I met Harrison outside as they put a hand to Cash’s head, pushing him into a waiting police car. There were five cars, each one holding two policemen, for one man.
“What are they arresting him for?” I asked my brother.
Harrison shook his head. “Murder.”
I turned and really looked at him. He shrugged, like the charge was nothing too exciting.
“Did he do it?” I asked.
“Draw your own conclusions, but they never have enough evidence to convict him.”
I let that sink in for a moment. They never have enough evidence.
“More than once?”
Harrison sighed. “There were two murders not long ago. They’re trying to pin both on him, when the facts show whoever killed the two guys—” my brother paused and gave me a “listen beyond my words” look “—did so in self-defense.”
“Let’s go,” I said, moving in the direction of Kelly’s building, where I assumed Harrison’s car was parked.
Harrison put a hand on my arm to stop me. “We can stop this, Kee. None of the papers have been signed. You only said your vows.”
“What do you suggest?”
“Stone’s gunning for him. He’s not going to rest. He’s not going to stop until Kelly is either locked in a cage for good, or he’s six feet under. If I make a mistake—in trial, I mean—maybe I can take care of the first issue and you’ll be free.”
“What about Kelly’s brother?”
“I doubt he’ll force you to marry him, too.”
“No,” I said. Again. “Even though no papers have been signed, I’m married to Kelly. It’s done.”
“You can’t move him, Keely Shea! I’m giving you an out, and you’re not fucking taking it. He’s never been proved wrong. Never. You’re not going to change him.”
I took a step closer to my brother, hoping my eyes conveyed how serious I was. “You mess up on purpose and he’ll know. Do your job, Harrison, and do it right. Get my husband out of jail and out of trouble.”
“Your husband.” He took a deep breath and then shook his head. “This is not some feral cat you can try to tame. Feeding him is not going to work. Taking him in is not going to work. Neither will compassion. Some men are born more animal than man. Cash Kelly is a wild animal.”
I went to walk off when his next words stopped me.
“He’s not going to fill the void Roisin left behind, Keely.”
I stood motionless for a second, my temper too high to even respond.
“If Mari can’t do it—”
I whirled on my brother, my veil catching in the wind, flowing behind me like a flag. It should’ve been stained red from my anger. “No one will ever replace Roisin in my life. You have no idea what you’re fucking talking about.”
“Really?” He took a step closer to me and I balled my hands into fists. “What about Broadway, Kee? I know you enjoy it, but do you love it? Or are you just trying to please Mam?”
“What does any of this have to do with Kelly?”
My brother ignored my venomous tone and battled forward. “I don’t know.” He shrugged. “But somehow I know it’s connected. You’ve never gotten help to deal with the loss. Mam was too blinded by her own grief to reach out for you. All of Roisin’s hopes and dreams were put on you, because Mam can’t fill the emptiness either.”
“None of this is related,” I snapped at him. It wasn’t, even though I knew his words were the truth. But this had to do with Kelly and the vows I’d just made. There was no way I was letting Stone get even when it was my heart at stake. If anyone was getting even, it’d be me, and I couldn’t do that with my wild animal of a husband in a cage. “No matter how you feel about this, it is what it is. Now take me to the police station and do the damn job Kelly pays you for.”
I started walking toward the building, and as I did, I heard my brother grumble, “Yeah, Mrs. Keely Kelly, whatever you say, Mrs. Keely Kelly. Serves you right, Keely Kelly.”
I shot him the bird.
After a few hours, they had to let my husband go. Not enough evidence to convict him.
Kelly walked out with a grin on his face, and when he caught the one on mine, his fell and his eyebrow shot up. I wasn’t smiling because they had let him go, even though I was getting sick of waiting around in