Page 70 of Villainous Soul

“The information you asked for on Donovan Sullivan. I’m afraid it’s worse than we thought.”

I opened the file, skimming the first page.

Damn it.

I should have known.

The Irish Mob.

He looked to be involved in everything from drugs to extortion, counterfeiting, and prostitution, working out of both Belfast and the United States. And he was most likely running his dirty money through The Irish Rover to clean it.

“You should warn Patrick,” Alan said.

“There’s no point he already knows. Donovan has him by the throat.” I set the file down and let out a long sigh.

“How did that family get involved with the Sullivans?”

“It’s an old feud steeped in paramilitary violence. Evie’s mother was supposed to marry Donovan, but instead, she ran away with Evie’s father,” I explained.

“So now they want Evie.”

“Aye. There’s nothing I can do, and Evie clearly does not want me involved. It’s best if I just focus on Bilderberg now.”

The plane began its final descent, and I put Evie out of my mind.

ChapterTwenty-Seven

EVIE

Chaos rained down upon me, seeping into every aspect of my life. It destroyed the few things I could control, leaving me feeling helpless as the things I thought to be true crumbled around me.

The police were called to the pub to stop the fight, and Cormac, his father, and their friends were told to go their own way or risk being arrested.

I’ll never forget Cormac’s face as he was dragged out, pale and white, babbling like a scared baby. Not unlike me, he was a victim of his father’s decisions. Another pawn in a bigger game. The difference was he embraced and enjoyed the game.

I did not.

Patrick wasn’t speaking to me. For that matter, neither was Colin. Sean was the only one trying to keep the peace. I had betrayed them. They didn’t trust me and no longer allowed me to go to the restaurant. Worse, they forbade me to leave the house. I could hear them whispering late at night, speculating on Donovan’s wrath and what he would do as retribution.

I tried to stay out of their way for the most part until Sean cornered me two days later.

“Do you love him,” he asked, sitting down at the kitchen table.

“What?”

“Do you love Keir Wilson?”

The question caught me off guard. I had tried to put the whole event out of my mind. Keir’s red eyes and the skin on his face, a putrid shade of blue as if he had been dead for a long time. But more than that, I tried to forget the sheer rage that poured out of him, giving him almost superhuman strength. Strong enough to knock Cormac backward without even touching him. It defied the laws of logic, and I could not accept what he told me. Would not accept what my mind knew to be true as his words settled into my soul.

I am a monster.

I saw it with my own eyes.

I sawhim.

And I now had him inside me.

The chaos engulfed me, taking root as fear.

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