AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I swallow some more burning liquid. “I sold my soul to the devil for seven years. Took the fall for a crime Coghlan committed that I didn’t have anything to do with.”
He studies me over the rim of his glass. “That's fucked. And you just agreed?”
I nod slowly as I stare at the final bit of brown liquid in my glass. “I was promised her in exchange.”
He’s silent.
“Mob. You know. Fucked up, but women are commodities.”
“Do you love her?”
My reply is instant. “More than I knew a man could love a woman.”
He leans against the counter and his eyes take on a faraway look. “Will you take Finn?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know what she wants.”
This time when he looks at me, he’s a cold-blooded killer. “Nikki will be crushed. It would be hard for me to let him go. He’s like my son. Finn’s a good boy. I’m not sure if you’re the kind of man I’d give someone I love to.”
Truth is, I’m not sure either.
CHAPTERTWENTY-SIX
Nikki is standing in the hallway, her hand pressed to her heart, sobbing when I find her.
“God. I thought I could handle this day if it ever came.”
I grab her into a fierce hug. “I know. I’m a mess.”
“Will he take Finn?”
“He’ll do what’s right for Finn,” I whisper against her hair. We hold each other, and the combined fear in us is enough to crush the world.
“He’s not going to say anything to Finn. I just thought...” I let out a shaky breath and try to get control of the pain in my heart. “I know they need to meet. Kieran’s never going to let this go until he does. But we have to deal with the wedding. There’s a lot of things that hinge on that. And I know with all my heart, that I will not let Finn get folded into the mafia world. I’ll walk away from all of you if I have to.”
Roughly, she says, “He’d never let that happen. You saw him, he was ready to eat that shotgun.”
She wipes at her eyes with the back of her wrist. I give her one more tight hug. “Kieran’s fierce. He's also smart. He’d never want a child to be hurt. I believe this with all my heart.”
When I step back, she nods and tries to put on a brave face. “Let’s get the kids. I’ll have them set the table for dinner. Will the two of you stay?”
“I’m not sure I can handle it.”
She lets out a relieved breath. “I’m not sure I could either. Come on. You’re going to have to hold me up as it is.”
We find the five kids in the backyard in a game of whiffle ball. They are very close in age, so playing games like that together is natural for them.
Finn is the first out of all of them to see me. “Cha-cha! I didn’t know you were coming back.”
Trying to sound like I haven’t been crying, I say, “Neither did I, but I brought a friend over for a few minutes. We’re just passing through. I had to pick up something your Aunt Ariel forgot to get earlier.”
He skips over and happily says, “Look at this.” With a grin, he holds up his elbow.
“Eww. You need a bandage on that.”
Eyes sparkling bright blue, he says, “Nah. I don’t want one. I like the way it looks. Gross. The girls will scream, watch this.” He takes off for his sisters.
They do indeed scream. Nikki and I share a small laugh before she calls them in.
