Page 64 of Redemption

Twenty missed calls from Finn.

Shit.

Just before she gets to the door, she turns back, giving me a long look. “Giveourmother my regards.”

My stomach drops into my feet, the dip after cresting a hill at high speed. “Our mother?” I whisper in disbelief.Our mother?The bells above the door jingle with her exit, and my mind is still scrambling until her words stick.

Oh, my God.Pearl. She’s my half-sister from my mother’s first marriage, the child my mother abandoned to marry my father. My mother warned me about her months ago. A woman who wanted my mother to understand the fear she grew up with because of an abusive father. Finn and Jay searched everywhere and found nothing on Pearl. Not a single blip to indicate she was a real danger, that her threat to my mother wasn’t bitter bravado.

Of course, if she’s been using aliases for years, they never stood a chance.

Kim grabs my hand and tugs me away from the table. “Back exit is this way.” The distant sound of sirens pierces my consciousness. The last thing we need is to get hauled in by the police.

Jay and Kim led me out of the restaurant and into a rear alley. We don’t have a car or any means of transportation. Finn and Lorcan are still at the mansion, and Jade has revealed herself. My head is spinning, and my knees are weak.

“We can’t worry about Lorcan or Finn until we’ve secured a place for our family to go. They need to leave the island now.” Jay’s phone is out, and he’s frantically going through his contact list. “Who can we call?”

“You call Demid,” I say. “Tell him things have changed. We’ll do anything he wants.” My voice catches. “Anything. I’ll call my father and make him draw up the contract. I’m not having—” My throat closes up, and I have to swallow a sob. “I’m not having my son murdered over money.” The thought almost drops me to the ground.

I punch in my father’s number with shaking fingers. The phone rings and rings and rings, but he doesn’t answer. I glance at Jay, and he’s grimacing. “What is it?”

“Demid’s dead.” His voice is dull. “I just—I just got his man on the phone. Car bomb this afternoon. The PLA must have realized we were trying to move our families.”

My breath catches, and Kim’s arm snakes around my waist when my knees give out. I clutch onto her, shock hitting me square in the chest. “Dead?”

“Finn and Lorcan are on their way here.” Kim keeps a tight hold on me. “I talked to Lorcan, and they’re in the car. That must be why Jade decided to tip her hand. Finn found her passport in the office when they combed it. Pearl Jade is her name. Pierre-Jacques must have woken up and realized Finn and Lorcan were missing or the office had been searched—something.”

“My son,” I whisper. “She’s going after my son.”

“And my family.” Jay runs a hand down his face.

Sirens wailed in the distance. “We need to get out of the alley and away from the restaurant. Maintain a normal pace.” Kim points in the opposite direction to what I would have chosen. “This way. We’ll find a pub or somewhere to duck into. Keep calm.”

My hands shake while we walk onto a side street, away from the downtown core. Our steady pace makes me want to jump or run or scream. Energy courses through me with no outlet. Kim leads us through the narrow streets, the closed shops, as though she knows where she’s going, and I’m grateful for her confidence.

With his family at risk, Jay isn’t in any position to hold me together. My heart is in my throat. I’ve wanted a baby since I lost my first with Finn, and to have Lucas now, and to realize he could be snatched from me at any moment is terrifying.

“If Demid’s organization is in chaos, who is most likely to step in?” Kim asks.

I take a deep, shaky breath and force my brain to think. “Before she was murdered, I would have said his daughter. Now, I’m not sure.” There are black dots on the edges of my vision, and I’m fighting to stay upright.My baby.

“Try your father again. He’s better than nothing if he can arrange for them to go somewhere or at least get a lot of additional security.”

“They can’t stay on the island,” I whisper. “She’s already a step ahead of us. She’ll realize how to get to them.” Was she responsible for the bomb in my hotel? The one who almost killed me and Jay?

“I understand it’s hard,” Kim says. “She’s counting on fear to drive us. We have to stay rational and logical. We don’t have a timeline, but since she’s shown us her hand, we have to move now. Do you still have your plane in Cape Verde?”

“Yes,” I say. “Why?” Her decisive tone is steadying me, and she drops her hand from my arm.

“Let’s get your family on it. Get them headed here, but somewhere in the south of Ireland. If a better option comes up while they’re in flight, we’ll reroute them. But at least if they’re in Ireland, we can conserve resources and minimize worry.”

“I’ll call Sofia,” Jay says with tears in his eyes.

“Have your security detail sweep the car and the plane for explosives before anyone sets foot in either.”

“Do you think…” I say. “Do you think she knows who you and Lorcan are?”

Kim shoves her hands deep into the pockets of her jacket. “She wasn’t surprised I had no loyalty to her. I held a gun on her, and she didn’t flinch, didn’t pull rank. Technically, as far as she knows, she employs me.” We walk for another moment before Kim says, “If she does realize we’re agents, and she doesn’t care, she doesn’t think we can stop her.”

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