Fix You (The Irish Rogues #3)

Chapter Twenty-Eight Maeve

A s I lay across the backseat of the SUV, I couldn’t see anything but the river of blood running from Murphy’s mutilated body. Regardless of how many times I tried pushing it from my mind, it remained emblazoned behind my eyes. My body shook with the force of my sobs, sending the SUV swaying. I kept right on crying through Aldo putting two suitcases of my things in the back. I didn’t stop until we arrived at the Shelborne.

“Ms. Kavanaugh, Mr. Neretti wants you to stay here until he can arrive,” Pauly said gently.

I didn’t respond. Instead, I remained curled up in a fetal position on the bench seat.

The door opened, and Pauly gently drew me into his arms. It was then I noticed we weren’t at the front of the hotel. Just like the night I’d broken down outside Bandia , I was being taken in the backdoor.

Aldo stayed close by Pauly’s side with his gun drawn. When we reached the suite, Pauly took me on through to the bedroom and gently laid me down on the mattress. “I’m so very, very sorry, Ms. Kavanaugh.”

“Thank you,” I whispered.

“Don’t you worry. Mr. Neretti will make it right.”

I didn’t reply.

It wasn’t that I was choosing to ignore him. It was because deep down I knew what Pauly said was untrue. There was no way for Rafe to make it right. He couldn’t bring Murphy back.

But at present, my sorrow ran much deeper than Murphy's loss. It had been flashing like neon in my mind for the last half hour.

Rafe couldn’t stop the cycle of revenge from Caruso.

Caruso wasn’t going to stop until someone got seriously hurt if not killed.

I couldn’t let that happen.

I’d lost too much in my life to lose one of my brothers or Mam at his hands. Even if he took one of their lives, Caruso wouldn’t stop unless Rafe married Andrea. We would have no peace as a couple or as a family unless Rafe honored his contract.

What I had to do was going to kill me emotionally, but at least I would still be here and so would the ones I loved.

At the knock on the door, I croaked, “Yes?”

Aldo poked his head in the room. “I thought you might like to have your phone.”

“Thank you,” I replied.

With a nod, he came over to the bed and handed it to me. The harsh smell of bleach assaulted my nose. Cringing, I realized it made sense considering I’d dropped it into Murphy’s blood.

After he left the bedroom, I stared at the home screen. It was a picture of Rafe and me that I'd taken as we strolled through Central Park after dinner at Jean-Georges. The happy smiles in front of me grew wavy as I realized what I had to do.

Pulling myself upright, I scrolled through the contacts in my phone. While there were no Kavanaughs in Dublin, there were members of the Byrne clan, of which Mam’s father had been the clan leader.

As I dialed the number, my chest clenched so tight I fought to breathe. “ Dia duit, is Brian mé. ”

“Hey Brian, it’s Maeve.”

“Kavanaugh?”

“Aye, that’s the one.”

A pause came on the line. “I can’t imagine you’re calling just to say hello,” he said cautiously.

“No, I’m not. I need your help.”

Without even stopping to consider it, he replied, “I swore to Callum and aunt Orla I would look out for you while you were in Dublin. I suppose it’s time to live up to my promise.”

“Your honor to the family will not be overlooked.”

And then I started telling him the plan.

As soon as Brian let me know he and his men were downstairs, I walked into the living room. Both Aldo and Pauly were seated on the sofa watching TV. At the sight of me, Aldo rose up. “Can I get you something Ms. Kavanaugh?”

“No, but I thank you for offering and for taking such good care of me today.”

“You’re welcome.”

“I’m also going to thank you for not putting up a fight when I walk out of here in a few minutes.”

Pauly’s brows furrowed. “What are you talking about?”

“My cousin and his men are coming to pick me up. I’m leaving Rafe.”

At my declaration, Pauly shot off the couch. “But you can’t. We have an order to keep you here until he returns.”

With a shake of my head, I replied, “I can’t allow anyone else to get hurt. Caruso is not going to stop unless Rafe marries Andrea. If I leave him, we can have peace.”

“But you can stay and fight. Rafe can take out Caruso,” Aldo argued.

“If Rafe assassinates Edoardo, it will only start a full-out war. Not only could I lose Rafe, but I could lose my brothers. I can’t let that happen.” Drawing my shoulders back, I replied, “I won’t let that happen.”

Pauly took a tentative step towards me. “Please be reasonable. If you leave here today, Rafe is just going to search for you.”

“I can disappear to where he won’t find me.”

At the knock on the suite door, I gave them a pleading look. “Just let me walk away. I’ll explain it all to Rafe. I would say we could make it look like a gun battle, but this is too nice of a hotel to have a shootout in.”

With a grimace, Aldo flopped back down on the couch. Pauly followed me with his eyes as I went over to the door to open it for Brian. At the sight of the eight men striding into the suite, Pauly’s eyes bulged.

“Take their phones,” Brian instructed.

“What the fuck for?” Aldo demanded.

With his fire engine red hair and blue eyes, Brian was everything you imagined when you thought of an Irishman. He pointed his gun at Aldo. “We don’t need you phoning your boss until we have time to get away.”

Reluctantly, the two of them handed over their phones. As we started to the door, I threw a last glance at them over my shoulder. “I’m really sorry.”

Pauly grunted. “So the fuck am I.”

“There’s a letter for Rafe in the bedroom that explains everything.”

“Jesus, that’s cold,” Aldo muttered.

Wincing, I turned away and crept out the door. Brian’s men then led me down the back staircase and out the door I’d come through just an hour earlier. Once we got into the van, I called Kellan.

“Did you find me somewhere to go?” I asked when he answered. I’d called him shortly after I’d hung up with Brian. Eighteen months ago, he’d concocted the perfect plan for me to escape from Father and Oisin. I knew he would be able to do it again.

“Until we get the green light for your final destination, you’ll be staying in a safe house in Catania.”

“Where’s that?”

“Sicily.”

I gasped. “You’re sending me to the country where Rafe’s family is from?”

“It’ll be the last place he’ll think to look.”

“That’s pretty genius.”

“I thought as much.”

“What’s in Catania?”

“The house where we stayed with Caterina after we kidnapped her. The housekeeper has remained in touch with Callum and Caterina.”

“And you don’t think she’s going to flap her gums to Caterina about my whereabouts? I told you that I didn’t want anyone but you to know.”

“I’m going to need to bring her into our confidences to ensure you can stay at the next stop.”

“Kellan, no,” I protested.

“Maeve, you have to trust me. As much as she would hate to see you and Rafe break up, she also has her baby and husband’s lives to worry about.”

And that’s really what it all came down to. As much as my heart was breaking, I had to sacrifice to ensure the ones that I loved stayed alive. “Okay.”

“I’ll take care of all the details of getting your things from Dublin. Although he won’t know where you’ve gone, I’ll bring Eamon in to forge documents from the Dean of Trinity College to say that he’s granted you the privilege to finish up the semester online.”

“Once again, you’ve thought of everything.”

“I always do. Before you leave Ireland, get rid of your phone. Brian will give you a burner phone that you can take to Sicily.”

“I will.” Although it seemed Kellan had taken care of everything, there was one person who I was terribly worried about in this scheme. “And what about Mam?”

“I will tell her you have to disappear for a little while. We both know I can’t tell her where you’ve gone or everyone would know.”

I welcomed the laugh that came when I thought about how Mam couldn’t keep secrets. It was a well-known family joke. “Exactly.”

“And it is only for a little while, right, Maeve?” Kellan questioned.

“It’s until Rafe realizes he can’t get me back and marries Drea.”

“You promise?”

“I promise.”

But there was a part of me that wanted to stay hidden as long as my heart was broken, and I had a feeling that was going to be a long time.