Midnight Captive by Elle Kennedy Read Free Book Online Page B

humoring them.
    The negotiator was due to ring back in fifteen minutes, which meant it was time to get the ball rolling.
    “Why does
he
get to walk out of here?” Paddy’s scornful gaze shifted to Sean, who kept his expression blank.
    Gallagher sighed in annoyance, yet again explaining his reasoning for why Sean would be the one playing the hostage, but that didn’t appease the younger man.
    “Bollocks,” Paddy muttered again. “I’m not surrendering, you hear me? I’m not going back to the Joy for—”
    “Mo thír,”
Gallagher interrupted.
    That stopped the other man cold. “What?” he said shakily.
    “Mo thír, mo onóir, mo chuid fola.”
    Gallagher’s face was somber as he spoke in Gaelic, reciting the words that were guaranteed to get Paddy’s attention—
my country, my honor, my blood
.
    And he succeeded. Paddy went equally somber, his shoulders drooping, his fists slowly opening as his hands dangled at his sides.
    “Remember those words, Padraig?” Gallagher said softly. “You took an oath.”
    Christ, these men and their bloody oath. Sean had recited it himself a long time ago, back when his father was still alive. Rabbit had thrown that fact at him mere days ago, reminding him of the promises he’d made, the loyalty he’d vowed, but Sean had spit it right back in the older man’s face. Any allegiance he’d pledged had become null and void the second Eamon O’Hare had kidnapped his brother.
    Gallagher and Paddy, however . . . the oath still meantsomething to them. Their whole lives revolved around it and the ideology that had been beaten into their skulls since the day they were born.
    “Live for the cause, die for the cause,” Gallagher murmured, reciting the final words of the Dagger’s motto.
    Paddy was visibly clenching his teeth. He looked pained, upset, but the resignation that Sean had seen in the other men’s eyes now flickered in Paddy’s. “Live for the cause, die for the cause,” he echoed.
    Jesus Christ. It was fucking surreal. Sean masked his disbelief as the two men exchanged a tight hug.
    “I fecked up,” Paddy mumbled. “I shouldn’t have aimed for the head.”
    Gallagher clapped his hand over Paddy’s shoulder. “No, you shouldn’t have.”
    Paddy nodded. “I got us into this mess. The alarm wouldn’t have gone off if I hadn’t killed the ghost. It’s only right that I pay the price for my mistake.”
    Sean didn’t know whether he was impressed or amused. Jesus, Rabbit had trained his soldiers well. Sean wondered if
he
could ever inspire that kind of loyalty in someone. His brother, sure. Maybe Jim Morgan, at least before he’d deserted the man.
    But any loyalty he’d had from Morgan was gone now. The man was cold, unforgiving. When Sean had abandoned the team, he’d pretty much ensured that they wouldn’t welcome him back with open arms.
    Regret constricted his chest, making him want to slam his fist into the nearest wall. Maybe it made him a total pussy, but he’d been honored to earn a spot on Morgan’s team. The life of an information dealer wasn’t too exciting. Oliver enjoyed the work, but Sean had been tired of it. He’d found himself longing for his days as a merc, even more so once he’d started doing odd jobs for Morgan’s team.
    Maybe Morgan would take him back when this was all over.
    Un-bloody-likely.
    Right. Probably too much to hope for.
    “Go and get Murphy,” Gallagher told Paddy. “I need him to answer the mobile when the negotiator rings back.” Once Paddy hurried off, Gallagher turned to Sean. “Stay here. I’ll be back to grab you in a few minutes.”
    Sean nodded.
    The second he was alone, he sank into the nearest chair around the large oval table in the bank’s staff room. Fuck, he needed to get out of here. He felt like a caged animal. Trapped. Powerless. And he didn’t function well in that state.
    He glanced around the room, taking in the tidy row of metal lockers, the kitchenette, the closed door of the supply