Page 48 of Careless

Finished with the situation and finished with her mother, Sorcha steps back. In response, Carmen has the gall to yawn like this is all boring. What the hell is wrong with her?

“See you soon, mija.”

See her soon? What the fuck is that supposed to mean? If she’s implying Sorcha will be seeing her in hell, she has another thing coming. Sorcha’s not going to the same place as Carmen, but I might.

My fingers twitching in anticipation, I grab the same Bowie knife I used on Denzel. I turn my eyes to Sorcha, her big blues dulled by the lackluster exchange. “You should leave.”

I’m not going to force her, but she’ll see and hear things that will live with her forever.

A spark of defiance sparks between us. “Get on with it.” She growls. I shrug before shuffling to Carmen’s side. I take a knee beside her and her dark brown eyes darken, but the evil smile perched upon her face doesn’t slip.

It's a bit of a confidence boost that I catch her off guard. “Who was he?” I press. I rest my elbow on my bent knee, the knife dangling between my fingers.

“Rian!” Nigel yells, but I ignore him. He knows what I’m doing. I’m not going to waste the opportunity to get answers for Sorcha. She might not be ready to hear them, but her mother isn’t going to be around for much longer.

“He?” Carmen laughs awkwardly. “I don’t know who you’re referring to.” The bitch knows what I’m talking about.

I don’t give her a second to think up another answer before I pin her left hand down flat on the wooden arm of the chair and stab the knife straight through.

An agonized scream rips through red stained lips as tears immediately stream from her eyes. “Motherfucker!”

“I’ll ask you one more time. Who. Was. He.”

Her dark eyes shoot daggers at me and she tries desperately to keep her mouth closed, but another scream rips past her lips as I twist the blade.

“Fine, fine. Okay!” She glowers at me like she wants to rip out my jugular with her teeth.

I yank the blade out, and she whimpers. “I’ll tell you!” she pants. “I’m assuming you mean Sorcha’s biological father?” Her voice comes out choppy and steeped in agony.

Good. She deserves the pain.

A movement in the corner of my eye catches my attention. It’s Sorcha and she’s standing ramrod straight. “What?” Sorcha nearly screams. She is so confused and I want nothing more than to hold her in my arms, but now is not the time. “But my dad is—”

Carmen looks between Sorcha and Nigel for a moment before she speaks. “Sorry to break it to you, mija. He may be the man who raised you, but you share no blood with him or his behemoth of a son over there.” She rolls her eyes in Finn’s direction.

This bitch needs to answer my fucking question. “Who is he?” I ask again.

“Gray,” she states.

“First name or last name?”

“Last name. You know his other daughter. Blonde hair, green eyes…” Carmen sends a mischievous grin at Finn, and continues, “You know, the girl. She has horrible trauma that makes her scream into the night. You should hear her screams. She can be found in your bed every night, Finnick.”

The murderous look on his face is enough to say we all know who she’s talking about, but I need to clarify. “Francine?”

“That’s the name I was looking for. Francine. She really is quite the catch. Beautiful girl. Smart, too.”

“Are you saying my biological father is Michael Gray?” Sorcha presses, shaken by this.

Nigel takes a step forward. “That’s ridiculous. Bethany and Michael were already married when you—”

Carmen cuts Nigel off. “Can I get something for my hand first?” she asks, looking at the blood dripping from her stab wound.

A resounding “No!” is chorused by several people at the same time.

Carmen rolls her eyes like she’s more annoyed with the answer than not getting medical attention. “Not Michael. The other brother, the black sheep.MartinGray.” She says the name like it’s one we should all know. I’ve heard it only once, and that was only a few days ago when we brought him here and Francine killed him.

“Martin isn’t Francine’s father. Michael is.” Finn grinds out the words, barely holding himself together. I see a tick in his jaw and am surprised that he hasn’t attacked the bitch yet.

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