Closing my eyes, I tipped my face into her touch.
“The choice to leave my baby or leave the one person who truly understood me—it was impossible, Liam. A part of me was going to die, either way.”
I turned and pressed a kiss into the heel of her palm. There were three little words on the tip of my tongue.
But they seemed shallow. Too small for everything I was feeling.
Clasping her hand I pressed it to my cheek. “I want to say something, but…feck it. I’m scared.”
“I know, Liam,” she whispered. “I feel the same way. Those words will come when we’re ready to face them. But they’re there, simmering under the surface, and we both know it. That’s all that matters right now.”
And I believed her.
A long sigh fell from my lips. “As much as I would love to haul you to bed and seal this moment properly, I’m afraid there’s still work to be done tonight, cailín.”
Gabriella’s brows creased in surprise.
“What’s happened?”
I rubbed my jaw, the leather glove scraping against the scruff on my face. “There’s been some challenges to the chain of command. After I take care of one more threat, it should solidify the ranks internally.”
Her lips pressed into a thin line. “Who’s going to die this time?”
She wasn’t fooling me. She sounded like she was tryingnotto sound thrilled.
“The one who put the hit on us,” I explained.
“Don’t leave me hanging,” she insisted. “Who put the freaking hit on us?”
I smirked. “My cousin Kevin.”
Gabriella shuddered. “I never liked him.”
It was the pubes on his upper lip. “He skewed the books to pay for the hitman. He’s gone to our enemies trying to entice them to take the job themselves. Your father and him met more than once. When that failed, he tried stirring up trouble within our own ranks. I have one shot to rally the men and unite them. Otherwise…we might be facing civil war.”
Gabriella’s face paled.
I clasped both my hands around hers and brought her fingers to my lips.
“You’re safe,” I murmured. “They won’t hurt you.”
“But you?” she insisted. “What happens if you can’t unite them?”
Joy, bright and glistening swelled in my chest. Darting forward, I pressed my lips to hers. “I’ll force them. Or else.”
She rolled her eyes, which made my groin tighten instantly.
“Can I do anything?” Gabriella asked. “I know I’m not very popular—”
I hissed.
“It’s true,” she said evenly. “Nobody was happy at our wedding or when you were crowned. There were whispers.”
“Those were only whispers,” I snapped. “The core group of our organization are more than happy that you’re my queen. The outliers will come to heel, or they’ll find their foreheads decorated with a bloody hole. I have to go now, though,” I said, pulling away. “I just came back to check that you and our little guy were okay.”
“Our little guy,” she murmured softly. “I like the sound of that.”
“Well, good,” I said awkwardly, rubbing the back of my neck. “Because that’s how things stand. He’s ours.”
