I look back to the living room and take notice of each person. Riley. Scout. Ciara. Aubrey.
My gaze travels back to the front window. Four cars. Cormac. Ronan. Kieran. Brennan?—
“Fiona,” Scout whines, barreling into my side and almost knocking me off balance.
I put a hand out to steady myself. “Careful, Scout.”
“Oops, sorry,” he mumbles. “When is Daddy going to be finished with work?”
I chance a look at Riley, who grimaces.
“Not for a while yet, I’m afraid.”
“But he’s been working all day,” he whines.
“I know, buddy. But how about we watch a movie?”
His face lights up instantly. “Can we watch The Lion King?”
“We can watch whatever you want,” I say, even though my nerves scream at the idea of settling in one place for too long.
Part of me thinks that if I can just keep moving, it will somehow shrink the target on my back.
I make some popcorn just to keep my hands busy, and all of us pile onto the sectional in the movie room to watch the movie.
Scout wedges between me and Riley, and I subtly angle myself so I can see the open door and the hallway beyond without being obvious.
Ciara stretches out on the edge, already half asleep before theCircle of Lifehas even started.
I force myself to sing along to the songs because it keeps Scout smiling, but my stomach stays knotted the entire time.
Halfway through the movie, I notice Scout has gone quiet, and I glance down to find him asleep, his arm still wrapped around the empty popcorn bowl.
I smile. “I think I’m going to take this one up to bed.”
Riley waves a hand, too engrossed in the movie to say anything, and Ciara is already fast asleep.
I carefully ease the bowl from Scout’s grip and lift him into my arms.
He stirs but quickly settles his head on my shoulder as I carry him to bed.
Once I’ve tucked him in and made sure all of his stuffed animals are accounted for, I lean forward and press a kiss to his forehead.
“Sleep tight,” I whisper.
I stay to watch Scout sleep for a while.
It’s scary how much he looks like Cormac even in sleep, from the crease between his brows to the way the corners of his mouth turn down.
It makes me think of the look on Cormac’s face when he told me Lorcan escaped, of the flicker of uncertainty I saw in his eyes when he told me someone betrayed us.
It hurts more than I want to admit that even now, after everything I’ve done, there’s still a lingering doubt between us.
I can live with danger, and I can live with fear, but what I don’t think I can live with is wondering if he will ever truly stop seeing me as a risk.
But how do I bridge that space between us? Either we move forward together, fully trusting each other, or we’re stuck in this limbo forever; and I refuse to live in a world where every argument, every tense moment, becomes another chance for my past to haunt us.
When I finally leave Scout’s room, I hear the sound of men moving about the house down below.
