trim. Desiree had no ties to our family, and I’d never considered her my sister.
Mari being like a sister complicated things a lot, especially if Mari didn’t feel the same about Harrison.
“What’s your deal with Cash, anyway?” Harrison pulled the car to the curb, parking right in front of a massive warehouse that looked like it had been redone.
“Deal?”
“Yeah. You’ve only met him twice, and you’ve made no secret of your hate for him.”
“Those two meetings were enough to last me two lifetimes. And I only have one.”
Harrison took off his glasses, set them on the dash, and then gave me the weight of his stare. “I don’t buy it.”
“I’m not selling anything.”
“I don’t buy that you hate him for no reason. He scared you at the cemetery? So what. It’s quiet there until it’s not. There’s something else going on that you’re not telling me. I’m not Roisin, and I’m not trying to be, but we’ve always been close, Kee. You’re hiding something.”
I turned my face toward the window, not wanting him to see my eyes. When I was little and refused to talk, Harrison told me it was okay, that clouds were the words in my mind, and he could make out the shapes in my eyes—because they’re blue—and read my thoughts.
It used to make me feel better, like someone out there could understand me without me having to use words, but I didn’t want him to see the truth this time. Out of all of my siblings, when Roisin was killed, Harrison stepped up and took me under his wing. I didn’t want to lie to him. He didn’t deserve it. He didn’t tell me about Mari, but when I asked, he gave me the truth.
“Is it Mam?” he said. “Did she say something else? The tea leaves?”
“Do you believe in them?”
He became quiet for a minute. “In a way, yes. We were brought up to. But I also believe that what we believe brings credence to what other people say is meant for us. I refuse to believe what she told me about Mari. And if I refuse to believe, it has no power over me.”
“Power over you, huh.” I looked at him and then back at the building. A humungous guy, both arms covered in tattoos, even up to his neck, walked into the building like he owned the place. “Cash Kelly. Does he have power over you?”
My brother sighed. “He’s my boss.”
“Like…you-kiss-his ring kind of boss?”
“He’s not Italian.”
“The accent sort of cleared that up.”
“What do you want from me, Kee? He’s my boss. And whether you like it or not, he gave me a good job, moved me out of the nasty fucking apartment I was in, gave me a car, a huge bonus. He gave me a chance at life. I owe him.”
“You work for him. He pays you. That’s how legit employment works. You owe him nothing if you’re doing your job.”
“Look,” he said, and his tone was sharper. “It is what it is, all right? Cut me some slack. I like working for him.”
“I am cutting you some slack! That’s why I’m HERE! You asked me to do this. I’m doing it. But giving him a second chance is not cutting it for me, Harry Boy. What’s the deal?”
When Harrison had first asked me to meet with Cash Kelly again, I laughed at him, and then with all seriousness told him not only no, but hell no. I didn’t even feel bad when my brother started to beg, which he’d never done before. But when he brought up telling my parents about my engagement to Scott, I figured I’d suffer through this ridiculous guise of a meeting and then get on with my life.
And I knew Cash was getting off on this “meeting,” knowing I hated him but wanting me here anyway. It almost seemed like he ate it up, like the fires of hell were a delicious meal to the marauder. He probably crapped out firestorms. So I was going to keep my composure around him this time, just to prove a point.
“There you go with the yelling again.” Harrison shook his head. “He doesn’t say much, but I get the feeling family is really important to him. Raff.” He pointed toward the building, where the gigantic guy had been. “That’s the guy who just walked in. He’s Cash’s right-hand man and cousin by marriage. I think Raff is all he has, even though he keeps his distance from him,