High Stakes (29 page)

Beside Pat, Brie, looking beautiful in an obscenely expensive yellow dress, leaned into Pat. “Can you believe it?”

“Nope. How did this happen to our lives?” he asked only half-joking.

“I have to say, Patrick O’Neil, it’s been quite a ride with your family.”

Was she implying the ride was over? No, he wouldn’t think that way. He’d promised himself, after their last big fight—which they were just getting over—he would curb his tendency to overreact to every word that came out of her mouth. “That it has, lass.”

He caught sight of Dylan and Rachel off to the side. Dylan looked concerned, leaning close to his…whatever the hell she was…girlfriend, and pointing to the big white house. An agent stood behind them, too. “Huh? Wonder if they’re having a spat?”

Brie tracked his gaze and gave a mysterious smile. “I doubt it.”

“Do you know something, woman?”

“I know a lot of things, Patrick.”

As he studied his brother, he saw the sloppy grin on Dylan’s face turn to a frown. Pat transferred his gaze to Rachel…just as she slipped out of his grasp to the ground.

What the…? His heart beat a clip as he raced over. But several agents had closed in around them, effectively cutting out the family. Aidan rushed up to Pat, followed by Liam.

“Is she hurt?” Aidan asked. “It looked like she got shot.”

“Oh, my God,” Liam added. “Dylan?”

Brie said calmly, “Rachel collapsed.”

C.J. and Sophie shared a look with her.

“We have to get to Dylan to see what’s wrong.” Aidan’s voice rose a notch.

“No, honey,” C.J. told him, “we don’t.”

Liam started forward. Sophie stayed his arm. “Liam, it’s okay.”

Pat’s eyes narrowed. “What’s going on here, ladies? What do you know?”

Rolling her eyes, Brie once again locked gazes with the other women. “We have to tell them or they’re going to have a brawl with the Secret Service trying to get to their brother.”

C.J. put her hand on her stomach. “Rachel’s pregnant, too.”

Pat’s eyes widened, Aidan’s jaw dropped and Liam slid his arm around Sophie. “Keeping secrets, now, love?”

“It was Rachel’s business to tell.”

“She didn’t say anything because of me, right?” Pat asked. He and Aidan were giving it their all trying to accept Rachel into their lives, but after what she’d done, it was hard.

“I think they just wanted to keep it to themselves for a while.” Brie’s voice was calm, happy.

“Then how come you know?”

“She barfed all over the front of my car when the four of us went to lunch one day. We recognized the signs.”

Still reeling from that, Pat sighed when his phone rang. Who would call him at a time like this? Fishing the cell out of his pocket, he clicked on. “Pat here.”

“Patrick, this is Bridget.” Their bartender who was in charge of the pub while the O’Neils were in D.C. “I’m sorry to bother you, but the place is…in chaos. We’re only letting in the number of patrons we can serve, but nobody wants to leave. They keep taking pictures so I think they’re tourists.”

“Give them some time, then shoo them out.”

“I’ll try, but the people outside are getting restless. They’ve been jostling each other and some hit the windows.”

“How many are there?”

“Don’t know, but the crowd is as far as the eye can see.”

“Jesus.”

“What should I do?”

He didn’t know. His gaze landed on Mitch Calloway, Bailey’s top agent. “Hold on a sec.” He crossed to Mitch and relayed the information.

Mitch was all business. “Tell Bridget that help is on the way.” He took out his cell. “I’ll make some calls and get people down there for crowd control.”

Turning back to find his brother, Pat saw the Secret Service had dispersed and Rachel was seated on a bench, with Dylan beside her. Her face was totally pale, and Dylan’s almost matched it.

Hell, Pat thought, nothing was ever going to be the same again. And one thing Pat knew about himself, he didn’t like change.