know we came back empty-handed.”
“You are working somewhere,” Hunter pointed out. “The long hours, the hospital scrubs, your disappearing acts during dinners. What the hell is it you’ve been doing?”
I must have turned pale because even though they still looked at me like they wanted to kill me, they schooled their faces and stopped showering me with questions. I knew I had two options. Come clean and own up to what I did for almost a year or let them live with a half-assed lie. A lie wouldn’t be so harmful. After all, I quit.
Still, I couldn’t lie to them. Not again. My lies were piling up neatly on my conscience. Besides, I could no longer pretend to be someone I wasn’t. Someone tailor-made for my family to ensure they were happy and fulfilled and proud of me.
My parents.
My brothers.
My professors.
Even the late Ms. B molded me into the woman she wanted me to become.
No more.
So I told them. I opened my mouth, and the truth came out. About Dr. Doyle. How we’d met. About Ms. B’s death and how it affected me. About the first time I saw Sam. How it wasn’t the day the Fitzpatricks had invited him over along with the Brennans, but months before that. I told them I had quit. That I couldn’t put myself at risk anymore to help others. That Sam bent my arm and wouldn’t budge.
“It’s the first and last thing that fucker did right,” Hunter mumbled, pulling me into a hug, pressing me close to his heart. “Fuck, Ash, I’m so sorry. We were so wrapped up in our own shit, we never really stopped to consider what you were going through after your governess died. It didn’t help that you always looked like you knew what you were doing. The perfect daughter.”
“He is right,” Cillian said pithily. “We neglected you for far too long. We’ll be rectifying that in the future.”
“So…” I looked between them “…you’re not judging me? For what I did?”
“Judging you?” Cillian lifted a brow. “You just proved to be a true Fitzpatrick. Darkly complex and terribly pragmatic. I’m proud to call you my sister.”
Ten days later, I got out of the hospital. Aisling and Sparrow doted on my ass like I was a baby, fussing over me and checking on me every single hour, dropping my masculinity levels to new lows I was pretty sure only poodles with designer haircuts had suffered.
The first two days, I humored them, mostly because I was trying to play nice with my fiancée. By day three, however, I made the executive decision to throw all the fucks the doctors had asked I give about my health out the window.
“Nix, stop.” I caught her hand. It rested on my chest in our apartment—yes, our apartment—as she patted my forehead with a hot, wet cloth. “No more of this bullshit. I’m going back to the streets tonight.”
Her peacock eyes widened in horror, her rosebud mouth pouting.
“You’re still recovering.”
“I’m bored out of my ass, and I have a job to do.”
“You can do it when you’re feeling better.”
“I’m feeling pretty fucking great. Would you like me to demonstrate?” I raised an eyebrow, my eyes dropping to the impressive bulge in my pants. No matter my physical state, whenever Aisling was in the room so was my need to fuck her through the mattress, floor, and earth.
“We had a deal, remember?” She withdrew her hand from mine, stepping back, standing in front of me in our bedroom.
“Yes, my love. I was right fucking there when we had it.” I smiled impatiently.
It was one thing to give up half my kingdom for her. It was quite a-fucking-nother to be happy about it. “Yet another reason why I need to get my ass out of bed and take care of business. Give me my phone.” I snapped my fingers toward the nightstand.
She quirked an eyebrow, knotting her arms over her chest.
She was my fiancée, not my soldier. I had a long way to go when it came to treating her like the princess that she was. Mostly because I’d never had to treat anyone well my entire life.
“Please. And thank you.” I grinned wolfishly, and she picked my phone up, handing it over to me.
“Who are you calling?”
I already had the phone pressed to my ear. “Troy.”
“Where are you two going?”
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
“You’re always going to keep me on my toes, aren’t you?” She sighed but looked happy about it. I grabbed the hem