Filthy (Five Points' Mob Collection #1) - Serena Akeroyd Page 0,145

get justice for her, and even then, some bastard moldering away in a jail cell wouldn’t be enough.

Which meant keeping all of this from her. If, and I prayed it was an if, Lena was involved in this cluster fuck.

Even as I pulled up outside the guardhouse at the head of their drive, I wondered if I should reverse back out, carry on driving, and not stop to answer questions. If I knew the truth, then I was obliged to tell Aoife, but if I did, that could be the end of us. And for what?

Lena would never go to jail, and I could make Aoife happy. Hell, no ‘could’ about it. I’d make it my life’s mission, but that still wasn’t enough to avenge her mom’s too-early death.

That part of my nature that needed answers though, demanded I smile at Jimmy, one of the runners on guard, and head down the driveway.

I’d always had this need to know. Everything and anything. As a kid, when I’d discovered my father had disappeared, I’d gone to Aidan and asked if he was involved. Knowledge brought comfort. It was addictive, and it made me obsessive.

I remembered when, all those years ago, he’d looked at me in that calm way of his, his eyes as gentle as a still lake, and I’d known the answer before he even murmured, “A bastard like that is too vile to walk the same streets as you, Finn. Now, you never have to worry about seeing him again.”

Love was something that was slow to grow, slower to form. But I’d loved Aidan from that moment on. As a father, a friend, a confidant, and a mentor. He’d done what nobody else could for me. He’d taken out the threat, had made it so I didn’t have to worry about that part of my past.

I wanted to give that relief to Aoife. I wanted to—

As I pulled up outside the house, I pressed my forehead to the wheel.

When the door opened to my left, I jerked in surprise and saw Aidan climbing into the passenger seat.

“You’re here early.”

His statement had me slouching in my seat. “I needed to speak with Lena.”

He cleared his throat. “Got a phone call last night. From a cop on our payroll.”

My heart plummeted. “He told you I requested the information.”

“Yeah. He did.”

“Lena killed Aoife’s mother,” I whispered, feeling the bottom of my stomach fall at the confirmation of what I’d already figured out.

I wasn’t a man who found it hard to accept life could be shit sometimes, but this? I was fucking floored.

“You remember last November when I went to the doctors?”

Frowning, I demanded, “What does one have to do with the other?”

Aidan only went to the doctor when it was serious. The guy could be pissing blood and he’d avoid the clinic. We’d all teased him when he’d made an appointment though, so, yeah, I remembered.

He held up a hand. “Bear with me, son.”

I scowled at him but turned back to face the windshield. “Go on, then.”

“It was just a physical, but they found something.” He cleared his throat. “A lump. I had to have it biopsied. While I was waiting for the results, I—” His hand went to his knee and his fingers clenched as he squeezed down hard. “I’ve not been a good man, Finn. You and I both know that. I try, but there’s the Devil inside me and no amount of confession will cleanse me.”

I wanted to call bullshit, wanted to tell him to own up to the crap he did because he enjoyed it, but I didn’t. This wasn’t related to my reason for being here, not as far as I was concerned, so I had no justification for tearing him a new one.

“I was certain it was cancer. I was like a bear with a sore paw as I waited on the results. Each day, time ticked down until I felt sure I was approaching the end, and then I just had to do it. I had to confess to Lena.”

“Confess, what?” I frowned at him, saw he was staring at his hands.

“When we got married, I wasn’t faithful to her.” He pursed his lips. “Have been since, though. That time she hit me with the rolling pin and pressed charges? I knew that she was it for me. She had fire and she was what I needed. Strong and sure, confident.

“I’d married her when she was too young. Naturally, she was nervous, and things weren’t