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Cal opened his mouth to speak, and I held up a hand to stop him.
“I’m not done, goddammit. All of this with Agent Beck and the priest murders? Sadie did that for us, you dumb fuck.”
“What?” Virgil barked in shock.
“Seriously?” Cal asked with an exhausted sigh. “Shit.” He dropped his head in shame. “I had no idea, Jas.” He looked around the table and apologized to each of us. “I’m sorry.”
I nodded my acceptance of his apology. “We were all impacted by our childhood in different ways, Calvin. We are who we are now because of that shitty ass, warped childhood. But make no mistake, we came through it alive because of Sadie.”
Cal shook his head. “That’s bullshit, and you know it. I don’t belong. I never have.”
“Bullshit,” Terry grunted.
“Terry’s right. I’m smart, even though Colm refused to let me go to college. It made me ruthless and full of vengeance. Virgil is a silent assassin, ruthless as fuck, with no problem taking a life. Just like Terry.” I sighed, thinking of how lucky we all were that Sadie was around to guide our particular talents.
“And you, Cal, you’re emotional and nerdy and scary fucking smart. You think you don’t belong, but you do. You’ve done plenty to secure your spot in this beautiful, fucked up family of ours.”
Cal flashed a bittersweet smile and shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. I know I’m not worthy.”
Virgil smacked the table, making everything on top rattle. “Then work like hell to become worthy, goddammit. When Sadie wakes up, you better be right there at her side, kissing her ass twenty-four-seven. If you don’t, there will be hell to pay, and Terry won’t always be around to save you.”
Cal nodded and refilled his glass with whiskey. Damn, how much could this guy drink? “I already scrubbed all the footage of me from the night of the shooting, every second of it from the moment I left the house until I returned.”
I wanted to be mad—again—but it was what I would have told him to do. “Then we need a body. Someone to blame for the shooting.”
Virgil stood with a wicked smile on his face and cracked his neck and shoulders. Then his knuckles. “You still have any pieces of the asshole who went after Mo?”
“Wait. Why did someone go after Mo?”
Terry sighed and grunted. “Mo is knocked up, and the baby is Jasper’s.”
“No shit?” Cal’s lips pulled into a smile that turned into a wince. “Wow.”
“Not now. We need to pin this shooting on someone, and then we can deal with my personal life.”
“What personal life?” Virgil asked with a snort.
Terry laughed.
“Not fucking funny.”
Those words only made these men, my brothers, laugh more.
“Whatever,” I growled. “Terry, keep an eye on the women. Mo is up in my suite. Cal, go sleep off the booze and stay put.” I nodded to Virgil. “Let’s go do this.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Mo
As soon as I heard Jasper leave his suite of rooms early in the morning, I got up. First to puke and then to figure out how I was going to get home.
Not that it wasn’t nice to be here, safe inside Jasper’s part of the mansion. It was exactly where I’d always hoped to end up. From Emerald Isle to Ashby Manor was my next logical stop. Except, it wasn’t.
I’d give anything for Jasper Ashby to fall in love with me. To live my happily-ever-after. But that was just a dream. I was only here so Jasper could control me, not fall in love. There’d be no rings or a declaration of undying love.
Not after what I’d overheard last night. Assholes.
Ashby Manor was a fortress with two layers of security just to get off the property. But if I could make it past the guards and the gate, I could call an Uber to get me home. First, well after I flirted my way past the guards, I would need the gate code to get out. I wasn’t sure I should scale the wrought iron fences in my pregnant condition.
I packed up my clothes and toiletries, grabbed my phone charger, and shoved it in my Louis Vuitton handbag before I crept down the stairs as quietly as I could, my sneakers silent on the marble floor. The house was quiet as I landed on the bottom step with a relieved sigh. Halfway to freedom. Seeing a path to the front door, I hurried across the expansive living room down to the foyer and wrapped my hand around the doorknob.
My heart raced, knowing I was close to getting home so I could clear my head and start planning for my future. I twisted the knob and pulled the heavy door, taking one step outside before I froze at the sight of shit-kicker boots, and looked up. And up.
