Page 62 of Stolen Mafia Vows
“Emily, I didn’t want to be the one to tell you. I’d give anything to?—”
But she finds the strength to push me away from her, and unfolds herself from my embrace, flinching when the rain hits her again. “Why not? You should’ve been the one to tell me, Eoghan. We’re married in case you’ve forgotten.” She spins Gran’s ring around her finger without thinking about it.
She’s right. Everything I’ve withheld from her—whatever my intention—has chipped away at her trust in me. And now thather dad has wedged a knife in the crack, it’s going to take a whole lot more than an apology to glue it back together.
All I can do now is grovel.
“I didn’t want it to change anything between us. I didn’t want you to think that I blame your family for what happened.”
“Don’t you?” She swipes water from her eyes. “Don’t you want revenge? An eye for an eye. Isn’t that how it works in the mafia?”
“I don’t want a war, Emily. If I retaliate, that’s what will happen.”
“What will happen to Caleb?” Her voice breaks, and my chest gapes wide open at the sound.
“I just need a chance to speak to him, Emily. To find out what went wrong. This wasn’t supposed to happen. It was meant to be amicable.”
“So, you knew about the meeting.” Her eyes harden, filled with accusation.
“Yes, but?—”
“You said you didn’t know that I was a Murray until after your father came back.”
“I didn’t, but I?—”
“What else did you lie about, Eoghan?” I sense her pulling away from me even though she hasn’t moved. “Was marrying me part of the plan?”
“No. I married you because I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Emily. Please believe me. I would never hurt you. I’d rather cut my own fucking heart out than hurt you.”
“But you’re quick enough to blame my brother when something goes wrong.”
My sole purpose right now is to prove how much Emily means to me, but my gut still twists at the mention of Caleb murdering my brother.
“Ruairi arranged to meet Caleb. Alone. That was the condition.”
“That’s your proof? Where are your witnesses, Eoghan? What did my brother achieve by killing Ruairi when he could’ve simply refused to meet him?”
Emily knows nothing about her family business, or mine, but she has the same niggling doubts that I had when my Pa told me Caleb Murray killed my brother.
“I’ll find out the truth, Emily. I promise I will do everything in my power to prevent this from escalating out of control. I’ll protect Caleb myself if I can.”
“Protect him from whom?” Her voice has risen a notch, and I know that I’m losing her. “From your dad? From the rest of your mob or whatever you call yourselves? Why should I even believe you when you’ve been lying to me since we met?”
Her family has been lying to her all her life but now is not the time for deflecting the blame. I keep my voice steady. “I never lied when I said I loved you, Emily. I never lied when I made my vows to protect you with my life.”
“Ugh!” She throws her hands up in the air in pent-up frustration. “They’re just words, Eoghan. They’re just fucking words, and I don’t know who to believe anymore.” When I try to touch her, she snaps, “Don’t! Don’t come anywhere near me. Do you want to know what my dad said about me? He said I was gullible, and I’m starting to think that he was right.”
“Don’t say that about yourself, Emily. You’re not gullible. You opened yourself up and let me in, and that takes courage, more courage than most people I know possess. It’s one of the reasons why I love you.”
She stands there, motionless, for the longest time, watching me while she tries to reassemble her emotions. Then, just when I think that she believes me, that she’s ready to come home with me and start over, she takes a step backwards, and my heart plummets to the ground.
“It’s over, Eoghan.”
I wish the wind, and the rain, would snatch the words and carry them away to somewhere no one would hear them. But no, they deliver them straight to my core and leave them bouncing around inside me like a persistent echo.
“Don’t do this, Emily, please. I love you.”
She shakes her head, avoiding eye contact. “Don’t try to follow me.” Her breathing is shallow, and I’m reminded of the way she panted when I made her come on the beach for the first time. “If-if you truly love me, you’ll let me go.”
