Dating the Don (Savage Crime Lords #1)

Chapter 13

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CRISTIANO

“ T his had better be important.”

I know that it must be. My men wouldn’t pull me away from such an important party with so many people in attendance for nothing.

“We have word about Doyle’s movements,” Dennis says. He’s one of my men who have been steadily climbing up in the ranks little by little over the last few years. It’s been a point of pride for him. And I know that said pride alone would mean that he wouldn’t dare interrupt me for anything less than solid information.

I slip my hands into my pockets and distribute my weight more evenly between my two feet as I nod for him to start speaking.

Doyle’s movements have been erratic as of late. Usually, it's not too difficult to anticipate his attack patterns. Being older, he usually goes with tried-and-true approaches. I've been able to successfully anticipate and stop two of them this month alone thanks to my knowledge of his past. However, last week,he changed things up. Maybe because I had one of his men captured. It didn't feel like that, though. He moved in an almost careless manner. He'd even lost men of his own. I would even venture to say that Hugh Doyle was not the one who had organized that specific attack. Instead, I believe it was Keiran, his son.

He’s always been less cautious.

Hugh has had a hard time reigning him in. That’s public knowledge.

“We have significant evidence that Hugh Doyle’s been searching for a wife for his son. So much so, that he’s had meetings with other prominent families in the area. But nothing came of it.”

I blink at him. This is why he pulled me away from Maeve? My tongue runs over my teeth slowly. My hands ball into fists inside my pockets as I wait for this man to produce some sort of point. I expected more out of him, if I’m being wholly honest.

An insignificant piece of gossip? Is that what he wanted to talk about?!

“Then,” Dennis continues, “the next thing society knows he has rescinded all of his offers and talks, saying that he’s found a wife for him and that they will be wed before summer is over. That everybody should expect invitations to be mailed soon.”

“If this is what was so pressing, I think that you and I will need to have a very serious conversation about what constitutes actually useful information,” I seethe, my patience starting to wear thin.

I have a very, very beautiful woman waiting for me. A woman for whom I have a great many plans later this evening.

“I understand, sir, but what's odd about it is the timing. It’s just after you captured his man last week. The boys in IT have been searching for the identity of this new bride-to-beand everything points toward a woman by the name of Maeve Sullivan.”

I pause, my brow furrowing. “Sullivan?”

I quickly run through all of the various names that I know Doyle to be associated with. It’s a common enough name and yet it also rings a bell for some reason, although I can’t seem to put the pieces together. The only Maeve that I know is mine, and her last name sure as fuck isn’t Sullivan.

“Who the fuck is Maeve Sullivan?” I say to nobody in particular. There are far too many coincidences for me to be comfortable with anything that’s been happening lately.

Dennis opens his mouth to speak again, perhaps to speculate, when the sound of an explosion comes from the other room. Not even half a moment later, the whole building seems to shudder from the force of it. Hard enough to make the ground under my feet wobble.

“What the fuck was that?!” Dennis says as he braces a hand on the wall. The other is already pulling his gun from his hip holster and passing the weapon to me. I don’t even have to ask.

“I have no idea, but we need to find out right the fuck now.”

Dennis and I head out into the hallway, where throngs of people are dashing out of the main room as fast as they can. It is nearly impossible for me or my men to make it in because of the sheer number of terrified people escaping.

My heart sinks to my stomachas my concern for Maeve rises. I know deep inside that Al will have Ada. Mother is at home. The only person I need to find is Maeve, and I need to find her right now.

When necessary, I push people aside to make room, moving upstream until I reach the main chamber, where it appears as though the grand piano has exploded. The walls seem to be burned, and there are ivory piano teeth lodged in the walls. Several employees are dealing with the mess in front of them with fire extinguishers in their hands.

I instantly scan the bodies on the ground, looking for Maeve or any hint of her.

Within the span of seconds, Dennis and I have checked the entire main room and Maeve is nowhere to be found.