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In fact, right now, I’m gambling all of our lives on it.
A man I recognize as Dominic Romano approaches, leading Róisín loosely by the arm. He appears… almost gentle with her, although I’m certain I must be mistaken. Still, I’m glad he’s not as overbearing as his boss would undoubtedly be. I’ve always known Romano to be a decent guy.
He gives me a brief nod, his expression as unreadable as I know mine is, as he passes my sister over, and takes Maricela in return.
“I’m sorry,” I murmur, though the sentiment is less than useless. “I never wanted it to be like this. Forgive me.” Why the hell I beg her forgiveness is a mystery. How can she ever forgive me for sending her back into the lion’s den when I know all the things she's had to endure there before?
“It’s okay. I understand,” she whispers, still so forgiving. Her eyes lift to mine, and I read a torrent of emotions in their swirling, midnight depths, too many to unravel. But the overriding ones are sadness and resignation.
And then she’s gone. Ripped from me. And I can’t help feeling I’ve engendered her ruin.
My chest clenches as I watch her being led away from me in the split-second I allow myself to dwell on it. Then I manhandle Róisín into the back of the van, intent on getting us all out of here intact as soon as feckin’ possible. This isn’t a place any of us should hang around in.
Callum grabs Róisín in a tight hug as I swing the doors closed behind us, the bulletproof shell providing me with a modicum of relief, although I’m fairly certain the Viper has some superior weaponry out there that could take us out regardless.
Feckin’ eejit is out to prove a point.
Liam puts his foot down, and gravel flies beneath our tires as he hits the gas, jolting us all in our seats.
And that’s it.
Róisín is back safely with us… presuming we get out of this lot without any trouble.
But Maricela is gone.
I don’t know why I feel so bad about it. It’s not like I’ve known her for long, but still, the reality of leaving her to this fate sits like lead in my gut.
I try to tell myself I’d feel the same way about anyone I’d been forced to hand over to the Viper. He’s well known as being a brutal feckin’ savage. I look like a damn choir boy in comparison to that bastard. But I know I’m lying to myself. Maricela touched me in a way I wasn’t expecting, and now I have to live with the consequences of my actions, even though choice was something in short supply.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! The guilt I’m feeling right now is exponential. Which is freaking ridiculous, considering I’m only returning what’s rightfully his.
She’s a person, not a belonging, a voice screams in my head, so loud I look around to see if anyone else heard it.
We’re almost at the edge of the lot, the illusion of safety within reach, when I feel the inevitable tug to check the rear window.
I don’t want to look. I’ve been active in avoiding it. But I can’t help one final glance at the woman who wormed her way into my life so unexpectedly.
I wish I hadn’t.
As I watch, Dominic reaches the line of foot soldiers - cannon fodder - that Vito Rossi, coward that he is, is hiding behind. The minion’s part, letting them through and giving me a full-on view of the woman who warmed my bed just a few nights ago and allowed me to lose myself in her delectable body.
Hauling her away from Romano with far more force than necessary, Vito gives Maricela a vicious push which has her falling to her knees on the rough ground. Instead of giving her the chance to get back up, the Viper grabs her by the hair and starts dragging her behind him.
Róisín must have seen, too, because a small whimper is drawn from her tightly clenched lips.
Fury coats my mind in an angry, blood-red haze, and I want nothing more than to jump right back out of this van and kill the fucker where he stands.
I must have moved to do so because Callum’s hand clamps down on my shoulder. “Ciaran, don’t be a martyr,” he says, his voice sharp and full of warning.
He doesn’t need to say anything else. My vision clears, and while impotent fury thrums through my veins, I know it’ll be nothing short of suicide to stage any kind of intervention here and now, with so many of the Cosa Nostra’s soldiers in attendance.
Plus, we need to get Róisín to safety and have her checked out.
The dual need to protect the two women in my life war with each other, because to do one means to abandon the other.
In the end it’s not my choice to make. Liam is driving us away from here like a bat out of hell, and Callum is watching me like a hawk as if he thinks I might do something stupid.
If my siblings weren’t involved, their lives also on the line with any decision I make, then maybe I would have.
