AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Why would I? You were his golden boys. He’d already convinced Darragh I was nothing, and I didn’t want him to do the same with you. He threatened to send me away, said if I went running to anyone that I’d never see you all again.”
“Shit.” Connor keeps his head low. I watch him, his breathing is heavy, but I can’t tell what he’s thinking. I realise Killian hasn’t said anything, and I look directly at him. His hands are still on my shoulders, gripping them a little tighter, but there is no expression on his face, and I can’t tell what he’s thinking either.
Fuck, I feel sick. I am not in control of this situation and it’s making my head spin. I try pulling away from Killian, I need some air, but his grip tightens.
“Don’t fucking run, Finn. I see it in your face, but you are in control here. Tell us what you need from us.”
I let out a breath. “Just back up a little, I feel a little sick.”
He takes a small step back, but he doesn’t remove his hands.
I shake my head. “Da was the head of this family, he was tough and gave everything for it and the Syndicate. He loved Ma, he really did, but he was so convinced that she had betrayed him that he started treating her like crap whenever I was around, calling her names, ignoring her… don’t look like that, he never hit her.
“He and I, we got into a fight when I was seventeen. He hit me and I hit him back. Ma was there and she jumped in front of me as he swung at my face. He stopped millimetres from her face, he was so panicked that he could have hit her by mistake he cried.”
“Are you fucking serious? He cried almost hitting Ma but felt nothing hitting you?”
“Kill, please don’t. It’s done, it was a long time ago. I’m good. He started to treat Ma better after that, said he forgave her for cheating. She begged him to believe her, but he was so convinced he was right, nothing she said was going to change his mind.
“He taught me nothing, said that I would never inherit anything from the family and never be part of the Syndicate. When I was twenty-one, I went for a paternity test to prove to him I was his, but he said, and I quote,‘That’s a fucking excellent forgery, it changes nothing, and you will never be one of us’.”
I pull away from Kill, grabbing another glass of water and downing it.
“I wanted him to accept me so fucking much. I tried to be anything he wanted, do anything he asked…”
“That’s why you followed him around everywhere when we were younger. Fucking hell, Finn, we just thought you were sucking up, that’s why we took the piss out of you. We thought you were just looking for brownie points because you were the baby.” I look over at Connor, his face masking whatever emotions he’s feeling.
“I just wanted him to love me.”
Chapter 6
“Ma, where are you?” I call out as I enter the house, gently closing the door behind me, even though I want to slam it.
It’s been three days since Finn dropped the bomb about how Da was treating him and Ma. I am so fucking angry at how he’s been treated, but more so, I’m angry at myself at how I never spotted it. Not once did I notice that he was treated differently.
“Kitchen, son.”
I head through, preparing myself for a conversation that I really do not want to have but knowing I have to.
“Hi, son. You okay? Where’s Bella?”
I reach Ma and give her a hug, placing a kiss on her cheek. “She’s at the office. One of her clients has a big event that they need help with, so her and Liv have been working non-stop.”
“You just missed Ronan, he picked Maddie up about fifteen minutes ago. You want a coffee?”
“Yeah, please. And I know, he called me to tell me he picked her up. You and I need to talk and I’d rather Mads wasn’t around when we did.”
“We need to talk… what about?”
“Finn… and Da.”
She sighs, turning her back and busying herself making coffee. I give her a few minutes to prepare, and I’m guessing she wants to have this conversation about as much as I do.
A few minutes later, she hands me a cup of coffee and we head out the back to the sit in the garden.
“What did Finn tell you?”
“The truth.”
