Page 59 of Bad Luck

“No sign of her?” he asks me. Paddy shakes his head while I clench and unclench my fists. Where the fuck is Andie?

“Did Anthony see who fecking did this?” I snap, but Seamus is already shaking his head.

“He heard the smashing in the kitchen, and when he came to investigate, they made a run for it. They were wearing ski masks and dark clothes. But Andie wasn’t with them.”

Jesus fuck. She was definitely home tonight. She would have told me if she was planning on going out. Fumbling with my phone, I dial Andie’s number, but it rings out.

Paddy is on the phone with Lauren to see if Andie went to see her, but she didn’t. Niall makes a similar call to Mellie, who also answers negatively. I cock my gun.

“Paddy. Key. Feckingnow.” I hold out my hand. My SUV is still at Oracle, and I need a vehicle to go and burn the world down to find Andie.

“Now, Lucky.” Seamus holds up his hands at me like it’s supposed to calm me or some fucking shite. “You can’t go off half-cocked. We’ve got to play this smart.”

“Feck ye, Fitzy, ye fecking hypocrite,” I spit at him. He blinks in surprise at the venom in my tone, but I’m not done. “When it was fecking Tiggy, ye were all ready to go off half-cocked.”

“Aye,” Seamus replies hotly. “That’s different. Tig was my wife.”

He doesn’t even blink as my fist smashes into his jaw.

“Feck ye!” I scream at him. “If ye were given the option, ye wouldn’t have fecking married her! I fecking love Andie, and I’ll burn the whole fecking world down to get her back, starting with yer fecking sorry arse!”

Paddy and Niall grab my arms to keep me from jumping on Seamus and beating him black and fucking blue. To his credit, Seamus doesn’t call me out on yelling at him. He stands and takes the abuse I’m screaming.

Ronan is prowling around the room, looking for clues, for anything, when he stops.

“Lucky,” he barks at me. “Shut yer trap fer two fecking seconds. I think she’s still here.”

I’m about to lose it at him when his words penetrate the fog of rage and fear in my mind. I fall silent. None of us are even breathing, straining to hear.

There is it. Screaming. Coming from inside the fucking walls. Jesus fuck. My heart thuds to a stop completely in my chest. How the fuck can Andie beinsidethe walls?

“Is there an attic crawl space up here or something?” Paddy asks, letting go of me and hurrying to the wall, pressing his ear against it.

Swallowing my fear, I strain for any sound of her. “There was on the plans. I’ve never seen it.”

Spreading out, we listen along the walls to Andie’s frantic screaming, tearing at my heart.

“I’ve found the fecking panel!” Niall’s voice floats through from the landing.

Hurrying into the stairwell, we all watch while Niall ignores the padlock on the door, kicking again and again at the door hinges until the wood cracks under the repeated blows, the screaming stopping. Finally, Niall rips the door off.

There’s complete silence, followed by a hacking cough. Niall steps aside as I rush over, crawling into the tight, dark space and searching for Andie.

“C-Connor?” she sobs, her voice scratchy. Thank fuck. My hands make contact with her soft hair and her smooth skin.

“Achuislemochroí,” I whisper, tugging her into my arms and dragging her back into the stairwell.

Andie is dusty, dirty, and bleeding from somewhere underneath her hair. But she’s alive. She’s fuckingalive. I need to find a church and empty my wallet into the prayer box.

Sitting on the ground, surrounded by the lads as they look down at us, I cradle Andie in my lap, brushing kisses over every spot on her face I can find.

“Tábr?n orm,” I groan repeatedly. I’m sorry. “Is breá liom tú.”

Eventually, Paddy helps us up, and I lift Andie in my arms, carrying her downstairs and out to the SUV. Sliding in, I cradle her in my lap. Paddy and Seamus climb into the front, driving away from my trashed house. My eyes don’t leave Andie’s terrified face the entire drive to Paddy’s house.

Carrying her inside, I set her down on the sofa, my hands sliding over her to check for injuries.

Seamus perches on the coffee table in front of us, his face a mask of fury and worry, while Lauren and Paddy stand behind the sofa, cleaning the cut on the back of Andie’s head. Ronan and Niall stand over near the door, watching us.


Tags: K.S. Ellis Romance