Page 68 of Líadan's Code

“Great, so you’ve heard of me. I would have thought everyone would be flapping their lips after yesterday’s reveal,” I murmur.

“How… The Banshee is a ruthless monster,” Aine cries out, eyes wide.

“I think you should keep your mouth shut,” Jordan growls. “You said so yourself that you left Líadan to the wolves. What the fuck do you think happens when you do that? Please, think about the horrors this woman could have gone through in order to become a living boogeyman.”

Aine shudders as she nods. “I didn’t think…”

“Please don’t say anything else,” I sigh. “My father was incredibly calculating. He needed someone to keep his people in line, so he made it happen. He tried to play God again last night, and he found out what it’s like to fuck with the wrong person. Turns out, trying to sell women against their will catches up with you.”

“So you did kill him?” she asks curiously.

“No, but I’m not going to tell you who did. She deserves a normal life,” I tell her. “I absolutely killed other people last night, but not my father.”

“This isn’t going at all how I thought it would,” she grumbles.

“Did you think you were going to come in and save Líadan?” Jordan asks. His fingers twitch as he speaks, and I realize he’s angry for me, and not at me. “She’s kept herself alive, with the help of Brendan. Seán O’Brien was a manipulative motherfucker, volatile, and violent.”

“Who are you two to my niece?” Aine asks, making me annoyed. She can’t just claim me as family because we share a little blood. This protectiveness is bullshit.

“We’re hers,” Brendan rumbles. “We can never be manipulated, turned, or forced to hurt her. We will not. Especially now that my boss is dead and gone.”

“I’ve heard about you,” she murmurs. “His enforcer. You ran a lot of his meetings as well, didn’t you? You’ve been photographed at his side at events. Where were you during this all, Líadan?”

“Hiding,” I grunt. “Before yesterday, no one’s seen me since my seventeenth birthday party.”

The blood drains from her face as I wave toward the door behind me. “You can tell my grandfather I’ll take care of it all,” I say. “I’m very good at cleaning up after myself. If you managed to find us, we obviously need to move. I’m sure this wasn’t the reunion you thought it would be, but that’s all I can give you.”

“Wait—”

“You left me with a monster!” I scream at her, a piece of me enjoying her flinch. “What did you think I was going to do when you broke in here?”

“I didn’t think he was going to turn you into whatever this is,” she says, her lip curling in disgust.

“Yep, I’m done. I’m going to pack. Brendan can you?—”

“I’ll escort them out,” he says.

Leaving behind the bags of sex toys, I walk to my bedroom. I need a shower desperately after that conversation. I feel gross, and the memories are threatening to take over.

I can hear yelling behind me, but I ignore it to pull off my clothes, naked by the time my feet touch the cool tile of the bathroom. Maybe our next hotel will have heated floors…

“Woah, do you fucking mind,” Brendan shouts, surprising me as I turn quickly to find Aine holding her hand up in front of her face, since I’m butt naked.

“Apparently she doesn’t,” I mutter, shaking my head as I turn away to start the shower. Pulling my headband off, I toss it at the sink before stepping into the water. I don’t plan to get my hair wet, I just want to wash off this conversation, and Aine doesn’t seem to want to let it die.

“What do you want?”

“I don’t want the last thing you remember of our conversation to be that I’m disgusted by your experiences. I’m usually better about controlling my face?—”

“So you are disgusted, you’re just sorry you couldn’t control what I saw. Fabulous,” I say, picking up the body wash to pour some onto a washcloth.

“No,” Aine sighs. “I’m disgusted that my brother-in-law used you. I’m pissed off at myself that I didn’t insist we kidnap you from Chicago. We had a family conversation after your mother died, and one of my brothers was very insistent that your father wouldn’t hurt you.”

“Mmhmm,” I grunt as I continue to wash my body. “Daddy started hitting me when I was ten, but I was twelve when he helped three grown men beat the fuck out of me. The entire time he spoke about how he needed someone to keep the family in line. I think everyone thought he meant Brendan, who he groomed to be his enforcer. Daddy sold me when I was seventeen to the Family. But no, he wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

“Líadan,” she whispers as I take a deep breath. I’m so done with this woman.

Washing my face takes a few minutes as I ignore her, hoping she’ll go away.

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