Page 19 of Beloved By the Irish

“Juan.” She answers the call. “Hello?”

Juan speaks, and Jane’s back straightens. “Are you sure?”

From my spot next to her on the couch, I hear his aggravated tone when he replies, but the words are lost on me.

She mutters a curse. “Okay. Well, thanks for telling us. We’ll watch our backs.” She runs a hand down her face then adds, “And I’m sorry for your loss.”

Juan replies with one word before ending the call.

My cousin lowers the device and turns worried eyes to me.

I have a feeling I know what she’s going to say. Still, I ask, “What is it?”

She swallows the lump in her throat. “Enrique Santiago was checked into Mount Sinai an hour ago. His vitals looked fine and the doctors said his injuries weren’t life-threatening.”

“But?”

Her nostrils flare. “Juan left the room to get lunch. He was gone half an hour. By the time he returned, Enrique had a heart attack. He didn’t make it. Enrique Santiago is dead.”

Chapter7

Catarina

The drive to the penthouse is tense. Liam and Nolan aren’t usually chatty, but it’s obvious their silence isn’t due to personal preference this time. Something’s going on. I knew it when Liam interrupted lunch with my father, but their lack of explanation spiked my anxiety.

Does Declan know I’m suspicious of him? Did Myles tell him what he told me? Am I about to walk into an interrogation?

I bite my nails, a habit my etiquette teacher at Saint Catherine’s took pains to break me of as an adolescent. Now that I’m an adult who doesn’t fear the reprimands of a harsh spinster, I give in to the nervous tick.

Traffic is surprisingly light, and we’re back at the penthouse much faster than anticipated. I’d hoped to have more time to plan my response to whatever Declan has in store for me, but I settle on bracing for the worse as I follow Liam and Nolan into the penthouse elevator. We’re silent as it climbs to the top floor. The silence continues as we walk down the hall leading to Declan’s study.

Memories of the first time I stepped foot into the study assail me. How Declan lifted me onto the desk. The way it felt when his lips devoured mine. How he told me that he was tired of fighting the attraction between us. Him telling me he wanted all of me.

Me noticing the unique box of expensive cigars sitting on his desk…

Like a bucket of ice water is poured over me, my desirous thoughts are extinguished.

Liam steps into the office. Nolan waits on the threshold, turning back to look at me with a raised brow when he sees I stopped walking.

With a steadying breath, I shove away the remnants of the heated memories and follow Liam into the office. Nolan doesn’t follow. I’m about to turn to see where he went when I take in the sight in front of me.

A gasp escapes my lips. “What happened?”

Declan and Jane sit on the couch, both wearing grim expressions and sporting cuts and scrapes over their bare arms and faces. And… are those burns?

I move toward my fiancé on instinct, hand outstretched as if to touch the nasty scrape marring his face, but I pull back at the last minute. “What happened?” I repeat when no one gives me an answer.

“Jane, Myles, and I found ourselves on the receiving end of a homemade bomb,” Declan replies. His green irises are devoid of emotion as he watches me.

“Are you serious?” My eyes dart between the cousins, taking stock of their injuries. If what he says is true, it’s a miracle they aren’t more injured.

All concern that Declan discovered my clandestine investigation about him is pushed to the background, replaced by worry for my fiancé and the woman I’ve come to consider a close friend.

“Deadly,” he replies. Now, his eyes shimmer with amusement.

I scowl. “Is this funny to you?”

“Hardly.” His lips twitch.

---