Page 92 of Toxic

I tilt my head up. For some crazy reason, I blurt out, "He's going to kill your gears."

Dante winces. "Probably. Now go inside."

Not sure what other options I have, I obey. I watch through the window as Dante's car stops and starts, moving several times before it disappears through the gates.

When all I see are the iron bars, I go into the library and pull up Killian's phone number. My stomach dives again, but I take a deep breath and call him.

"Bridget," he answers. "Everything okay?"

I cry out, "No. Sean's going to emancipate himself. He took off, but Dante made him go with him."

The line goes quiet.

"Killian? Are you there?" I ask.

He clears his throat. "Yeah. What happened?"

I sit down on the bench seat then admit, "Dante asked me to let Sean train with him. I said no. He...he says he's moving to Chicago."

Killian sighs. "We all told him not to do that. We insisted he finish high school in New York."

I close my eyes and lean my head against the wall. "I'm losing him. I don't know what to do."

"Let him box, Bridget."

I squeeze my eyelids tighter. Silence fills the line, and my heart pounds against my chest cavity.

"He's an O'Malley. It's what we do. It's in our blood. He needs an outlet. If Dante's working with him, he'll be fine," Killian states.

"He could get seriously injured."

Killian snorts. "Yep. And he can die in a car crash. Let him fight. You know if Sean were alive, this wouldn't be a conversation. Your son would be in a ring, and you'd be cheering him on."

More tears escape. My shoulders tremble, and I quietly say, "Yeah, but he's not, is he?"

Killian sniffs hard. "No. He's not. But we can't do anything about that, can we?"

"Sean would have protected him," I admit.

"So will Dante," Killian asserts.

I stay quiet, knowing in my heart that Dante would never intentionally let anything happen to my son, but it hits me that I feel like I'm somehow letting go of another piece of Sean.

"Bridget, hand him over to Dante and let him box," Killian orders.

I still don't speak. My heart seems to split further from the realization that part of this isn't about Sean getting hurt but about all the grief I can't seem to get over. I mumble, "Why does everything have to hurt so bad?"

Killian lowers his voice. "It's going to hurt worse if you don't keep Sean with you. Give him a win, Bridget. He needs it, and so do you."

I swallow more emotions and manage to get out, "Okay. Will you call him tonight? Convince him not to leave New York? Please?"

"Of course."

"Thank you. I-I know I don't deserve your help."

"Well, I'm sure we can spend hours dredging shit up, but I think at this point we have to move forward, don't you?"

My tears fall so fast, I can hardly speak. "Mmhmm."

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