Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 98000 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 490(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98000 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 490(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
“She loves her son,” whispers past my lips. “There’s nothing a good mom won’t do for her kids. Seeing what happened to my father, hiding with me, spending her life on the run with me. I guess that’s what they do.” Still, I hate that Fia had to do it. That all this went down because of me.
“Yeah, I guess so.” He smiles, then rolls toward me. I wince when pain shoots through my shoulder. “Fuck. What’d I do?”
“Nothing. Don’t leave.”
There’s a soft knock at the door before it slowly pushes open.
An older woman with dark hair comes in. She’s a mixture of Tiernan and Aislin, with tired eyes that have small wrinkles around them. A man is behind her, tall, wearing a dark suit and a scowl. He closes the door behind them.
“Sorry to interrupt,” the woman says—Fia, I’m assuming. “Rian is on his way over, and he’ll want to see Dean.”
Tiernan tenses beside me.
“Have you told him anything yet?” the man asks Tiernan.
“I was about to, but then you two came in.”
“We don’t have time to play games here, kid. You vouched for him, but this is some serious fucking shit we’re in, and I need to know he can keep his mouth shut.”
“Fuck off, Conan. I said he’s good, so he’s fucking good,” Tiernan snaps. “He just woke up from being shot. He’s all doped up.”
“It’s fine,” I say, trying to scoot up farther in the bed. “Tell me what I need to do, and it’ll happen.”
Tiernan curses and sits up beside me.
“No one can know who you are. You came here as Dean Smith, and that’s who you need to stay,” Conan says.
“That’s fine. I planned on it anyway.” As sad as it is, Riordan Sullivan died the day my father did. I became a different boy, who grew into a different man. Riordan was my mom’s sweet boy, the one who wouldn’t have gone chasing exactly what my parents tried to protect me from. It hurts to know that, to admit it, to not be what they wanted, but I don’t know how to be anyone else. It’s in my bones, so fucking tangled up in who I am, that now I don’t think I’d exist at all if it wasn’t for the future I hopefully have laid out for me.
“I’m serious. People risked their lives for you. Fia and Tiernan could have died for you. This isn’t something you can go back on.”
“I know,” I tell Conan. “You think I don’t fucking know what they risked for me? I would have died for Tiernan. I will right now if I have to. I’ll kill for him. There’s nothing I won’t do for him.”
Is it me, or is Conan trying to bite back a smile? I don’t know him well enough to tell.
“Good. I’ll hold you to that,” he tells me.
“Anytime.”
“Conan, go easy on him.” Fia touches his shoulder, and…oh Christ. He’s in love with her. The way he looks at her spills every one of his secrets. Does she know? Are they together? Does Tiernan know?
“I’m saving his life, Fia. And risking all of ours in the process,” he counters.
My heart jumps to my throat. “What? No. You can’t do that. I’m not worth that.”
Conan nods toward Tiernan. “To him, you are. Don’t fuck it up. Don’t let him down.”
All this over a name? I came here planning to be Dean. None of this makes sense. Why would I out myself and risk my life now? “What else is happening?”
“My dad’s death…it can’t go unpunished,” Tiernan answers for him. “No matter who it was.”
Blood rushes through my ears, the room around me echoing. Fia. She would need to die for this? She was protecting Tiernan, but to them, Tiernan isn’t as important as his father.
“Say it was me. I’ll take the blame. They can do whatever the fuck they want to me.”
This time, Conan doesn’t hold back his smile. To my surprise, Fia doesn’t either.
“I told you.” Tiernan smirks.
“That’s easy to say, but a whole lot harder when you’re being tortured,” Conan argues.
“I wouldn’t crack. I would never betray him. I just fucking told you that.” The edge to my voice is obvious.
Conan cocks a brow. “You were right,” he tells Tiernan. “He’s stupid but brave.”
“I didn’t call him stupid.” Tiernan looks at me. “I said you need to learn to control yourself better.”
I roll my eyes, though he’s right.
“The point is,” Fia interrupts, “we had to create another version of what happened that day.”
“Without risking a war and blaming another family,” Tiernan adds.
“Sloan O’Shea was shot by a couple of dumb young guys high on drugs,” Conan begins. “They didn’t know who he was. It happened in the city, at one of his buildings, when he and Tiernan met for business. Tiernan brought you with him as a test run, and the two of you fought back and killed them. You were shot in the process. Tiernan called me, and we took care of the cleanup ourselves. We’re in trouble for not telling Rian or anyone else before we went. Rian is going to want to discuss this with you to make sure you can be trusted.”