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“No—”
“Yes,” Sean interrupted.
“Okay,” Cat said, drawing out the word and darting her gaze between us. “I’m glad we cleared that up. Either way, Amy deserves a fun day off. I hope you are taking her somewhere nice.”
Great, thanks, Cat, for throwing me under the bus.
“I intend to.” Sean flashed me a grin and held up another bite of pastry for me.
14
The nice-smelling Range Rover looked even posher in the daylight. After arguing with Sean about going out today, I realised talking to him was like talking to a brick wall. We were en route somewhere, but he refused to tell me where. I patted my hair nervously. Sean insisted I keep my natural colour. It had been a long time since I had gone out during the day without my wig.
The phone rang, and he glanced at me before answering it hands-free.
“O’Sullivan.”
“Mr O’Sullivan, it is James, the head carer on shift today at Clearviews. I’m sorry to call you on a Sunday morning.”
Sean’s whole body tensed. “Is it urgent?”
“I’m afraid so, sir. Your mother is very distressed. She’s barricaded herself in the storeroom and is demanding to see Connall.”
“Jesus fecking Christ,” Sean muttered, glancing at me again. “I’ll be there in half an hour.”
“Thank you.” The relief in the man’s voice was palpable.
“Shite.” Sean looked torn as he clicked the call off.
“It’s okay if you’ve got a family emergency. Just drop me off anywhere, and I’ll get a taxi.”
“Absolutely not. We’re together now, and you might as well see the madness you signed up for.”
I opened my mouth and closed it again. I didn’t remember signing up for anything. Was I about to meet his mum? It sounded like she was in a facility. Sean would probably grow tired of me soon, so why did meeting his family feel nerve-wracking?
We drove in silence, and Sean’s previously cheerful mood disappeared. Eventually, we pulled up in front of a large building with a partly glass front. Off to the side was a lake. The sign proclaimed, “Clearviews. A home to relax in.”
Sean helped me out of the car, and the ever-silent ginger-haired suit I’d learned was called Ian stood next to us, looking alert and fierce in his black suit.
Once inside the lobby, a carer rushed to us and introduced himself as James. Sean didn’t ask many questions, leading me to believe this wasn’t unusual. We rose in the lift, and the doors opened to show a group of people clustered at the far end of the corridor. A few of them visibly shrank away as Sean strode up the corridor. I would have done the same without Sean’s towing me forward.
“She’s in here?” he asked James.
He nodded, sweat beading on his brow. “We’ve got the sedative ready.”
“Ma?” Sean’s voice boomed in the hushed corridor.
There was some scuffling and then a muffled female voice. “Connall?”
Sean sighed and cleared his throat. “Mary! Get your little arse out here now.”
I glanced at him. It seemed strange to say that to his mum, but his jaw was set, and his furious eyes met mine, then darted away. I squeezed his hand, and he glanced down at the connection. He squeezed my hand back, his eyes remaining on the door. The scuffling and scraping grew louder now.
The door cracked open, and a thin woman with a cloud of frizzy strawberry blonde hair peeked out. Sean immediately wedged his foot inside.
“Mary. Come out now.”
The look in her pale blue eyes was clouded. She studied his face, blinking.
