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Declan scoffs, shaking his head. “It doesn’t work like that. Blood oaths aren’t a fucking thing anymore. Haven’t been for at least a century.”
“They happen all the time at the Irish weddings we attend.”
“Yeah. As a side thing. There’s still a priest and a marriage certificate. What the fuck were you thinking?”
I slam a fist against the wood. “Jesus, Declan. I don’t know what I was thinking, okay? I guess I wasn’t.” I suck in a breath, trying to collect myself. “I was angry. Jealous. Scared. I just fucking did it. And she let me. She wanted it.”
Declan smirks, a soft chuckle escaping him. “What’s your plan?”
“My plan?” I ask.
“You came here to be heard. I assume you have a plan,” he says, emotion void from the statement.
Declan has always hidden his feelings behind a grumpy facade. He doesn’t let people into his inner thoughts, doesn’t wear his anger in the form of curses and screaming, or even violence. He’s able to hide. It’s been this way since our teenage years, since the day he let the fingers of his best friend slide out of his grip, and fall from the rooftop of an abandoned church in Hyde Park.
The light in his eyes went out that day, along with Brian Walsh’s life. We made it look like an accident. Like we were fucking around, playing football, and he made a miscalculation of the edge. But I know Declan’s truth. I carry it around with me, because I helped him end the life of the person who ended my sister’s.
Cara was bright and happy. She was smart, too. So fucking smart. She hid behind her stories of little girls riding horses, and big glasses that covered practically her entire face. She was older than me, but I was still the protector. The copy of Pride and Prejudice I’d given to Saoirse had first been Cara’s.
Her notes had littered the sides, and I expanded on them as I read it for a high school project. It made me feel close to her, and I knew when I left for the Navy, it would be in good hands with Saoirse. When I returned, I never asked for it back. And seeing it on her night stand the other night, I’m glad I never did. Knowing it was getting used made the ache of missing my big sister feel a little more bearable.
And Declan … Declan was the only other person that understood Cara. He loved her, even if we were all stupid kids. Brian Walsh stole her innocence. He took what he shouldn’t have, and Cara suffered. She claimed her own life because she couldn’t process the trauma he caused.
Brian had fooled us. We were all close, he was Declan’s best friend, and he raped his girlfriend. I hadn’t known until it was too late. Until Declan showed me the suicide letter she left him. And we took matters into our own hands. We gave Cara the vengeance she deserved.
“The plan, Scotty?” Declain quirks a brow, waiting for me to continue.
I inhale a long, shaky breath, nerves tingling from inside my entire body. “There’s no fucking plan, Declan. Besides convincing you to help me get Callum on board with this.”
“On board with killing a signed contract?”
I scoff. “Saoirse isn’t a decorative piece of art you hang on the fucking wall. She’s more than that. She’s smart. Smarter than any of us, including that prick. McClellan doesn’t deserve her.” I swallow, picking at the wood chipping at the edge of the table. “Fuck, I don’t even deserve her.”
Declan shrugs, as if he doesn’t think this is a big deal. “It’s in motion, Scotty. There’s nothing we can do.”
I let his words hang in the silence, not wanting to admit that I know he’s right. I’ll figure something out, I always do. I just need Declan going to bat for me when it’s time to face the wrath of the man in charge. “You let me handle that. I just need you to back me up when it comes to Callum.”
He huffs, exasperated. He doesn’t like going in blind, he needs to know what I’m thinking. “I need to know, Scotty.”
“I’m going to find Vladimir Vasiliev, and I’m going to kill him. Then, I’m marrying Saoirse. In a church, or wherever the fuck she wants it.”
“And Corbin?”
“Corbin will get the fuck out of my way. He won’t have a choice.” My gaze falls to the cut on my hand. “Callum will be pissed, but he’s going to honor what we’ve done.”
“You’re right. He will be pissed. Are you prepared for what that means?”
I pin Declan with a hard look. “Of course I am.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Finngrabsthedirtydishes from the table and heads for the kitchen. I offer him a smile as he sets them in the sink. Callum picked up Haley ten minutes ago, when Scotty still hadn’t returned. I’ve been calling and texting him, and he’s not answering me.
Finn says he’s fine, but that Scotty asked him to stay here overnight. He hadthingsto handle. And that surges anxiety through me. It spirals all the irrational thoughts inside of me. Dinner with Darcy is turning into a sleepover.
The wound on my hand burns, reminding me of what he did to me today. He made me believe he meant it, that he wasn’t doing it for protection, but because he wanted to. But now he’s with another woman. Sure, I encouraged the dinner, but I didn’t think it was anything more than two friends getting food and sharing memories of the loved one they shared.
Now, I’m thinking that was a mistake. Is he holding her face the way he holds mine? Claiming her body the way he did mine this afternoon?
