Page 61 of Aidan

Aidan moves before I can guess his intent and pulls me in his arms. “Then we’ll go together. The five of us. Start over somewhere as Mr. and Mrs. Broderick. Da will understand.”

Tears spill from my eyes as I clutch him tightly and bury my face in his chest. The fact he’s willing to leave all this should make me feel better. But it doesn’t. I push away from him and at first he doesn’t release me, but I push harder until he does. “I can’t ask you to do that.”

“You’re not asking,” he points out.

“This is your family. Here is where you belong. With them. You wouldn’t be happy living somewhere else. In the end, you’d resent me for taking you away from them.”

Aidan straightens and a fierce light enters his eyes. “Youare my family. You, Kellen, Carson, and Aisling. I belong wherever it is that you are. You’re mywife, Sorcha. I made a vow to you. One I meant with every breath in my body.”

God, this is killing me. I want nothing more than to ignore what my brain says and only listen to my heart. But I can’t do that.“I’m not saying we’re done. I’m just saying I need time to think before I make any decisions about the future. The future of my kids. Please give it to me.”

Several seconds pass before resignation settles in his eyes and his shoulders drop in defeat. He takes a small step forehead, presses a kiss to my forehead, and moves back, releasing his hands from mine. “I’ll go sleep in another room tonight.”

I nod. “Thank you.”

Aidan walks out without a goodbye and closes the door behind him. My chest burns and I collapse onto the bed burying my hands in my face. Sobs pour from my throat. I grab a pillow to try and stifle them. This is my wedding night. I’m supposed to be spending it making love with my husband again and again all night long. Instead, I sob for what could be hours. The headache that had only slightly eased is back in full force. It’s like someone is taking a jackhammer to my brain. My leg throbs and between the two of them, the pain’s enough to make me want to vomit.

Once I’ve cried all the tears I’m going to, at least for the moment, I wash my face in the bathroom and climb under the blankets. God, they smell like Aidan. I pull his pillow to me and breathe in his scent. My eyes close and far sooner than I expected, I drift off.

* * *

My eyes flyopen and I jackknife up to sitting as my heart pounds. I glance around and it takes a minute for my harsh breathing to calm. I palm my chest to try and slow it. What woke me? Memories of gunfire and faceless demons haunted my sleep. Aisling screamed more than once in the middle of the night. Each time, Aidan was right there, having rushed in from where he slept. Although, other than the time he reached her first, I’m the one she clung to for comfort.

The pounding is back at the base of my skull and my eyes are gritty like sandpaper. I blink a few times to clear my vision. It’s still and quiet. Judging by the light filtering through the shutters, it’s later than I normally wake up. I throw back the blankets and climb out of the bed for the bathroom. I wash the sleep off my face and get dressed. The bandage over my wound is clean, so at least it’s stopped bleeding. It’s still a bit achy, but nothing like yesterday.

My rumbling stomach reminds me it’s been since early evening when I last ate. I stop at Aisling’s room first, but she’s not there. I’m not too concerned, yet. Instead of stopping in the kitchen first, I make my way upstairs to check on Kellen and Carson. They’re both sleeping in Kellen’s bed. Still no Aisling. That panicked sensation bubbles up in my stomach and I hurry down the stairs toward the kitchen. As I pass through the dining room, I glance outside and stop.

Seated at the table is Aidan’s cousin-in-law Lucia. Her gaze is focused out on the sprawling manor landscape. Running around and chasing each other are Aisling and Lucia’s eldest son, Enzo. The pair met yesterday, but hit it off talking about art and drawing. On their heels is her middle son, Eoin. I step outside and Lucia turns her head toward me. She waves and smiles. I cross the patio until I reach her.

“Good morning.” She tips her head, gesturing toward where the kids are running around. “I thought I’d bring Enzo with me today to maybe provide a much needed distraction. Of course, where Enzo goes, Eoin has to go as well. He idolizes his older brother and follows him everywhere.”

“That’s kind of you. It will probably do Aisling some good to have something to keep her mind off yesterday.” It’s a sweet gesture, but also a bit confusing. She’s Aidan’s relative, and yes, her son is the same age as Aisling, but we all barely know each other.

“Did Aidan tell you I used to live in London working at the British Museum?” Lucia asks, her gaze still trained on the kids.

“No, he didn’t. Just that you work for the National Museum here in Dublin.”

“I was in London for six years. Hiding.”

Hiding?

She finally faces me. “Years ago when I was in my early twenties, I’d been engaged to a young man that was part of our family’s…organization. Aidan probably mentioned that my distant cousin Emilio is married to his cousin Brenna.”

I shake my head. “No, he didn’t mention that. About you and Emilio being related, I mean. He did tell me that Brenna was married to the most powerful man in Brooklyn.”

Lucia chuckles. “It’s always funny to hear that, because it sounds great, right? Power. Money. Influence. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of that, right?”

She’s laughing, but I sense a hint of sarcasm behind it. “It does sound tempting.”

“It does. And it tempted Michele. He was one of Emilio’s soldiers and wanting to work his way up the ranks. We had our lives all planned out. Until he went on a raid and was killed.” Lucia pauses and swallows. “I’d been devastated. And furious. I hated everything the mafia represented and wanted nothing to do with it. So, I left.”

“To London.”

She nods. “To London. I didn’t tell a single soul where I was. I came back a few times over the years. Before I left though I attended a family wedding. One in particular. Where I met this far-too-young-for-me eighteen-year old Irishman who swept me off my feet. We danced and flirted and then I ran away back to London. Three years later, we met again. This time a bit more than flirting happened, but I didn’t discover the consequences of thatmore than flirtinguntil a few months later.”

Lucia’s gaze shifts back to the kids. In my head, I do the math. Nathan appears to be around thirty and she around forty. I’m guessing then that Enzo was the result of their more than flirting. Why is she telling me all this? She turns to me again with a sad smile.

“I was terrified. I’d been running from the mafia and all the danger it represented for years. Then, there I was. Pregnant. The father of my child was in the same kind of organization I’d run away from years earlier. I kept Enzo’s parentage secret for three years. I didn’t even tell my niece, who’s my best friend. I thought it was safer that way. There was no way I was going to allow my son to grow up in danger. I’d already lost one person I’d loved to the violence that comes with being a part of a family like ours. I refused to let my son be killed one day.”

---