Page 116 of Brutal Obsession

As carefully as possible so as not to tug at my injury, I crawl on top of him and stare him straight in the eye. “Fuck that. That man wasn’t your father. He was a sperm donor and a monster, and I’m glad you ended him. You and your mother lived through years of his torment, and he got what he deserved.”

He stares back at me. “There’s more. Once he was dead, I thought my mom would feel better, but I was wrong. He broke her, and she only pushed through to keep me safe. Once my father was gone, her reason for living disappeared too. She killed herself.”

“Cian, no. Oh my god. I’m so, so sorry.”

I know the hurt stabbing my heart can only be a fraction of his, and more than anything in the world, I want to take his pain away. I press my lips to his forehead, his eyelids. His cheeks. I stroke his hair and fight off a new rush of tears. “You know that’s not your fault, right? You’re not responsible for your mother’s death. It’s awful and tragic, and I wish I could go back in time and change things, but I can’t. She was sick and hurting and not thinking clearly, because if she wasn’t, she never would have left you like that. Just like I’m not going to leave you. Not over this. Because you did nothing wrong.”

His big body shudders, and he raises a trembling hand to cradle my cheek. “Harper, I—” The rev of an approaching car engine yanks his attention to the window. “They’re here.”

He pulls away from me, his absence immediately leaving me cold.

“Who?”Should I be afraid?

“Everyone else.” He climbs off the bed and dresses himself. “Your sister, Finn, Darren, Rory…”

There’s something ominous in his voice, something he’s not telling me.

I don’t know what’s going on, and I want him to explain. But then he seats himself back down on the bed and begins to dress me, as gently as he bathed me the first night we made love a million years ago on a tiny island in the Pacific.

When he’s finished, he presses his lips to my forehead.

“I’m going to go meet them.” He plants a kiss on my greedy lips. “I’ll be back.”

“Promise?”

He exhales, nodding his forehead against mine. “Promise.”

And just like that, I’m alone in this brightening suite, blue light waking the world up.

I’m tired enough to sleep for a year, but it doesn’t seem right to rest. Not when I know everyone who was involved in helping me get to safety is downstairs, maybe in as bad a shape as I am.

More than once, I experience the urge to get up and go downstairs, thenregret itwhen I try to sit upright. Just that simple motion aggravates the pain in my middle.

When the doors to my room swing open and Riley rushes in, I almost scream. She’s half covered in blood, but that doesn’t seem to bother her as she runs toward me, tears streaming down her face.

I’m crying too.

“Are you okay?” Riley kneels on the floor beside the bed. I wish she’d climb in with me. I’m so happy to see her. But it’s also awkward as hell talking to my sister while Cian’s cum is leaking out of me under these clothes and blankets.

“Ry, you’re…you’re bleeding.”

“Huh?” She blinks. Giving herself a once-over, as if for the first time, she says, “Oh. Don’t worry. It’s not my blood.”

“Whose is it?”

“That’s not important.” Riley smiles, exhaustion tinging her joy. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”

My twin senses are tingling.

Riley’s hiding something.

“What is it, Ry? What happened?”

The joy on her face falls some. “There’s good news and bad news.”

Well, I don’t fucking like the sound ofthat.

She rubs my forearm with her hand. “Which do you want first?”

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