Page 61 of Finn

“Thank you.” I smile as he leads me up to the house.

“Surprise!” The moment we enter, everyone shouts. Stunned, I take a step back and look around the room. Finn’s whole family is here, along with his aunt Bernie and Seamus. I feel the tears form as I take in the foyer and the kitchen behind everyone, and the sitting room to my right. Everything is decorated in blues and pinks. There is a table packed with presents, and behind the family, I can see the kitchen counter stacked with food.

I look at the girls. “You’ve thrown us a baby shower?”

The all laugh and shake their heads. Alex walks up to me, giving me a hug. “Nope. As much as we’d like to take credit for this, it wasn’t us. It was all the boys.”

Stunned, I look at Connor, Killian and Ronan. “You all…” They simply smile and nod.

Chapter 42

I had to carry her home after the baby shower, she was so exhausted that she actually fell asleep before Maddie, not that it shouldn’t surprise me. I may have overloaded the kid on ice cream and sweets, and I’ll be surprised if she slept at all last night. I thought Liv was going to punch me when she realised it was me that was loading Mads up.

What can I say, I’m a sucker for her baby blue eyes when she wants something. Although, I’m a little worried, given that Ronan threatened to do the same with my kid when it’s old enough.

Damn, I still can’t believe I’m going to be a dad. In a little under three months, my baby will be here, and I can’t fucking wait to have it in my arms. And I know my woman is hating being pregnant, but I can’t wait to knock her up again. Knowing she’s carrying my kid in her belly does something to me.

I’ve got shit to do today, but I don’t want to move. Lying here and having her trace her fingers around the reaper tattoo on my back, with the names under it, is oddly soothing.

I know she wants to talk about it, she’s asked me a couple of times, and I’ve always managed to sway the conversation.

I have no problem talking about Da and Aoife––it’s hurts don’t get me wrong––but it was so long ago I’ve come to terms with it. We all have. But not this. I’ve not talked to anyone about this. That day is ingrained in my brain like it was only yesterday.

“Will you tell me about him?” Her voice is so quiet that it startles me. I hadn’t realised she knew I was awake. Taking a deep breath, I turn over onto my back and slide up to a sitting position, pulling her to me and tucking her into my side.

“What do you want to know?”

“Anything. Everything. I didn’t really know him, but he was always so nice to me whenever I saw him.”

Shock ripples through me, and I look down at her. “When did you see him?”

“Whenever you guys had business with Da. The last time I saw him, he’d seemed different, quiet, like there was something on his mind. He’d been at the house and barely even acknowledged me.”

“When was that?”

“Mmm, I’m not sure, just a couple of months maybe before he di…”

“You can say they word, baby, I won’t break.”

We sit in silence for several minutes. I wonder what the hell was up with him. I look down at my woman, her head resting on my chest, her hands tracing around the tattoos on my stomach. She loves them. I’ve spent the last few months telling her the story behind all of them, all except the one on the one on my back she knows what the reaper represents, she knows the truth behind him. I’ve even told her the story of how Da and Aoife died, but not him. She knows he was killed but not by who. I realise that if I’m going to open it about it then I want it to be with her. I swallow the apple sized lump in my throat the cough to clear it.

“You know he was murdered, don’t you?”

“I do. Yes.”

“It was Liam.”

She bolts upright and turns to look at me. “What? You… your cousin Liam?”

I nod. “Yeah. Him and his right-hand man, J, broke into his house one morning, and they beat him before Liam shot him. I was picking him up that morning, and by the time I got there, they were gone, and Rory was barely breathing. I tried to save him… fuck me I tried, but there were so many injuries, there was so much blood… Rory managed to choke out one word, ‘Liam,’ before he took his last breath in my arms. I sat on that fucking floor of his kitchen for forty minutes while the paramedics tried to save him, all the while knowing that he couldn’t be saved.” I let out a sob, tears fall from my eyes, and my heart aches.

Cara crawls closer to me, wrapping her arms around me. “Oh, Finn, baby. Let it out, I’ve got you.”

I sit there, holding onto her, crying for over an hour while taking every little bit of strength she offers me.

Composing myself, I lean down, kissing her head. “Princess, there’s more. I need to tell you everything.”

And I do. I call my brothers, letting them know I won’t be at work today. I’d spent so long keeping the truth from her, trying to protect her from my family drama. I thought I was doing the right thing, but now I know I wasn’t. I just hope she doesn’t hold it against me.

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