Page 44 of The Devil's Price

"Baby, you don't have to thank me. It's what we do, okay? You’re safe now. They'll never touch you again." His hard body against mine is anchoring, calming my nervous system to allow me to think more clearly.

"They want me to try the case of Hagen Doyle." I'm shaking my head, hands trembling.

"No, you're not going to do that. McVeigh can find someone else." He clasps my hands in his and calms me, and I let more tears escape, though they mix with the water from the shower and wash away faster than I can cry them out.

"They'll kill me," I whisper.

"I'll hunt them down one at a time and cut off their balls." He kisses my cheek, whispers in my ear, "I'm never letting them harm you again. Do you understand? You belong to me."

His lips claim mine possessively, and I let him. The ache of desperation—to live and be loved—has clawed at my mind all day. Now, in his arms, the only thing I can think is how much I want to be alive, with him.

Finn's hands roam, relearning my body, and mine are no exception. I press against him, seeking solace in every muscle, every little ripple that promises safety. His arousal hardens between us, and he doesn't shy away from it, instead guiding me to wrap my legs around him.

"I need you," I tell him before his mouth takes mine again. "I need this."

He moans into the kiss and lifts me up, pressing his length against me as he crushes me to the shower wall and pins me up against it, impaling me roughly. "God, I've missed your pussy," he growls, and I arch my hips to meet him.

It has been too long since we were together like this—though it’s only been a few days—and the heat of him inside me is all I've craved since our last time together.

"Finn," I breathe, raking my nails down his back, and he groans, picking up the pace. The water pelts my skin, mixing with our comingled sweat as Finn moves faster and harder against me, the only sound our labored breaths and the slap of our bodies coming together.

"Jaysus, feck," he growls, pressing harder into me, and I cry out, feeling him rhythmically pumping. His biceps are rock hard, muscles flexed as he holds me up. I press my elbows into his shoulders as I kiss him harder. He bites my lip. My hands grip his head, fingers tangling into his hair.

"Shit," I pant, my orgasm building. My thighs burn from exertion. I hold onto him tighter, lean into the wall as the first waves begin to rise from my core upward into my belly.

"That's it, come for me," he growls, picking up the pace until I'm screaming into his mouth, my entire body shuddering aroundhim. I lose myself, panting and moaning, arching against his chest as he bites one of my nipples. His grip on my hips is bruising, but I don't care. Not when his moans fill the bathroom, echoing off the tiles. All I can think of is how incredible it feels to be alive, to be with him.

"Siobhan," he pants, pulsating inside me as he shudders, and I clench around him, feeling his climax in my core. His lips find mine again and again as we both ride it out, gasping for air as our minds catch up with our heaving chests.

"I love you," he says after a few minutes, and I can only nod in agreement.

My body is spent and aching in the best way possible. After the day I’ve had, this was the only possible ending. Finn holds me like I weigh nothing at all, kissing me like I’m the most-treasured thing he owns, and maybe I am.

“I love you too,” I mutter when he gives me an opportunity to breathe. He sets me down, but he remains close, still pressing me into the cold tile.

“And I’m never letting you go.”

“I wouldn’t dream of leaving,” I tell him, and I drape my arms around his shoulders loosely. Because right here is where I want to be, damn the consequences. I don’t know what my future looks like, but I see him in it. It’s the only way I want it.

32

EPILOGUE: FINN

Siobhan tucks into my side as I drape my arm around the bench behind her. It's been months since the end of Mick's trial. Things have moved progressively in a positive direction since we put Doyle in his place. He escaped that shootout at his safe house, but Hagen was arrested that day, found with a load of cocaine the Garda refused to overlook. Even the ones on his payroll have been scared straighter than they were.

Today is closing remarks at his trial, and Siobhan, while scared of what Cormac may do to her, insisted that we be here to support Mr. McVeigh for his kindness in helping her bring down the judge and the dirty Garda officers responsible for allowing Doyle to gain such a hold over the city's justice system.

McVeigh stands behind his table, waiting for the judge to address him. The entire trial has been very public. The entire city seems to have tuned in on the news and social media to find out if the justice system will have the backbone to convict the son of one of Dublin's most powerful men. Cormac himself is here, bathed in the most expensive suit he could find and surroundedby his family members who all await the end of this mess. I'm sure he's paid off several more court officials and Garda officers, but this judge is clean. And there is no jury to tamper with this time.

"Mr. McVeigh?" the judge says, nodding at him.

"Thank you, Your Honor." McVeigh buttons his suit coat and walks around his table. He only has the audience and the judge to address, so he faces the one person in this room who can place Hagen Doyle behind bars where he belongs.

Ronan was set to decimate the Doyle family and their business, cut off their trades, and kill them one by one, but Siobhan insisted we do this thing the right way. I don't blame her. She has a lot riding on this, and it's personal. We discovered Hagen Doyle is the one responsible for killing her cousin, and the judge who dismissed charges before Trevor's killer ever saw the back of a cruiser was none other than Brendan Callahan, who will stand trial next month.

"Your Honor, you've heard how eyewitness Sean McCarty saw Hagen Doyle kill Aiden Hughes in cold blood. You reviewed the video footage of the crime, recorded by an anonymous person who also saw the murder and who also saw Mr. McCarty there at the scene. With evidence from the O'Connor trial being thrown out, this is an open and shut case. We don't need to waste the court's valuable time with this anymore.

"Hagen Doyle is guilty of the murder of Aiden Hughes. The evidence proves it empirically. There can be no doubt in your mind that Mr. Doyle pulled that trigger. He has no alibi, and he had the motive and opportunity. The means was supplied to him when he stole a weapon from the glovebox of Mr. Mick O'Connor's car, parked only a few blocks away from the sceneof the crime, also caught on video." McVeigh turns and glares at Hagen, who has a cocky sneer on his face.

---