Unchosen Ruler by Maggie Cole

20

Liam

"Gemma. What are you doing here?"I ask in surprise. The O'Malley gym isn't a place we usually see women unless it's during a boxing match. It's around lunchtime. I wanted to get a workout in before I meet my parents at the doctor's office.

She stops punching the bag and spins. Sweat stains her clothes and drips down her skin. She takes her shirt and pulls it up to wipe her red face, displaying her toned abs. In a sarcastic voice, she replies, "Can't exactly work out at the gym I go to when Orla got herself a membership there, now can I?"

My heart rate increases. "When did this happen?"

She angrily shakes her head. "Last night. Nolan said it was all clear, but apparently, your guys aren't well versed in checking out women's locker rooms. I thought I was going to get my neck sliced off."

I turn to Nolan, who's jumping rope a few feet away from her. "Who was watching her? Why didn't you tell me?"

He stops and drops the rope on the floor. "Tiernan and Fergal. I told you they were too inexperienced for this."

I get defensive. "They've done security for my dad for over ten years."

"They aren't the smartest representation of the O'Malleys, now are they?" He grabs a bottle of water and downs a quarter of it.

"Gee, thanks for telling me I was in good hands and safe when you had concerns, Nolan," Gemma fires at him.

Guilt crosses his face, but it disappears quickly. "Go back to punching your bag. Get it out before we get home."

"I know what I'd be happy to punch. If you'll excuse me, I think I'll go work out in peace instead of near the man who would be happy if I got slaughtered in public." She and Nolan exchange more eye daggers then she stomps off toward the other side of the gym.

Nolan stares at her backside, his eyes in slits.

I repeat, "Why didn't you call me?"

He tears his eyes off Gemma's ass and crosses his arms. "I tried calling you. Since you didn't pick up, and the lights in your house were off, I took Gemma with me to your mom and dad's house. Darragh is switching up her security."

My pulse increases. It figures. The one night I turn off my phone to spend time with Hales, something happens. I try not to be pissed he went to my dad, but I'm sure I'll get a lecture later today when I join him and my mom for his doctor's appointment. I mutter, "Great."

Nolan drinks more water then asks, "What did you do to your mom, by the way?"

A bad feeling rolls through me. I don't need my mom playing the Irish victim to Nolan or my dad. "Why? What did she say?"

"She said you and Hailee kicked her out of your house?"

I groan. "One, Hales had nothing to do with it. Two, she walked in without any warning, thanks to Nora."

"What does my sister have to do with this?" Nolan bites back.

I shake my head. "She had an emergency key somewhere outside the back door. She should know better than to be so loose about her safety. It would have been nice for her to tell me about it as well."

Nolan's face turns redder with anger. "My brothers and I all told her not to keep a key outside."

I snort. "Doesn't surprise me. You know Nora. She doesn't listen to any of you most of the time."

Nolan grinds his molars. "Okay, so your mom walked in. What's the big deal?" He picks up a towel and wipes his face.

It would be easy to tell him what my mother walked in on so I don't look like a heartless prick, but I dislike talking about or anyone having privileges to Hailee's and my personal life. I avoid answering him. "Who did my dad put on Gemma's security?"

Nolan calls out, "Gemma, we're leaving in fifteen minutes. Be ready to go." He turns back to me. "He said it would take a few days for him to move some of our guys around. Until then, I get to have the princess glued to my side."

I jab his chest. "Watch your mouth. She's Hailee's sister. And you're the one who said she was staying at your house. If you can't handle her, I'll make room at my place."

Nolan grunts. "You couldn't handle a day with that woman."

I snap, "She's coming home with me if you're going to be disrespectful."

"No. She's staying at my place."

"Why? If she's annoying you—"

"Because she's a Bailey, and I don't trust her. I'm keeping my eyes on her."

I step closer. I'm not naive enough to think Gemma is an angel, but she isn't looking to take part in anything to do with the Baileys. She should never have had to go through what Orla and Rory subjected her to. Gemma also accepted me from day one in Hailee's life. I like her and promised nothing would happen to her. "I better not hear you're anything but nice to her," I warn.

He huffs. "Don't get your panties in a twist. The princess has everything she needs."

"Stop calling her that," I growl.

"I have to get ready. Throw your weight around with someone else," Nolan instructs.

I change the subject, not into fighting today. All I want to do is get through all my daily bullshit and my father's doctor appointment, then spend the rest of the night with Hailee. "What did Orla say to her?"

Gemma steps next to me. "I violated a rule when Nolan turned off my location tracker on my cell phone. I got this lovely new cut when your cousins realized they hadn't checked that area of the gym out, and we ended up with a gun pointed at both our heads. I guess I should be grateful it was my leg instead of my neck, which is where she held the blade on me originally." She glares at Nolan.

"Not sure why you're looking at me. Liam decided who was watching you when I can't," Nolan fires back.

Acid rumbles in my gut, climbing up my esophagus. I scan her body in alarm. "Where on your leg?"

"My upper thigh. Near all my reproductive organs."

"Stop being dramatic. Your inner thigh isn't where your reproductive organs are," Nolan chastises her.

I glance at her leg, but she's wearing pants. "Are you okay? Did you go to the hospital?"

Her cheeks turn crimson. "No. Nolan said it wasn't deep and cleaned it up. I'm going to get changed." She avoids looking at Nolan and goes into the locker room.

"You aren't a doctor. She might need medical attention," I claim.

He groans. "Stop being overprotective. It's a small gash. She's fine. Trust me. She didn't have any issues last night or this morning."

I raise my eyebrows. "Issues?"

He avoids looking at me and starts walking to the locker room. "She's fine. I have work to do."

My phone rings and I yank it out of my pocket. I sigh and answer. "Hi, Mom."

Worry and disapproval fill her voice. "Liam. Your dad canceled his appointment. He said he's feeling better."

I stare at the ceiling, feeling the burn increase in my throat. I remind her, "You can't make Dad do something he doesn't want to do."

Her voice drops. "I thought if you came over for dinner tonight, you could talk to him. Get him to realize he needs to keep his appointments."

The last thing I'm going to do is order my father around. However, telling my mother this is only guaranteeing me another thirty-minute phone call. "Sorry, Mom. Hailee is making dinner tonight. I'll talk to Dad when I see him next, but don't expect me to perform a miracle. You know he isn't going to listen to either of us."

"Oh? What is she making?"

I smile. Hailee asked me what my favorite thing is and wanted to make it tonight. "Potato soup."

"Oh. Has she made it before? I can come over and show her—"

"No. She's good, Mom. Hey, I have to go. I'll call you later." I hang up before she can keep me on the phone or invite herself over. It's still a little too close to the incident last night for my or Hailee's comfort.

I go to the other side of the gym, where the heavy bags are. After my workout, I shower, get in the car, and receive a text.

Killian: Nora is in labor.

Me: Awesome! Hales is out of school in a few hours. I'll meet you at the hospital.

Killian: Boris said it might take a while. She doesn't want us waiting around. He'll call once the baby arrives.

Me: Okay. Keep me posted.

Happiness replaces the negative emotions I've felt since I dropped Hailee off at school this morning and dealt with all the O'Malley shit. It included a meeting with Nora's twin sisters, Erin and Nessa. They questioned me for over an hour at the pub about where their husbands are. I told them no one had heard from them or seen them, but we still had men looking. I also gave them each a few thousand dollars when Nessa said she didn't know the combination to their personal safe and needed money for groceries. I told them I would put them on a weekly allowance until Niall and Shamus return from wherever they are. I finally sighed in relief when Declan walked in and I excused myself.

I start to text Maksim we need to meet. Boris gave me a deadline, and after careful consideration, I realized he's right. Maksim needs to know why Jack Christian is off-limits until his company goes public. Another text pops up on my screen.

Finn: We got a problem and need to meet.

My gut burns again.

Me: Where?

Finn: Come to my place.

I instruct my driver and head over to Michigan Avenue, to Finn's current hotel. Since he got out of prison, he refuses to stay with any of our family members, including me. He bounces from one place to another, claiming it makes it easier to follow Jack, the judge, and whoever else we need him to watch.

I get up to his room, and when he opens the door to his suite, the fire in my chest reignites. His eyes are bloodshot. He has a crazed look in them. I shut the door quickly, and he motions for me to follow him.

We get to the living area, and I freeze.

Eric Baskin, a hedge fund trader who set up dozens of our offshore accounts and positioned us to profit from the fall of Jack's company, lies in a pool of half-dried blood.

I gape at his slit neck and finally turn to Finn. "How the fuck did this happen?"

Finn's eyes turn colder. "The bastard put our accounts in his name."

"What are you talking about?"

"Gianluca confirmed it with his guys in Switzerland. I called Eric and told him to come here. When he got here, I asked him to pull up our online accounts. He wouldn't. Declan had already hacked in and gave me new user info. Every single account we had with all our positions are in his name."

My stomach flips. Bile fills my throat, and it takes all the power I have to swallow it. I glance back at Eric's dead body. "Tell me Gianluca can get this fixed for us." He's our contact stateside who deals with all our Swiss accounts.

"He's working on it. He said his brother, Claudio, stated it's going to cost another million," Finn seethes.

"Another million! It's his fault this happened. He shouldn't have ever let anything happen to our accounts," I bark. Claudio is in Switzerland and is high up in the bank we're dealing with.

Finn sniffs hard. "He claims his boss allowed it. Gianluca couldn't do anything about it. The million covers taking out the boss, which also puts Claudio in that position going forward."

I grunt. "So we pay him to get him promoted?"

Finn lets out a long sigh. He points to the dead body. "Let's worry about that issue after we take care of this."

I pace the room with a million thoughts racing through my mind, assessing the situation to try and figure out how to take care of this mess so our tracks are covered.

"We need the hotel's security footage. I'm not going back inside," Finn states.

I nod and pat his back. "Stay here. Don't let anyone in. I'll handle this." I leave and text Nora's brothers.

Me: Where are you?

Killian: Pub

Me: Declan and Nolan, too?

Declan: Yep. New coed just walked in. I'm ready to show her what a real man can do.

Me: Put your dick away. I'm coming to pick you up. Where's Nolan?

Declan: Way to kill my hard-on. Haven't talked to him all day.

Killian: Me, either.

Me: I'll be there in ten minutes. Be ready to get in the car.

My driver weaves through traffic and pulls up to the pub. Killian and Declan are waiting and get into the car.

Declan says, "This better be good. Ms. Coed was on my lap doing shots and asking if I wanted to see her new piercings."

"You hacked into the Swiss accounts that Eric moved into his name?" I growl.

Declan's face falls. "Yeah. I gave the information to Finn last night."

"It didn't occur to you to tell me?"

"Finn said he'd handle it. I tried calling you, and your phone was off."

"Last night. I saw you today," I remind him.

He snorts. "You ran out of the pub and left me with Erin and Nessa as soon as I came into the room."

I spit out, "Damn it, Declan."

"What's going on?" Killian asks.

"Eric's dead. Inside Finn's hotel room."

Killian and Declan gape at me. Silence fills the air, and blood pounds so hard between my ears, I wonder if it's mine or theirs.

"Fuck," Killian finally mutters, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, fuck is right. How are we cleaning this mess up? And I need you to retrieve the hotel's security footage," I direct Declan.

"My laptop's in the office." He opens the door and gets out.

I stare at Killian. "Where's Nolan?"

"No idea. He isn't answering his phone. Do we need to talk to Darragh?"

My chest tightens and my heart races. "No. We're taking care of this. My dad will bring in the cops on our payroll. I don't think that's a good move. We can't take any chances screwing anything up. This is going to stay just the four of us."

Killian takes a deep breath. "Stop at the warehouse. We'll see what we need to take. Where's Finn?"

"In his room."

Killian locks eyes with mine. "He freaking out?"

I hesitate then say, "No. He's okay right now."

"If he goes into a—"

"I said he's fine."

Declan opens the door and gets inside with his laptop bag. I roll the divider down and instruct my driver to go to the warehouse. When the window is back up, Declan asks, "Is Finn—"

"He's fine," I repeat. I nod to his laptop bag. "Start hacking. I need all the footage they have in the last twenty-four hours."

He obeys. The three of us stay silent for the fifteen-minute ride out of town. The car pulls up to the old building, and I hit the remote for the garage door. Our driver pulls inside then I shut it. Killian and I go to the section where we keep our supplies.

We study the materials.

Killian asks, "Where is the body?"

"On the living room carpet."

"Fuck. He couldn't do it in the bathtub, could he?"

I grunt and grab a few gallons of bleach and put them in the trunk.

Killian crosses his arms. "Are you walking into the hotel with that?"

I scrub my face. "Okay, wise guy. Tell me how we're doing this."

He turns back to the shelf of equipment. "Hell if I know. Let's figure out what we're doing to get the body out of there first."

Several moments pass as we stare at the tools. Declan gets out of the car and says, "I got the footage and inserted a replay from the day before. No one will notice unless they're looking for it."

A tiny amount of relief fills me. "Finn and Eric were both on it?"

Declan nods. "Yeah. He's clear though."

"Okay. One problem solved. What are we doing with the body and carpet besides the bleach?" I ask.

Declan steps to the shelf and picks up another jug of cleaner. "No bleach. Trust me. You want this. It'll leave the floor in good shape, so no one notices anything, and remove all traces. Killian, grab the saws, tarp, and trash bags. We're going to need some suitcases."

"Done this a few times?" I ask, surprised by Declan's sudden direction.

"You can thank me later. Go in the closet over there. You'll find suitcases. How much does this guy weigh?" Declan asks.

"Maybe two, two-twenty," I state.

Declan ponders the information for a moment then says, "We'll take five. Three full, two carry-on sizes. Grab fresh clothes for the four of us from the closet, too. We'll bring the body back here and destroy the remains."

"Was it contained?" Killian asks.

"Yeah. I think it's just on the carpet. Finn must have already changed," I reply.

Declan grabs the UV light off the shelf. "Liam, get the box of cleaning supplies. We need to go through the entire suite. Who knows where Finn might have gotten some blood."

We do as Declan says and put everything in the suitcases. We get in the car and go to the hotel, rolling the baggage straight to the elevators.

Finn opens the door, and relief floods his expression.

"Don't kiss me since you're so happy to see me," Declan says and winks.

"Fuck, it smells in here," Killian moans, covering his nose.

"Don't be a pussy," I warn.

We quickly get to work. Killian and I unpack the cases. We put the tarp down and move the body onto it. Declan goes around the room with the UV light. He finds a few traces of blood in the bathroom and cleans it then shows Finn how to get the blood out of the carpet.

"Put some music on. I can't saw this dickhead up without something to take my mind off the smell," Killian says.

"You'd never survive prison," Finn says.

"Yep. He's a straight-up pussy," I taunt.

Killian scowls. "Not looking to spend time in the pen, and I think what you meant to say is straight-up pussy lover."

Declan puts on music and sits on the couch.

"What are you doing?" I ask.

He smirks and grabs his laptop. "Looping the feed to cover up we're here. I've found if you put the saw on an angle, it tends to go faster."

"Gee, thanks for the tip, Einstein," I sarcastically jab.

We get to work, and I suddenly realize it's dark outside. "Shit. I need to call Hailee." I look at the body. It feels like we haven't even gotten that far. Since we're in a hotel, we can't use a chainsaw due to the noise. Rigor mortis has set in, and every slice is like cutting through a piece of steel. All of us are sweating, and Declan and Finn are still working on the carpet, which is taking longer to clean than I anticipated.

I pull my gloves off and go into the bedroom and shut the door. I call Hailee.

She answers after a few rings. "Hey."

"Sorry, Hales. I'm tied up and I'm not sure when I'm going to be able to come home."

"You'll be gone all night?" she asks with a worried voice.

"Possibly. But don't worry. I'm safe."

She lets out a nervous breath. "Okay."

"What are you doing?" I ask.

She pauses then replies in a cautious voice, "Getting a lesson from your mom."

"What?"

"She heard I was making potato soup, brought a big pot, and now is telling me what I need to change in the one I made."

My stomach drops. "Shit. Hales, I'm sorry. Put her on the phone. I'll get her to leave."

Hailee's voice chirps, "No. It's okay. I guess we're going to have a freezer full of potato soup."

I shut my eyes and bang my head against the wall. "I'm sorry. She's having a hard time with my dad. She wanted us to come to dinner and—"

"It's all right. Just come home as soon as you can, okay?" she says sweetly.

My heart swells. I've always known she's too good for me, but in these moments, she always shines. Everything about today has been a stressful disaster. Just hearing her voice makes me smile, and I want to be home.

I finish my call, and we continue cutting up the body. It's after midnight by the time we get it in the suitcases, along with the tools and our dirty clothes. We shower and put on fresh clothes then leave the hotel.

Declan erases the security footage of us leaving the building the moment we get into the car. We head to the warehouse.

"Can we skip the meat grinder and fire up the incinerator? I'm over this. I know Darragh prefers the meat grinder, but I don't," Killian admits.

"Guess it's good he's not in charge on this one. Fire it up. I'm ready to go home to my woman," I state.

"You guys go. I'll finish this up," Finn volunteers.

"No. It's—"

"Go. Finn and I got this, don't we?" Declan asks.

"Yep. You kids go," Finn tries to tease, but I still don't like the crazed look in his eyes.

I study him and open my mouth, but Declan steps in front of Finn. In a stern voice, he says, "Go home to your woman."

I hesitate. I'm uncomfortable leaving Finn when he has that look in his eyes.

Declan gently repeats, "Go."

Killian bumps fists with them both. "If you need us to come back, let us know."

"We won't," Declan says. "If that coed comes back in the pub, keep your hands off her. I'm calling dibs."

"She's barely twenty-one. Even for you, that's young," Killian states.

"Can't help it if women of all ages want me," he claims.

"Jesus. I'm leaving on that note. Finn, where are you staying?"

"I'll get a new—"

"My place. This hotel shit is over. You can argue about it tomorrow," Declan declares.

Finn takes a deep breath. "Fine."

"I'll see you tomorrow?" I ask.

Finn nods. "Yeah. Sure."

I pat him on the back. Killian and I get in the car. When we pull out of the garage, he questions, "Finn going to be okay?"

I lock eyes with Killian. "Yeah. We're going to make sure of it."