After following him off the plane, we moved immediately into a dark SUV. I couldn’t help but notice the way that he looked around as he rushed from the aircraft to the vehicle, which made me even more nervous. I quickly followed them, and soon we were on our way.
Cillian pointed out a few things in the city centre, mostly to Ciara, and I could see how enamored she was with the entire city. It hurt physically to watch them both talk, laugh, and jokewith one another as if they’d known each other their entire lives. Granted, Ciara had never met a stranger she couldn’t charm, but seeing Cillian be so hands on with his daughter was like a knife to the chest.
Thiswas supposed to have been our life. And I had dreamed about moments like this in our future when the two of us would be so in love with another, and have children to spread that affection amongst. I’d pictured walks in the park, splashing in the ocean, scenic drives through the countryside. I’d also imagined other things, mostly things we’d talked about while lying satiated in each other’s arms. We’d talked about a life where we could be together, openly and publicly. One where we wouldn’t have to hide our love under a pier, in the woods, or in the dead of the night.
Just under a half hour later, the driver pulled into a private parking garage, which had several expensive vehicles parked throughout the space. Of course, Cillian would live near others with as much money as his family, and likely as much influence. For all I knew, this building might even be owned by a Brannington.
The very name had been enough to elicit fear in me for years. Every time I’d seen or heard their name in passing, it would send shivers racing down my spine. I couldn’t do this. There was no way. After everyone got out of the vehicle, I stayed rooted in my seat. I wanted to move, but I couldn’t.
Was I encased in cement? Quicksand? It didn’t matter what because I was glued to this seat. Cillian and Ciara popped their heads into the vehicle, and my daughter started to pull at my hand.
“C’mon, Mommy.”
“I can’t,” I said, and heard the slight growl from Cillian. He then looked over his shoulder at one of his men, then motionedthem over. I saw him nudge Ciara toward one, and I shook my head. “Noooo,” I cried out.
“You can come or you can go, but just know that Ciara stays with me.”
He said nothing else as he turned and walked toward Ciara and his men. With no other choice, I forced my limbs to move, nearly stumbling as I exited the vehicle. My body pitched forward as my mind was racing faster than my body could react. Cillian said nothing, nor did he even acknowledge my partial surrender. He opened the door and ushered the others inside. I had just barely made it there before it closed, which would’ve kept me out for as long as he wanted.
It’s not me that he wants.
No matter how many times I tried telling myself that, what he did want was even more terrifying. There was no way I would let him steal my daughter...our daughter...so I quickened my steps and eventually caught up with them both. Soon, he opened the door to his place, then stepped aside so we could enter. Once I did, all I could do was stand there as my eyes were immediately drawn to the large floor-to-ceiling windows that made up one entire wall.
The precocious child was enamored with my place already. While I’d initially expected my daughter to be more reserved in the beginning, she was bright, warm, and fully open to others. There was no fear in her eyes when she looked at me, nor was there any anger, mistrust, or even apprehension.
She had awakened first, and after trying to rouse her mother awake, she came over to me to ask where the bathroom was. I’d pointed it out to her and even had the flight attendant show her to it. When the woman brought back my daughter, she was wide awake and ended up spending the last hour or so in the air regaling me with stories about her life, school, and mother.
The latter ones were the most interesting ones to me. Why, I had no idea, but I had wanted to hear about Reagan’s life, even if it was the one that hadn’t included me. From what the child said, her mother was home all the time, and she never hung out with anyone outside of Monica. I could sense Ciara’s affection for the other woman, and maybe one day, I’d fly her out to see them.
For now, I needed to get both Reagan and Ciara settled in. Neither would be leaving anytime soon, but I knew theinevitability of the truth. Once my grandfather got wind of their presence in my life, he might try to finish what he’d started years ago. I wasn’t sure I’d ever make it through that, and Reagan had only narrowly escaped death herself.
No, I would make sure that my grandfather knew that they were under my protection. I was no longer the same seventeen-year-old I had been when I’d first met her. I was now as feared as any other Brannington in our empire. I ran things, despite any objections my grandfather would make to the contrary. She was still my wife, so she and my daughter would be under my protection from this moment forth, and by the end of the night, those within the organization would know it.
Before I handled business, I did want to show them around. I moved to the window where Ciara was excitedly pointing at landmarks in the distance. The happiness rolled off her in waves, and I couldn’t recall a single time in life, or even my cousins, when we were ever this joyful and free.
“I would like to show you to your room, Ciara,” I said to the child.
“Okey dokey,” she said as she pulled away from her mother and came willingly over to me.
I took the small hand she extended, much to the chagrin of Reagan. Ignoring her, I focused on my daughter by leading her down the hallway. “I had no idea what colors you like, or designs, but we can go sometime next week and pick out some new things for your room,” I said to her as I opened the door to her bedroom.
When I released her hand, she made a beeline for the bed. Like most young kids, she climbed on it, then began to jump until Reagan came inside and said something to her. I couldn’t hear what as her tone had been hushed, but the child stopped jumping immediately and fell to her bottom.
She didn’t stay still for long though as she got off the bed, then ran to the window where she would have the same view as the one she’d been staring out at in the living room. When I had found out that I would be bringing Reagan and Ciara to Ireland with me, I’d had one of my men bring his wife in to partially decorate the rooms in this penthouse that would now belong to my wife and child.
Esther had done a great job on Ciara’s room. The colors were pastel pink and green, and there were stuffed animals and a few dolls scattered throughout the space. Matching framed photographs of bunnies and kittens were strategically placed on the walls, and there were even matching pillows on the window bench that Ciara had just noticed. As my daughter ran to the window and kneeled on the cushions so she could see outside, a fear I hadn’t even realized I’d been harboring disappeared, and the weight on my chest felt so much lighter. Relief was what I was feeling until Reagan entered the space and walked over to the twin size bed.
“Would it be possible to move a few things around so I can bring in a cot or something for myself?” she asked as she turned toward me.
I would’ve chuckled at her suggestion had I not realized that she was completely serious. Clearing my throat, I responded. “You’re not going to be in this room.”
“Yes, I am,” she said as she placed her hands on her hips and glared at me.
I was immediately reminded of the one or two times that we had fought back in our youth. Reagan was as headstrong as she was beautiful, and as I had done back when I was seventeen, I was looking forward to tamping down her defiance once more. Only now, I was not infatuated by her in any way.
In fact, the price of her betrayal would’ve been death had she been anyone other than the mother of my child. And, had shebeen anyone other than the once love of my life. The longer I stared at her, the more those feelings came rushing back. I was growing angrier, and not just at her, but my grandfather and anyone else who contributed to me losing what had been he only thing in my life that had truly mattered.
Esther came up behind me, and before I could respond to Reagan’s defiance, I turned to Oscar’s wife. “Would it be possible to help Ciara get her things placed into the closet? You can also find out from her what else she requires, so I can be sure she gets it.”
