Page 104 of Into Temptation

Cian is the world’s worst liar, which isn’t a bad thing. I just feel terrible that he’s in this position because of me.

I can hear her yelling at him through the phone before he yanks it away from his ear to see she’s hung up on him.

“Fuck,” he curses under his breath before putting his mobile away.

“I’m sorry, mate. If Amber is goin’ to be ragin’, then don’t worry about tomorrow.”

“She’ll be fine once everythin’ sorts itself out.”

“And until then?”

Cian sighs and slouches back in the seat. “Remember when life was easy?”

Laughing, I signal to change lanes. “When was that exactly?”

“Sure, this is it.”

“We’ve always been fightin’ for our lives in one way or another. But now, there’s no one to blame but ourselves.”

Cian nods, mulling over my statement. “Will ya speak with Rory before tomorrow?”

I know why he’s asking this.

If tomorrow turns to shite and we lose, then he wants to make sure I enter the afterlife with a clean conscience. And for Rory’s sake as well.

“I’ll try,” I reply. “But I don’t think he’ll want to speak to me. Sometimes, I think youse would have been better off if I’d died alongside Connor.”

“Don’tcha be sayin’ that shite,” he rebukes, shaking his head.

“It’s true. I’m not sayin’ it ’cause I want sympathy. But so many people have been hurt because of me.”

“Yer worried about tomorrow, are ya not?”

“Aye,” I confess. “Not for me, but for everyone else stickin’ their neck out for me. Cami wants to come, and I know I can’t stop her. But the thought of her being there makes me sick to my stomach.”

“Maybe ya can,” Cian says with caution as I turn to look at him.

“How so?”

“Everyone who is connected to us is in potential danger. They’ll be safer together. Cami, Rory, Hannah, Amber, Darcy, fuck, even Fiona, they’re all at risk of ending up where Ethan and Eva are. But together, they have a chance. Someone has to defend the kingdom we’re fighting so hard to protect.

“Rory and Cami are the strongest and street smart. They can protect our friends and also, yer home. If we sit down with them and explain that, they’ll listen. Well, I think.”

Tapping my fingers against the steering wheel, I ponder on what he just said. “Itmightwork, but for this to succeed, I’d need Rory on board, and after last night, I doubt he’s in a mood to do anything to help me.”

“But he’d do anythin’ to protect Cami,” he counters quickly because he’s right.

Rory may hate us both, but if push came to shove, he’d do the right thing. He’d do it because he loves Babydoll.

“Fuck. I hate this. Asking either of them is an arrogant request. Cami has every right to be there. And Rory has every right to tell me to go fuck myself.”

“He won’t, and Cami will see reason. Eventually,” he adds, making a pained face as he knows she’s going to lose her shite.

She will understand when I explain it, but I hate that I have to ask this of her. But Hannah is at risk, and if anything happens to her, I’ll never forgive myself for it. And neither will Babydoll.

Confronting Rory is far less scary than asking Babydoll, so I dial his number. I’m surprised when he answers.

“What the fuck do ya want?”

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