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Sully deserves so much better than me, and I’ve put him in a situation where he’s going to have to lie to the club. I can’t ask him to do that. My lies have finally caught up with me, and I have to pay the price.
“How are ye feelin’?” Sully asks as he settles into the chair beside my bed where I’m sitting up with pillows at my back.
He’s so calm, and yet, I know he’s hiding rage because it dances in his eyes. He must know everything by now. But he’s going to want to hear it from me. I can’t believe it’s come to this.
I can’t believe my uncle allowed himself to be captured. The club now has him, and I’ve a feeling he did it on purpose. Maybe he wants to be in their possession to stay away from the agency that’s after him.
When Sully brought me in, I was feeling dizzy, and I was close to passing out, but so far, I’ve remained conscious. My wound’s been stitched, and I’ve been given blood to replenish what I lost, so I’m feeling much stronger now.
“I’m okay. I’ll live,” I tell Sully.
As I stare at him, I can see the questions in his eyes. There are so many, and I’m going to have to answer them all.
“What was Bragan doin’ in the pub?” Sully asks.
It’s the first of many questions, but it’s the most important one. My answer will reveal the one thing I didn’t tell him, because I was scared of his reaction. I was too afraid to lose him, so instead of being honest, I hid the truth.
“He’s…” I take a long, deep breath, and I close my eyes. The agony of my heart breaking is coursing through me. “He’s my uncle.”
“Feckin’ hell, Clover,” Sully says as he runs his fingers through his hair.
He shakes his head, looking at me from under his dark lashes. I’ve destroyed his trust. It’s clear to see in his expression. I never wanted this to happen, but I knew it was inevitable when I didn’t tell him the truth. I left it for far too long.
“My father… Dad disowned Patrick when he took over the mob. They hadn’t spoken in years, and yet, when I reached out to him, he offered to help me after I arrived in Belfast. I was so scared of Rogan finding me, I agreed to keep his secret.” My chest tightens when I consider there’s more to the story than I’m telling him, but that will follow. I’m going to have to come completely clean, even though it’s against all the rules I’ve agreed to abide by.
“Ye can’t have thought I’d have let ye walk away,” Sully says, and I realize just how stupid I’ve been. Surely if he cared for me, like he so clearly did, he would have kept me safe.
“I’ve decided to leave,” I tell him then. “I have to get back to the States and finish things I started.”
This time, Sully looks even more confused. “Ye’re mine, Clover,” he says to me. “I’m not lettin’ ye walk out just like that.”
His gaze bores into me. It digs right down into the depths I wanted so badly to hide from him. In the past, Rogan would make me feel less than a woman, but with Sully, he’s always lifted me up. He’s always given me the confidence to be stronger, and I can’t believe it’s come to this.
“Sully, you have to listen to me, please. There are things I need to mend back home, but…” I shake my head. “I’ll be safe because Rogan is dead. When Patrick killed him, he told me to leave you and the club. And I have a feeling, even though your club have him in their custody, this isn’t over.”
I came to Ireland because it was an escape, but then I recall the meeting I had just before I got on the flight. When the agency saw my name, they realized I was the only way to track down the man they’d been looking for.
Even though Dad hated Patrick, he never agreed to rat on his brother. And as much as the CIA wanted Patrick Bragan, my father wouldn’t budge. There wasn’t much they could do. Dad always stayed on the right side of the law. He didn’t deal with anything illegal, so they couldn’t threaten him with prison. So, they waited. For me.
“Ye’re workin’ with the agent who’s in the city. Aren’t ye?” Sully says, surprising me. I didn’t think he knew. “Ronan McCallum was here. He wants me to tell ye ta leave Belfast because he doesn’t want anyone in the way of him steppin’ into yer uncle’s shoes. He wants the mob fer himself.”
It’s all not news to me. “I know,” I whisper, and I watch as the realization slowly creases his expression. “I wanted to tell you so many times, but—”
