Page 1 of Surrender
Chapter 1
Dear Gwen,
If you’re reading this, it means I’ve run out of time.
There’s something you don’t remember, something I should have told you long ago. You have a sister, Darcie. The two of you were once close, though that was a lifetime ago.
I know this may come as a shock. What you choose to do with this information is entirely up to you. But you deserved to know, to be reminded that you are not alone in this world. Darcie has a good heart, much like yours, even if you’ve walked different paths.
I had hoped to tell you myself, but fate had other plans. But now you know. That’s what matters.
Your Loving Father,
Cian
Gwen McKenna chewed the corner of her lip, tapping her pen steadily against her polished desk. Loving father indeed. It was just like him to leave such a brief, and only faintly heartfelt, letter. He never had been one for sentimentality. Not to mention that it was because of him that she was alone.
The report from her private investigator lay open in front of her, print crisp and clinical. She skimmed it until the line stopped her cold: Darcie O'Brian nearly died in childbirth.
Well. That was that, then.
Even Gwen who was childless and alone couldn’t bring herself to chase down a woman who had just come that close to dying. Not now. Not while Darcie was weak, tucked in somewhere under warm blankets, surrounded by the pity and love Gwen had never had.
No, Gwen wanted answers but, it seemed that they would have to wait.
Then she flipped the page.
The next section vaguely detailed the rest of the O’Brian clan. And that’s when she saw him: Keefe O’Brian.
He had truly sparkling Irish-blue eyes and a grin that could disarm a fight, lighten a room, or make you wonder what you missed. Gwen found herself staring at the photo a beat too long. Much too long.
She shook her head, ordering herself to stop staring. For God’s sake you would think she had never seen a handsome face before.
Gwen lifted the photograph and looked closer. He would be harmless, surely.
Well, there was no reason she couldn’t enjoy herself a little while digging for the truth.
Cian had died protecting Darcie. That much the report confirmed.
While Gwen had never held any illusions about her father—he was what he was—he’d always shown her a sliver of something close to love. In his own way.
He made sure she never wanted for anything—except affection, that is. More than one birthday had passed without so much as a phone call. Gifts, yes. Always gifts. Christmases came and went with only a wire transfer, even though all she really wanted was to be home.
But once, after a nasty fall during her first year of boarding school, a box of imported Belgian chocolates arrived in the mail with no note. Another time, a professor who had reduced her to tears in class disappeared from the faculty roster before the semester ended. Cian never acknowledged either event. But she knew it had been him. And for a moment—just a moment—she’d let herself feel special.
She hadn’t realized how much that mattered until now. Now that she was alone and there wasn’t a single person left who gave even the slightest damn about her.
Gwen wanted answers and Keefe O’Brian looked like the perfect place to start.
Chapter 2
Keefe O’Brian taped shut a box labeled “Drop This and Die” and carried it to the entryway, where the rest of his sister’s belongings were already stacked. It wasn’t a large pile—Sophie hadn’t brought much with her when they moved to Ireland—but that didn’t make it any less imposing. Not because of the size, but because of what it meant.
It was the end of a chapter he’d thought would last longer. Maybe it wasn’t what every brother and sister would want, but he and Sophie weren’t like every brother and sister. Sure, they fought like demons—both for and with each other—but they always made up. At the end of the day, Sophie was his best friend, really. Although they didn’t live in each other’s pocket, they had spent the majority of their lives together—not out of obligation, but love. They consulted each other on nearly everything. In fact, there was hardly a memory worth remembering that didn’t involve Sophie.
He exhaled slowly, rubbing the back of his neck. The walls of the house already felt emptier, as if they knew she was leaving. In some backwards way, he almost regretted nudging Sophie and Liam back together. But then he’d seen the way she lit up around him, how the laughter reached her eyes again, and Keefe couldn’t begrudge her that happiness. Like flowers and sunshine, they belonged together.
Still. There it was—that dull, sinking weight in his chest.
