“She was an addict, Cillian. You can’t really believe I’d—”
“First of all, don’t you dare interrupt me. Especially when I know the facts. I know everything you did. I’m not saying she was a saint, but she was getting better. She was clean for ninety days, so tell me the truth for once in your damn life. Why did you do it?”
My father licks his lips, and I figure he’s going to do what he does best—lie.
“She got into contact with me, said she was getting clean, and she wanted to know you, know the man you were turning into.”
“So, you killed her?” I raise both of my brows.
“No, I put the stupid bitch out of her misery. She only wanted to ruin my life. She wanted to tell you her rendition of the truth, which was nothing more than a sob story she put together in her head. She was an addict when I met her, and through her becoming clean, she thought she could tell me how I took advantage of her and the state she was in. She had no problem taking my cock that night. Not once did she say she didn’t want it. She moaned and groaned and did what women always do best when keeping their legs open.”
With every word, my heart beats louder and louder. “Do you really mean to tell me that was a reason for you to keep going? You knew she was high, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, she’s not the first addict I fucked, though I’ve always been picky. At least your mother was a pretty one.”
“This doesn’t make sense. You told me the hospital called you when I was born.” I try to piece together everything.
“Yes, they did. It’s not like she had anyone else in her life at the time. You were going through withdrawal, and your mother was as well. She wanted nothing to do with you, Cillian. Trust me, I did you a favor. She only ever cared about the drugs. She was asking me for money before she even told us what she took! The doctors couldn’t even treat you until we knew.”
“Why in the hell would she give me to you if you raped her . . .” I’m more so speaking to myself.
“Because I didn’t!”
Then it clicks. It’s because she couldn’t bear the thought of keeping me because of what he did. My best guess is that when she became clean, she didn’t want to punish me any longer for the actions of my father and to keep me from discovering the truth he killed her.
I go closer to my father, and I grab the letter opener on his desk. I press the pointed end against his throat, ready to jam upward and have him choke on his blood. “Tell me who you hired for the ghost hit on Mia.”
“Cillian, this isn’t you. Don’t be stupid.”
I sneer, “Turns out you don’t know who I am.”
“Are you really going to start a war for this woman?”
“I’d start a thousand wars for the mother of my child,” I state so clearly, and he raises both brows as I slam it up into his neck. He was never going to tell me who he hired, and I know it. My father’s the man who taught me to always hold my cards close and to never reveal them.
I walk away from him and stop when I see a shadow along the floor. I turn back to see him rising from his chair, and then he collapses to the ground as he gurgles on his blood.
He deserved far worse, but I’ve missed enough time with Mia, and I refuse to miss any more time with her.
CHAPTER TEN
MIA
A knock comes on my door, and it’s eight in the morning on Monday. I head over to it and take a breath before I open it. Luckily, Cillian’s standing on the other side.
I offer him a soft smile. “Look at you, keeping your promises.”
I’m trying to lighten the mood, but my words don’t help. “I intend to keep them for the rest of my life, Mia.” He walks directly up to me, plants his hands on my shoulders, and looks over me in the most loving way I’ve ever experienced.
“What happened? You look troubled.”
Cillian’s mouth is still stoic as possible. “My father’s dead, and he didn’t tell me who he hired for the ghost hit. He wouldn’t have, and I know it. He wasn’t the person I thought he was . . . in more ways than one.” There’s a sense of great disappointment in Cillian’s voice, but I’m not going to pressure him for any sort of answer. Whatever happened, it couldn’t have been good.
“So . . . what do we do now? I mean, is it safe for us to be together?” I swallow hard, too afraid for whatever answer’s going to come out of Cillian’s mouth.