Page 81 of Hateful Union

“Go,” he growls

I sigh, he’s going alone. Fuck. I turn on my heel and walk back toward the house. Instinctively reaching for my phone. I need to call Raylee and get her on a plane. I can’t go home yet. I’ve got at least another week here in Dublin before that can happen and there’s no way I’m being away from her that long.

“You doing okay son?” Jerry asks as I walk back into the house after speaking to Raylee.

Nichola hands me a glass of whiskey. “Drink this, you’ll need it.”

“I’m grand,” I tell him and it’s the truth. This has been a long time coming, only now, she’s finally gotten what she deserves.

I look at Nichola and her husband Eric. “I’m sorry—”

Eric holds up his hand. “Malcolm, this isn’t your fault. We do not blame you, nor do we blame your father.”

Nichola glares at her husband.

Eric sighs. “Your aunt is upset that Callie didn’t tell her about any of this and now add in the baby, she’s hurt.”

I understand that. From everything I’ve learned about the O’Hara and Houlihan families, they’re extremely close knit and finding out about Callie and my da this way must have been a shock.

“Anyway,” Nichola begins, changing the subject. “I’m so glad that you came.” She pulls me into her arms and hugs me tight. “I’m so happy to meet you.”

I glance at Jerry and then to Eric.

“Babe,” Eric says, failing to stifle his laugh. “Let the man go. You’re freaking him out.”

Nichola releases me instantly. “I’m doing no such thing,” she hisses. “He deserves to know just how much we adore that he’s here.”

“I think he got it Nic,” Jerry says, his lips twitching.

“I appreciate it,” I tell her and wish that my da would hurry up and get rid of ma so I can get out of here before I’m hugged again.

“Come on son, let’s go to the office and drink. Nic and Eric are going home.” Jerry’s tone brooks no argument.

My phone buzzes and I pull it from my pocket and see it’s from Raylee.

Raylee: Flight leaves at eight am. I’ll see you soon x

I sigh in relief. She’ll be here within the day.

The sooner the bloody better.

Epilogue

Malcolm

One Year Later

The baby monitor sounds as Mayer begins to wail. Raylee releases a heavy sigh as she throws the sheets off her body, her feet swinging out of the bed. I feign sleep, needing her to be the one to see to our six-month-old son.

I’ve never felt as nervous as I do at this moment. I’ve waited for this day for a long time. My heart feels as though it’s about to beat out of my chest with each minute that passes. Then I hear the sharp intake of breath over the baby monitor. “Oh, baby boy,” she whispers, her voice filled with awe. “What has your father done? Huh?”

She begins to hum to him as she does whenever she changes his nappy or feeds him. Seeing Raylee with Mayer, it makes me fall even further in love with her. She’s everything that my ma wasn’t.

The past year has been crazy. I met my biological father. Jerry Houlihan is a decent man, but he’s not my father. I know that it pains him to know this, but I can’t help that. Denis Gallagher will always be my da. Always. Nothing or no one is ever going to change that.

Not only have I met Jer, my entire family has also. They all got along, although Ma didn’t help. Da’s woman, Callie, is my cousin—Jer’s niece. So Ma picked the wrong woman to fuck with. Lucky for us, her shit ended and she’s not able to project her shit onto any of us again. I’m glad that Da’s got her out of his life. She fucked with him for a long time without any repercussions. She should have realised that there was only so much you can push someone before they snap and paying some thugs to beat the fuck out of Callie was the tipping point for Da.

Since that fucking day, my men are not to leave Raylee’s side. Once she was discharged from the hospital I spoke to my men. The fucking idiot was on a fucking piss break. They had decided that as she was in my penthouse that she was safe with only one guard. I wanted to kill each and every single one of them for their incompetence. But, they were wrecked knowing that their mistake could have cost Raylee her life and for that alone, I let them live. Since then, they’re extremely protective of her and Mayer. She’s not allowed to be alone. She’s to have four men on her at all times. She doesn’t complain, she knows that we all need the peace of mind.

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