Kian
About fifteen minutes after Yannis drags Renata away from me, my door is thrown open. I get to my feet as a guard walks in with a pair of cuffs in hand.
“You medical check-up is here,” he says, keeping his distance. “Turn around.”
The size difference between us is enough that I can sense his fear. But I stand and let the guy do his work. I’m still reeling from everything Renata told me.
I’m pregnant. It’s yours.
I dared once to let myself feel something. But opening up to Annabelle almost broke me when she left. She took part of me with her that I never thought I’d get back.
But I feel it again now. That warm glow in my chest. It’s unmistakable.
And it’s all because of Renata Lombardi.
After the guard has cuffed me, he steps out of the cell and Dr. Lenore walks in.
“Evening, Mr. O’Sullivan,” she says smoothly.
I wait until her expression tells me the coast is clear. Then I lay into her. “Is it true?” I demand. “Is it fucking true?”
“We don’t have much time,” she says, as though I haven’t even spoken.
“Sarah.”
“Yes, it’s true,” she says with a heavy sigh.
“Why the fuck didn’t you tell me?” I snarl. “You knew. You’ve been here. You could’ve said something. And yet it was radio fucking silence. Explain yourself.”
“I did know. And I made the choice not to tell you,” she says stubbornly.
Some women, like Aisling, were nearly broken by their experiences. Other women, like Dr. Sarah Lenore, were made tougher because of it. When I saved her from the Lombardi trafficking rings many years ago, she was an altogether different woman. Skittish and wary, it took a long time for me to earn her trust. But her potential was obvious, even back then. She’s always been steely-minded. Sharp. Unwavering.
“You chose not to tell me,” I repeat, dumbfounded and raging. “What gives you the goddamn right to do that? You’re supposed to tell me everything.”
“As it pertains to business, yes,” she says unapologetically. “But this isn’t business. It’s personal and I made a call.”
“You made a call… about my life? About my child?”
“And I’d do it again,” she replies, still icy and calm even in the face of my hot anger. “You’re too close to the situation and I couldn’t trust that you’d keep cool.”
Jesus. Talk about the student surpassing the teacher.Not that I’m in any hurry to admit that.
But ironically, this is exactly the reason I knew she’d be fucking great at this. She’s strong. Carved from rock. She’s not the kind of woman who wants to forget her past trauma. She wants to learn from it. Rise from it…
So that she can go back and break the chains of suffering that once pinned her to the dirt.
That determination is why it took next to no convincing to get her to join the ranks of the Clan. Who better than me to give her the weapons she needs to hurt the people who hurt her? Who better than me to help her free the poor women falling into the same shadowy places that once entrapped her?
It took years to position her within the enemy’s reach. But even I never imagined quite how vital she’d become.
“I’m always fucking cool.”
“Except, apparently, when it comes to this woman,” she says, meeting my eye. “Your men talk, Kian.”
I roll my eyes. “Bunch of schoolgirl gossips. Fine. We’ll circle back on this topic. What’s the play right now?”
“Your brother is in the city.”