Knowing what she needed to do wasn’t as easy as she thought it would be. She only had the cash Dom had given her for anything she needed. Admittedly, it wasn’t much, but a flight to Ireland wasn’t going to be cheap.
Leaving the hospital before Dom could find her, she hailed the first cab she’d come across and went straight to the airport hoping to catch a red-eye back home. The need to leave, to make them safe drove her, fueled by the fire burning through her veins to make sure they came to no more harm.
The cab driver wasn’t very chatty, but he watched her with a critical eye. You’re covered in blood, dummy. “Shit,” she mumbled remembering what she looked like.
“My friend was shot,” she explained weekly, a lone tear slid down her cheek at his sympathetic gaze. “Is there a discount store on the way?” She had to change and get cleaned up first or customs would just arrest her.
“Just a block over.”
After a quick stop in the restroom first, she cleaned up as much as possible before buying a cheap pair of jeans and t-shirt. Pulling up to the airport looking a little less serial killerish, she handed the driver his money and with a mumbled thanks was gone. Thankful she kept all her ID in her purse, she was in search of the first flight out.
*****
Fear was a cold-hearted emotion. It could grip a person in its depths faster than anything, and at the moment, it held Dom’s heart hostage. He watched with cold calculation as his son was looked over, examined, and hopefully given a clean bill of health. Casey was in surgery to remove one bullet that lodged in his bicep and repair the damage done from the through and through in his right shoulder. Thankfully, nothing major was hit, and he’d be fine in time.
“All right, Mr. Slade. No concussion for this brave young man. A bit of a headache and a few bumps, but he’ll be right as rain in no time. He was asking for his mom. Will she be here soon?”
“His mom?” Confusion laced his voice.
The doctor looked like he was about to run. Dom couldn’t blame him. He knew his rage radiated off him in waves. The blood coating his clothes wouldn’t have helped either.
“His mom isn’t in the picture. I don’t know why he would ask for her.” He tried to hide the hurt in his words.
“I want Pincess, Daddy,” Jax called out.
Understanding dawned on him. Jax had been dying to have Deedee as his mom almost since he met her. “Ya, bud. I’ll go find her once Miss Angie gets here.”
“Okay,” he whined as his eyes began to close.
Turning his attention back to the doctor at his side, Dom asked, “Will he need anything once I get him home?”
“Just monitoring. Making sure his condition doesn’t get worse. I’ll have the nurse get a list of instructions and things for you to watch for.” At Dom’s nod, the doctor and two nurses left them alone.
“I weally want Pincess.”
“I do too, kid. But she’s making sure they’re taking care of Uncle Case.”
For a while he watched his son fight to stay awake. Clenching and unclenching his tiny fists. When he finally lost the battle for sleep, Dom let out a frustrated breath.
The change in events was driving him insane. Her fucking mother hired those goons to kill her? It didn’t make sense. She’d been working for years to get Dee all the paperwork she’d need to get back into Ireland without her father knowing where she was. Why would she try to kill her?
When Dee was younger, she’d had nothing but good things to say about her mother. They were incredibly close. There wasn’t anything they wouldn’t do for each other.
A vibration in his pocket broke him from his train of thought. Pulling out his phone, he saw Larry was calling him. “Yeah?”
“Everything all right, Dom? I heard on the scanner about what happened.”
“Case is in surgery. Two shots. Nothing vital was hit. He’ll be worse than a sick calf for a while, but fine. Li’l man’s got some bumps and bruises but physically, he’s fine. And I haven’t had a chance to talk to Dee yet, but she looked like she was hanging in there.”
“Good, good. Look, bad news. Can you talk now?” His friend’s voice held something he was sure he was not going to like.
“Yeah. Just let me find a room so I don’t wake Jax.” Making sure he was asleep, Dom left the small exam room in search of a visitor’s space. Slipping inside, he told Larry, “Go ahead.” Preparing for the worst and hoping for nothing.
Thirteen
Flying over the Atlantic Ocean gave Deidre a little less perspective than she’d hoped for. To say she was dazed would be an understatement, more like completely and utterly broken. Her heart hurt to think her mam had sent Brock to not only kill her but whoever happened to be with her. She wasn’t stupid; she knew her mam. It was impossible that she could be some cold-hearted killer. Her mother was a sweet, loving woman who only wanted the best for her daughter.
But how well do you really know her?