Page 106 of Arrogant Bastard

“Bullshit. Your name isn’t even Fionnella Smith.”

She sends him a droll stare. “Have you been running Betty ragged trying to find out information about me?”

Killian shrugs, his face still a hard, slightly pale mask. “And I thought I made myself clear when I said we’re done? It’s barely nine a.m., and I’ve had my quota of shit news for the day. Partly thanks to you, I hear.”

I feel Fionnella’s stare, and a moment later Killian’s, but I can’t move, can’t think. Shit, I can barely breathe. Because it turns out, she didn’t come alone. At least not to me. The box she’s holding absorbs every inch of my attention, freezing me from the inside out.

“Well, you’ve already done the hard work. I just thought I’d fill in a few more blanks to put everything to bed once and for all.”

“You could’ve called.”

“Where’s the fun in that? The mole was a mid-level analyst with a gambling problem. Which Galveston encouraged. And a predilection for child pornography, which Galveston nurtured and transitioned from online to real life. While he made sure to get it all on tape for blackmailing when needed.”

“Jesus, how did he make it past Fallhurst’s vetting process?” Killian demands.

“You’ll be surprised what people can hide when they put their mind to it.”

I flinch because I know the comment is directed at me. “Is that it?” I force myself to ask, when everything inside me wants to rush across the room and snatch my precious box from her.

“Well, Galveston is singing like a canary in the hope of a reduced sentence. We’re compiling a list of names that’ll guarantee the sex ring is shut down once and for all.”

A piece of my heart that’s been ripped open since Julia’s death is soothed on hearing the news. I’ll always mourn for my sister, but at least I can take heart in knowing I’ve righted some wrongs in her name.

Killian paces for half a minute before he comes to crouch in front of me. “So we’re done here?” He throws the question over his shoulder, but his bewildered gaze stays on me.

Fionnella hesitates for a moment. “Yes.”

I sense her coming toward me. My eyes plead with Killian. He sees it but he doesn’t understand. Not until Fionnella sets the box in my lap and pats my shoulder.

“It’s time, darling girl. Unless you want to keep running for the rest of your life, it’s time.”

She leaves the room and the house. My heart has stopped beating. I’m sure of it. Or maybe I can’t hear it over the noise of everything I’ve ever wanted exploding right before my eyes.

Killian crouches before me, his own breathing locked somewhere in his body. He knows. Not what exactly, but he knows.

Eyes turned a desolate blue move from my face to my lap and back again. “Tell me what’s in the box, Faith.”

It takes a few tries to get my voice to work. “I’m sorry…”

His mouth compresses and he waits.

“Every reason I gave you was true. But…this clinched it for me.”

“That’s the more you mentioned. Isn’t it?” he asks roughly.

I nod.

His hands tighten almost painfully on mine. Then he charges to his feet, takes the box from my lap, and opens it. He stares for an age. Lifts the single picture from its silk bed. When the box drops he doesn’t pick it up. Neither do I.

“We made this…” His voice is bleak, a pathetically pale imitation of itself.

“Yes,” I whisper.

He stares down at the sonogram. Shakes his head and groans. “Oh God, Faith. How could you not tell me? We created this together.”

My heart breaks in two. “We created it, but I lost it. I put it in danger and had it ripped from my belly because I thought I could take on a monster by myself.”

“God…” he repeats again. The picture shakes in his hand. “You should have told me,” he rasps.

---