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On the front of the envelope is his name in her elegant scrawl. I can smell the sweet orange blossom perfume she wears all over it. A smile tilts my lips, and then I blink away the tears that are burning my eyes.
“You can’t—”
“I’ve made up my mind, Miren. I’ve been through so much worse in my life. This is going to be fine. I know it is. I must do it for the family who showed me how to love again.” She rises and pulls me into a hug. Then she’s gone.
I grip the envelope in my hand and race from my room. I can’t wait. If she’s so convinced she’s leaving, I need to get to Monster now. The doors to the room they have church in are closed, which means they’re probably in a meeting, and I shouldn’t disturb them, but I have to. This is Callia.
I race to the doors and shove them open to find all the men seated around the table. “Callia is gone,” I tell them. “She came to my room to say goodbye, and then she told me she’s going to Patrick. She said he’s her father. I don’t know how, but he’s convinced her the only way to keep us safe is for her to go with him. She wanted you to have this,” I tell Rebel and hand him the envelope.
He pushes by me without a second glance. I know he’s going to look for her, but I also know he won’t find her. The rest of the men are on their feet, and they’re out the door once Monster shouts for them to find her.
He stops in front of me and pulls me into the room. “Tell me everything she said. I want to know it all. And then we’ll find Lia and kill Patrick.”
I follow him inside and sit. It’s time for more truths. This time, they’re not mine, but Callia’s.
* * *
Two DaysLater
We’ve looked everywhere.It’s as if she’s disappeared into nothing. Tye rushes into the lounge, his laptop perched on his arm as he holds onto it. “I’ve found them. I think. They’re in Dublin. Patrick had a meeting with a few of his contacts down there. It seems he wanted passage out of Ireland without being seen. Not sure why he went to them, but—”
“I’ll call Razor. He’s one of the nomads I met while I was on my travels,” Sully says. He’s on his feet, his phone in hand as he makes the call. I look to Monster who’s on his phone. I feel helpless. I can’t do anything. Convinced that if they were to go South, I’d have to stay here. Monster has kept me in the house for the past couple of days. I can’t go out into the garden, and he most certainly won’t let me try to call Callia.
Rebel walks into the room and flicks on the telly where the breaking news has just hit.
“Today, in a shocking discovery, Scotland Yard and MI5 have confirmed the arrest of Sinéad Bragan. She’s been taken into custody where she will stand trial for a myriad of murders and her connection with the Irish mob. For ten years, they’ve been searching for her, but a breakthrough came when a source tipped off the peelers as to her whereabouts. She’d changed her appearance and was living in hiding, where she told law enforcement she feared for her life. It turns out, she had tried pinning her crimes on her husband, notorious criminal, Patrick Bragan. If you know the whereabouts of this man, please contact local authorities immediately.”
“Now we know why he needed to get out of here so quickly,” Monster says as Sully returns.
“Aye, when I questioned Sinéad, she said somethin’ about another heir,” Monster says. “It didn’t make sense until now. Callia is the daughter Patrick didn’t know about.”
“But who the fuck is her mother?” Rebel bites out in frustration. “She lived in a foster home most of her young life. When I found her, she was a runaway,” he says.
I’m shocked that she never mentioned this to me. There were times I could see fear in her eyes when she spoke of her past, but she didn’t tell me she was in foster care, she merely said her folks weren’t the nicest people.
“Aye,” Monster agrees. “A runaway who needed a place to hide. But what if she weren’t hidin’ from her foster folks? What if she was hidin’ from Patrick all these years?”
Realisation dawns on me then. All this time I was befriending my half-sister, and I didn’t know it. It’s my fault she’s gone. “And I brought him back here.”
“Nothin’ is on you,” Monster says as he pulls me into his arms. “Get Tye on the computer. Let’s find these bastards.” He leaves the room with me in tow after giving the order. In his bedroom, he sits me down on the bed and drops to a crouch in front of me. “This isn’t on you. Do you understand me?”
I nod, but I can’t find the words. “I should go.” I look up and stare at him. “I can’t stay here when I brought the devil to your home.”
“You belong here,” he tells me firmly. “You’re not leaving. We will find her. But you’re mine. If ye haven’t realised that yet, I’ll make sure ye know just how much you’re wanted here.”
“But—”
My argument is cut short when Monster lifts me over his shoulder and make his way to the bathroom. He sets me down on the counter and turns on the shower. I watch him undress, still in awe at how beautiful he is.
“What are you doing?” I whisper when he starts taking off my shoes.
He doesn’t respond, he merely helps me out of my clothes. He’s gentle, affectionate, placing kisses on my neck, shoulder, and then captures a nipple in his mouth.
When he finally has me completely naked, he leads me under the spray. “I’m makin’ sure you’re relaxed. There’s a lot goin’ on, but you must know that this is yer family now.”
He drops to his knees before me and lifts my leg over his shoulder. I claw at the tiles when his tongue laps at my entrance. The water may be drenching us, but my arousal coats his tongue, causing him to groan as he looks up at me. A strong, alpha male who’s devouring me as if I were his last meal.
The tightness in my shoulders eases somewhat, and I close my eyes to lose myself in the sensations. It’s been a fucking horrible day, and yet Cathal makes sure I come with his fingers inside me and his tongue teasing my clit. Slowly, he rises again and looks down at me before gripping my arse and lifting me against him.
