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That was all he could ask for. He didn’t want to know how the MC would extract their answers from Hank. With Hank pulled off the streets, Fianna and he would be safe.
He couldn’t wait to go home and take his girl in his arms.
21
Fianna
Fianna passed the open kitchen window of the Moore farm. She followed her four bickering sisters on their way to the three picnic tables between Emmy’s vegetable garden and the outer fields of the farm.
She glanced at her three half-brothers and two half-sisters already sitting there. Suddenly, the nerves got the best of her, and Fianna turned on her heels and entered the side entrance of the kitchen.
“Oh, no. Fianna Ryan. You go out there just like the rest of your sisters,” Shauni said as she pulled Fianna to a stop by her shoulders.
“Okay, I’m going out there. But if I don’t like them: I’m out.”
“You can do this, Fi,” the youngest Moore sister, Teagan, said in encouragement.
Fianna nodded and squared her shoulders. She swept some hair behind her ear and stepped out of the kitchen.
When she woke up this morning, she had said to herself in a little pep talk that this meeting would only last a few hours. That she only had to be civil and stick with small talk about the weather. She just needed to stick to her plan, and everything would be fine.
With renewed courage, she walked up to the three picnic tables.
Shit. The only table with open spots left was the table she wanted to avoid the most. Devlin sat at the picnic table, his colossal frame taking up space like he owned the place. Across from him, Gwenn took a seat. She had this weird smile on her face. Like she was happy to see him. She had something up her sleeve. Fianna just knew it.
Fianna lifted her chin in the air and joined their table. Maybe after sitting down for fifteen minutes, she could sneak off to see Stormchaser out in the fields.
“So…” Devlin drawled out after giving Fianna a nod in greeting.
The tension at the table was already unbearable. Fianna didn’t know what to say to any of her half-siblings. At least with Kieran, she could bring up his work as a firefighter. That was a safe topic.
What could she ask Devlin to show some interest? ‘Hey, brother. How are things at the MC? Are you enjoying your life in a gang?’
She had no clue what she could talk about with him. But leave it up to her sister Gwenn to break the ice. “Did you bring your truck?” Gwenn asked Devlin with a knowing smile.
Fianna fought the urge to roll her eyes. Why would she even ask him that?
Devlin’s upper lip pulled as he scratched his beard. “I came on my bike. The back of my truck needed to get a deep cleaning. It got dirty yesterday...”
What a weird conversation. Like she wanted to know anything about his truck. Only a few hours to go and then she would never see any of them again.
Catriona broke her thoughts when she sat down next to Devlin on the opposite side of the table. Fianna felt her eyes on her but she remained stoic.
She had thought back in shame at her mistreating Catriona when they had first met at the dojo many months ago. The Moore family was right. Fianna had never given Catriona a real chance. And when Catriona also had no problem expressing her anger and then blatantly ignored Fianna, things had turned for the worse. Any chance of getting to know each other ending right there in the dojo.
“Hi,” Fianna said to her half-sister.
Catriona’s nose scrunched like she smelled horse manure.
Fianna took a deep breath. “I know we didn’t get off on the right foot that time you were at the dojo with Ryleigh. But maybe we can start over? I mean… we see each other in passing at the dojo. It’s only easier to say ‘hi’ instead of purposely ignoring each other?”
Fianna’s heart pounded in her chest. It was really unlike her to hold out olive branches. Gwenn even blinked at her in shock.
After a second of scrutinizing her, Gwenn finally said, “Don’t mind her, Catriona. She’s just being weird. Just agree to say hi to her whenever you see her and this all will be over soon.”
Catriona’s upper lip pulled in the slightest way possible before she said, “Yeah. Sure.”
Fianna figured after swallowing that first turd, she better get the next one over with. She studied her half-brother for a moment.
