My phone buzzes with a text from an unknown number.
Thank you for finding my daughter. We’re arranging transport back to Dublin. - D.B.
Fury claws at my insides, bubbling under my skin. Declan fucking Blake. Kingston must’ve let him know what happened. But like hell am I gonna allow him anywhere near my wife.
I click the button on the screen to call the slimy bastard.
“Tierney’s not going anywhere with you,” I growl the second he picks up.
“She’s my daughter?—”
“That doesn't mean shit anymore. You sold her over to me. That makes her mine, not yours. And after what you put her through, if you come within a thousand miles of her, I’ll tear your fucking head off your body, shove it down your throat, and pull it out your asshole.”
“Bronx—”
“Shut the fuck up. You used her and lied about the Tribunal. You forced Connor to lie to her. You manipulated your own blood into marrying a man she’d never even met. So no, you don’t get to play the concerned father now. You’re full of shit, and now she knows it, too.”
“She’s still exposed. You saved her this time, but if they got to her once, they will do it again.” Declan’s voice rises. “The debt is still outstanding.”
That stops me cold. Becausehe’s right. Tierney has nowhere safe to go. There’s no one she trusts. No one who hasn’t betrayed her.
I’d like to think that killing a couple of Murphy soldiers is enough to keep them from trying to get close to her again, but I know this world. And I know the people in it.
Debts need to be paid. And right now, it’s Tierney or two million euros. My hand grips the phone like it’s Declan’s neck and I’m about to crush it.
“That’s not your concern anymore.”
“She’s still my blood,” he says.
“I’m not going to repeat myself again, Declan. Tierney is a Viacava now. You only need her for insurance. Truth is, you don’t give a damn about her or Connor. And for the record, I didn’t marryyouso figure out how to pay your own fucking debt. My family will handle the Murphys inside our territory. You deal with your shit in your own backyard.”
I stab the end call button, staring down the hallway. Tierney’s in one of those rooms, probably feeling more alone than she ever has. Anger simmers in my veins because I have no way to reach her.
And I know the woman well enough to predict her next move. When she has enough strength, she’ll plan her escape. From her father’s manipulation, from Connor’s deceit, from my betrayal.
Fromme.
And the worst part is, I can’t blame her.
Because if I were her, I’d run too. I’d get as far away as possible.
Connor appears at my side. “She wants to see me.”
My jaw ticks. “But she told the doctor?—”
He holds out his phone. “I just got a text. She must’ve given a nurse my number to text me.”
My stomach free falls into my shoes.
She’ll see Connor but not me.
“Connor.” I grab his arm as he’s about to pass. “Tell her…” I swallow hard. “Tell her I’m sorry. So fucking sorry.”
He nods and claps me on the back. “I will. And thank you, Bronx. For everything. You saved us both.”
I stand alone in the hallway, holding a wedding ring that belongs to a woman who saved my life and then told me she never wants to see me again.
The woman I love.
