Page 9 of Ruthless Savage

She breathes a sigh. “How soon will we know if you’re out?”

“Don’t know.” I start to get to my feet.

“Wait!” With one look, she begs me to stay, to take her in my arms and confess every sordid detail of my past.

Would she accept me for who I am? Would she even want me if she actually knew the kind of things I’ve done?

“Call me. Just call me when you get out. Please, Devlin.”

“Aye.” I have to agree. It’d be too cruel not to.

Goodbye, mo stoirín.

As soon as I turn around, I hear a small sniffle.

From over my shoulder, I glance back at her. “Whoever he is, he’d be a lucky man to have you.”

Then I walk away before I flip every table in this goddamn place and get myself stuck here for eternity.

Well, maybe that actually wouldn’t be such a bad idea.

CHAPTER 3

ERIU

FIVE MONTHS LATER

I toss my shoulder bag onto the desk in my dorm room, breathing a sigh as I climb into my bed and press my head into the pillow.

I still can’t believe my father allowed me to change schools my freshman year. I was attending a university in Boston, not too far from home, but after I was taken a few months back by someone who hated my family, everything changed. As a result, my father agreed to let me attend school in New York City shortly after.

It wasn’t until the moment of my kidnapping that I truly realized what my family was capable of. Of course, I know who we are. I’m not as naïve as they all think I am. But it’s one thing to know it and a whole other thing to see it.

After I was freed, my sister, Iseult, told me she wasn’t just a Quinn, but an assassin for us—the Mob.

The word seems so strange to me. I don’t think of us that way. We’re just a normal family.

My mother died when I was five. I was always made to believe it was an accident, but it recently hit me that she probably died because of my father and what our family does.

I miss her terribly. How do you miss someone you never truly had?

An ache builds behind my eyes. All I have are her photos. Her deep brown hair was exactly like mine, and it’s the only connection I have to her. My eyes are as green as my father’s. Mom’s were hazel gold.

After she died, my sister was always there for me. She was fourteen at the time, and she grew up taking care of me. She still does. My three older brothers—Tynan, Cillian, and Fionn—were protective, just like my dad was, but Iseult was my person. She’ll always be the one I go to when I’m lost and need guidance, when I need a shoulder to cry on.

It doesn’t hurt that she now lives with Gio Marino on Long Island, right outside of the city. It’s one of the reasons my father agreed to let me go to school here.

But there was another reason, and I’m sure it was the biggest one.

Devlin came with me. ’Cause he’s once again my bodyguard.

Yay…ish.

I groan to myself.

I mean, don’t get me wrong. I want him here. But not as my bodyguard. I want more than that. I always will. Time hasn’t changed much about my feelings for him.

I’m doomed.

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