He speaks unflinchingly. Without so much as a trace of emotion.
“You’re handing me over to him?” I ask in disbelief.
Da’s jaw tightens. He looks like a feral beast who’s been forced into a tight corner.
“It wouldn’t look good for the O’Sullivan clan if I handed over my own son,” Da replies. “That’s what he wants. But that’s not what he’ll get.”
I frown. “What are you saying then?”
Da pulls out a small key from his coat pocket. He turns it over in his hand and I recognize it instantly.
“The key to my cell,” I breathe with relief. “You’re letting me out.”
Da’s eyes lift to mine. “You have three hours,” he tells me. “To get out of Ireland. For good.”
His words hit me like a sledgehammer.
Leave Ireland?
Leave the family?
Leave Saoirse?
Forever?
“I can’t leave,” I whisper. “This is my home.”
Da takes a step closer. “You have no choice. If you stay in Dublin, they will kill you.”
“People have been trying to kill us for years.”
“Not like this,” he replies. “There is no other way. I will not sacrifice you to the wolves. But I cannot allow you to stay either. I have the clan to think of. I have the family to think of.”
“Is that it then?” I demand. “I’m no longer family?”
“You’re no longer an O’Sullivan,” Da says coolly. “Make of that what you will.”
His words are cutting. And the way he delivers them…
No feeling.
No emotion.
Just business.
“Sean would call you a fucking coward,” I snap before I can stop myself.
“Sean is gone,” he says without revealing any emotion. “He wanted to leave.”
“Because you pushed him out! Because you—”
“Enough!” Da roars. “I will not discuss Sean. He made his decision. He chose to walk away from the family.”
I grip the bars hard. “Well, I’m choosing to stay.”
Da shakes his head. “If you stay, you will die. I will not be able to protect you. And I will not enter into a war for you, either.”
“You’d start wars for money and land,” I say. “For vengeance and conquest. But not for your sons?”