Page 65 of Into Temptation

“Cami and I…we’re not brother and sister,” I declare, and the truth has never felt sweeter. “Connor wasn’t my father. But neither is Brody. Sean is my dad.”

He blinks once, obviously surprised by my admission. I don’t blame him. No matter how many times I say it, I still have a hard time believing it.

“Are ya sure?” he asks when he can finally speak.

“Aye. I’ve got it in Sean’s handwritin’. He set me up. He also killed my ma.”

“Fucking hell,” Rory gasps, shaking his head and turning white.

I go on to tell him the full story, leaving out the details of Babydoll and me. That’s her story to tell. Once I’m done, Rory is sitting on the edge on my sofa, interlacing his fingers in front of his mouth.

I know it’s a lot to take in, so I let him process it while I dig into my pocket for my phone and send Babydoll a simple message.

I’m sorry.

I don’t expect a reply, but I’ll continue apologizing for the rest of my life.

“I can’t believe this.” Rory suddenly jumps like the couch is on fire and starts pacing the room.

I stand back and wait as I realize he may need some time. But when he stops in front of me, that spark reigniting behind those eyes, I know he’s made his choice.

“There’s no way yer doin’ this alone,” he states with conviction. “I’m sorry for bein’ such a buck eejit. I failed ya. I was supposed to be here for ya.”

“I won’t be havin’ that,” I say, cutting him off. “There’s nothin’ for ya to be sorry for. Ya wanted to live yer life. I wanted that for ya.”

“I know, but I let ya down. I should have fought harder.”

I don’t know in what context he is referring to. Fought harder not to fall in love with the woman I love? Regardless, none of that matters.

“What’s the craic?” Cian asks, but when he sees Rory, he looks between us frantically.

“What’s happened now?”

“Why didn’t ya tell me all this?” Rory asks Cian, who pulls in his lips, weighing over what to say.

“It wasn’t his place to tell ya,” I answer for Cian because it’s the truth. “Things weren’t right between us. But I want to be honest with ya. No more lies.”

A look I can’t place comes over Rory. “Does Cami know?”

I simply nod but won’t elaborate any further.

“Fuck,” he curses under his breath.

Without a doubt, he’s wondering if she knew this before or after she ended their engagement.

“I can’t deal with that right now,” he reveals. “But if I get to hurt someone today, then please count me in.”

Cian is still in the dark about what happened with Brody, so I fill him in as I did with Rory. Once he’s up to speed, he nods firmly.

“Aye, I second that, Rory. It’s time to spill some fuckin’ blood.”

On cue, I get a notification on my phone. I have an email and a text message.

The email is from Darcy. She came through. I now have a list of all the properties that belong to Brody. I also have “places of interest.”

The text message is from a number I don’t recognize.

Check yer letter box.

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