Six
Aela
I staredat the woman I’d thought I’d known, a woman I’d come to trust, a woman Iliked, and regret hit me with a one-two punch.
Even when I thought I was out of the life, I hadn’t been.
I’d been as much a part of it as ever before.
Seamus trembled in my hold, and I knew why.
Throughout his life, I’d shared things about his father with him, had never hidden Declan from Shay because I’d never seen the point of it. What I hadn’t told him, until today, was the ties his father had.
I never lied to Shay. Ever. I could hedge, fudge the facts some, but this wasn’t a lie about who a guy was to me. This wasn’t me hiding that we were millionaires when I told him he couldn’t have a new PS4 when he’d broken his.
This was life.
Ourlife.
Declan would sometimes come home with bruises and covered in blood. Seamus would see that. He was a smart boy. He would notice those things and would ask questions.
What was I supposed to say?
Oh, your dad just walked into a bottle of ketchup.
Oh, he’s covered in red stuff again? Well, he’s into amateur dramatics, and they get a little handy with the red corn syrup.
My kid was no dummy.
Plus, when he realized how rich the family was, their status, a quick Google search on the O’Donnellys would reveal things… maybe not much, because I knew they worked hard to appear legitimate, but if anyone would find anything, it was Seamus.
He could be like a dog with a bone when he wanted to, and discovering things about his new family would be at the top of his agenda when he had a spare moment to get his thoughts in line. So I’d told him stuff no kid should have to learn, and on that very evening, he learned another aspect of his new world.
Betrayal.
Not just from his own people, but from a cop too.
I’d always tried to train him to be wary around the police. Most parents wouldn’t do that. They taught their children that 911 was their salvation, and to respect and uphold the law. I didn’t do that. Not just because of my background, but because I didn’t like being told what to do by anyone. Andthatwas my family background coming into play, nothing to do with the Five Points.
I knew the cops would inveigle their way like cockroaches into a dirty kitchen into any and all aspects of someone’s world, pulling nasty stunts and underhanded moves to get close to the person they wanted to stick their knives into…
Case in point here.
Caro and I had been friends. We’d gone for drinks together, for God’s sake. We’d even had a dinner party where we were co-hosts! She’d been here the past few days, looking after Seamus while I was out of the house.
Had she been searching my room? Looking for information on the O’Donnellys? Because that was why she was here. Without a shadow of a doubt. She knew who Seamus’s father was.
Though I’d been a Five Pointer too, and though I wore the brand on my wrist, my folks were small fry, not big enough to require a sting operation like this, and sting it was because I’d known her for years.
Ever since I’d moved into the neighborhood.
Jesus.
What did they think they’d learn from me? What did they expect me to be able to tell them about the O’Donnellys when the last time I’d seen them was when I was a kid?
I reached up and rubbed my forehead where fatigue and stress were starting to hit me hard. I wanted to sleep, wanted to rest and close my eyes and forget there was a dead body at the foot of my bed. But I couldn’t.
One day back in Declan’s world and my house of cards was already beginning to crumble.