Page 54 of Until Ireland

“She is mine,” I replied.

“Good for you, Mack. Now, if you don’t mind, I have to let my insurance know the car has been found.”

“Right. I’ll send you the information for the detective who has been assigned to your case and the car.” Cobi would be at work by now, and if I knew Weatherby, he’d be dialing Cobi’s number before he disconnected with me.

“Perfect. Thank you for calling me, Mackinley. You’ve made my day.” Once we exchanged goodbyes, I hung up then went to wake Ireland.

As I stepped into the bedroom, I heard the shower and crossed to the bathroom. Steam covered the glass door, but I could still make out the lithe form of her body as she washed her hair. “Good morning.” I closed the distance between us, kicking off my clothes as I went. “Need a hand?”

She turned, giving me a playful look. “Always. Maybe you could scrub my back.”

“You read my mind.” I closed the door behind me and wrapped her in my embrace. “I have something to tell you, but first, let me help you out.”

She moaned. “You’re insatiable, Mackinley Redman.”

“And you’re not complaining, Ireland Banks.”

She gave a throaty laugh as she wiggled against me. “Never.”

An hour later after we were both showered and thoroughly fucked, I guided Ireland back into the kitchen and pointed her toward the back door. “Before we go out there, I need you to know everything I have done was to protect you and help you. I didn’t risk anything, and I’d never do something to bring harm to you.”

“You’re scaring me, Mack.” She licked her bottom lip as she stared up at me. “You’ve been different since I explained what happened to me.”

“You’re right. I’m more determined to protect you and make sure the past never interferes with our future again.” I opened the door. “Go ahead. It’s behind the small door on the garage.” I nudged her out the door, following at a distance.

Even with the damage to her ignition, the bike was in pristine condition. It could have been a hell of a lot worse. They could have stripped it completely or sold it already. However, I had a feeling they were saving it for a coming auction. That bike alone could fetch at least a quarter of a million dollars if the right people put in bids. Or he could’ve been waiting for her to come get it. That idea pissed me off. It’d be a cold day in hell before the fucker got anywhere near Ireland.

She grabbed the knob and glanced back at me. I motioned for her to keep going and grinned. She took a deep breath then swung the door wide. There, sitting next to my bike was hers. Her gaze snapped to mine, filled with questions and shock. She took a tentative step forward before I joined her. Her fingertips lovingly caressed her bike as she took in every detail and I suspected, catalogued everything to be sure it wasn’t a total loss.

“You need a new ignition. Whoever snatched it fucked it up,” I whispered.

“How, Mack? How did you get it back? Where was it?” She shook her head, still staring at the machine like she couldn’t believe it was there.

“Followed your intuition,” I said with a shrug. “Jax was in Nashville for a job anyway, and I asked for a favor.”

“I don’t understand how you got it back though.” She crouched down to take a look at her ignition system. “They’re stupid fucks, for sure.” Ireland held up two wires, a yellow and a blue one. “All they needed to do was combine these wires to turn it over. Or better yet, pop the ignition with a screwdriver, drop it into neutral, and kickstart it. This mess will take a month to sort because I’ll have to rewire the whole bike.” She scrubbed her face.

“We have our ways,” I said then frowned. “You know, I have people who could fix this, so you don’t have to.”

She snorted. “Not happening. I fix her.” A bit of the remaining tension filling my stomach released.There’s my girl.She glanced at her bike once more. “You didn’t shoot anybody did you?” She cocked a brow as she stared up at me.

I laughed. “Nope. No one was there when we grabbed your bike.”

“You stole it back?” She laughed, shaking her head. “Feels like a giant game of tag, to be honest.”

“Ah, but in this situation, who is going to rat us out?” I challenged.

“You have a point. Plus, who knows when he’d sell it.” So, she’d figured it out too. “Or if his intention was to get me to come back.”

It was good to know we’d been thinking along the same lines. I smothered a yawn as I stretched. “I have one more thing to tell you as well.” I locked the garage up and guided her back to the house. “I talked to Marcus, the original owner of the Aston Martin, like I promised Cobi I would.”

Her gaze dropped to her feet, and her whole demeanor changed. “Oh, what did he have to say?” She was bracing herself. I could see it in the tension of her shoulders and jaw. As much as she was told none of this was her fault, she took on the responsibility anyway.

“He would like you to complete the repairs and when you’re finished, he’ll personally come to retrieve his car and meet you.” I grinned. “He’s not mad at either of us. Of course, he wants the people who stole from him to pay, but Marcus is a good person, and we trust each other implicitly.”

“Are you fucking serious?” Ireland’s eyes went round with surprise. “He’s asked for me to finish the work?”

“Yep, said he’d pay for it too,” I replied. “He knew about all the repairs and had been prepared to send the car to his mechanic the day after it’d been stolen. This way, he’ll have a rebuilt car and fresh paint job.”

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