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True to his word, as soon as I’d finished the last bite of takeout, Deklan sat down beside me on the bed, took my hands in his, and told me what he knew.
“Last night after you fell asleep, I had Brian come watch over you while I went out.”
“And?” I glare at him, not pleased to find out he’d been sneaking out, but he refuses to look at me.
“And I had a little talk with Charles Grange.”
“He’s alive?” I bite down on my lip, but I can’t hide the shock from this revelation. Deklan glances at me briefly and nods. “He was involved, wasn’t he?”
“Yes, he was. I don’t know that he was ever on the boat, so there might not be anything about him you could remember, but he was definitely involved.”
Deklan pauses. I know there’s more, but he’s reluctant to continue. I try to wait him out, but when he doesn’t speak for some time, I prompt him.
“He wasn’t the one behind it, was he?”
“No. Charles Grange was involved, but it wasn’t his idea.”
“Whose?” I wait for an answer, but Deklan has gone silent again. I grip his fingers until he looks at me. “Whose idea was it, Dek?”
“Honestly, Kera,” Deklan says as he closes his eyes for a moment, “I have no idea how to tell you.”
“But you know who was behind it all.”
“Yeah, I do.”
“Just say it.”
Deklan takes a long breath, swallows hard, and speaks the words.
“Kera—it was your father. Cormick O’Conner orchestrated the whole thing.”
Chapter 30
I sit on the motel bed and try to figure out exactly what Deklan had just said. The words bounce around inside my head, but they don’t make sense.
“I think I must have heard you wrong,” I finally say.
“I wish you had.”
“My…my father had me kidnapped?” I stare at Deklan with my mouth hanging open. “That doesn’t even make sense! There was a ransom demand. How does he demand ransom from himself?”
“Think, Kera.” Deklan holds up a finger for each point he makes. “Your father had no money, was in all kinds of debt to the Foleys and at least one other organization, and had no way to pay anyone back. His debts were out of control. He had nothing to bargain with except you. If he could get Fergus to buy into it, he’d not only have the debt relieved, but he’d walk off with the ransom money as well.”
I want to scream at Deklan. My father would never do such a thing! He’d never endanger me for the sake of money, but it would be a lie, and Deklan knows it. Nothing is more important to my father than gambling, and that requires money.
I wonder how many others he was indebted to besides the Foleys when he decided to concoct such a plan and if the ransom was just enough to pay everyone off.
“My father had me kidnapped.” I let the words roll out of my mouth in a monotone—a hollow echo that takes residence in my heart.
“He planned it all.” Deklan’s voice is soft, but I find nothing about it reassuring. “Sean had been in trouble for a while, and your father found out about it. Charlie Grange was feeding your father information that he was getting from someone in the Foley outfit. He knew that Fergus wanted Sean to settle down and take responsibility. All he needed was the right girl to pair up with Sean, and you fit perfectly.”
“Quite the plan.” I want to cry, but no tears come out.
“Kidnap you and beg Fergus to save you in exchange for marrying Sean.” Deklan abruptly pushes himself off the bed and begins to stalk around the room. “I should have seen it. I should have put two and two together when the topic came up—it was as if pairing you and Sean had already been discussed between Fergus and Cormick. I should have realized right then and there when your father was so happy about the arrangement they made. He was too happy. He wasn’t worried about you at all. I’m not sure he even cared what you were going through. He was going to have his debt paid to the Foley family and get a pile of ransom money, to boot.”
“But the ransom wasn’t paid.”
“No, it wasn’t.”
