Page 77 of The Celtic Resolution
Her cries follow me as I sprint out of the room and back down the stairs, trusting that she will do exactly that. There’s no time anymore. I can’t wait for Sarah to track down Mary. I can’t wait for some miracle. I have to get her out of here but I know she won’t go without Cian. So how the fuck do I get both of them out of here?
Outside, the urge to crumble rises like a hand clawing up through my gut. I can’t breathe and by the time I reach my car, I’m panting. My chest feels like it’s being crushed from the inside and my vision swims slightly as my racing heart causes pulsing shadows at the edge of my vision.
Am I having a heart attack? No… no, it’s just panic.
Once I’m on the road, I call Sarah. She answers after the fourth ring.
“Sarah?”
“Bruno? Why are you calling me, I thought we agreed?—”
“There’s no time, you have to listen to me. We can’t wait any longer. Did you find anything out about Mary?”
“Bruno, what on earth?—”
“Tell me!” My grip tightens on the steering wheel, praying that my outburst won’t make Sarah shut down on me. “Please, I’m sorry. Please.”
“Mary is staying with a friend upstate. She’s under heavy guard and has been since she arrived. She appears to be underthe impression that Domenico has done this for her own safety and she seems happy.”
“Can you get to her?”
“Bruno, a move like that without?—”
“Can you get to her?”
“I can’t but some friends might. But not until you tell me what the hell is going on.”
“I don’t have time.” Fuck. I have no time at all. The longer I take, the more danger Saoirse is in being left alone at the lighthouse. Maybe she’ll run. Maybe she’ll do something stupid to save Cian and I’ll arrive back to her dead. Maybe I’m making all the wrong choices again.
But I have to do something.
“Bruno, if you have time to call me then you have time to explain.”
“No, because if I explain then there’s a chance I’ll talk myself out of everything and I can’t have that. I just need to get to my father and all of this will be over. Sarah, you have to get Mary out now. I can’t risk him sneaking a call or something that would end her.
“But Bruno?—”
“No, Sarah. Listen to me! You need to do it now. Like right now. And you need to send people to the lighthouse because Saoirse and Cian are both there but please try and save Mary first. Please!”
“Bruno, wait listen to me?—”
“No! You have the information. You have to get there before they kill Mary, before they kill anyone. I’m going to distract him and I’ll do everything I can to keep him with me until the end, okay?”
There’s no answer. I glance at my phone and hit the steering wheel to see I’m driving through a pocket of low service andSarah’s response is lost to the airwaves. “Fuck. Please, Sarah.Pleaseget there in time.”
The call dies so I focus on racing toward the Barati Estate, where my father has been ruling ever since Rocky’s wedding. I have no plan. For all I know, my father already knows that guards are dead and as soon as I show my face, I will be too. But Sarah knows where Saoirse is now so that’s all that matters.
Someone knows.
I just hope no one else I care about dies for it.
Reaching the Estate, the main gates are closed and locked so I park without care and scramble out of my car. I’m prepared to climb over the gate if I have to but just as I approach it, two armed men come out of the guard box.
“Oi!” one barks at me, lifting his assault rifle.
“You shouldn’t be here, Bruno,” says the second who keeps his rifle down low against his body. “You’re not welcome on the grounds.”
“I need to speak to my father so open the damn gate.”
