“Hey—” I growl.
Gunshots ring out.Jesus.
I release the arsehole and lunge for the girl, slamming us both to the ground. My body covers hers, a shield of muscle and bone, as bullets spark off the brick above us. The two men scramble into the car, tires squealing as they tear offinto the night.
Fuck.
I push myself up slightly, still shielding her. “Did you know who they were?”
I didn't get fuckinganythingon them.
She shakes her head slowly, those dark-blue eyes as deep and endless as the ocean, locked on mine.
Christ.
“What's your name?” I ask her.
She opens her mouth, then closes it, her lips trembling. She doesn't trust me.
Right, then.
“It's alright,” I say, gentle now, even though it feels strange and unnatural, and I’m not sure I’m very convincing. “You're safe. They're not going to hurt you.”
Then I realize what this could look like—me, with a young woman, alone in an alley, hovering over her. Everybody knows who I am. I can’t be seen like this.
Jesus, the rumors.
I leap up as if she's lit me on fire.
“Go,” I bark this time, angrier, sterner. “You've got no goddamn business being here alone!” I reach for my wallet and toss a fistful at her. “Get a fucking cab and get the hell outof here!”
Finally, she grabs the money, jolts into motion, and leaps to her feet, backpedaling.
Good. Good girl.
“And don't you fucking go out here alone again!” I scream after her retreating figure.
I watch her disappear around the corner, her footsteps echoing in the alley. I blow out a breath when I look around the corner and see her flag down a cab. Something in my chest twists when she glances back once, just before she shuts the door.
Then she's gone.
The air's too quiet after everything that went down tonight.
She could have been one of my younger cousins. Something terrible could have happened right here in Ballyhock.
And once again… I'm alone.
It should feel better than this to be a savior, but it’s only a reminder of who I couldn’t save.
I shove my hands in my pockets and head home. It's too quiet after what just happened.
I think about telling my family what I did, what I saw. But something stops me, something I don't want to name.
We're not in the business of saving people.
I'm Ashland fucking McCarthy. Feared across Ireland.
I'm no hero.
