Free Task Force Three and the Irish Jewel [The Men of Five-O #3] (Siren Publishing LoveXtreme Forever) by Dixie Lynn Dwyer Page A

what he has done. I don’t care who these Declan brothers are.” She stated the last syllable broken halfway with emotion.
    Walt was immediately by her side as Ava laid her forehead against the door.
    “I won’t lie to you, Ava. I won’t make promises of happy ever after or even for your hope of returning to your homeland. What I can tell you with great certainty is that when a wolf, or in this case wolves, finds their mate, they will do anything in their power to protect, to possess, and keep her in close proximity to them at all times. They will be your personal bodyguards. They will care for you and provide for you and fulfill your every need.”
    Ava looked up at Walt with tears in her eyes and uncertainty in her heart. Everything he said sounded farfetched and like such a load of bullshit, yet she found herself asking one question, with her entire heart and soul, with every word she stated.
    “And what about love?”
    The tear escaped from her eye and rolled down her cheek. Walt began to console her by placing his finger underneath her chin to turn her face toward him, but as he tried she blocked him by wiping the tear away before she reached for the doorknob.
    “I’ve got a job to do. Nothing else matters right now.”
     
    * * * *
     
    Duggy Doolin tried to maintain his composure as he stood in front of the painting while the police commander and his wife spoke. He knew the castle in the painting. He had visited it just recently when in Ireland on business with Fenly. It was the O’Brian castle. The estate was currently being taken over by Fenly with hopes to gain control over the entire country of Ireland.
    “What seems to have your utter and complete attention, Duggy?”
    Duggy turned around, looking way up to see Fenly himself staring over his shoulder. He didn’t need to answer the monstrosity of a man, for as Fenly caught sight of the painting his eyes grew wide and began to glow.
    “Who created this painting? Was it the same person who painted the one of Central Park I purchased?” Fenly asked, sounding desperate for the answer.
    Duggy looked toward the right corner of the painting and noticed the letters AO.
    “Whoever has the initials AO painted this one, too,” Duggy offered.
    “Ava,” Fenly whispered as he brushed by Duggy and took a closer look at the portrait.
     
    * * * *
     
    Fenly felt a surge of emotions as he stared at the painting of the O’Brian estate. It could have been a photograph, considering how accurate and identical it was to the real thing. He stared at the strokes of color and the castle situated on a hill of grassy green, gently rising from a lake of thirty acres in the middle of the woods. He could practically smell the outdoors, the scents of County Clare and surrounding wildlife.
    His Ava was here in the United States. She was in New York and perhaps here in this gallery tonight. He looked around him frantically, and immediately Miller and Pete were by his side.
    “What is it, boss?” Pete asked.
    “My Ava is here. Find her and I want this painting in my possession immediately.” Pete and Miller took off in opposite directions as Fenly searched the crowded gallery. His heart pounded inside of his chest, and his beast roared with hunger. He would have his Ava back again, and he would take her home to Ireland where she belonged.
    “What can I do to help?” Duggy asked Fenly.
    “Get your men on this. Find out where she is and anyone who knows anything should be thoroughly questioned.”
    “I’m on it,” Duggy stated then walked away.
    Fenly began to look at some of the other paintings Ava had surely painted. He had known that painting was a hobby for her back in Ireland. He had witnessed her beauty and focus as she painted on the back patio to the castle. But it wasn’t until she escaped and was out of his life that he truly missed her presence. She was more than just a valuable commodity. She was his destiny and the key to a family mystery decades old. She had