Page 38 of Destructive Truths

I’m not an idiot. She still has feelings for him, even after he tossed her aside without an explanation. But I’ll take whatever piece of herself she’s willing to give me, then hope like fuck I can convince her she belongs with me in the end.

Starting today.

“Can I remove this blindfold yet?” Saoirse groans as I lead her up the rough terrain, taking extra care to watch every step we take.

“Few more minutes, Free Bird. We’re almost at the top.”

Saoirse pulls from my grip, and I halt, allowing her to catch her breath.

Bent forward with her palms resting on her knees, she exhales a lungful of air. “What is it with you, Devereuxs?” Her breath stutters. “I thought Beibhinn’s 6 a.m. runs and your torturous gym sessions were bad enough, but now, here I am, hiking Mount Everest blindfolded. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were trying to kill me.”

Laughing at her dramatics, I shake my head and reach for her. “It’s the Wicklow Mountains, darlin’. Nothing more than one over-glorified hill on top of the next. We’ll be at the top in just a few more steps. I promise it will be worth every aching limb.”

“I’m gonna hold you to that, Dev.”

Dev. She’s called me that a few times since the night at the gym, and I’ve been meaning to ask her about it.

“Why Dev?”

A small chuckle slips past her pouty lips, and even though she can’t see through her blindfold, she cranes her neck over her shoulders, following the sound of my voice. “Everyone calls you Liam, but you’ll always be Devin to me. The boy from the lake.”

A series of sputtering heartbeats tick inside my chest, and for a moment, time stands still. Normally, I hate my first name because it reminds me of the life I could have had if I hadn’t been born into a syndicate family—back to a time when life wasn’t as fucked-up as it is now, and before the pressure of who I need to become wasn’t crushing me to death.

“Besides, your surname is Devereux, too.” A smile graces her face. And it takes everything in me not to rip her blindfold off and kiss her senseless.

Finally, Saoirse stretches to her full height, and I guide her the rest of the way. Once we reach the top, I twist her body until she’s facing the view of Dublin City. I step closer, moulding my chest to her back. “Ready?” My words brush across her neck.

She nods, giving me permission to remove her blindfold.

“Close your eyes. Don’t open them until I tell you, okay?”

“Mm-hmm.”

Slowly, my hands tease the material settled on the bridge of her nose, and I ease it up and over her head. I lean closer, brushing my lips against her cheek. “Keep them closed.”

Nestling in behind her, I rest my chin on the top of her head and draw in a breath, filling my nose with pomegranate and lavender. I place a fleeting kiss on the top of her head. “Now. Open those gorgeous eyes, Free Bird.”

The second she does, her surprise stalls her breath, and she releases the tiniest gasp. Then, she peers over her shoulder and strikes me right in the centre of my chest with her megawatt smile. “Dev. This”—her head tilts towards the skyline as her eyes trail along the panoramic view—“is so beautiful.”

My attention never leaves her. “You got that right.”

Pivoting on the balls of her feet, she twirls towards me. Her arms wrap around my waist. “You can see the entire city from up here.”

She’s right, you can, but for whatever reason, I don’t want to look anywhere but at her and the smile I put on her face. The caveman in me roars to life, and I make a mental note to do whatever it takes to make her this happy every day from here on out.

With her arms spread wide, she twirls around and tilts her head towards the sky. She’s lost in the moment, and my chest tightens at the sight. This is what she needed, to get lost in the beauty of nature and forget about all the heavy shit that’s weighing her down. For once, she can pack up her worries and be a normal seventeen-year-old hanging out with a guy, not training to become an heir to a national crime organisation.

This is what I needed, too. To escape from my responsibilities and lose myself to the girl slowly stealing my heart. Fuck Rohan. Fuck my dad. And fuck the syndicate. None of them matter, not without her.

Closing the distance between us, I wrap my arms around her waist and draw her into my chest. Her head tilts, eyes peering up at me under her lashes. “What is this place?”

I bring my hand to her face, teasing my fingertips through her hair before gently tucking a strand behind her ear.

“It’s called Montpelier Hill, but all the locals know it as the Hellfire Club.” With a shift of my feet, I turn us both towards the old ruined building sitting in the middle of the mountaintop and add, “Rumours state this building was one of the first Freemason lodges in Ireland, but they’re wrong. Right here, on this very hill, the syndicate was formed.”

When my eyes fall back to Saoirse’s, her joyous expression is gone. She’s white as a sheet, and her wide eyes have narrowed. Her head falls to my chest. “Hey.” I tip her chin upward with my fingers, stealing her gaze. “What’s wrong, darlin’? Where did your mind go?”

Breaking free of my hold, she steps back and wraps her arms around her waist. “I’d like to leave, please.”

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