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I don’t know how to feel about his answer. Part of me wants them to do it, but what if they get hurt? What if I lose my brother before I even get a chance to know him? What if I lose Priest?
“When?”
“Not soon enough,” he grunts.
Silence settles between us. Finally, his green eyes meet mine, sadness and anger swirling inside of them like a tempest about to collide with a ship at sea. “You look like her, you know?
Our mother.”
Mother.I had a mother. Why can’t I remember her? “Tell me about them, about our life before all this happened.”
“You truly don’t remember anything?”
I shake my head, ashamed at my own memory. “Nothing. I don’t remember anything before all of this.”
Liam stands and pulls out one of the chairs for me. I take the seat and he joins me, sitting in the chair next to mine.
“I don’t even know where to start, Bria.” I flinch at the name, but my brother is observant. He notices immediately. “Sorry,” he says. “You’ll always be Bria to me. I’m not sure I can call you Boo.”
“You can call me that if it helps.” I give him a tender smile. “Can you tell me about them?”
He leans back in his chair, his hands folded in his lap. “How do I summarize your life?”
I shrug. “The beginning might be best.”
Liam’s sigh carries the weight of the world on it as he begins. “Our grandfather was Declan Collins. He immigrated from Ireland when he was young, and met our grandmother, Una, at Ellis Island. They married young, settled in Atlantic City, and started their family. Our father, Cormac, came shortly after.”
Cormac.It doesn’t trigger any recognition.
“And our mother?”
“Saoirse.” Again, the name triggers no memories. “Da always called her by her nickname, Sersh. He was already working for our grandfather when he met Mum, but he met her at a pub while visiting Ireland, and said it was love at first sight.”
“Where did he work?”
It’s odd, in a way, but I’ve never given much thought to who my parents were, or how I’d ended up with my uncle. The idea of a different life had always been too painful, but now that I’m learning about them, I just want to know every tiny detail.
“Casinos, mostly.” Liam’s lips twist to one side. “Among other things.” When his eyes meet mine, he almost looks apologetic. “Our family has operated the Irish syndicate in Atlantic City for decades now. First grandfather, and now me.”
I blink, my brain working double time to absorb that bombshell. Liam is a mob boss. That’s why Priest had asked me about the mafia earlier. If my brother is a Don, what does that make me? Mafia royalty?
“Da was killed before he could take over, so now, it’s all on me.”
I swallow, my throat feeling tight and thick. “How did they die?”
Liam picks at some imaginary lint on his designer suit. “Grandfather made a bad deal and couldn’t pay the debt. He was moving us to a safe house when they came. They took you first, grabbing you right out of your private Catholic school classroom. I was next. They pulled me right off the street. I’d skipped school that day. They got our parents when they went looking for you.”
These new revelations tangle in my mind like fishing wire. “How do I not remember any of this? I want to believe you, but I can’t recall a damn thing. How do I not remember being abducted from school.”
Liam frowns, clearly just as confused as me. “I don’t know, Bria. The last time I saw you, you were unharmed.”
“When was that?”
“The day our parents died.” He pauses then, his eyes studying my face. “Are you sure you want to know this shit? Maybe not remembering how it happened is a blessing. All of it still haunts me, even now.”
I consider his question. Would it be better to spare myself the pain, or would I rather know? I roll the decision around in my mind before I settle on the answer.
“I want to know.”
