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16
“Thank you.” Ainsley and Em say together. Delia is quiet but chewing on her trembling thumb. Her blonde hair is pulled back in a severe bun, and she is staring at the door as we approach Saint’s apartment. This place is huge. I will need a compass, so I don’t get lost. Or maybe bread crumbs. I’m stripped down to my jeans and bra because I didn’t want Ciara or her daddy to see Bridget’s blood.
“It wasn’t for you. It was for him.” I answer off-handed as the door opens, and we go inside. The open floor plan leads us straight to him, sitting on the couch, head in hands, a bottle of Johnny Walker on the table beside him. “Saint?” I whisper. His head lifts but only so that he can take another shot. “I got her stable, but she is going to need more help. I have to go back to the center. The instruments I have here aren’t going to do it. Not if you want her to have any function. The bullet passed through the cheek, shattered the jaw and the orbital bone as it exited behind the ear. She is very lucky.”
He stands. “Let me call Ains to come sit with Ciara. I'll take you.” He goes to walk away but turns back to me. “Where the fuck are your clothes?”
“Trashed,” I answer as Ainsley shakes her head at being looked straight through.
“Saint.” Delia trembles. “I-” She stops. I know what she’s seen. What she knows, what she has to tell.
Saint shifts his eyes to his unknowing sister. “Spit it out, Delia. I've been waiting for you to at least fucking call me.” His face is blood red.
Her eyes drop as she sobs, and I put my hands on Saint’s chest to ease him.
“She was viewing the tapes, and—” I look at the guilt-stricken sisters.
“It was our dad and Conor.” Em cries as Saint grabs the bottle off the table, slinging it against the wall.
“He's been fucking her for more than thirty years!” Saint screams. “You find the bastard, but you don't tell him why. I want him, and I want him quick.”
The girls nod and back out of the apartment. I stand near him but don’t dare touch him. “Maybe you should stay here. I could have Monroe or that kid Finn take me. It’s a long drive, and we are bound to hit the morning rush. You need to be here.”
“I need to protect you.” If I check his blood pressure, I'm sure he’s bordering on a heart attack.
“Alright.” I palm his cheek and see the blood still on my hands. “I will do whatever I can for her.”
“Thank you. She may have lied to me my entire fucking life, but she's my only parent.”
“Come on.” Taking his hand, I try to walk away.
“Em and Delia are my sisters. I just don’t know how to tell them their father was apparently my sperm donor.” Saint whispers behind me.
“Family is complicated, but you guys are close. I’m sure they wouldn’t fault you for anything.” I don’t look at him. I am too well reminded of my childhood, and this isn’t about me, not right now.
I’m pulled in tight to Saint’s chest, and his arms squeeze me tighter to him. “I just need your strength for just a minute.”
“I’m not that strong, but whatever I have is yours. Please don’t be spooked by what I need to say.” I go up on tiptoe to kiss his lips softly. “I love you.”
I’m lifted by my ass. “Fuck. I think if it wasn’t for everything going on, just hearing you say that would have made me come in my jeans.”
I smile. “You’re such a sweet talker, ya know that?”
“I fucking love you too, Darlin’.”
“When this is done, and I have your mom stable, I intend to show you how much I love fucking you.” I pause before he can kiss me again. “One thing.”
“Anything, my kingdom is yours for the picking.”
“If this goes on longer than a few days, I need to get a message to my brother and my mentor. Is that going to be okay?”
“You can contact anyone at any time. Delia can fix it so nobody can track your signal.”
I nod, looking at myself. “Maybe a shirt before we go?”
***
At my clinic, I set Saint to grabbing medications while I gather my surgical kit. My head is pounding, so while he’s occupied, I steal to my office, find my migraine med, and entertain the idea of taking a Xanax. He is going to have questions once his mind settles. Questions that I don’t want to get into the answers for, not today or any day. Things about my past-about, my family.
