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“Thanks for the bed, Kavanagh,” a familiar voice called out from down the hallway, choosing the worst possible time to wake from his stoned slumber. “Can I borrow a hoodie?”

For fuck’s sake.

Mam’s eyes bugged in her head. “And who is that?”

“Ah, that would be Joey,” I muttered, rubbing my jaw.

“And who is Joey?”

“My brother,” Shannon offered weakly.

“Are there any more Lynch children in my house, Jonathan?”

“No,” I muttered, not meeting her eye. “I only took two.”

“Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and the donkey,” Mam wailed as she bounded for the hallway, followed by Joey. “What am I going to do with you?”

“Is she mad?” Shannon asked, drawing my attention back to her. Her eyes were wide and laced with panic. Her entire frame had stiffened to stone. “Are you going to be in trouble over me?”

Probably.

“No,” I replied, keeping my tone gentle. “She’s just worried.”

“Are you?” She swallowed. “Mad?”

My brow furrowed. “With you?”

Shannon nodded, looking sick now.

“No, Shan,” I said slowly. “I’m not mad at you.”

“I won’t let my mam do anything to you,” she blurted out, clutching my hand tightly in both of hers. Her chest was rising and falling quickly as she spoke, and I had a feeling she was either going to puke or have a panic attack. “Whatever she says… I swear, Johnny, I won’t let her get you into trouble… I promise, I’ll fix this… Just please don’t hate me—”

I leaned down and kissed her, knowing no other way to ease her panic. Shannon went lax in my arms. I could feel the tension leaving her body as her limbs loosened and her hands rested on my waist.

“I’m not scared of your mother,” I told her, resting my forehead against hers. “And I could never hate you.” I brushed my lips against hers again. “Not in a million years.”

“But she’s—”

I kissed her again, harder this time, making my point with my tongue.

“Your ma can say whatever she wants.” Straightening to my full height, I tucked a rogue strand of hair behind her ear and rested my hands on her bone-thin shoulders. “She can make all the threats she wants. It doesn’t change anything for me.” Sighing at her forlorn expression, I cupped her face in my hands and leaned close. “Because I’m not going anywhere.”

“Really?” Shannon whispered, staring up at me with those lonesome eyes. Her fingers were digging into my sides so hard I had a feeling she was going to leave a mark on me. “You promise?”

There she went asking for promises I wasn’t sure I could keep, and there I went making them anyway. “Yeah, Shan,” I croaked out. “I promise.”

Our lips touched again, brushing gently, and I knew right there and then that I was done for. It was a soft, gentle, innocent kiss that packed the punch of a lifetime because with that minimal contact, she freewheeled my hormones out of control and KO’d my heart.

Knowing that I needed to stop while I still could, I broke the kiss, breathing hard, and reached for my clothes, deciding it would be safer facing her brother with my pants on.

“Come on,” I said, reaching for Shannon’s hand when I was dressed. Tugging gently, I led her out of the sitting room and straight to my slaughter—which just so happened to be in my kitchen.Where my mother had a wide range of knives and other sharp utensils…

Fuck.

Reaching the kitchen door, I stalled when the sound of voices echoed from behind the partially closed door.

“Oh my god, is he talking to her?” Shannon whispered, wide-eyed, when she heard Joey’s voice.

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