Cillian
I’m here. I’m back.
The flight back to Dublin was fraught with a whirlwind of emotions. I’d done this before, of course, when I left Ireland for the first time. Some of it felt the same, but in reverse.
Unlike that first flight, though, I didn’t sleep for so much as a second. My mind stayed awake and active the entire time.
I thought about my parents a lot. About Ma and Da, ensconced in the O’Sullivan Manor without so much as a clue that I’m about to arrive on their doorstep.
But the person who most dominated my thoughts was her.
Saoirse Connelly.
I’ve purposefully refrained from asking Kian about her. I have a feeling he knows more than he’s letting on, but I decided I’d rather find out for myself.
Of course, I enter Dublin under the guise of a new identity.
Kian and I made sure to travel separately so that we’re not immediately linked together.
The Kinahans are everywhere and we didn’t want them tipped off about my presence sooner than they needed to be.
Come to think of it, we didn’t want Da tipped off sooner than he needed to be, either.
Airport security waves me through with no problems. Once I clear customs, I find myself walking towards the sliding doors.
One last barrier between me and the city I was born and raised in.
My heart expands as I step through into the balmy Irish sunrise.
I close my eyes for a moment. Breathe in the air.
It fucking feels different here.
This is the return I was hoping for. This is the salvation I needed. This is the—
“Oi!”
“Ma’am!”
“Stop her!”
“Get back here!”
A cacophony of voices explodes, ruining my feel-good moment.
I open my eyes.
And then I sense a commotion occurring only a few feet away from me. There’s a group of cops converging on the scene.
I stiffen and blanch—Did the Kinahans know I was coming?
But then I realize that no one’s paying me any attention. All the cops, the pedestrians, everyone is staring at the woman in the middle of all the chaos.
And that woman?
She’s looking right at me.
Clear blue eyes. Wild red hair. A tight, fiery clench to her jaw.