Page 54 of Deliver Us From Evil

This is the first time she’s admitted defeat. Is she tired of this? Ofus?

I get why she gave me the cold shoulder when she returned. She was held captive by the woman who gave birth to my son. It’s a lot to process. I thought giving her space would help. But have I pushed her away? I don’t understand anything anymore.

I wish I could take her back to my house, but I simply cannot. Sean will be watching the castle more than ever now. We have to be so careful.

“What hotel?” I ask, flinching at how harsh I sound. But I don’t know how to approach this. I don’t know how to speak to her without saying something wrong.

“Kavanagh’s Bed and Breakfast.” Before I can ask how she knows of this place, she adds, “It’s where I used to stay when I came back to Belfast to try to help you.”

There is no malice behind her words. Merely exhaustion. She’s been fighting for almost eleven years. I can’t blame her for being worn out.

I know the B&B well, so we drive there in silence.

Kavanagh’s is an 1800s family home on five acres of gardens. The white two-story home has been preserved to accommodate guests, but I don’t think Babydoll stayed here for the comforts. I guess the fact that it’s in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by nothing but silence, is the reason.

It saddens me that she mourned me so much that she too lost ten years of her life.

A part of me was angry with her for moving on with Rory, but Kavanagh’s is a sure sign she never really left. She was always hopeful something would change, that a miracle would unite us, but as years passed, she realized that was a fantasy.

Everything is so fucked up.

Although I’m out of prison, we’re still shackled to the past. So much has happened, and I wonder if maybe it’s too much to overcome. I thought our love could prevail everything—was I wrong?

The moment I put the truck into park, Babydoll opens the door without looking at me. But I can’t let her go. I switch off the engine and follow her as she walks toward the front door. She doesn’t acknowledge me. But she doesn’t send me away either.

When we step inside, an aul’ doll hobbles out from the elegant dining room, hands filled with cutlery. “Sorry, we’re—”

She soon stops when she sees Babydoll.

“Camilla.” She smiles broadly, her happiness clear. “Grand to see ye again. Yer needin’ a room?”

Babydoll nods. “Hi, Aine. I’m sorry I didn’t call and make a reservation. I understand if you’re booked out.”

“Hush, chile,” Aine says, shaking her head. “I told ye, yer always welcome here. Come.”

Aine places the cutlery onto a table before leading us through the home. She takes the stairs, our footsteps echoing on the wooden staircase. We walk down the hallway where Aine leads us to the door at the end.

She opens the door, and when I peer inside, the sadness I felt earlier returns. This isn’t a bedroom, but rather a small studio space fitted with a double bed, a small dresser, and a red leather recliner. The floor isn’t carpeted, and one would be forgiven for thinking this was used for storage because it’s hardly decked out with the luxuries one would expect to find in a bed and breakfast.

“I’ll leave ya fresh towels and linens in the bathroom. Call out if ye need me. If yer hungry, there are some sandwiches in the kitchen.”

Aine doesn’t acknowledge me, which has me guessing she knows I’m the reason Babydoll stayed in less than comfortable conditions for years. She closes the door, sealing us in.

The single bulb barely emits any light, and I think of Babydoll cooped up in here, endless nights alone, straining her eyes as she scanned over paperwork to help set me free. She didn’t want to stay anywhere lavish as I know she felt undeserving.

She wanted to suffer, knowing I was too.

“How’d ye know he was comin’ for you?”

Babydoll’s back is turned to me, but I don’t need to look at her to know she is hurting.

“When someone came to pick up Hannah and Ethan, I took a wild guess Sean was behind it. I suspected something like this would happen eventually. I went to Aoife’s, knowing the consequences. So why did you send Eva?”

I knew she would be mad at me.

“I needed to get ye out of there. It’s too dangerous.”

“And it’s not for my sister?”

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