I sigh loudly, slapping my hand to my thigh. “Andi. Please let me talk to her.”
Her eyes narrow as she crosses her arms. “Why should I?”
″Bloody hell! Why must all of you women make everything so damn hard? I’m not leaving until she speaks with me.”
″You will leave if my wife wants you to leave.” A tall blond man appears beside her.
I ignore his presence, focusing on Andi. She is the one I have to convince to let me through.
″She is angry. I get that, I do. But I deserve a chance to explain everything to her.”
Andi chews the inside of her cheek, stewing over her choices. I don’t stop nagging, not giving her a moment to weigh the options.
″Haley is headstrong. Strong-willed. You know that, Andi. But she needs protecting just like everyone else.”
″Yeah? Well, she’s got me.”
My facial features soften. “You live across the country. You can’t always be there for her. Especially now that you have a family.”
″He’s right, babe,” the husband shrugs. I don’t remember his name, even though I should. Andi’s husband put his hand on her arm. “Let him talk to her. He couldn’t have fucked up worse than me.”
″Oh, he could have. You’re all idiots.” Andi waves a hand but steps aside to let me pass.
I haven’t a clue where the hell I’m wandering to, but after a few minutes, I find the stairs. There’s a long hallway with a few bedrooms. I spot one with the door open, making my way toward it. Peeking in, Haley is lying on her back with her legs and arms crossed as she stares at the ceiling.
She doesn’t budge as I enter the room and sit on the edge of the bed.
″Please, just go away, Callum.”
″Haley.” My hand clasps against her ankle and she sits up to look at me. “I should have realized me being so overprotective would make you feel like I was controlling you. I’m sorry I didn’t consider that.”
″I killed him, Cal. I’m more capable than you think. I’m not fragile. I’m—” she sighs, plopping her head back on her pillow.
″A fucking warrior. My Queen. You’re able to protect yourself, but that isn’t the point.”
″What’s the point?”
″That when I found out you were in danger, my entire world collapsed, and I can’t let that ever happen to you again. So, I’m protective and bossy and controlling. Because my life with you has just begun. I’m not going to let it be over before we’ve even had a chance to live it together.”
″I’ve proven I can handle myself. You shouldn’t be worrying.”
″I’m always going to worry, love. Always.”
Her brows scrunch at the statement, but she doesn’t speak. I kick off my shoes and lie beside her. Despite being angry with me, she rolls to her side and drapes her arm around my waist. “Before Declan was born, something horrible happened to Ma. Paddy was too young to remember. One of Da’s guards was paid to take me and Ma off schedule.”
I swallow hard, recalling the day that changed the rest of my life. The day that turned a nine-year-old boy into a man.
″We were still living in Ireland. Ma took me with her to get pastries for breakfast. Paddy was sick, so she kept him home with my Gram. The guard driving us turned left when he should have turned right. Ma knew right away something was off. She questioned him and he told her there was an accident ahead.”
Haley’s hand squeezes my hip and her chin nuzzles into my neck. It keeps me here with her, grounded when I want to throw up at the horrible memory.
″He took us to an abandoned house and chained us to pillars in a crappy garage. Ma was screaming and crying. They beat her so badly. She was pregnant and lost her baby. It wasn’t early on either. Her belly was showing. I remember because that morning she had me feel the baby kicking.”
″Oh, Cal.” Haley exhales against my neck, pulling me closer to her. “Your dad found you guys, though?”
My jaw clenches. “No. I managed to get the ropes free from both of us when our captors were sleeping. They hadn’t guarded us well because they underestimated a nine-year-old boy and a pregnant mother having a miscarriage. I carried her to the car and drove the fuck out of there. I got to a phone booth and called Da. He came to us and an ambulance took Ma to the hospital. Da had me show him how to get back to where they’d taken us and I watched him kill three men.”
″That must have been horrible for you to see.”