All Hail - J. Bree Page 0,53
than to hit her around me or dad. Jack and I did what we could to keep the kids all safe but I didn’t see what was happening to my own sister… not until I came home to find Ma dead and Cara sobbing over it. She’d slit her own wrists over it, told me she didn’t want to go to prison over it. I cleaned her up, got Ma dealt with, and then I told Cara I wouldn’t let Domhnall hurt her. I told her we were done with that shit now and I’d keep her safe.”
He scratches at the shadow on his cheek from where he hasn’t been able to shave. I should really get some supplies for him if he’s going to be staying at my house.
Is he going to be staying at my house?
My mind is still struggling to focus on the important issues and not just my issues when he continues, “Cara felt too guilty about Ma. She attempted three times before she finally killed herself over it. So your file is good… but not a hundred percent.”
I tilt my head and shrug. “I can live with that… in your case. I have Roxas’s history down perfectly though, I made sure of that. I don’t trust anyone who sold themselves to a member of the Twelve without a good reason. Harbin I can see… Roxas not so much.”
Aodhan shrugs. “They’re best friends. Blaise would follow Ash into anything right?”
I snort, totally unlike me and his eyebrows just about hit his hairline. “Blaise committed murder for Ash as a stupid teenager. Helped him hide a body too, he’d follow Ash into the gates of Hell if I left them both unattended… there’s a reason I was only comfortable leaving them now that Lips is around to rein them in a bit.”
He grins and looks out of the window again. He’s waiting for that boat to be gone but I don’t know why.
I reach out and hold his hand. “I’m sorry about your sister. I’m sorry your family is just as broken as mine.”
He squeezes my hand and lifts it up to my lips to press a kiss on my palm, the move I’m sure he knows melts me. “You’re building a much stronger family. I’m glad you’ve let me be in it. Cara died years ago but it still hurts the same to know I failed her. I’m not going to fail anyone close to me like that again, Queenie. I’m not going to let men live who hurt my family.”
I smile again but my skin is still tingling in the worst way, like electricity is trapped in my veins and I’m being burned alive. “This has been… lovely, but I need to go home. Illi wasn’t joking about—“
Aodhan reaches across to grab my chin and kisses me, slow and deep until maybe the electricity settles down for a second.
It won’t leave though.
Not even for him.
“You need to break something, right? That’s what Illi said, you need to destroy something. How about a little vengeance, Queenie? Would that calm your nerves done?”
My eyes flutter open and I find the clear green of his irises shining down at me as he watches me closely for my reaction. I have to clear my throat to get my words to come out, “There’s nothing better than destroying someone’s life, especially if they’ve hurt my family. You should probably know that I’m ruthless by now, Aodhan. There’s not a whole lot that I wouldn’t do to keep my family safe and whole.”
A soft smile stretches over his lips. “Oh, I know Queenie. I think your blood running down my thighs proved that to me. This isn’t about your family though. This is about you. This is about getting vengeance for someone daring to touch you.”
He glances back at the boat but it’s still in sight. So, he slides past the steering wheel and across the bench seat until he’s in the middle, tugging me up and over until I’m straddling him.
There’s a tiny bit of panic in me at the position, but he tugs me down to his lips again and chases away the guilt with his tongue. I can’t help but bite his lip, desperate to break something, to destroy everything around me until the chaos in my chest dissipates.
He grunts and yanks me into his chest tighter, one hand slipping down to grab my ass and pulling at my hips until he can grind on me like we’re