16
Fallon
“Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!”I try not to squirm as Declan pulls a piece of glass out of my foot behind a random Walmart. We had to stop to get diapers for Aisling and clothes and a first-aid kit for me. Nothing like one-stop shopping on the run.
“I didn’t expect you to be such a baby about this.” He holds the huge shard in the air with a pair of tweezers.
“Every once in a great while I get to complain.”
“Fair enough.” He tosses it to the ground, then kisses the top of my foot. “All better.”
“Stop being sweet. I’m still pissed at you.”
“You can be pissed all you want.” He places a bandage over the cut. “I’ll weather the storm.”
I refrain from kicking him in the face. He deserves it and so much more. I’m still so pissed that he and March went behind my back and fucked up my nearly foolproof plan, but also secretly relieved that I don't have to spend another second being Ronan’s pet.
I’m not ready to admit that to either him or March yet. They’d get way too much enjoyment out of knowing the truth.
“One clean, fed, and content baby in the back seat.” March pops out of the car. “She’s a little doll.” He’s smiling ear to ear.
“You’re good with kids,” Declan observes.
“I have like twelve nieces and nephews. Most of them grew up in the same apartment as me in the Bronx. I had no choice but to learn how to take care of them. I’m used to hanging one on each arm while balancing one on my head.”
“A man of so many talents.” Declan is impressed.
“It’s why I keep him around.” I slip on the surprisingly cute booties that match the black sweater and faux leather leggings Declan bought me. Gotta love a man who can put food in his baby’s mouth and clothes on his woman’s body both at the same time. March isn’t the only one with many talents.
“We gotta hit the road.” March bangs on the hood of the Chevy. “We’re only a half hour out. Sooner we get there, the better.”
“Says you,” I gripe as I climb into the back seat.
“It’ll be all good,” March promises. “The helicopter is picking us up at ten a.m. sharp. Then it’s straight to JFK where a private jet is whisking us away to England. Then it’s a scenic car ride through the British countryside on our way to Scotland.”
“You make it sound so romantic.”
“Under different circumstances, it would be.” March sighs dreamily.
“And then after our European vacation, we come back and slaughter Ronan. It’ll be grand,” Declan rounds out the itinerary.
Aisling suddenly breaks out in laughter and claps. “Fucker!”
All eyes in the car land directly on her. “That’s my girl.” Declan raises his fist in the air, a proud papa.
“We need to nip that language in the bud.”
“She only speaks the truth. She’s insightful, like her daddy.” He grins and winks.
“You two are so damn cute,” March pokes fun at us.“Like a fucked-up Ozzie and Harriet.”
“Shut up and drive.” I don’t feed into his sarcasm at all.
March curls his lip at me in the rearview mirror. “Testy bitch.”
“Don’t forget it.'' I glare right into the reflection of his amber eyes before we both crack up laughing.
I know that’s the last bit of comic relief I am going to get. ’Cause as we get closer and closer to my family’s estate, the more and more I withdraw into myself. There are so many crippling memories in that house. I swore I would never step foot inside it again. I swore I would never be weak enough to be his victim. That I would be strong enough to stop him from controlling me. Brave enough so he wouldn’t scare me.
