After a few more terse words between Danny and Declan, she and her brother were on their way. It hurt her that at no time since Declan arrived with his news had Danny asked to speak with her. To ensure she didn’t want to stay. To ensure she was okay with the discussion. To ensure they had a proper goodbye.
A tear slipped down her cheek, and she quickly wiped it away. She wanted to go home. Whether she left Danny’s or not, she’d be going home soon anyway. She may as well get used to the idea that she’d never see Danny again.
Moira dozed as her brother drove from Baltimore to wherever he planned to stop for the night. When she woke to his slowing, she noticed on her watch that she’d slept for nearly three hours. So much for helping Declan drive.
She frowned at the cabinlike structure they’d pulled up to. Maybe it was one of those Airbnb places. It was plenty isolated. She saw clear land and woods surrounding it. It would be a great place to hide out until Boyle was apprehended.
When they entered the lodging, Declan turned around and looked at her with sorrow in his gaze. Confusion slammed into her.
“I’m sorry, Moira. I really am, but he bribed our guards and got in. He said he’d kill the baby, then Diana.”
Shock hit her at such a deadly scene and belatedly at what he’d said. “What do you mean, you’re sorry?”
“He means”—a tall, thin man approached from the back of the cabin— “in order to get his girlfriend back, he brings us you.”
Declan stepped in front of her. But it seemed kind of late to show a protective gesture as far as she was concerned. “Who are you? Where’s Quinn and where’s Diana?”
“I’m the man who will take you to her.”
Moira didn’t like this one bit. And what did Quinn have to do with Diana being captured? He was supposed to bring her—
Oh nay, she just got it. Quinn wasn’t a good guy at all. Did Cassie know? Of course she didn’t. She’d not have agreed to marry him.
“You, girl,” the man said, “come here. You get tied up until Quinn arrives.”
“Nay,” Declan asserted. “This isn’t how it’s supposed to go. Bring Diana here and we’ll exchange, but until then—”
When Declan’s stance changed, she peeked around him to see what was happening. Her eyes widened. Her mind honed in on two things. Her brother planned to exchange her with someone for Diana. And the man held a weapon on her brother.
Chapter Thirty-Three
“Are you just gonna let her go?” Cowboy asked.
Danny sat on the couch, leaned forward, elbows on knees, head in his hands. She’d left. She hadn’t even said goodbye or given him a chance to ask her to stay. He’d hoped she’d have come to his room after Declan made the announcement. Once again, he’d planned to tell her he loved her and ask her to stay.
No, he hadn’t wanted her to leave and he’d thought she’d wanted to stay. She would want to visit Ireland regularly. But he didn’t think she’d leave, especially like she did.
Not even a goodbye. His heart hurt. She had snuck away with her brother.
He kept racking his brain. What had he done wrong that she’d just slip away? Things had been great until her brother arrived. Until he’d started talking about them being free to return home. That had been assuming Boyle was in custody.
Luckily, he was. Danny had just learned that DEA agents had met Boyle when he’d arrived in the States. The teams were displeased. Not that Boyle was in custody, but because they’d had nothing to do with it. Of course, no one was more disappointed than Danny. He’d hoped they’d make the murder charge stick. His dad had been an agent—one of them—so he imagined they would work hard to get that result.
“Are you?”
Danny had forgotten Cowboy’s question. “I don’t have much of a choice. She made it clear she wanted to leave.”
“Bullshit. Her brother said something to her to make her leave. She wouldn’t have left you without an explanation, if at all. That woman is in love with you. She just hasn’t admitted it.”
That statement gave him a glimmer of hope. Did she really? She couldn’t. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have left.
“I’m telling you that her brother is the reason she left.”
“What could he have said?” What would make her leave? It had been almost as if she was wary of him. Would Declan turn her away from him? But why? She was secure here. So what if Boyle had actually found her? Danny wouldn’t have let him get to her.
“I don’t know, but it would’ve been all lies.”
His phone rang, and he looked at the time. Ten thirty p.m. Who’d be calling at this time of night? A nervousness at the unknown number settled in his gut. “Hello.”
“Danny, it’s Diana,” the weak voice said.
Fear lodged itself in his heart. Moira and Declan couldn’t have arrived this quickly. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
“Quinn didn’t know I had this phone hidden.”
Danny had heard Quinn mentioned again. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. “What’s wrong?”
“He just left to meet Declan and Moira.”
Why was this important? “Start at the beginning and tell me what’s going on.”
“It’s Quinn. He held me hostage while Declan got Moira for him. Declan didn’t want to do it, but Quinn threatened me and the baby. He left me locked up in our flat and took my mobile. He didn’t know we had several burners hidden.”
Danny hadn’t listened to much after Declan got Moira for him. “Are you okay?” He had to think with a logical mind when his was spinning with revenge and getting his woman.
“I’m fine. The baby is restless, though. Then again, at this stage of my pregnancy, that’s pretty much a norm.”
One thing settled. “Tell me who this Quinn is?”
While Diana told him about Quinn Murphy, he jotted
