Page 58 of Pints & Potions

“Since the accident, since the loss of his mother, Aeden has been getting worse.”

“Tell me something I don’t already know, why don’t ya,” he snapped.

“Shh. You’ll wake Carrick,” she scolded with a dark frown.

She winced and touched her scarred cheek as if the change in expression hurt. Perhaps it did. The angry mark had been a devastating blow to her legendary beauty; blinding one eye to the point the iris was leeched of color and her pupil was cloudy. The scar dragged down the entire right side of her face.

“And you don’t want him to realize you’re stalking his family?”

“Yes…no!I’m not stalking…” She trailed off, and she must’ve realized she had no effective way to convince Cian differently. He’d caught her in the act. “All isn’t as it appears, Cian,” she said. The pain in her voice almost convinced him of her sincerity, but he’d dealt with lying women in the past.

“Get you gone, Meghan, and don’t let me find you here again.”

“Cian—”

“No!” He said harshly. “I’ll not accept excuses and lies. Stay away from Aeden. He doesn’t need your toxicity.”

“What’s going on out here?”

Cian and Meghan hadn’t heard Carrick open the door, and as a result, he startled them both. Cian was the first to recover and shot Meghan a furious glare. “I found her skulking about.”

“R—uh, Meg?” Carrick didn’t sound as mad as Cian would’ve expected, nor did he look as angry. Instead, his brother’s eyes darkened with confusion, hunger, and something that appeared remarkably like love.

Cian’s heart beat faster. It would be difficult to dig out Meg’s claws once she got them into Carrick.

“Carrick, I…” She shrugged and looked at him with mute appeal.

The unspoken apology in Meghan’s voice surprised Cian, and he didn’t quite know how to react to this softer side of her. He’d only ever seen the gorgeous but spiteful woman who’d gotten what she deserved; a savage, ugly mark on the outside to mirror what was in her nasty heart.

As Carrick and Meghan stared at one another, their unspoken communication bothered Cian. When he had his brother alone again, he intended to beat some sense into him. No way would he allow Carrick to fall under this evil hag’s spell.

“Go away, Meg,” Cian ordered with a warning edge.

Carrick glared at him. “Stay out of it, Cian. It’s none of your concern.”

Shock caused Cian to take a step back. The fury radiating from his brother disconcerted him. “Carrick—”

“I mean it. You don’t have a clue what’s going on, and I’ll thank you to stay out of my personal life.”

“You’d let this minger into your life—into Aeden’s life—knowing she’s the reason Roisin is dead?” Cian’s voice shook with his disbelief and rage. Like the rest of the family, Roisin’s death had hit him hard. The polar opposite of Meghan, Roisin brought light and laughter with her wherever she went. “Are you mad, man?”

Carrick surged forward, fists at the ready.

Meghan stepped between them and placed a hand on Carrick’s chest over the area of his heart. “Don’t. He doesn’t know, Carrick.”

“Know what?” Cian demanded, mindful of the fact Piper had joined them. “Tell me, Meghan, what don’t I know? Have you been carrying on an affair? How long has this been going on? Before Roisin’s death?”

Pain and frustration crowded Carrick’s visage and his lips tightened as he met Meghan’s wary gaze.

“You made me promise,” Cian heard Meghan whisper. “You’d best be sticking to it, too.”

“Promised what?” Cian snapped. “What is going on?”

With a choked sob, Meghan turned on her heel and fled into the darkness.

Carrick’s tortured gaze strained to see her even as the black night shielded her from view. Finally, he released a shuddering sigh and faced Cian, casting Piper only a cursory glance. “Stay out of my business, brother, and go home.”

“I can’t do that, Brother. I’ll not let you make the same mistake I made with Moira.”

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