Page 133 of Forbidden Protector

“You did everything you could,” Jack offers her softly.

“But it wasn’t enough.” Aimee sounds so pained, I almost begin welling up myself. “I just went into doctor mode, began CPR, and yelled for Eda to help. But you know what she said to me? She said, ‘The stupid bitch doesn’t know her limits’as if the sight of her brought her nothing but disgust.”

Aimee looks at me again. “That’s when I realized the truth. Eda had been my sister’s secret supplier all those years, taking advantage of their relationship in order to seize my father’s estate.”

A cloud of dread descends upon the room, so thick and suffocating I can barely breathe.

“I swore that day I would never let Eda see Roisin again,” Aimee concludes, her mouth practically spitting out the matriarch’s name. “But if they reconnected, Eda would have had an ulterior motive. She doesn’t care about my sister, only the profit she can make from her.”

Jack nods slowly. “And the greatest profit she could make from Roisin would be to hand her over to my father.”

“We can’t assume that,” Kate jumps in quickly, saving Aimee from responding, “although important to consider as a possibility.”

Slowly, I begin to gather my thoughts. “Does Connor know about this?”

“I never told him. Roisin begged me not to. He only arrived later, after Eda had flitted back to whatever plane of hell she lives in.” Aimee gives the room another glance. “There are so many things that happened that night that Roisin is still ashamed of. I promised her I wouldn’t say anything to anyone.”

“There is nothing your sister could do that would make me feel disappointed in her,” I clarify with perhaps more vigor than needed. “I ask about Connor because he’s the one that put them in the same room in the first place.”

Aimee flinches. “He can’t have done it on purpose, right?”

“The Romero Cartel has done more than enough damage regardless of all this. Your brother should know better.” Jack holds onto Aimee’s hand with a small squeeze that makes me long for Roisin. “They likely manipulated him into it.”

“He’s just working with what he has,” I say, forcing myself to be reasonable.

Jack raises a brow at me. “You’re defending him?”

“No,” I reply a beat too quickly. “I just know if the situation was reversed, I would have formed an alliance with anyone I could. Knowing Connor, I imagine he thought he could play them at their own game.”

“You probably know him best, Arnie.” Aimee throws me a cautious glance. “If he’s been working with the cartel, do you think he might have any insight about finding Roisin?”

“You’re asking me if I think we should get him involved?” I look around the defected Duffy clan in surprise. “I thought you hated the Maguires.”

“It’s not our most comfortable option,” Kate admits, speaking up for the first time. “But if he has any valuable intel, I’m prepared to take the risk if it helps us get Roisin back.”

Aimee nods in agreement. “Jack and I are living proof that the feud between our families is pointless.”

“And you?” I ask Jack expectantly.

He meets my questioning gaze with an unyielding one. “I’ll do anything for the people I love.”

The way he says it resonates deep within me. There’s no way Jack will let anything hurt his family. And somehow, that now includes Roisin, whether I like it or not.

“Connor will want to save his sister, whatever the cost.” I break the silence by addressing Aimee directly. “But if there’s a chance that Eda might be working with Padraic Duffy…”

“I thought you said his alliance with Padraic had been severed,” Jack cuts in.

“We thought so, too,” I say with a frown, remembering bitterly the last heated conversation we had. “But Connor has been particularly riled up recently. There are a lot of things he hasn’t been telling me.”

“Which means?” Kate presses impatiently.

“I can trust him to save his sister, but I can’t trust him not to hand us all over to Padraic in the blink of an eye.”

Kate scoffs. “Even you?”

“It’s my fault she was captured.” The words hurt even more when said out loud. “I’m surprisedyou’renot stringing me up.”

Aimee places a gentle hand on my face, forcing me to look at her. Aimee’s likeness to Roisin is almost too much to bear. But I hold firm.

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