Page 75 of Weaponized

Another click and Anthony has us in her living room. “This may be something,” he offers. We see Gráinne stroll in, put her backpack down, pick up her phone and I tense.

“Hey, baby. You’re probably working out. Just call me when you’re done. I just miss you already. Okay. I love you. Bye.”She is smiling wistfully out her window. No hint of deception at all. She stretches and I see a hint of her flat stomach as her shirt rides up.“Okay, I should definitely put something in the oven. Big guy’s always hungry after the gym.”She’s talking to herself. She seems…happy.

I must make some sort of noise, because Anthony stops the video. “Uh, I—I don’t know what we should do to sort through all this.” He seems so uncomfortable.

I don’t offer any advice. I can feel my body beginning to quake. I tell myself that I won’t start crying in front of my family but my throat has closed up and my eyelids burn. How am I supposed to watch our relationship play out on-screen like this?

“Just stick to her living room and fast-forward through until you see signs of phone calls or her brother. We’re only looking to see if she was gathering intelligence on us. Reporting it,” my dad instructs.

For nearly two hours, I’m tortured by scenes flashing by quickly,of Gráinne and me hanging out, laughing, studying, talking, teasing. Her in my lap. Her getting pissed at me for dragging mud inside. Me kissing her as she tries to study. They go at a rapid pace as Anthony fast-forwards. The level of awkwardness is unbearable. He stops a few times for phone calls. Lots with me and Elizabeth. Some with Taryn that always seem to bring out my girl’s laugh. A few with her sister and mother. Only a couple with Rowan. Not a one of them is significant. Not a single one.

“She certainly loves Lizzie,” my dad comments. It’s true. We hear several calls where she tells Lizzie how great she is and that “she’s got this” and to come talk to her if she’s feeling down. How she shouldn’t listen to her dumb bitch of a stepsister. Those were Gráinne’s exact words. Ant tries to fast-forward through those, but Matteo always stops him. I say nothing, because what is there to say?

I watch while she and Rowan discuss her sister in one conversation. In another, he asks her about Thanksgiving coming up, and she shudders.

“I don’t want to go there, Row. But, how else will we see Maeve? He’s also going to ask me about Luca. I don’t want that, and I am definitely not taking him there. It’ll be over my dead body that he ever goes in that house. This is such a cluster.”

“You just have to keep Da thinking you are doing what he wants, G. Don’t make it harder than it has to be.”

She sighs and changes the subject. What does all that mean?

Finally, after nearly three hours, we come tothephone call. The one Gianni played for me. This time I see the video to go with it.How Gráinne looks sick when she shows her brother who is calling. I watch as she transforms. Shoulders back, chin up. Deep breath. She answers and I hear exactly the same conversation that I’ve heard before. Her “soldier voice” as Anthony called it. It looks different after seeing the video. But, it’s the next part that brings me to my knees.

“It’s just a little longer, deirfiúr,” Rowan says. “I’m almost there. You just need to string Da along a little longer. Let him think you’re playing his game. You’re doing great. He has no idea what’s really happening.”

“IloveLuca,” she replies vehemently. “I will do anything to protect him, Rowan. Anything. If I have to lie, cheat, or steal from Da, I will. But, I will not let him hurt Luca or anyone he loves. Ever. So you need to get whatever this plan is in motion, because if I need to kill Da in his sleep myself, I will do it.” She’s fuming, and sweet Jesus, she’s serious. Her eyes flash; her beautiful face scowls.

Rowan tries to reassure her. Explains he has allies against their father. When she asks why her father hates my family so much, her brother explains how my dad won a building in a game of poker.

“Holy shit,” Anthony pronounces.

“What plan does her brother have?” Matteo asks.

“That girl is in love with you,” my dad tells me.

I put my head in my hands. Shewasin love with me. Past tense. I ruined it all.

We watch in awe as my angel and her brother brainstorm ways to rid the world of her father. I feel nauseous. I accused her of feeding him information. Of betraying me.

Next, I see my brother pay her a visit on the video.Matteo tells Ant to fast-forward. “I already told you all this. This is where she told me about the guys her father picked out.”

“Play this,” I growl at my cousin. He does and I watch her tell my brother how much she loves me and how it would be easier if she didn’t. He asks her if she’s afraid of her father. Her eyes reveal that she is. They agree I don’t need to know any of this. She berates him about Lizzie on his way out the door.

I stand up and realize my legs are shaky. “I think we’ve all seen enough. She may not have told me everything”—my voice breaks a little and I clear my throat—“but she wasn’t working against us.”

“I’m sorry, brother.” Matt comes over to me. “We’ll find a way to fix this.”

I shake my head. There’s no fixing it. I broke us beyond repair.

Gráinne

Rowan comes back hours later with a pizza and a scowl. “You called Nolan Walsh?” he asks through gritted teeth. “I’d love to know how that happened, Gráinne, with you staying put, not having a phone and all.”

I shuffle uncomfortably. “Um, I jogged over to Taryn’s and asked to use her phone. I called her oldest brother. His name wasn’t Nolan, though.”

My brother slams the pizza box on his counter. “I don’t even know where to start with you. Is it so hard to follow orders? How am I supposed to protect you?” he shouts.

I yell right back, “I’ve been following orders my whole life and look how well that’s worked out for me! Did it ever occur to you that maybe I can think for myself? Maybe I need to protect you too?”

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