Page 51 of Tainted Love

“What the feck is this arsehole trying to prove?” Liam gripes from the driver’s seat. “Watch your backs, boys.”

Callum mutters something unintelligible under his breath as we pull to a halt, and goes to grab my arm, but Ciaran stops him.

“I’ll take her,” he says, and the two of them share some unspoken conversation for a few tense moments before Callum relents and lets go of me.

The rear doors open, and although the air outside the air-conditioned vehicle is hot and sultry, it feels like ice is suddenly pumping through my veins.

Ciaran helps me out and closes his fingers around my bicep, his hold much gentler than Callum’s had been. That’s the only warm spot on my entire body. I try my best not to give in to the shakes, but it’s impossible. While I’ve accepted my fate, the fear of getting to that point has me in its grip and refuses to let go.

My knees want to give out as I walk towards Vito and his army of ‘made’ men. The only thing keeping me upright is the sight of Róisín, appearing just as spirited as usual, though I have no doubt that’s a ruse, just as surely as my own calm demeanor is.

Never let the bastards see you hurt.

Well, not if you can help it anyway. I know better than most that isn’t always possible. But I can put on as good a front as the next person.

Of course, Vito stays back, leaving his underboss, Dominic, to lead Róisín forward. I’m glad. There are a lot of assholes in Vito’s employ, but Dominic isn’t one of them, and he looks to be handling Róisín with care. I’m grateful for that. If he’s been overseeing her captivity, perhaps it hasn’t been too horrendous. Although, she might never appreciate the fact.

From my brief glance as the swap is made, Róisín looks relatively unscathed, but looks can be deceiving, as I well knew. There’s relief mixed with a soul-deep sadness in her eyes as she holds my gaze, her expression tortured.

“I’m sorry,” Ciaran murmurs under his breath the moment before he lets go of me to take his sister. “I never wanted it to be like this. Forgive me.”

Tears prick my eyes, but I ruthlessly blink them back and give a barely perceptible nod. “It’s okay. I understand,” I whisper as Dominic pulls me away from the man I’ve been stupid enough to fall in love with.

And I do.

There’s nothing to forgive. Ciaran wouldn’t be the man I think he is if he didn’t do everything in his power to save his sister.

…Even if it’s at my expense.

I can’t even blame him. No matter what we’ve shared in those stolen hours over a matter of just twenty-three days, I’m just a woman who passed briefly through his life. I count myself lucky to have experienced a lifetime of bliss in that fleeting moment. It’s more than I thought I’d have after being sold to the Viper.

And while I might fade from Ciaran’s mind, his memory will warm me in the cold, lonely, and likely terrifying hours ahead of me.

I’ll wrap his moments of sweetness around me like a shield; the shroud that will go with me to the grave.

Chapter Thirty-Six

CIARAN

Relief washes through me at the sight of Róisín. My sister is as sassy and bold as ever, but while I’m usually tolerant, I find myself willing her to behave for once in her life. The thought of what might happen to her if she doesn’t, is way too much to bear.

Goddamn it, doesn’t that girl have any concept of self-preservation?

Dread follows the relief in an internal war that battles within me as I fight to keep my expression impassive while I’m forced to hand over Maricela.

I desperately want to keep her with me. Keep her safe. But whatever thoughts I might have entertained about getting her out of here and taking her back to Ár n-áit with Róisín are dashed as soon as I see the number of weapons the Viper’s toting.

Feckin’ bastard. So much for low-key. I should have known better than to think he’d stick to his demands of us. Seems those only work one way and in his favor. I don’t know why I’m surprised. He’s proven time and again he doesn’t abide by the rules - not even those somewhat ephemeral ones that exist throughout the underworld; those that form a kind of uneasy truce to keep us all from war and the subsequent chaos that would ensue. There’s no honor amongst thieves where the Viper is concerned.

We’re so vastly outnumbered I wonder if we’ve walked headlong into a damn trap. There’s not a single doubt in my mind that the Viper can take every one of us down in the blink of an eye, so there’s not a chance in hell of me getting Maricela out of here safely.

Fuck. If we get Róisín out, it will be a miracle. Right now, all I can do is pray the Viper doesn’t want to start a war… and in all honesty, I’m not even convinced of that. Every move he’s made recently appears to be heading in that very direction. He’s on some kind of power trip, and his attitude towards it is positively cavalier.

The only thing we have going for us is the fact that I don’t believe anything the Viper is doing has been sanctioned by his boss.

Of course, that boss is also his brother, so there’s a wide margin for error here. I don’t know much about the inner workings of La Cosa Nostra, so all I can do is apply my own experiences. If this was me and Cal, there’s no way either of us would do anything without the other's knowledge and consent… so maybe I’m wrong.

But my gut tells me differently, and I’ve learned to listen to my gut.

---