“You’re really letting her go?” Aisling asks incredulously.
I look up. I’d forgotten she’s still here. “Yes.”
“But why?” Aisling asks. “She’s in danger out there. Yannis Rokiades still hasn’t been found.”
“I know what happens when you try to keep a free bird in a cage, Aisling,” I tell her. “The same thing was done to my sister. And she ended up killing herself before we could break open the lock.”
Aisling stares at me intently. I’m pretty sure she’s heard the rumors. Same as every person who works for the Clan for long enough. But this is the first time I’ve ever spoken openly about Aoife with Aisling.
“It’s true then?” she asks in a hushed voice.
“Yes, it’s true,” I say. “Our enemies took her. It cost my sister her life.”
“You’re not Renata’s enemy,” she says with conviction.
I give her a distracted smile. “If only she believed that.”
“She will. In time,” she tells me. “She might have to learn the hard way, though.”
“That’s precisely was what I was trying to prevent.”
“Why let her walk out of here then?” Aisling asks again.
I give her a lopsided smile. “I told her she was free to leave,” I say. “I didn’t say that I’d leave her alone.”
Understanding dawns in Aoife’s eyes. “You’re having her followed?”
“In a manner of speaking,” I explain. “She’s got a tracker on her.”
Aisling shakes her head. “As usual, I’ve underestimated you.”
“Kind of a backhanded compliment. But I’ll take it.” I chuckle sadly as the maid turns for the door. “Oh, and Aisling?”
“Yes, Master Kian?”
“I’ve got a lead on your husband and daughter,” I tell her, relaying the latest news from my lieutenant leading the search. “I don’t want you to get your hopes up yet. But it looks promising.”
Her eyes light up immediately. Her voice is quavering but still strong. “Thank you, Don O’Sullivan.”
“I know it’s taken longer than I told you it would. I’m sorry for that.”
“I never doubted, sir.”
“Aisling, can I ask you one more thing?”
“Yes?”
“Why do you trust me so much?”
She laughs. An actual laugh, the first one I’ve heard from her in… ever. “Your eyes,” she says at last. “They don’t lie.”
The words spread through me like heat on a cold fucking day. My brothers and I say it all the time. I’ve just never thought about it recently. It’s all in the eyes.
I give her a nod. “I’ll keep you informed.”
She returns a grateful smile and heads out of the door. The moment I’m alone, I send instructions down to my men at the main gate. Then I use my phone to turn on the tracker hidden in Renata’s duffel bag. I’ve gone an extra step and also hidden a second tracker in the lining of her jacket. I watch via the app on my phone as the tracker moves through the mansion and reaches the front gate.
On the perimeter of the grounds, it stands still for a few seconds. It’d be easy to chalk it up to a delay in the signal from the device. But I can close my eyes and picture exactly what Renata is doing: standing at the edge of my property and using every single ounce of her willpower to stop herself from looking back.