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“Answer me this, and answer me honestly. If I wasn’t here, would your decision still be the same?”
“But ye are here,” I counter, and she shakes her head.
“That’s not what I asked. If we’d never met, would you still give everything up? Would you give away your rightful place on the throne?”
I want to argue because that’s a world of fiction, but she did ask me to be honest.
“No,” I reply, hating how she manages to know me better than I know myself at times. “I would not. But now, I have so much more at stake.”
The more I speak, the more evident it becomes that it sounds like I’m feeding her excuses.
“I won’t have Shay live the life I’ve lived. I want him as far away from this shite as possible.”
“I understand that. But being your son, I don’t know if that’s what he wants. Your blood runs through his veins, and I fear that when he’s old enough to make his choices, he won’t agree with the choice you’ve made.
“If Ethan does want a part in Belfast, then the Kellys will never really be out of the game, so to speak. You can’t protect them forever.”
“Aye, yer right. But I have to at least try. Ethan is almost an adult. I can’t stop him, but I can try to offer him a life away from this.”
I understand what she’s saying because I agree with her. But they will be given options, something that was never offered to me. I have the chance to provide a home, away from this life of greed and violence, and I’m going to take it.
“You’re a good man, Puck Kelly.”
“I don’t know about that,” I counter lightly, thinking of all the ways I intend to torture Sean and Liam.
My phone rings, and when I see the caller is Aoife, I quickly answer. “Bout ye?”
“Hi. Someone is here, on behalf of Aleksei,” she whispers. “Is it safe?”
Alek came through, but I didn’t have any doubts that he wouldn’t.
“Aye. They can be trusted.”
“Okay. Eva will be happy to leave. I don’t think she likes me very much.”
“Can ye blame her?” I question blankly.
She sniffs, and I instantly feel like an arsehole for snapping. But she is the reason Cami has her arm in a plaster cast. She is also the reason, however, that we’re all still alive. She hasn’t run to Sean—yet.
“Can ye call past?”
“When?”
“Now.”
I look at Cami who seems to know who’s on the other end.
“I’ve a—”
“I want to discuss our son,” she interrupts, knowing this is something she holds over my head.
I really need to get a hair sample from him so I can do my own test. I’ve been putting it off because I can only deal with one dilemma at a time. But now is as good a time as any.
“All right. Cami and I—”
“Can ye come alone? She doesn’t like me, and she has every right not to. But I think this is somethin’ we need to discuss alone. I’ll text ye the address of where to meet.”
Looking at Cami, I realize Aoife is the one thing that will always remind us of a past I wish to forget.
