Page 15 of Unbreakable
"I wouldn't mind having a baby with you, Little Bird," I confess shrugging my shoulders.
"Oh god," Grace groans, face planting into the bed.
"Babe, look at me." Grace refuses shaking her head 'no' while snatching the pillow and covering her face with it. "Yes. Look at me, Little Bird." At my last plea, she peeks out from behind the pillow. "We'll take this one day at a time okay? I know your life has been turned upside down, but I promise I'm not going anywhere and neither are you. Whatever happens, we'll get through it." Pushing the pillow away, Grace gets up onto her knees, and I pull her into my chest and rest my chin on top of her head. "One day at a time, babe."
"You're right, besides I don't blame you. Using protection is as much my responsibility as it is yours. I got lost in the moment too. It's both our faults."
I don't know how long Grace and I sit in the middle of the bed holding each other, but we are both brought out of our fog when we hear the opening and closing of the bathroom door telling us Remi is up. "I better get up, so I can make some breakfast," Grace announces. When she makes a move to get out of bed, I tighten my hold on her halting her movements.
"Before you do, there's something else we need to talk about." Grace looks at me expectantly waiting for me to elaborate. "I need to ask you about Ronan." As soon as her husband's name leaves my mouth, her body goes rigid. "I don't want to talk about you and him. I know you'll finish that story when you're ready. What I want to discuss is him. His story. I've called church for later today. The club is going to handle the situation. It's time for this shit to be over once and for all, Grace."
"What are you going to do?" Without sugar coating it, I answer her question.
"I'm gonna kill him."
"You're serious?" she chokes out.
"As a fuckin' heart attack."
"Maybe we should let Finn handle the situation. I already told you his family is powerful. I doubt you'd ever get close enough to him to carry out your threat. Ronan doesn't go anywhere without his men."
"O'Rourke has to play by the rules, babe. I don't. He has to wait for Ronan to slip before he can do anything. It's been two years, and the bastard hasn't done anything to give the police a reason to arrest him. O'Rourke knows the fucker is after you and if he finds you, then he would most likely kill you. He can't put him behind bars without evidence of him doing anything. You get that, don't ya?"
With a defeated sigh Grace nods. "Yeah, I know how the law works, Jake. I don't want you to get in trouble or get caught all because of me. If something happens to you, I wouldn't be able to live with myself. I can't lose you, Jake. I just got you." Burying her face in my neck, Grace begins to sob, her fear for me making my gut twist.
"You have nothing to worry about, Grace. Believe it or not, I know what I'm doing. If it makes you feel better, I'll put a call into O'Rourke and see if there have been any new developments since he's been back to Chicago."
Snapping her head up, Grace asks, "What do you mean since he's been back in Chicago? I never told you where Finn was from."
"I know all about Finn O'Rourke, babe. My boys and I ran into him at your apartment above the bakery. He was there making sure you covered your tracks. After the informative conversation we had with him I had Reid check him out."
"That's how you knew where to find me, isn't it?" She asks.
"He didn't come right out and tell me, but he gave me enough to figure it out on my own. I would have eventually found you, babe, with or without his help."
"I'm going to kill him the next time I see him," she huffs.
"O'Rourke made the right call, and you know it. As I said, I would have found you regardless." Crossing her arms over her chest, Grace grumbles something under her breath about men being infuriating.
Twenty minutes later after she was done pouting, which is cute as fuck, Grace went on to tell me as much as she could about her husband. Now that I have an idea of what I am up against, it's time to get to the clubhouse and clue my brothers in on the situation.
Walking into the clubhouse, I see Gabriel, Logan, Reid, and Quinn. The four of them are sittin' at the bar. When they hear the door close behind me all four sets of heads turn in my direction and all four of my boys stand. Logan is the first to speak. "Everyone is in church." Lifting my chin, I stride across the room and down the hall with my boys at my back towards the room we hold church. When I walk in, I make my way to the head of the table. Once I slam the gavel, the men take their seats as I continue to stand as I have the floor.
"As you all know Grace is back." At my statement, there is a collective round of fist pounding on the table and a few whistles, which cause me to chuckle because it feels damn good to finally have my woman. "Alright, alright, quiet down. Like I was saying, Grace is home and by home, I mean she is at my place, which is now her place. Something else you all have already been clued in on is her daughter Remi. She is now with us too. Grace is mine. Therefore, Remi is mine. They both should be treated as such."
Squaring off and looking each one of my men in the face they all give me a nod of understanding. "Now with that out of the way, we're going to get down to business. I found out Grace is married." I receive a few brow lifts from some of the men at my statement; my brothers are smart enough not to say a word so, I continue. "Grace Cohen is Anna De Burca. She has been runnin' from her husband Ronan De Burca for over two years. Giving you the short version out of respect for my woman is, the motherfucker had been beating her for years and the last time nearly killed her."
Once I deliver the blow, my men act like I knew they would. The room fills with anger and with the declaration of retribution. "You got any information on this guy?" This is coming from Reid.
"Yes, Grace has given me as much detail about him as she could, and I also spoke to O'Rourke before coming in today. O'Rourke has been investigating her husband and his family for a few years."
"What do you mean investigating?" Reid asks.
I pause a moment and gear myself up for the bomb I'm about to drop on the club. I wasn't prepared for what I learned this morning from O'Rourke. But if I know my brothers, they will not be deterred by the news. The Kings will not back down. My men will have my back.
"Grace said the De Burca family is very well-known and extremely powerful. She told me she's not sure as to what the family is in to, but she is certain that whatever it is- it's illegal. Before she and Ronan were an item, Grace heard of the rumors about the De Burca family, but she was never brought into the happenings. So, I spoke to O'Rourke. He told me the De Burcas' are one of the most prominent Irish mob families in the Midwest. Dealing with drug trafficking, racketeering, and extortion. Not to mention the number of unsolved murders that surround the family due to lack of evidence."
I stop speaking a moment to let what I just unloaded sink in. I don't miss several murmurs offuckescape some of the men's mouths. "Shit with Grace just got real. O'Rourke said after he had Grace settled with her new identity and in a new town he continued his investigation with the De Burca family. He's been in the wings watching and waiting for them to slip. But as you know, families like this with endless amounts of money and power at their disposal, O'Rourke is way out of his league. Grace admitted her mother tried to convince her while she and Ronan were dating to break things off and pleaded with her not to marry him, but Grace was in love, she wasn't going to see what other people saw.
