Page 75 of Unexpected Complication

I let my head fall back against the cold tree trunk. “How do we know she’s not worse?”

“She’s a smart girl. If she were, she’d tell us. Knowing Ms. Independent, she’s sleeping and looking after herself. It’s not like she left a message every day before now.”

“Did you try calling?”

He sighed. “Yeah, I actually did when I was away earlier. It went to voice mail, so I’m sure she has it off while she sleeps. She probably wouldn’t have answered anyway—it wasn’t from one of the regular numbers. You told her not to answer unless it was, and I didn’t have your phone with me.”

I snorted. “Because she always does what I tell her to do. Maybe she’s even sicker and couldn’t answer.” I couldn’t stop my anxious twitches. I pulled on my hair, grabbed the back of my neck. “I have to know she’s okay.”

It had been over a week since I’d last seen Skylar. Long, hard days of slowly losing myself in the violence that surrounded me constantly—days of darkness and a carefully maintained façade of indifference and disconnection—days of missing her. Restless nights with little to no sleep. The few hours I managed to keep my eyes shut, the images were so horrendous, I woke up panicked, my heart racing. Add in the worry I was feeling…I was losing it.

Sean surprised me when he nodded. “I have to admit, I’m worried.”

“Can you go check on her?”

He thought it over, rubbing his fingers along his chin. “I could. But I have a better idea.”

“Which is?”

“You go.”

I wanted that. I wanted to go and see her. Make sure she was okay. But it was impossible at this point—wasn’t it?

“But Orson…” I protested.

“Give me a minute.” Sean groaned and stood, pacing. I didn’t say anything as I watched him, knowing his mind was busy working out details.

He hunched down in front of me, his voice firm. “Okay, I’ll make some arrangements. Once I do, we’re going back in there, and you’re going to pick a fight with me and then storm out to your favorite club. I’ll get our guy to meet you there. I’ll sit in on the card game Orson has planned and bitch about you for a few hours. You can go check on her, and then you come straight back. A short visit—no overnight stay. We got away with that once, but it won’t work again.”

I didn’t argue. A couple of hours with her was better than nothing. I could make sure she was okay, and then I could concentrate on this shit again. Seeing her would help bring everything back into focus.

“Why are you doing this, Sean? You wanted me to send her away.”

He pursed his lips. “When your father died, you shut off a part of your heart, Cian. You never allowed anyone to get close. You even kept me and Julia at arm’s length. You used sex as a release, never feeling much of anything for your partners.”

I frowned at him, shifting uncomfortably. Everything he said was true, but it was still difficult to hear.

“Skylar brought something out in you. She was the first thing you fought for. The one thing that seemed to take priority over the revenge you’d sought for so many years. She also seemed to bring you focus in your life, like nothing else could. I realized keeping her close kept you calmer. So, I might not have agreed with it, but I know it’s what has gotten you through this.”

“It has.”

“She’s done something else.”

“What?”

He leaned forward, his voice low. “Did you not think I noticed, Cian? Noticed what you were doing? Your plans?”

I couldn’t meet his eyes.

“Every time you spoke of the future, everything you did—making sure Harper was looked after, that Julia and I were taken care of—you never included yourself. Did you think I wouldn’t notice? You fucking took yourself out of the picture. Every. Single. Time. You didn’t plan on coming out of this alive. You didn’t care.”

“It wasn’t like that⁠—”

He held up his hand. “It was exactly like that. You made sure we were going to be okay. But your future…you didn’t plan it. Until Skylar entered your life. You suddenly began thinking of a future with her. A life with her. She did that. And that’s why I let you keep her close. Because she is your reason.”

He stood. “So you can go to her this one last time.” He drew in a deep breath. “On one condition,” he added.

“What’s the catch?”