“I know pedophiles walk the streets every day, and they get away with it. Hurting more kids, destroying more lives.
“I know that being bad doesn’t mean you’ll be punished.” Her fingers raked through my hair. “I told you, you didn’t change me. Being a mom did that. It made me see the predators out there who could hurt my children. And not just how you were hurt either.” She pressed a kiss to my lips. “We’ll keep our family safe, Finn. We’ll do that together.” She hugged me. “Now, let’s get some sleep. You need it, Smokey Bear.”
She smushed my face into her tits, and her hands continued smoothing through my hair as if she could soothe me as easily as she soothed Jake.
If only that were possible.
As I lay there, I recognized there was a certain irony to the situation.
She hadn’t thrown me out. Cast me from heaven for confessing my sins to her… a confession that felt more cleansing than anything I’d ever admitted to Father Doyle in the confessional where my baby brother had been fucking raped by a clergyman.
And as liberating as that was, it was also cataclysmic.
Because if it felt this good to get the truth off my back, how many of my filthy secrets could she handle without turning me away…?
Finn:What’s going on out there?
Brennan:Bunch of fuckers whining about being cooped up in here.
Brennan:It’s not exactly a party, that’s for fucking sure. They’ve all been shitting themselves since Da made his grand speech.
Finn:They’re asking when they can leave?
Brennan:Yup. Not the men. Their wives. Why Da insisted on inviting them is beyond me.
Finn:Power move.
Brennan:Scare the women, scare the men? Most of these fuckers hate each other. They’re not love matches.
Finn:It’s the kids.
Brennan:I’d like to think Da wouldn’t get us butchering kids, but with how his mind is at the moment, I don’t fucking know.
Finn:Me either.
Brennan:You think it’s a possibility?
Finn:Not today.
Brennan:If Da finds out someone’s a Sparrow and they didn’t come to him today?
Finn:Yes.
Brennan:I’ll do a lot of shit for the family, Finn, but killing kids ain’t one of them.
Finn:Aidan and I will figure out a way to stop that from happening.
Brennan:If he even suggests it, he’s off his rocker more than we thought.
Finn:Agreed. We’ll handle it.
Brennan:See that you do.
Finn:Bossy motherfucker.
Brennan:Stop your grumbling and get on with it.