Page 48 of Thorns of Deceit
All of this seemed to be too much to grasp.
“If he’s in jail, why do we need to run?” I continued to question.
A bitter laugh slipped from her lips, sharp and humorless, while her eyes continued to reflect terror. “He was released ten years ago.” She snickered. “It would seem the Scottish mobster was released on good behavior and went back to Scotland to run his empire while his goons searched the world for me.”
Slowly, her fear started to make sense.
“Did you turn him in because he was a… mobster?”
The word tasted strange, old-fashioned, too small for the damage it described. Maybe my morals were warped, but I wouldn’t have done it. Blood and fear ran thicker than justice, at least for me. And if she really had turned him in, then Aiden didn’t stand a chance.
“I turned him in because he was an abusive bastard, and sooner or later, he was going to kill me. And you… He’d fucking use you to gain more power.” Relief washed over me for Aiden’s and my sake. If my father was abusive and hurt her, she had every right to betray him. “And now you married a fuckingmobster who’s more than keen to use you in the same way, so you’ve signed your death warrant.”
“No, Aiden will protect me…usfrom everything.” I lifted my finger. “Look, he got me a ring.”
“They’re all the same, and his uncle Jack was very clear. The only reason they didn’t kill you is because you’re a Lyons, but that protection doesn’t extend to me.”
“No…” I breathed out, my heart beating so loud I couldn’t hear anything else.
“Why did you lie to me, baby?” Mom’s voice wasn’t laced with accusation, only resignation. “Why would you go and work at a strip club that was owned by the Irish mafia?”
My shoulders slumped, guilt sinking its claws into me.
“I thought it’d be a faster way to make money,” I admitted. “But I wasn’t… stripping, and I haven’t been working there for two weeks now.”
She let out a bitter laugh. “Since the night you married Aiden Callahan.”
“Yes.” I swallowed. “I really thought I was doing the right thing. I’m so sorry, Mom.”
“It’s my fault,” she mumbled as she resumed her pacing. “I was so intent on forgetting, and I failed you.”
I shook my head.
“You didn’t fail me, Mom. You’ve been doing it all alone and I…” I shoved my hands into my hair, tugging on it as if an idea would come that would save us from this predicament. “Maybe we can negotiate? I witnessed the Callahans killing a mayor, so we use that to keep us both safe.”
“We blackmail them?”
“Yes.”
“Raven, we cannot blackmail mobsters,” she said exasperated. “It’s a certain way to get yourself killed. I’m already dead, but you… We have to save you.”
“No, no, no,” I protested. “I’ll appeal to Aiden and make him see that the only way to have me is to make sure you’re safe and with us.” That would work. It had to. After all, he’d been nothing short of considerate so far. “He brought up moving you to a nicer place, closer to his penthouse.”
“To a fucking gravesite!”
There was too much information being thrown my way and I was struggling to process it. “You said Lyons. What did you mean?”
“That’s our last name, Raven.” A sob caught in her throat and tears ran down her face. “I’m Duncan Lyons’s wife, Glasgow’s most notorious mobster, and you’re his daughter.”
“I’ve n-never heard of him,” I stuttered. “And I think I’d know if my last name was Lyons.”
“Under the federal witness protection program, we were given new identities. But your stupid marriage put us back on the radar! You’ve doomed us both.”
I was going to be sick.
Mom came to stand in front of me and put her hands on her hips.
“You need to get the fuck out of here before Duncan shows up.”
