Page 13 of Dylan
“What did you do, Cole?”
“I asked Felix to find Deja and Ciara.”
“Eejit,” Kate hisses.
“You what? What were you thinking?”
“I was thinking that I knew ya were up to something. I thought I could cut it off at the pass.”
“Fuck.”
“They were our friends. We did nothing wrong and neither did they. We were kids.”
“He doesn’t care.”
“I figured if we knew where they were, we could protect them. Things are different. At least they were supposed to be.”
“I wish you would have asked me first. What has this changed?”
“I know where Deja is.”
“Are you kidding?” Kate gasps.
“Ach, now I wish I were. Once I found her, I started to understand a lot more.”
“Like what?” I ask.
“I understand why the oul bastard didn’t want us connected to them. It’s about more than their skin color or their mixed heritage. The Walsh brothers’ mother is Adline McDougal.”
“As in the McDougal clan?”
I know the name well. When Logan disappeared, their clan was the one business partnership Da insisted he would handle instead of allowing Cole to step in. He was adamant about it.
From the little I know, the McDougal clan happens to be one of Da’s biggest and oldest connections. I’ve learned more about them since we’ve all had to step up to help cover for Logan, who previously was the only one privy to this information.
“One and the same. Our friendships and relationships have always threatened Oland with the promise of the Alliance happening. He couldn’t afford for us to be near the Walshs or anyone connected to them.”
“Okay, fine, but what happened to Ciara and where is she?”
“I don’t know that yet. Deja doesn’t have a clue, and Felix has been running into dead ends.”
“Brooklyn,” I drag out as his words from earlier come back to me. “How long? What have you done? What happened? Is Ciara in danger?”
He punches the steering wheel. My heart begins to race. My brother never loses his cool. This shit is serious.
“I don’t know. I want to tell ya she’s safe, but I don’t know. I’m doing everything I can to find her before he does.
“I asked Felix to find them about four, maybe five months ago. Right before I took off. Just before Logan left.
“Right now, I’m dealing with one problem at a time. We need to get to Raven and get her somewhere safe until I have a handle on what’s really going on. I’m going to fix this, I swear to ya.”
“Let’s keep our heads cool. We’re checking on her now,” Kate says.
I clench my jaw and stare out of the window at all the traffic heading into Long Island, where Cole says Logan has a place. Apparently, that’s where he and this Raven have been living together. I never knew anything about this woman or this residence we’re headed to, but if Logan loves her, I can understand why Cole is so concerned for her.
I would want him to protect Ciara the same. Bringing Kate along is so Raven isn’t intimidated by two men she doesn’t know. Telling myself this will be fine, I try to believe Cole has done all the right things.
“If anything happens to Ciara, I’m going to kill that old motherfucker,” I bite out.
