“He can fucking try,” she growled. “I’ll have the fucker shot if he does. Kyril’s waiting on the other side of that door. Trust me when I say he’s in a foul mood. Ferg’s run off twice already and Kyril’s about ready to sign him up for military camp.”
“Jesus, Thea, he’s, like, two!”
She shrugged. “I pointed that out to the grumpy bastard, but he said the kid needs discipline and at his age, his father had already sent him to training camps in Siberia.” She rolled her eyes, making it clear she thought Kyril was full of shit.
“We better go save Ferg before Kyril does anything drastic.”
“Thanks for looking after my baby sister, boys,” she called over my shoulder. I tensed when I thought about what she’d do if she knew the truth.
Ronan coughed out a laugh before smirking at me. From the way his eyes heated, he recalled how well he’dlooked afterme.
“Dec said he’d add this latest ‘favor’ to your tally, Thea.”
My sister snorted. “Milo said y’all needed to check your emails. Something about an O’Rourke and your sister.”
Sister? What the fuck was that about? I wanted to ask, but Thea hustled me toward the door.
“Ciao, bitches!” She waved at the twins as she tugged me into the arrivals area. My heart cracked as I left my guys staring after me with sad expressions on their handsome faces, but as I reminded myself, it was for the best.
Until I healed, we didn’t stand a chance of building a future together.
55
Verity
1 week later
Saoirse: I’m sorry
Saoirse: I said some horrible shit. You didn’t deserve any of it.
Saoirse: I’m a bad friend.
Istared at my phone, not sure what to think. Not caving and messaging my best friend had taken a lot of willpower, but I’d decided shortly after arrival that I had to stop being a people pleaser. While I should have told her about my relationship with her brothers, she’d had no right to unleash hell on me when she found out.
The stuff she’d screamed at me had been hurtful and completely uncalled for. I would never have said those things to her had the tables turned. Not in a million years.
Reading her messages and knowing she felt bad about what happened was a head fuck. I missed her and wanted our friendship back more than anything, but she wasn’t getting off the hook that easily.
Instead of replying straight away, I closed the app while I took a shower and got changed for bed. Thea and I had spent all day by the pool, playing volleyball and wearing the kids out. My skin was now a few shades darker, and I could barely keep my eyes open.
Although it was only 9 PM, I planned to read for a while and then catch some sleep. Switching time zones had fucked me up once again, even though the last week had gone by in a flash.
Saoirse: please talk to me!
Her message flashed up on my lock screen as I combed my wet hair and twisted it into a braid. Once I’d finished my bedtime routine, I sat back against the pillows and stared at Saoirse’s messages. Ignoring her was tempting. She deserved it for being such a bitch to me.
But I couldn’t do it. I wasn’t that person.
Me: You hurt me.
Saoirse: I know and I feel terrible. Conal said what happened in Sicily. How you could have died! And then you’d have died thinking I fucking hated you!!!
I snorted at her dramatic over-use of exclamation marks.
Me: I don’t hate you but I’m not ready to forget about the shit you said. I’m sick of being a doormat and taking all the crap people throw at me. From now on, I choose me.
She didn’t reply straight away, but I could see she’d read my message. Well, good. As much as I loved my friend, she was as guilty as everyone else for taking advantage of my good nature.
