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"What happens now? Are you going back to Ireland?" he asks.
My brows knit together at his question. The fuck? Why the hell would he ask me that? "Of course."
He nods. "I had to ask. I wanted to know if I needed to kick your ass to get you back on the plane. But it's good to know you know where you need to be."
"Ailbhe's havin' a baby," I tell him. There's no fucking way I'd be anywhere but where she is.
"You need to help me understand this shit, brother. You want a paternity test, but by the way you're talkin', it's as though you know the baby is yours."
I chuckle. "Yeah, that's about how fucked up my head is. I'm pretty sure Ailbhe's havin' my baby, but I've been burned before. That shit was fucked up, brother. I can't go through that again. No fuckin' way. So I need that test."
He sighs. "I get where you're comin' from, but you have to understand that askin' the woman for the test tells her that you don't trust her."
I run a hand over my face. "I know," I say through clenched teeth. "I saw the devastation on her face when I asked for it."
He winces. "That went down well, I take it?"
I glare at him. "About as well as a fuckin' snake bite. Now she wants nothin' to do with me. Hence why I need your help. You're the only one who knows me. Tell me how the fuck I make things right?"
He gives me a look, one that has me biting back a curse. "You already know the answer to that."
I shake my head. "Not openin' up those wounds, brother. I'll do anythin' but that."
"There's no other way, Preach. There truly isn't. You need to tell her the truth and believe that she'll be understandin'. Everythin' you've said about her so far tells me that she'll be more than understandin'."
Of that I have no fucking doubt, but having to open up my old wounds and let it all out... That's not something I ever do. Not fucking ever. Reaper knows about the shit that went down with my parents and Abel because I was drunk one night. It was the fifth anniversary of Abel's death, and I was a fucking drunken mess and let it slip what was up. He never repeated it to anyone, just as I haven't repeated his past to anyone. It's why we're so close. We have trust in one another.
"You're goin' to have to go back and grovel."
I look at him with wide eyes. "The fuck is that?"
He chuckles. "Apologize and beg for her forgiveness. Get down on your knees and pray to every god there is that she'll forgive you, brother."
I narrow my eyes. "You're lovin' this a little too fuckin' much."
He shrugs. "Gotta get my entertainment from somewhere."
Ass. "So you're sayin' that the only way for me to make her forgive me is by being truthful and openin' up about the past?"
"Unfortunately, brother, that's exactly what you're goin' to have to do."
I grit my teeth. Fuck. That's the last damn thing I want to do.
My bedroom door opens and Ace storms in, his eyes filled with anger and his jaw clenched. "Brother, I have to tell you somethin' and I need you to stay calm."
"The fuck is goin' on?" Reaper asks.
My stomach fucking drops. "Ailbhe?" I ask, knowing that it has to do with her. There's no one else he'd tell me to be calm about. Reaper's right in fucking front of me.
"I got a call from Py. He's caught me up to speed with Jed O'Connor and the shit he's been doin'," Ace says, and I take a steadying breath. Fuck, he really needs to be careful with his words. I thought Ailbhe was in trouble. Christ, my heart is fucking pounding.
Reaper glances between the two of us. "Someone wanna catch me up?"
"Jed is a loan shark. From everythin' Denis and his boys have said, Jed gives money out like it's free. He knows they'll not be able to repay it so he takes the debt from others instead," I tell him. "He has them repay him in other ways."
Reaper's lip curls into a snarl. "Christ, what a fuckin' bastard."
"We heard him talk to one guy who'd passed his debt off onto his daughter and Jed wanted her. Stephen Maguire had his friend try to figure out who it was. We haven't heard anythin' since then."
