AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘You couldn’t do anything about it if you tried. Why are you trying to stand up for them?’
‘Because they are like us. They’ve lost a mother to Harold, too. They’ve been brought up with him bullying them and degrading them.’
‘If they had it so bad, then why aren’t they helping us?’ Mac took a swig of our champagne directly from the bottle, his fingers gripping the neck so hard they whitened at the knuckles.
‘It’s more complicated than that.’ Gods, my head way spinning and it felt like the room was closing in on me under my brother’s glare.
‘You’re fucking him, aren’t you?’
My cheeks flamed as I looked down at the floor.
‘Fucking hell, Maeve,’ he shouted, dashing the bottle to the floor, sending glass and golden liquid scattering over the slick boards. I jumped back, staring up at him wide-eyed. ‘All you had to do was keep low, keep your mouth and your legs closed. I’ll kill him.’
‘Don’t!’ My heart was in my throat as I tried to grab his arm, to reason with him.
‘It’s too late.’ With a shake of his arm he loosened my grip, fixing me with a look that let me know just how disgusting he found me for being with Cam. ‘We were trying to do it without it linking back to us, to limit the fallout. We can’t have you fucking shit up. It’s time for Plan B, and Plan B will clear Scotland of Thompson’s once and for all.’
‘I’m a Thompson,’ I said, aghast at how little leeway my brothers were willing to show.
‘For now. You’ll mourn for an acceptable amount of time and then you’ll find someone who isn’t a piece of shit, and you’ll be happy. You can choose someone without being forced into anything.’
‘What if I choose him?’
‘You can’t. He’s not an option.’ Mac straightened his collar and stepped over the mess he’d made on the floor. ‘He’s tricked you into believing he’s something he’s not. You were too young and too impressionable and we should have known better. We should never have let you do this.’
‘I did it to save you,’ I said as tears pricked at my eyes, my heart aching at the way Mac was speaking to me. He was supposed to love me.
‘And it’s cost you your loyalty. Hope it was worth it.’
I stood in the puddle of champagne and watched him leave. A mixture of fury, sadness and betrayal mingled in my stomach, leaving me filled with dread. What if they were true to their word and lashed out soon? I needed to speed up my investigation of Harold. Time was running out.
Katie reappeared as I knocked back the remaining shots, clamouring for oblivion. She eyed the mess on the floor and my tear-stained cheeks before pulling me into a hug.
‘Come on, let’s dance. I find it an excellent remedy for dealing with the arseholes in my life. For a night at least, we can just forget them.’
I intended on drinking enough to forget everything.
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
CAMERON
Sharp trilling woke me up as I dozed on the sofa. With burning eyes, I focused on the screen of my phone, surprised when Katie’s name flashed.
‘Katie? Is everything okay?’ My stomach fell into my shoes as I awaited an answer.
‘Yesh,’ she slurred over the thumping music in the background. ‘But Maeve won’t leave. I’m too drunk, and she’s too drunk, but she won’t leave.’
‘Where’s Benny and the guys? Can they help?’
‘They weren’t allowed in. My feet hurt, Cam, and my head is thumping.’
My feet hit the floor before she’d even finished her sentence, grabbing my keys and a jacket and storming down to the carpark to grab my personal vehicle. ‘It’s okay, I’m coming. I’ll be there as soon as I can be. What happened?’
‘Mac was mad at her, and she was mad at him, and the bar boy was cute, so I kept buying more drinks. I think I’m going to be sick.’
‘Are her brothers still there? Why aren’t they looking out for Maeve?’ I’d never leave my sister in that state at a party.
‘Don’t know.’ Her yawn pierced the call as I started up the car, switching to hands free as I took the road at lightning speed. It was almost one in the morning, so traffic was light, allowing me to take the roads quicker than usual. If the traffic cops were out, I’d need to pull my name out to deal with them. They knew better than to pull a Thompson for a speeding violation.
