Page 80 of Twisted Secrets
“She’s meeting us halfway.”
Smart. He glanced down to find that Hadleyhad fallen asleep, her tiny fists clenched in his shirt. Aside from being scared out of her mind, she didn’t seem to be injured, but that would have to be confirmed by the doctor, too. Either way, both she and her mama would recover.
And then what?
That was the question, wasn’t it?
The threat of Sergei had been effectively removed, but there was still Dmitri to think about. He wasn’t the type of man to take defeat lying down, and the O’Malleys had one-upped him twice now—three times if Cillian did what his father had asked of him. Dmitri would be coming, and he’d be coming for blood. That need for vengeance might encompass Olivia, or it might not—there was no way to tell until the hit came.
As long as she stayed with him, she was potentially in danger. He looked out the window, every fiber of his being trying to reject that truth, to find a way for them to be together that wouldn’t put her at risk.
There wasn’t one.
Even if he left with her, the full force of his father’s wrath would follow them, and then they’d have twice the enemies to dodge. Those weren’t great odds, not with the amount of money and power both the Romanovs and O’Malleys could bring to the table. She’d have a better chance of disappearing if it was just her and Hadley.
Fuck.
He didn’t want her to go. They’d only known each other a few weeks, but she’d completely rocked his worldview in that short amount of time. He couldn’t imagine his life without her in it.
You have to. For her. For Hadley. To do anything elseis unforgivable.
Olivia stirred, her eyes flying open and a gasp on her lips. “Hadley!”
“I’ve got her.” He gently pressed on her shoulder to keep her from lurching forward. “We’re safe. Sergei’s gone. How do you feel?”
“That’s a stupid question.” She touched her throat and winced. Then her gaze landed on Hadley, and the sheer love there rocked him.What would it be like if she looked atmethat way?He shut it down before it could take root. He’d already come to terms—as much as he ever would—that Olivia couldn’t be his. Torturing himself with what-if questions wasn’t going to do anything but make her inevitable leaving worse.
He passed over the sleeping toddler. “Careful. You took a few hits back there.”
“It was worth it.” She kissed Hadley’s head and closed her eyes. “We’re going back to Boston?”
“Yeah.”For now. He had to sit her down and talk about the escape plan he’d worked into place with the help of Teague, but now wasn’t the time. For one, Liam could hear everything they said. The man might be loyal to a fault, but he was loyal to the O’Malleys—not Cillian, and definitely not Olivia. He needed as few threads as possible connecting her new life with her old one, which meant the fewer people who knew about it, the better.
“Good.” She reached over and took his hand without opening her eyes. “I haven’t said ‘thank you’ yet. So thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. I’m part of the reason this happened.”
“No.” She pinned him with a look. “You have plenty of guilt to carry around, deserved or not. You don’t get this, too. I knew what the risks were every stepof the way, and even I didn’t see Sergei doing what he did. If you want to blame someone, blame him.” Her voice dropped. “You saved me, Cillian. Don’t take that away from either of us.”
It was too easy to step back into that room and see everything going down as if in slow motion. Sergei had been a big guy, but he looked even larger towering over her. Cillian shook his head, wishing he could shake the memory as easily. He was going to have nightmares for the rest of his life about what would have happened if he hadn’t gotten there in time. He squeezed her hand. “Try to rest. We’re meeting Doc Jones to get you and Hadley checked out.” Then he’d talk to her about the next step.
“Doc Jones. You spoil me.”
Despite everything, he grinned. “I remembered how much you liked her last time.”
“Smart-ass.” She gave a small smile and closed her eyes. This time, she didn’t open them again. He held her hand and listened to her breathe, and tried to tell himself that losing her was worth it as long as he knew she was alive and well in the world.
***
“You two are nothing but trouble.”
Olivia winced as Doc Jones tightened the bandage wrapped around her chest. The bullet had taken out a chunk of flesh, but it hadn’t so much as chipped a bone. And her throat was horribly bruised, but nothing seemed to be broken there, either. She had a few stitches and would have to be careful lifting Hadley for a little while, but it could have been so much worse.
She held her breath while thedoctor looked over Hadley, her gruff demeanor changing into something much softer. It felt like forever, but it was only a few minutes later that she looked up. “She’s still shaken and scared out of her mind, but aside from a few bruises, she’s physically fine. The best thing for her is going to be getting back into some kind of routine. Expect nightmares. They’ll pass, though.” Her blue eyes hardened. “The bastard that did this is dead?”
Cillian nodded. “Yeah.”
“Good. I can’t abide monsters who hurt kids.” She pushed to her feet, and pinned Olivia with a look. “Those stitches will have to be taken out, so make sure you either call me or go to your normal doctor. If you don’t, it’s going to be a mess, and there’s no damn reason for it.”
