“Hello,iníon,” I greeted with a smile. I’d always had a special relationship with Maddie. She was Caity’s daughter, and somewhere inside me she’d always felt like mine for that reason alone. Now I knew it was more than that.
“Can you come over?” Her voice trembled through the phone.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, I just... never mind. I’m fine.”
“I’m on my way,” I assured her. “Have you eaten?”
“Yeah.”
As I started the car, I said, “Then I’ll stop and grab dessert.”
“Thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me, Maddie. I’m always available for you. No matter what I’m doing, I will always drop everything for you.”
I heard her sniffle, and I looked toward the restaurant. Caity would have to wait. My daughter needed me. I said goodbye to Maddie and pulled away from the curb, stopping at the bakery I knew she loved.
Armed with a dozen of my Maddie’s favorite pastries, I drove to the apartment building Duncan owned. He’d bought it when Colleen had talked about moving out of her parents’ house. He’d wanted her to find her independence, but he’d also wanted her safe.
With Colleen in Nebraska, her apartment sat empty. Duncan had called her and asked if Maddie could stay there. Colleen had quickly agreed. The girls were only a few years apart, but they’d grown up together and were close.
I knocked on the door, and when Maddie answered, the first thing I noticed was the red ring around her eyes. I pulled her against my chest, and the tears started.
Chapter Five
Caity
I smiled as Brian Buchannon leaned over and kissed my cheek before sitting down in the chair across from me.
Harbor Heights was a new restaurant on the outskirts of the North End of Boston. The owners weren’t beholden to Sal as of yet, so as long as I didn’t run into someone I knew, I could keep this meeting a secret for now.
“Thank you for coming, Brian.”
“For you, always. How are you, Caity?”
Brian Buchannon was a handsome man. He stood well over six and a half feet tall, with red hair that had darkened over the years, and piercing blue eyes. He was the oldest of the cousins, and the head of the IRA in Ireland. Brian was already a teenager when I came along, but he’d always been my favorite.
“I’m sure you know what’s been going on.”
“Your brother keeps me up to date on business dealings and anything that is affected by that.”
“Then you know what happened in New Orleans,” I said, my eyes looking down at my lap. I didn’t want him to know my shame, but there was no keeping it a secret now. Cian would never deny Maddie as his.
“I do,” he said.
“Sal moved Maddie and me back to Boston before they went to Louisiana. We’ve been staying at my father’s house.”
Brian didn’t speak. He held me hostage with his icy blue eyes. He didn’t ask questions; he knew if he waited long enough, I’d tell him everything. He was always patient with me.
“Sal never cleared the house. When Maddie and I moved in, everything was exactly the same as when I was growing up. It was like a fucking mausoleum in there.”
“Your brother took your father’s death hard.”
I looked up at him and cocked an eyebrow before I rolled my eyes. I knew the truth behind my father’s death. I might not know the exact details of why Sal did what he did, but the files I’d found were telling.
My whole life I’d known my father wasn’t a good man. But the things I learned. The information I’d found made me sick. Like every spoiled daughter, I’d held my father on a pedestal. Ignoring the rumors I’d heard. Forgiving him for the way I’d seen him treat my brother, convincing myself that it was for his benefit. For Sal to take over from him one day, he’d need to be strong.
