
Stygian
Tyrant
Credo
Take
What’s Coming?
Ugly Perfects
Vic Gate
Ardent (Scars of the Wraiths)
Edge of You (Tear Asunder)
www.nashodarose.com
Thank you to all the readers for waiting so patiently for Irish Crown. I don’t know if this book would be here without you. Your patience, support and amazing words, were my driving force. You believed in me, when I struggled to believe in myself.
Nash’s Naughty Fillies’, I’m so lucky to be able to chat with each of you. When I pop into the group, I know I’ll leave with a smile on my face. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your support.
Thank you to my editor, Becky at Hot Tree Editing. You totally rock as always. I’m still laughing at the Adam’s apple comment.
This cover, I love this cover so damn much. Thank you to Sara Eirew Photography and model Mike Chabot for bringing this to life.
This book’s interior is beautiful because of Stacey at Champagne Book Design. There is a lot that goes into formatting a book and I know I can always trust Stacey with my words.
Elaine, love you. You find those pesky mistakes that I somehow hop, skip and jump over while you easily lasso and bring to my attention. Thank you.
And to my amazing Beta readers, Midian, Susan, Snow, Lana, Jill, Yaya, I put you girls through the ringer with this one. Bits and pieces then twists and turns and oops, nope let’s do it again. Thank you for sticking with me and reading this twice.
And as always thank you to my family and fur babies for being patient when I disappeared into my cave for days at a time.
Nashoda Rose is a New York Times and USA Today International bestselling author of over twelve novels, including the Tear Asunder series, the spin-off Unyielding series, and her paranormal Scars of the Wraiths.