Page 76 of Dirty Padraig: Dirty Dusters

“Something like that.”

“Something like that.” I let out a dry laugh. “If Sophia knew about Finian, then it wouldn’t surprise me if she also knew about Eoin and me right from the start.”

“I realize that.”

“And that she may also have formed her own suspicions over Molly’s disappearance. The fact that Molly was Eoin’s fiancé one minute and me the next.”

“I know that too.”

“And it never concerned you?”

“She’s family, Jaine.”

“You can’t trust a Ruocco! They’d stab each other in the back! Most of them are dead for that very reason!”

She doesn’t respond initially. She lets me lash out, then waits until I rein it back in.

“Luc was the don of the Sicilian mafia. No one was to know he would get ousted from his own organization. We did all the background checks, and there was nothing sinister going on. Theirs was considered a good match,” she says.

She’s right, of course. I was as surprised as the next person when Leo told me the breaking news of the Ruocco's imminent departure.

I rub my hand over my face.

“I’m sorry, Jaine. I pushed the girl. Perhaps too hard when her hatred of you was already apparent.”

I stare at her momentarily. She’s right about that too. The wound of disrespect was created when I told Sophia I hoped one day Irish would love her as much as he did me. I regretted the words the moment they left my mouth. “I stuck the knife in. You merely twisted it.”

There’s a silence, each of us lost in our own thoughts. We both have regrets, but we can’t alter the past.

“Is there anything else you need to get off your chest while we’re having this heart-to-heart, Roisin? If there is, speak now. I may not be in such a forgiving mood if I find something else out at a later date.”

She looks pensive for a moment. There is. What, I wonder?

Just as she’s about to speak, the front door opens and closes. It’ll be Duke with the kids.

“This conversation is not over,” I warn her.

She nods. The frown I’m wearing is quickly replaced by a happy smile just as Finian rounds the corner into the room.

“Hey, little big guy.” I scoop him up.

My thoughts then drift back to Irish. I haven’t seen him since the morning I bumped into Sophia.

I guess my confession really did change things between us. Either that or his past colliding with his future did.

* * *

I leanmy head back against the sofa and roll my eyes with a smile as I partake in a one-sided telephone conversation.

“Can you believe Mr. X-marks-the-spot was outside the house, partner?”

“He sure does get around, Jessie.”

“How did he get there so fast? It’s like he has some sort of sixth sense where the O’Connells are concerned.”

“I guess he was in the right place at the right time.” It’s not all a lie. There is an element of truth to that.

“I didn’t witness it personally because we were all tucked inside the safe space, but by all accounts, Eoin repaid one of his own debts by saving the sniper’s life.”

---