Page 152 of Dust to Dust

“No. He can’t. Once you take the oath, you only leave in a box.”

My heartbeat accelerated at his words. “He won’t do that, will he?” I couldn’t bear the thought of Quinn leaving the life and forcing Callum’s hand. Or worse for him to do something reckless to have someone else take his life.

With a shake of his head, Kellan replied, “Quinn isn’t a quitter. Regardless of the hell he’s been through and currently finds himself.”

Tears pooled in my eyes at the thought that I was the cause of so much of his pain. At the same time, rage filled me that Mikita was forcing me to hurt Quinn. His revenge was affecting my life as well as Quinn’s.

I thought about my conversation with Brooke earlier. Was it possible to find a way out of this mess and still keep everyone safe? My paranoia fueled me to rise off the floor and go over to one of the kitchen drawers.

“Isla?” Kellan questioned.

“I’m fine.”

After pulling out a piece of paper, I turned on the kitchen light. I then began to scribble down everything that had happened with Mikita. When I finished, I handed it to Kellan. Then like I had with Brooke, I put my finger over my lips.

His brows creased in confusion before his gaze dipped down to the sheet of paper. When he was done, he jerked his head up to stare at me in shock. “We can fix this.”

To keep the conversation as generic as possible in case someone was listening in, I replied, “Are you sure we can fix this without anyone getting hurt?”

“We’ll find a way.”

Kellan then went over to the counter to grab my pen. He scribbled something down before handing it back to me.

I’m going to go get dressed and tell Brooke goodbye. I need to speak to Callum and Dare as well as Caterina’s brothers. Mikita will not fuck up Quinn’s life and yours. I promise you that.”

When I glanced up at him, I nodded. Then I leaned up and kissed his cheek. With my lips next to his ear, I whispered, “Thank you.”

“I owe you more than you can ever know, Isla. I intend to pay you back by fixing this.”

Without another word, he started back upstairs. For the first time in weeks, I felt hope.

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Quinn

After spending a couple of weeks in Belfast with Mam and Eamon, I grew anxious to get out of the city. Or I suppose I should say Northern Ireland since Mam had insisted we go to our beach house for a few days. She desperately clung to the idea that a little sun and sea air might clear the dark melancholy I found myself in.

There was one person I was anxious to see. So, for the first time in a decade, I took a commercial flight. After Mam gave me Maeve’s schedule, I arrived just as she was set to get out of class. One phone call to her bodyguard later and I found myself outside of Trinity college.

As I leaned against the car I’d rented, I watched men and women scurrying around the campus, arms laden with books or a coffee in their hands. I wondered for a moment what my life might’ve been like had I not been born into the clan. Sure, I’d graduated from Queen’s College in Belfast with the traditional business degree that the men in my family earned. But my experience hadn’t been like other carefree college students. In between classes, I’d interrogated and tortured men.

At the sight of Maeve striding across the green, I rose off the car’s hood. She chatted animatedly to someone on the phone. I couldn’t remember when I’d seen her so happy.

When she glanced at the car, she caught sight of me. Her face lit up even brighter. After saying something to the person on the phone, she ended the call. Sprinting towards me, she cried, “Quinnie the Pooh!”

Normally the nickname she’d called me when she was a child mortified me to no end. But today, it was the purest music to my soul.

She dove into my waiting arms. “Oh my God, it’s so good to see you,” she said, as she squeezed me tight.

Not shying from her touch, I squeezed her back. “I feel the same way.”

When she pinched my back, I jumped. “What the feck was that for?”

She giggled. “I was just trying to see if you were real.”

With a chuckle, I replied, “Aren’t you supposed to do that to yourself?”

“Maybe,” she replied with a wink. “So, what are you doing here?”

“Do I have to have a reason to see my baby sister?”

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