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My sister wrenched free of him and strode to the bed, grabbing my hand. “Fuck you, Liam,” she snapped, then turned her attention to me. “How are you, big sister?”
I forced myself to smile. “I’m better, Sofia. How’re things at home?”
She shrugged and rolled her eyes. “On lockdown, surprise, surprise. It’s been super fun puking my guts out every morning and then staring at the walls because Papà wouldn’t even let me outside.” She grinned. “I’m only talking about how miserable I am, so you don’t have to talk about how miserable you are.”
This time, my smile was genuine. “Is it that obvious?”
“You mean, other than the fact that you do, in fact, look like a Russian gangster kidnapped you and tortured you for two days?”
Liam cleared his throat and glared at my sister.
“Oh, are we not supposed to be telling her how bad she looks? She lived through it, Liam. She knows exactly what happened to her.” Sofia let go of my hand to pull up a chair.
My sister kept the conversation light, talking about the movies she’d watched and the colleges she was researching. We both knew Papà would use my kidnapping as an excuse to renege on his promise to let Sofia get her degree, but hope sprang eternal. She was desperate to get out of that house, and her pregnancy had gotten in the way of that.
The hospital wanted to keep me under observation for a second night. I agreed, only because I wasn’t ready to go back to Rian’s house and face my men outside the public confines of the hospital. Their guilt was palpable as each of them cared for me in their own way.
Liam never left me to sleep alone. Anytime I nodded off, he was right there, holding my hand, promising me he’d defend my life with his own. Cormac kept me fed and monitored my pain levels. And Rian, Rian quietly took care of all the logistics related to my care and my family, making sure I had anything I needed before I even thought to ask.
When it was time to check out, my whole family assembled outside my room, with balloons and flowers in their hands. It was like we were a normal American family, not the mob, our relationships forged in the fires of violence, rather than love.
Cormac pushed my wheelchair, refusing to let me walk or even steer myself.
“Please, darling, let me do what I can for you,” he’d pleaded, his brown eyes filled with guilt and love. I couldn’t tell him no.
He wrapped his arms around me and lifted me into the car, setting me into the backseat beside Rian. He then slid in on the other side of me, gently buckling my belt.
Liam drove, and we made our way back to our shared home in silence.
“What do you mean,you’re flying to California tomorrow?” Rian exploded.
“You were in the fucking room when I made the deal, Rian! I had to give you a fucking blow job, so you’d keep your fucking mouth shut while I spoke with Richard.” At least he had the grace to flush when I reminded him of that particular cruelty.
He nodded sharply. “One of us will come with you.”
“The fuck you will,” I exploded, heedless of the pain radiating from my bruised ribs. “It’s a one-way ticket.”
I never understood the phrase ‘deafening silence’ until that moment. All three men stared at me. Liam’s face was the first to break. He shoved out of his chair and stormed out of the room.
“No,” Rian snapped. “You’ll come back after the press conference. You signed a fucking contract.”
Cormac stood and walked over to where I sat in the rocking chair, a blanket on my lap, looking like a fucking grandma instead of the tough and capable CEO I was. He leaned against the side of the chair and ran his fingers through my hair. “For how long?”
“For good. I can’t fucking do this.”
“Can’t fucking do what, darling?” he asked, his voice gentle as he skimmed his fingers along the sensitive shell of my ear.
I gestured at him, at Rian, and at the goddamned world. “This. I don’t want to be part of this world. I don’t want to be part of the violence. And I don’t want to be looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life wondering if I, or the people I care about most, are going to be snatched off the street and tortured.”
“Okay,” Cormac said, his voice hoarse and raspy.
“What do you mean, okay?” Rian snapped.
“I mean, I’m not going to lock her in a room and make her a fucking prisoner! We’re goddamned better than that. If she doesn’t want to stay, then I’m not going to make her!” Cormac shouted back.
I blinked. I’d never heard him raise his voice before.
Rian walked over to me. “Are you leaving us?”
