AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I head for the kitchen as I need a drink to deal with this shitshow, but almost fall over my feet when I see who sits at the dining table.
“One big happy family,” Sean says from behind me when I lock eyes with Ethan and Hannah.
“What are they doin’ here?” I can’t contain my anger.
“I thought it would be nice to have a family dinner together. We’ve not done that before.”
Bull-fucking-shit.
Sean is onto us, and Ethan knows it too as he subtly nods. Hannah looks to be seconds away from stabbing Sean in the throat with her silver fork. But we’re all waiting to see what he’s playing at.
“Sit. I will get ye a drink. Whiskey?”
“Bring the bottle,” I firmly demand as I don’t trust him pouring me a drink.
When he’s gone, I lean in close and whisper, “Why didn’t ye call me?”
“’Cause a car came to pick us up,” Hannah quickly replies. “Cami is fine. But we had to go because we didn’t want the driver to come inside. We’ve not been alone since.”
“Fuck,” I curse under my breath. “Is she there alone?”
“Eva is with her,” Ethan replies, his concern clear because they are sitting ducks.
“This is not good.”
“What does it mean?”
“It means Sean isn’t takin’ any chances. Lesson number two: the bad guys are paranoid fucks.”
Ethan’s cheeks billow as he exhales while Hannah reaches for her glass of water.
Déjà vu hits me because the last time Babydoll was left alone, she was kidnapped. What if Sean has sent his men to Aoife’s in search of her? I don’t have time to send for help because Sean appears, bottle in hand.
“Your favorite,” he says, offering me the bottle of whiskey.
Accepting it, I break the seal as he knows better than to offer me an opened bottle. “Cut the bullshit,” I spit, reaching for a glass. “What do you want?”
Sean laughs. “What I want is for us to act like a family. We are Kellys, after all.”
“Ye didn’t think that way when ye got Ethan hooked on whatever shite he was pumpin’ into his system,” I counter, filling my glass to the brim with whiskey. “I am done playin’ yer games. I agreed to yer terms on the proviso that once it was done, ye would give Cami back to me.
“I am not interested in yer fuckin’ theatrics.”
Hannah whimpers, afraid. But this is what Sean would expect. If I was to behave in any other way, it would rouse suspicion.
“Ye really are my son,” he says, insulting me in the worst possible way. “I just thought, with everythin’ so close to completion, it might be a good idea to keep youse close.”
I was right. He is paranoid. He wants to watch us in case we’re conspiring behind his back. This close to the end, he doesn’t want to take any chances.
“I am not interested in being anywhere near you,” I retort, throwing back my drink. “I told ye I would do what ya wanted, so let Ethan and Hannah go home. They’re not a part of any of this.”
“On the contrary, they are,” Sean argues. “They are Kellys, after all.”
But what Sean really means is thatEthanis a threat. This is why he took him under his wing. Not for protection, but control. He knows that Ethan could retaliate, and being a Kelly, being Connor’s son, could mean competition.
He thought he could use Ethan to do his bidding and to be on his side, but now that Ethan has turned, he sees him as a danger to his throne.
He has me where he wants me, holding Cami over my head. And I know he now has something over Ethan’s—Eva.
