Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 107012 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 535(@200wpm)___ 428(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107012 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 535(@200wpm)___ 428(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
“Fuck me, I sort of thought ya had a type. I didn’t think that was her.”
“Aye, it is. Cole knows I’ve found her, but he’s not telling me something. There’s a lot going on and I’m trying to keep her safe.”
“And the kid?”
“Her little brother. He was born before they lost Uncle Don and Aunt Iesha.”
“Wait, lost them? What do you mean?”
“I don’t know,” I say in frustration. “I’m still trying to figure that out. All I know for sure is that they’re both dead. First, Uncle Don then Aunt Iesha. She was killed in a car accident that took Ciara’s memories of everything before then.”
“Fuck, Donald Walsh was the shit. I’m so sorry to hear that. Iesha was such a nice lady. She was Ma’s friend.”
“Yeah, Ma was hurt for Ciara, but I could tell she was upset about her friend as well.”
“Ma knows about her?”
“Aye, Da does too.”
“How long have ya been keeping this to yourself?”
“Almost a year. It hasn’t been that hard with everyone so distracted and scattered.”
Jamie releases a low whistle. I get ready to tell him I’m calling it a night, hoping to avoid the answers he had really asked me for. I see the moment that’s not going to fly.
“So what does all of that have to do with ya being banned from the Fighting Irish?”
I groan and pull a hand down my face. Being the youngest sucks ass sometimes. All I want right now is to go upstairs and make sure my girl and the kid are all right.
I’ve been furious since Ciarán told us how it all happened. The locker rooms don’t have cameras. I’m guessing that’s one of the reasons they knocked him out in there to take him.
I’m still trying to figure out how no one saw them carrying a kid out of the place. Heads are going to roll. When I find Arnold, he’s going to wish he never took his first breath. It was smart of him to run.
Fucking coward.
He was right to be afraid of Ciarán’s hands. In the last seven months, the kid has made a ton of progress. His dad would be proud.
“I had been fighting the underground scene to make some money,” I mutter.
“Are ya crazy? Ya could have fucked up your career with that shit. We have plenty of money, ya didn’t need to be in those fights …” Jamie trails off.
He looks at me like I lost my mind. I turn away, not wanting to read the look on his face. I know what’s coming.
“It was because of her. Da forbid ya from going home, but yer hardheaded ass was going to go back anyway, weren’t ya?”
“Yeah, I had to find her. I knew she would find her way back to me.”
“He would have had ya killed, ya eejit. Dyl, Da, Logan, Con, and Brooklyn don’t tell us everything for a reason, but what they do say, ya sure as fuck should listen to. That man was evil.
“I don’t trust that his death was the end of him. Just ya wait, his hate is bound to resurface sooner or later,” he says, his words ringing in the air with an eerie truth to them.
“Don’t worry. I’m listening now. Besides, she’s here. That’s all I ever wanted.”
“Yeah, well, I’m happy ya got the kid back and she’s okay. Now I get why ya’ve been throwing me all the meetings in the lairs. Yer ass can’t go in them,” he snorts as he rounds the counter to pull me into a hug.
I return the embrace. Jamie only wants to see me safe. It’s good to know he has my back no matter what.
“I love ya, kid,” he says and kisses my forehead as he releases me.
“I love you too. Now get out so I can go check on my girl.”
“Fuck ya. I’m coming over for breakfast. So get yer dick wet tonight and have my pancakes and bacon ready when I get here in the morning.”
“Whatever,” I scoff.
He tosses me a two-finger salute and saunters out of my apartment. I lock the door from my phone and turn on the alarm system before I head upstairs.
I find Ciara in Ciarán’s room, right where I knew she would be. They’re curled up together watching TV. Ciarán is wrapped up in the covers like a burrito. He peeks out at me with a small smile on his lips.
“Hey,” he says.
“Hey, buddy. How are you?”
“Better. That stuff Miss Taegan put on my wrists helped a lot. Just happy to be home. Sorry you guys missed that concert.”
My chest swells to hear him call my place home. Finding him in tears destroyed me. Ciarán is a good kid; he didn’t deserve this.
I wave him off and shrug. “True Life is family. If we call in some favors, we can work something out. No big deal. Jamie will get over it.”