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“Ya don’t think I know that?” he barks, running a hand through his snarled hair. “Why do ya think I’m prepared to work with the man who killed my ma! The man who ruined my life.”
“There are other people who can and want to help,” I inform him. “But you’re so fucking stubborn and self-absorbed in your own shit, you won’t let anyone else in. I want to see Sean and Brody pay too. They fucked me over as well.
“They destroyed all our lives!”
My chest is heaving as I’m fuming.
Punky interlaces his hands behind his neck, clearly frustrated that I’m not submitting. “I know that, but it’s hard for me to ask this of ye. To put yer lives in danger for me.”
“You’re not asking, Punky. We want to help. You’re the one who doesn’t want it.”
“If anythin’ were to happen to any of youse, I’d never forgive myself,” he reveals, swallowing deeply. “I already failed Hannah and Ethan when I swore to protect them. They’re wains, Cami, and they’re messed up in shite that no one their age should be.”
“Hannah can handle herself,” I say, my anger simmering. “She was the one who got you out of jail. She and Darcy.”
Darcy is standing by her car, giving us privacy, which surprises me. I thought she’d be eager to be the shoulder for Punky to cry on.
“I know that. I’m just…fucking scared,” he confesses, surprising me. “Not for me, but for youse. What if I can’t stop Sean? What if all of this is for nothin’?”
To see Punky exposed is a rare thing. He wants to save and protect us all, but he can’t do that alone.
“This will never be for nothing,” I reply, meaning that in every way possible.
Punky nods, understanding the innuendo.
I’m about to tell him about my visit with Ron when my cell rings. Reaching into my backpack, I don’t recognize the number. I answer with dread.
“Hello?”
“Hi, sis.”
“Eva? Whose number are you calling from?”
“It’s my new number,” she replies. “Surprise! I’m here in Belfast.”
“What?” One word has never held more weight than it does right now. “Where’s Mom?”
“Back home. Can you come pick me up from the airport? Or I can catch a cab to where you are?”
“Why are you here?”
“I thought you’d be happy,” she says, saddened.
“I am, I just…What happened with Mom?” There is a reason she up and left without telling me because I would have never said yes to her coming here alone.
Punky listens closely, ready to spring to command if need be.
“Nothing, I just needed to get away. So can you come and get me?”
“Sure,” I reply, as I can hardly say no. “I’ll be there in twenty minutes. And, Eva, don’t get into a car with any strangers, okay?”
“Okay, Mom,” she teases, but little does she know the danger she’s put herself in by coming here.
I hang up, shaking my head in defeat. “I’ve got to pick my little sister up from the airport.”
“What? She’s here? Now?”
“Yes,” I reply, before quickly adding, “you don’t need to tell me what a bad idea this is. I know. I think she had a fight with my mom. She’s eighteen going on twenty-nine.”
