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"How do you determine if they are innocent or not?"

I lift her chin back up to look at me. "It's not that hard mo chroi, you and I both know people who are truly evil can't hide it."

Her eyes flutter closed. "I didn't always know how to tell."

"I didn't either, I had to learn. Sometimes the hard way."

"Someone hurt you?" Her face scrunches up and I lean forward kissing her nose. The small piercing in it twinkles at me.

"Only once. What about you?" I try again.

"I don't want to talk about it." She's honest this time and I let it go.

After we eat our meal and I make sure she gets plenty of food I slip cash into the folder to pay as Giselle works with her backpack trying to get something out of it. When I notice it's her wallet, I grit my teeth. My molars ache from the force.

"Put it back Giselle," I order her, and she looks up at me.

Slipping from the booth I reach my hand down to take hers and she puts her wallet back and takes my hand. We move through the restaurant and are almost to the door when a woman I recognize as one of Aidan's past lovers moves toward me.

"Shane. Shane. Shane, it's been so long." Her long red fingernails brush my chest and I cringe back. With the hand not holding Giselle's I grip her wrist.

"Bianca don't touch me." I growl at her. She looks over my shoulder and sees Giselle standing there.

"Are you hanging out at the high schools now too? Both you and Aidan are going for the young girls. Is that so you can train them up." She spits. I feel Giselle trying to pull her hand from mine, but I tighten my grip just enough to keep her there.

"No, we found quality women who don't want us for money. Good evening." I push past her and pull Giselle along.

When I finally have her settled in the auto, she turns to me with a smile on her face. "Is that the kind of woman you and Aidan used to date? Did you date her at the same time?" She chuckles softly, it sounds musical, and I want to hear it more.

"No. I never dated her. Aidan did but when he found out she was sleeping with several other men and asked me too he dumped her. He didn't date before Fiona. He had acquaintances."

"And you?"

I turn in my seat and smile at her now. "Are you trying to ask if I was promiscuous?"

She bites her bottom lip pulling the corner in and I want to do that so much my teeth almost ache.

"Yes."

"I've had a few but not in a long time. I work a lot." I don't explain that a lot of women are repulsed by my scars. Some of the same scars that she has.

Chapter Three

GISELLE

Standing at the door to my flat I look up at Shane. He leans down and gently kisses me on the forehead. I love the feel of his lips against my skin, but I know that I'm going to have to make some decisions.

I enter the flat, close, and lock the door behind me. I hear him move away and make my way up to my room. I watch him get into his car and follow as he moves down the block to keep an eye on me. I need to get to the hot shop so I can lose myself in some glass and think about everything that is going on. I need to decide how long I'm going to give Declan to contact me. I know if Britain got any information from Mona, he'll be on his way here right away.

An hour later I've snuck out the back of the flat through the yards and I'm heading to campus. My professor gave me a key to get into the hot shop after hours. She knows that the need to work with the glass either blowing it or sculpting it is my way of working through things. I pull my hair up and wrap one of my bandanas that I leave here around my head to keep as much sweat out of my eyes as possible. The glory hole that we fire our glass in is already on because I messaged my professor to let her know I was coming by.

The piece is coming to form and I'm in love with the colors as they blend together. As light goes through the glass it will reflect in beautiful rainbows. Working on the piece for the last couple hours has given me time to come up with some decisions. I'm going to start looking for a job and saving money so I can move on my own. I hate to leave in the middle of my degree, but I have no choice. Eventually I'll be able to transfer my credits maybe. Or I'll open a glass shop. Or work in a glass factory.

I put the piece in the annealer, a machine that slowly lowers the temperature of the glass piece without breaking it. Moving back to my station I take a big swig of water from my jug before I pour some over my head to cool me off. The hot shop is really hot, that's one of the reasons it's called that. The glory holes where we fire our glass are between 1900 and 2300 degrees Fahrenheit. My mother got me into glass blowing when I was in middle school because it was what she did. She was an artist too. After I got sent to Chicago for recovery and was dealing with my pain med addiction, I got back into it and I'm glad I did. It's been the place where I can shut down the voices and memories.

I sneak back to my flat and into my room where I crawl into bed and finally fall asleep. The dreams and memories still come but I'm able to get at least a couple hours of sleep due to the exhaustion.

When I wake up Moira is waiting for me because on Tuesday's we go to campus together. Since Fiona has married Aidan and lives with him, Moira and I've gotten closer. It's hard because I have to hide so much from her, but she misses Fiona a lot and she is still a close friend. I hate that I have to lie to her and hope someday I can be honest with her.