Page 48 of Blindsided
“Just checking my messages,” she says. “I haven’t had great service out here.”
“Welcome to rural Ireland, where the beer is strong and the cell signals are weak.”
She smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. Something’s bothering her, but I don’t push. We’ve all got enough on our plates right now.
The pub Rory mentioned is a traditional Irish establishment—dark wood, low ceilings, and the comforting smell of hearty food. A few locals occupy the bar, nursing pints and watching a football game on the small TV in the corner.
We find a table in the back, away from curious ears. A waitress takes our drink orders—water for me, despite the desperate craving for something stronger, and the others opt for various soft drinks and tea. Kori orders a hot chocolate, which somehow strikes me as endearingly innocent given the circumstances.
“So,” Declan says once the waitress leaves, spreading out a map he’s produced from his jacket pocket, “these coordinates put us here.” He points to a spot near the Northern Ireland border.
“That’s MacGallan territory,” Rory notes. “Old territory, anyway. Before the Troubles.”
“What does that mean?” Kori asks, leaning forward to see the map.
“It means,” Declan explains, “that our family once owned land there. Property that was... complicated by the political situation.”
“Complicated is one word for it,” Kat mutters. “Seized is another.”
I study the map, trying to make sense of what Tomas is leading us toward. “Is there a specific building at these coordinates? A house, a farm?”
“On it,” Rory says, picking up his phone. “There’s an old castle,” he murmurs. “More of a fortified manor house, really. Been abandoned for decades.”
“Dragon Castle?” Wren asks, looking over his shoulder at his phone. “Is that what the locals call it?”
Rory nods. “Yeah. Because of the carvings on the gate. Could be our ‘dragon’ from the riddle.”
The waitress returns with our drinks and takes our food orders. I’m not particularly hungry, but I order a burger anyway, knowing I’ll need the energy for whatever comes next.
As we wait for our food, I find myself studying Kori again. She’s quiet, her attention focused on her phone beneath the table. Whatever she’s looking at has her frowning.
“Something interesting?” I ask quietly, nodding toward her phone.
“Just checking my email,” she says, quickly putting the phone away. “Junk mail.”
It’s a lie, and not a very convincing one, but before I can call her on it, the food arrives, momentarily distracting everyone.
We eat in relative silence, each lost in our own thoughts. I’m halfway through my burger when Kori’s phone starts ringing loudly. She jumps, fumbling to silence it, but not before I catch a glimpse of the caller ID: Mark.
Her face drains of color as she stares at the screen. The ringing continues, insistent and intrusive in the quiet pub.
“You should take it,” I find myself saying, though part of me wants to grab her phone and throw it across the room.
She hesitates, then stands abruptly. “Excuse me,” she murmurs, already moving toward the door, phone clutched in her white-knuckled grip.
I watch her go, feeling a strange twist in my gut. The cheating husband, calling at last. I wonder what he wants, what excuse he’s concocted for sleeping with her sister. I wonder if she’ll forgive him.
The thought bothers me more than it should.
“Kane?” Declan’s voice pulls me back to the table. “You with us?”
“Yeah,” I say, dragging my attention away from Kori’s retreating figure. “Just thinking.”
“About the castle?” Kat asks.
“Sure,” I lie. “The castle.”
Declan continues outlining his plan, but I’m only half-listening, my attention divided between hiswords and the pub door where Kori disappeared. Five minutes pass, then ten. Our plates are cleared, and still, she hasn’t returned.
