Pa drops his gaze. “Yes,” he says quietly. “He seemed surprised to hear about the O’Sullivans. You didn’t tell Tristan they were there?”
“I didn’t know who they were.”
Not strictly true, but I’d learned a long time ago that drunks are awfully bad at keeping secrets.
“We don’t want trouble with the Kinahans, Saoirse,” he says. “They’re dangerous.”
“I’ve heard the same about the O’Sullivans.”
“But if we play our cards right, maybe one problem will take care of the other.”
I frown. If we play our cards right…?
I stare at him, wondering how his debt had become a shared burden.
When he won at a gambling table, the money he won was always “his.”
When he lost at a gambling table, the debt he incurred was always “ours.”
Convenient. But I’ve learned to roll with the punches.
It’s the price you pay for loving a narcissist.
“I don’t trust Tristan,” I say honestly.
Pa sighs. “He’s a smart man, Saoirse. And he’s risen up the ranks of the force fast. And—”
“And he’s got connections to the Murtaghs and the Kinahan,” I infer.
“Exactly,” Pa says, completely missing my bitter tone. “We need other people to get on in this world.”
“Pa,” I plead, putting my hand on his arm, “please think about this. You don’t want to be indebted to the Kinahans. Brody Murtagh was the one who wanted you dead that day.”
“They all did.”
“Did they?” I ask, raising an eyebrow at him. “What happened while I was outside? What did you discuss with the other O’Sullivan brother?”
He hesitates for a moment, and I know instinctively that whatever he’s about to tell me is a lie.
“He was threatening me.”
That I believed.
“Okay? What else?”
“He told me he’d be back for the money the next day and if I didn’t have it, he’d kill me.”
He’s blinking too fast. For as much time as he’s spent at the card table in his life, his poker face still sucks.
He’s lying.
“Pa,” I say gently, squeezing his hand, “if you don’t tell me the truth, I won’t be able to help.”
He pales. The blotchiness in his face takes on a sallow, yellowish tint.
“There’s nothing you can do anyway, my girl,” he says softly, a subtle nip of affection in his tone.
“I’m stronger than you think and I’m braver than you know.”