Tiernan A Dark Irish Mafia Romance - Jane Henry Page 0,19
the murder,” Keenan says. “You have no bloody choice, Tiernan. All she has to do is report you, and you’re fucked.” He sighs. “We all are.”
There are only so many things we can cover up.
I blow out a breath, my elbows hitting my knees as I lean over on the bed and mull this over.
Keep her.
Aisling. That gorgeous, feisty girl’s all grown up now, but honest to God, she’s a fucking mess.
Why does that appeal to me somehow?
“You have to make it clear she will not report you,” Keenan says. “And since you made this bed, you’ll have to sleep in it.”
He isn’t finished. I wait.
“She’ll be bloody hard to manage the next couple of days or so, but Sebastian can help you. And in the end, she’ll be better for it.”
“You’re punishing me by giving me babysitting duties?”
Keenan’s lips twitch. “Something like.”
I sigh.
“Let’s go,” Keenan says. “Your lady awaits.”
We all get to our feet. The other men don’t speak to me, and I’m glad of it, for I’m trying to process this. What does it mean to keep her? What the hell is she addicted to that would already cause withdrawal? What will Fiona say?
We get back to the mansion, and as I exit the car, I hear a high-pitched scream.
“What the bloody hell is that?” I ask Keenan.
He gives me a doleful smile. “Your new charge.”
I blink and look up at the mansion again.
“Sounds like a fucking wounded animal.”
What the hell have I gotten myself into?
Keenan’s gaze grows sober. “I think you’re not far from the truth.”
That hits me straight in the chest. What’s happened to her? What happened to the happy-go-lucky girl who was best mates with my sister? The girl who never hesitated to flirt with me, toss her pretty blonde curls, and even wink at me if given the chance. Never gave her a second glance when she was younger, but bloody hell… I can’t get the image of her out of my mind.
I walk up the stone pathway then take the steps two at a time. If she’s my charge, I want to get a handle on this as quickly as I can. I don’t like that she’s disturbing the entire peace of the house with her howling and screams. What’s she going on about, anyway?
Anger surges in me as we approach the door, and her screams intensify. She’ll scare the bloody wits out of anyone and everyone on site.
Keenan snorts. “She’ll need a firm hand, Tiernan.”
“Oh, aye. I think she needs more than that.”
She needs a good bloody spanking for this tantrum. Still, a part of me feels badly for her. Something’s happened to the innocent girl I once knew.
“Where is she?” I ask, surprised by the sounds that emanate from the mansion that she isn’t right here in the damn entryway.
“Library. You sure you’re well enough to see her now?”
I give Keenan a look that makes him laugh out loud and clap me on the shoulder. “Give Tiernan Hurston a fucking job, and stand out of the fucking way.”
“Oh, aye,” Nolan says with unmistakable pride. “Could have his feckin’ arm hanging on by a tendon and a gun wound, he’d still get the job done, aye?”
I hide my face so they can’t see me smile. The approval of my two older Clan brothers means more to me than the fucking world.
“She have any kin?” I ask in a low voice, so no one hears.
Keenan shakes his head. “Nay, lad.”
“And isn’t that part of the fucking problem,” Nolan mutters with a sigh. It is.
They take their leave at the library entrance. I square my shoulders and enter the room, just as another high-pitched scream rents the air, peppered with vulgar words that should never come out of the mouth of a pretty girl.
The room’s darkened, the shades pulled. Aisling’s tied to a chair in the center of the room, facing away from me. Rope’s lashed about her body, and anger suddenly surges within me. Who the bloody hell roped her here?
That’s my job.
Cormac’s sitting at a desk chair, his feet propped up, reading a book. He smiles when I enter, and places the book on the table.
“Tiernan, y’alright?”
I jerk my head at him, because I’m watching her reaction. She stills at the sound of my name and tries to crane her head to look at me, but she can’t see me from where she sits.