Chapter 1
Killian stood on his balcony outside of his private quarters looking out at the Irish sea. Watching it crash against the rocks in the bay. Today was a day his family remembered well. Eighteen years ago to the day another clan that was quickly becoming an ally was attacked. This clan was also the family of the girl he was promised to marry. Most of the immediate family was killed along with most of the household staff. His betrothed however had been taken hostage.
Another clan, the Hale, did not take the news of the betrothal very well. With this union they would bring together two of the largest and strongest of the Irish Mafia clans, the Brogans and the Walsh, and as his father’s eldest son he was destined to take the throne of their clan. As his betrothed was the only heir to her clan he would then rule as the leader of both, increasing their strength, power and influence.
The Hale clan had threatened to kill the young girl if the alliance went through. When the small band of survivors refused to back down even with their hier’s life at risk the Hale clan decided to make a show of the execution they would bring the girl to his clan’s property and slit her throat on the front lawn. The mystery of the whole incident was that the girl disappeared before the execution. His clan had spent 18 years trying to find out what had happened to her. She was 6 years old and he was 12 when all of this happened. He had met her a few times and knew that he would be expected to marry her one day.
The clans had all but given up hope of ever finding her when a housekeeper from the Hale household came to them for protection. The Hale clan had discovered that she had snuck the child out of the house the day she was to be executed. She couldn’t stand by while the innocent child was killed for something that in all likelihood she had no idea was even happening. She confessed that she had sent her to America to a cousin who was able to adopt her and raise her as their own. With this new information the Brogan clan was trying to find the girl before the Hale clan did. If the Hail clan found her it was likely they would kill her and keep their promise to bring an end to her family line. The search however, was not going well and he was starting to lose all hope that they would ever be able to find her. As he stood listening to the crashing of the waves his phone rang and the screen proclaimed that it was his cousin Owen, who was currently in America following their latest lead.
“Owen?” he says as a greeting.
“We found her.” came his cousin’s voice, without any preamble or explanation.
Killian froze as he digested this news “Are you sure?” he asked.
“Completely” says Owen “We even took a glass she used at the Pub and had the DNA tested. It’s her Killian.”
“How does she look?” he asked, he couldn’t help himself.
“She is beautiful, cousin.” Owen replied “Looks like a spitting image of her mother.”
Killian closed his eyes and pictured her standing there. He had seen pictures of her mother and she was a beautiful woman. “Bring her home.” he ordered.
A sigh came from Owen “There are a few complications for that Killian.”
Killian didn't ask what these complications were, he knows that Owen will explain in a moment.
“She is a cop here in America. Although we do have one angle we could use.” explains his cousin “She is undercover with the Irish Mafia family here in New York and she is using her birth name and says she came from Ireland. If they have the paperwork on that then she will have an Irish passport and make things easier. However we would need to wipe her existence here or at least make her seem dead.”
“A cop? How did the daughter of a Mafia boss become a cop?” He asked in disbelief.
“You got me!” Owen replied “I wondered the same thing. They must not know who she really is.”
“What is the problem Owen? We have done things like this before, she is not safe. The Hale clan is still looking for her and you know what they will do if they find her. If we found her they are likely not far behind us.” he explains.
“I know Killian, we’ll bring her home. It is just going to be tricky, but we are keeping an eye on her and making sure she is safe” Owen reassured his cousin. “Apparently she has been going by Kayleigh Morgan and just found her birth certificate and decided to use her birth name on this undercover.”
“That will make it easier for the Hale clan to find her!” Killian said angrily.
“I know cousin. Maybe she wanted to be found. Maybe she doesn’t know the danger.” Owen suggested. “Killian, we are bringing her home, just give us some time to clean everything up.”
Killian hung up his phone and looked back out at the Irish sea and where moments before he saw the clouds over the sea and the blanket of gray that often covers the island of Ireland he now noticed a thin crack in the clouds where the sun’s ray broke through and illuminated the ocean waves. He saw hope on the horizon for the first time in a very long time. They had found his kidnapped wife to be and soon she would be back where she belonged. After all these years she would finally be home and finally be safe. He was ready to take his place on the throne as the King of his clan and he would finally have his queen.
