“Why did you lie? Why didn’t you tell me who you really were?” Her whispers are loud enough that we can all hear them, and the pain in her voice is evident.
My chest once again tightens. All this back and forth between Miren and me has taken a toll on my feelin’s for her. I’ve fought it, I’ve given in, and I’ve raged with myself. But it’s still her I want. There’s no doubt about it. She’s going to do great things in her life, and I want to be right by her side. It’s stupid to even think this shite while she’s waiting on her ma to respond.
“What did this man say to you? Miren, you must listen to me,” Sinéad pleads, her gaze locked on her daughter, but I can tell from the way she’s blinking she’s also taking in her surroundings.
A woman like her will be looking for a way out of this. She’ll most certainly be wanting to escape, to free herself and get far away.
But that’s not happening.
“Why do you keep lying to me?!” Miren’s voice booms now, louder than I’ve ever heard her. She moves swiftly, stopping inches from her mother. “Tell me the fucking truth,” she orders confidently.
The girl who was earlier trembling is gone and in her place is a feckin’ warrior. I’ve never been so attracted to her as I am right now. Seein’ her strength makes me want to bring it out of her more and more.
“I had to protect you,” Sinéad whispers. “You were the only thing I ever needed. The organisation was my father’s. Your grandfather wouldn’t listen to reason. Even though I never wanted it, he forced me to step up once he died.”
“And Monster? His family? What about his father and mother?” She flicks her gaze to me, and Sinéad follows suit. “You killed them. You’re the monster, not him.”
“They needed to pay for their sins. His father was going to kill me!” Sinéad’s outburst has my blood steaming in my veins.
I want to end her now, but we still have more to ask. There are so many questions, and I need answers before she pays for what she’s done.
Suddenly, Miren moves. Her hand swipes up, and it’s only when crimson spurts from her mother’s arm that I realise she’s carrying a knife. I race forward and grab Miren. “What the feck are ye doin’, wee fox?”
“I just wanted to see if she bleeds,” Miren speaks. The words come out as if she’s in a trance. “You hurt innocent people,” she tells her ma. “And you have to pay for those sins. I no longer know you. I never have. I’m not your daughter. And if you survive this, I don’t want to ever hear from you, or hear of you, again.”
Miren breaks down, falling into my arms, and I gesture with my head for the men to take Sinéad into the hangar. The screaming from her mother has Miren shaking in my arms. I take the knife from her hand and push it into my pocket. There’s blood all over her arm and hands. Thankfully, she’s not hurt.
“Don’t ye ever do that again,” I admonish the girl. Woman. She’s a feckin’ woman. Sometimes, she’s so delicate I think of her as forbidden fruit, but in the same breath, I want to spank her arse.
“She needed to feel some form of pain. I wanted her to feel something for me.” Miren looks up as tears stream from her face. “I wanted her to look at me with emotion, but all I saw was a dead stare. There’s nothing inside her, Cathal.”
I want nothin’ more than to save Miren. To hide her from the ugliness in the world. But it wouldn’t make her stronger; it would hinder her. Just like Sinéad did to her. What the woman did to her daughter wasn’t out of love. It didn’t ensure she was an independent woman who could handle things. She lied tokeep her safe,but in the end, she created a broken-hearted girl.
“You will come out of this better for it,” I tell her. “Yer ma, on the other hand, she’s not going to walk away from this. Will you wait with Racer while I talk to her?”
“Yeah.”
I leave her, even though I don’t want to. But she doesn’t need to see this. I find Rebel watching Sinéad closely.
Racer glances up when I enter and I tell him, “Watch Miren.” I trust him, and I know he’ll ensure she’s safe. Then my focus is on the woman bound to the chair. “We finally meet,” I say as I stop in front of her. Pulling the knife from my pocket, I look it over. “Seems like yer wee girl is good with a blade.”
“You, let her go,” she orders me, causing me to chuckle. She’s in no feckin’ position to tell me what to do. “She’s not to be harmed in any way. Are you listening to me? My men will find you, and when they do, you’ll be sorry you breathed the same air as her.”
Anger surges through me. Without thinking, I tangle my fingers in her long red hair and fist the locks, pulling her head back so she’s looking directly at me. “Ye’re not a mother. Ye left her to fend for herself with Patrick. Do ye know what the fucker did to her? And now ye want to come in here and order me around? I’m goin’ ta to make Miren cry, and scream, and she’s goin’ ta feckin’ claw at my skin. And ye know how I’m goin’ ta do that? When I fuck her, over and over again. Because she wants me to.”
Sinéad spits in my face. It hits my cheek. “Ye feckin’ touch her, and I’ll have ye killed. You’ll be feckin’ tortured before ye take yer final feckin’ breath!” The deep, familiar accent returns in her angry retort.
“There it is. There’s the real Sinéad Bragan.”
Offering her a smile, I rise to full height before swiping the saliva from my cheek. Then I press the blade to hers. A worthy mother would have taken her daughter out of love, not out of fear of losing her fuckin’ organisation.
“Where is Patrick?” I ask, even though I’m sure she won’t tell me. I know for a fact she knows where he is because he’s the one she’s been hidin’ from. The woman isn’t stupid.
“Gone.”
“Where?”
She looks up at me as I press the blade into her face. I’m not afraid of makin’ someone talk, especially if the person deserves it. The crimson drips over my fingers and the blade, but I don’t let up. I’ll happily bleed her out right here. It’s the first time I’ve ever hurt a woman. Doesn’t matter who she is, but I know it will be the last time.