All Chapters of Bought By The Irish Mafia Boss: Chapter 171 - Chapter 180

MayaBy the time we land in New York, I have convinced myself at least twelve different things could have happened to Jax. None of them are good. The worst part is that I barely remember leaving the plane.One minute I'm sitting across from Declan with his hand wrapped around mine, the next I'm in the back of an SUV with Liam driving and Declan beside me, Queens sliding past the window beneath a grey afternoon sky. Everything feels familiar. Too familiar. Warehouses. Fences. Concrete. Graffiti. The kind of streets I used to drive through at midnight without thinking twice. Back then, these places felt exciting. Alive. Dangerous in a way that made me feel untouchable.I was stupid enough to believe danger was something I chose. A fast car. A bad road. A race where nobody bothered asking if the brakes were legal. I thought risk came with an engine. Apparently, I had no fucking idea. Declan keeps watching me. Not constantly. He knows better now. But enough.

MayaBecause three years ago, I failed to.The words settle inside the car and stay there, even though Declan’s father is thousands of miles away and I can only hear his voice faintly through the phone pressed against Declan’s ear. I don't need him to repeat himself. I heard enough, and judging by the way Declan has gone completely still beside me, so did he.For several seconds, nobody speaks. Liam keeps driving, his eyes fixed on the road ahead, but I see his hands tighten around the steering wheel. Declan looks different. Not angry exactly, although I know anger will come. It always does with him. This is something beneath it, something quieter and probably more dangerous because his father has just said something neither of us was prepared for.Declan finally leans forward, resting his elbow against his knee. "What the fuck does that mean?"His father says something I can't hear."No." Declan's voice hardens. "You don't get t

MayaI have packed a bag for dangerous situations far too many times since Declan Hayes came back into my life.The thought shouldn't be funny, and it isn't really, but I still find myself staring down at the open overnight bag on Declan's bed with something dangerously close to a laugh trapped in my throat. Jeans, underwear, two T-shirts, toiletries, my phone charger, one of Declan's hoodies that I shove inside without asking because at this point I think I've earned the right to steal his clothes. The entire thing takes less than five minutes, which is probably the most disturbing part. I've become good at this. Apparently there is a skill to deciding what you need when somebody might be trying to kill you, kidnap you, or scare you into forgetting something your own brain already buried once.Three years ago, I would've packed heels before a phone charger. Now I check whether Declan has put the small first-aid kit in his bag. I don't know whether that's growth

MayaThe first gunshot changes everything.Until that moment, some stupid part of me is still treating this like every other time Declan has ordered me to stay somewhere while he walks toward danger. I'm angry. Frustrated. Standing beside the SUV with my arms folded so tightly across my chest that my fingers are digging into my ribs, replaying every argument I should've made differently and imagining all the ways I'm going to make him regret leaving me behind once he comes back.Then the gunfire starts. Not one shot. Several. Close enough that the sound bounces between the buildings and seems to come from everywhere at once.My entire body locks.Liam moves immediately, stepping directly in front of me while the three men Declan left behind spread around the SUV, weapons raised, attention turning toward every possible approach except the garage.I stare at the red roller door."What's happening?” Liam doesn't answer. "Liam."

DeclanMaya doesn't say anything when we walk back into the garage. That's how I know seeing Jax gets to her.She has spent the last hour arguing with me, Liam, probably herself, and anyone else stupid enough to suggest she shouldn't be allowed somewhere, but the second she sees Jax being carried carefully through the workshop on a stretcher, every bit of fight disappears from her face.The medic walks beside him while another man carries the equipment they've already connected to him. We're not taking him to a hospital. Too many questions, too many records, too many opportunities for whoever took him to discover exactly where we've put him. Cillian has already arranged one of the safe houses, and a doctor we trust is meeting them there with everything necessary to keep Jax stable until we know whether he needs more than they can provide privately.Maya stops beside me. I feel her hand searching for mine before she seems to realize she's doing it. I take