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“I wish I could. But the truth is, Brody’s men know where Sean is hidin’. They will surely tell me where. If not, I’ll carve out their tongues. If I kill Brody, what happens then? I need him alive so I can steal his allies and the few men who are still loyal to him.
“I know this plan is far from perfect, but it’s easier if I work with Brody than against him. We both want Sean dead. He will see that I won’t stop until I get what I want.”
“What’s going to happen?” Babydoll asks, her eyes filling with tears.
“I suspect Brody is going to confront his men and make an example of a few. But it’s too late for that, just how it was for us. Sean managed to steal everythin’ from Connor, and his plan would have worked if it wasn’t for us.
“We were the force he didn’t see comin’. If I hadn’t asked questions and Brody hadn’t used ye to infiltrate us, Sean would have won.”
“That doesn’t excuse what I did,” she cries, unable to look at me. “You lost ten years of your life because of my lies.”
Stepping forward, I gently lift her chin with my pointer. “Naw, that was my choice. Don’tcha be blamin’ yerself for that.”
Her lower lip quivers. “What do you mean?”
Sighing, I shake my head. “Now is not the time. Rory will be lookin’ for ya.”
Something I can’t quite place overcomes her, and she subtly removes herself from my touch. She’s angry I won’t tell her the truth. “This makes no sense. Why can’t you go to the police?”
“How did that turn out the last time the peelers were involved?” I pose. “I understand this is reckless and fucking dangerous, but I have no one. I need to start from scratch.”
“You have me,” she professes in a whisper.
“I won’t be havin’ that. There’s no way I’ll allow ya to risk yer life—again.”
She pulls back her shoulders. “That’s not for you to decide. I’m involved, whether you like it or not.”
“Or not,” I counter, forgetting just how stubborn she is. “This isn’t yer fight. Rory will agree with me on that.”
She narrows her eyes as she knows I’m right. “Fuck you both. I’m my own person. Neither of you has the right to tell me what I can or can’t do.”
“Aye, yer right. But I don’t need ye.” And what I say next has the impact I suspected it would. “I don’t want ya.”
She blinks once, her surprise clear. She’s taken it how I knew she would—personally. But this is the only way I can keep her safe.
“But you want Darcy? Is that it?”
My silence is all the response she needs.
“Fine. Have it your way then. You always do.” She pushes past me and opens the door, slamming it shut behind her.
Once she’s gone, I stare into the mirror, my knackered appearance confirming I look as shit as I feel. I can’t have Babydoll involved in this. She and Rory have a shot at happiness, and I won’t stand in the way of that.
A knock sounds on the door before it opens, and Cian appears. “What happened?”
With a laugh, I turn toward him and shake my head. “It’s times such as this that I miss solitary confinement.”
“Ach, stop bustin’ my bollocks. I told ya I was sorry. And I promised Rory.”
I understand the predicament Cian was put in. He was caught in a very uncomfortable position because it wasn’t his place to tell me Rory and Babydoll were engaged. But I still can’t help but feel it’s me versus the people I once trusted with my life. Except for Darcy.
She’s the only one who’s been honest with me this whole time.
“I saw Brody leave. What did he want?”
“It doesn’t matter what he wants. This is about gettin’ what I want. And I have no doubt that’ll come about awful soon.”
“Ya told him the plans?”
