Page 92 of Deceived Wrath

My relationship with Fiona is complicated and messy in ways I don’t fully understand yet. But I know she is genuine, and her work ethic is second to none.

I can’t even begin to try and explain to myself why she is the only person I can think of to bring into Scout’s life.

However, I don’t have a lot of time or other options, so I pull out my phone and type out a message to Fiona.

ME: Need to see you first thing in the morning. My place.

Sent.

I tuck the phone away and glance back at Scout.

He’s curled up tight, clutching his stuffed dinosaur to his chest as he watches his film, though his eyelids are starting to droop with exhaustion.

I can’t quite believe he’s here.

For the first time in years, I can let myself hope that we can finally be a proper family.

Chapter Twenty

FIONA

My palms are sweatingas I take an Uber over to Cormac’s apartment first thing on Saturday morning.

It’s been nothing but radio silence from him since the other night, and I was half-expecting him to turn up at the office on Friday to offer me some sort of explanation. But of course, it’s Cormac, so I was left obsessively checking my phone all day, wondering about where I stood.

I mean, one minute we were on a date, or whatever that was, and he was taking me back to his place and claiming me, and the next, he’s admitting he has a son as he is shoving me out the door.

The dynamic between us has changed so quickly it’s given me whiplash.

Finally, just before I was about to climb into bed last night, my phone buzzed with a text from Cormac, but it brought me little relief. His message gave away nothing, but clearly, whatever it is he needs to talk about is important enough that it couldn’t waituntil Monday morning. Unless, of course, this has nothing to do with work and everything to do with the fact he has ason.

It makes sense, the secret phone calls and last-minute trips out of town.

And I hate to admit that I’m a little relieved that it turned out he has a secret child rather than a secret girlfriend. Then again, I have no idea if the mother is even in the picture or not, considering how secretive Cormac is, which adds a whole other layer of complexity to the situation.

Maybe that’s what he wants to talk to me about. Maybe he regrets taking things out of the office, and now that his son might be in the picture, he wants to pull back.

I know I can’t let that happen, but I don’t see how I can stop it.

Whatever is going on with Cormac and me already has the ability to backfire massively, but now that I know a kid is involved, it makes me even more uneasy. Especially considering what happened the last time I got caught up with people like Lorcan and Cormac. My nieces ended up without a mother, and regardless of whether Cormac is good or bad, no child deserves to lose a parent.

I’m a few minutes away from Cormac’s place when my phone buzzes with a call from Lorcan.

“Great…” I slide my thumb across the screen.

“You better have something for me,” Lorcan states the second the call connects.

“Couldn’t you even give me a good morning or anything?”

“It’s up to you whether it’s a good morning or not. You better have something for me.”

My stomach knots as I think of Cormac’s child.

Is that the sort of information Lorcan is after? He is family, so he should know, right?

“Considering the fact you still haven’t told me what it is I’m trying to find out, I have nothing for you.”

Whether he knows it or not, and regardless of my debt, I’m not about to hand over an innocent child.