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“You should have told me this before I got here instead of letting me walk into a hall that stinks of bleach.”
When he rolls his eyes at me again, I flip him the bird and stride into Ma’s.
On my way through the door, I freeze when a thought occurs to me and turn back to Lucas. “Is Belle in there? Or did she leave?”
Lucas, who’s talking to one of our cleanup guys, arches a brow at me. “Kitty’d have messaged me if Belle tried to leave. I don’t think she’ll be in a good headspace,” he warns.
Nodding in thanks, I barrel down the hall, knowing I’ll find them in the kitchen—I’m right.
Neev and Kitty are making cookies of all things, Róisín is removing her makeup, and Belle is sitting so close to my mother that she’s practically in her lap.
Over the past couple of days, I’ve noticed how she gravitates toward Ma and, considering her past, I’m thankful Ma is a source of comfort for Belle.
Ma’s holding a bag of peas to the back of her head, and her color is bad—she’s pasty as fuck. As for Belle, she looks dazed, as if the world is spinning around her and she can’t make it stop. Still, she’s not jumpy—if she were, Neev and Kitty’s bickering would have her leaping out of her skin.
Aside from her expression, she’s showing no signs of injury, which is a relief. Once I know she’s safe and uninjured, pride replaces concern.
She took out the fucking trash, owned her shit, cleaned it up, and now, she’s free. To live, to love. To be with me… or not.
My sisters don’t notice me as I drift into the room, so I ignore them and place a gentle hand on Ma’s shoulder and squeeze her there softly while ducking down to press a kiss to Belle’s temple.
She jolts in surprise but settles when I whisper in her ear, “I am so fucking proud of you, baby.”
Then, I switch sides, putting a hand on her shoulder so I can lean over Ma and kiss her cheek.
“And you wonder where we get our balls from, Ma.”
She snorts at my cheek and swats me with a hand. “It certainly wasn’t your da.”
I grin at her, but it fades as I crouch at her side and settle my hand on Belle’s knee so I can comfort them both.
When Belle immediately clings to it, I squeeze back, trying to be reassuring as I ask Ma, “How are you feeling?”
“Rough,” she admits with a wince. “It all happened so fast. I didn’t even get the chance to draw my gun.”
“You didn’t need to, Annie Oakley,” Kitty drawls. “We had Belle on our team.”
I cut my sister a look. “Shut up, Kitty.”
Then I catch sight of the bandage around her throat and I wish to fuck I hadn’t stopped with Davis’s fingers tonight.
It would’ve saved my family a lot of trauma if I’d just superseded Aidan’s orders.
Not realizing I’m thinking murderous thoughts, Kitty huffs. “I’m being nice.”
I glance at Belle who’s back to spacing out, but her hand is entwined with mine and she’s clutching at me so hard that I know my palm will be studded with nail marks later.
Still, it’s reassuring that she hasn’t dissociated from what’s happened today. Somehow, we need to keep that momentum going before—
Hell, I don’t even want to think about it.
For someone with mental health issues, today has been disastrous. I can’t imagine how tempting Valium might be right now to her, and I need to make sure she doesn’t fall back into bad habits.
“I don’t think yourniceis compatible with how Belle’s feeling,” is all I say to Kitty.
“Cade’s right,” Ma grouses. “Shut your trap, Catriona.”
Kitty huffs. “I think she was awesome. You should have heard the shit that fucker was spouting. Honestly, I’ve never met the man before and I wanted him to choke on his own vomit and die.”
