Page 64 of Stolen Rebel

She’s concussed, and I should be letting her rest, but I’ve had enough. “I need you to understand something, to hear me. Truly hear me. Whatever you think you’re protecting me from, whoever you think is so terrifying that you would rather lie to my face than tell me the truth.” I hold her gaze. “They’re the ones who should fear me. Not the other way around.”

Her throat moves, her eyes flicking to me, then away.

I reach out and uncurl one of her fists, finger by finger, until her hand lies open in mine, moon-shaped indentations in her palm. “I handle my enemies, Rebel. All of them. Including the one you’re so determined to hide from me.”

Her tongue flicks over her lips, the internal struggle she’s waging evident. “I witnessed a murder.”

I flinch, guilt tripping over remorse for first place. “I’m sorry about yesterday. I should have found a different way to prove to you that I can protect you. Fergal got what was coming to him. We let one traitor survive and more will test the boundaries. It’s just how it is.”

She shakes her head. “No, not that. I admit, I was shocked at the violence and was desperate to get away, but that’s not what I’m talking about.” She swallows. “Years ago. Before I left. I saw a young guy get stabbed to death. The murderer looked right at me. I was terrified. Brian…” She breaks off.

Finally. Finally we’re getting somewhere. “Go on,” I encourage, even though hearing his name on her lips is a knife to my gut.

“I was in a blind panic, terrified. I didn’t know what to do. I sprinted back to my car, but before I got there, I bumped into Brian. Literally. I rounded a corner and there he was. I knew him from school, although he was a few years above me. I told him everything. He said they were very bad people who wouldn’t rest until they’d killed me and anyone associated with me. I had to leave, Liam. For my safety and for yours.”

I frown, the smell of bullshite strong enough to fell a cow, and they live surrounded by shite. Bit convenient for this Brian fucker to be right where this murder supposedly took place. “When did this happen?”

“January twelfth, five years ago. It’s a date that’s burned into my memory.”

Mine, too. That’s the day before I was in the hospital fighting for my life.

“Where?”

She reels off an address.

“What did the murderer look like? I know it was a long time ago, but anything you can recall.”

“He was just an ordinary guy. Late teens or early twenties maybe, similar age to the man he killed. Dark hair, average height and build.” She sighs. “I’m sorry. It was dark.”

“And this Brian? What’s his part in this?”

“He got me into the witness protection program.”

My eyebrows fly up. “So he’s Garda?”

She nods.

Fuck. That changes things. If Garda forked out for security, then they must have believed there was a credible threat to her. Even so, my internal radar fires. Something still feels off.

“He’s kept me safe. He’s been the one constant in my life this entire time.”

Bollocks. My radar isn’t just firing now. It’s declared a national fucking emergency.

“What’s his full name? Tell me everything.”

She averts her eyes. “Please, let me handle him. He’s… challenging. I know how to deal with him. Just let it lie, Liam. You’ll make things worse. He told me he has leverage on you, that if I ever made contact with you, he’ll ruin you all.”

He can fucking try. We have more than enough leverage of our own, including inside the Garda. Still, I’ll need to tell Patrick.

“Let me deal with Brian. I’ve been dealing with him for five years. In his own way, he cares for me.”

The way she says he cares for her sours something in my stomach. Alarm bells jangle and my eyes narrow. “Did you fuck him?”

She dips her chin. The answer is clear as day on her face.

My vision turns red. I can’t breathe, my ribs crushing my lungs, a vise that keeps getting tighter and tighter.

“Looking back,” she continues, oblivious to the war ripping apart my insides, “I think I slept with him out of a sense of gratitude.” She drops her voice. “Like I owed him something for saving my life. He liked playing the part of savior, and I was so tired of being alone.”