Page 68 of Honorable Sins

That I do not believe. "When?"

"The day..." She hesitates, looks at Áine and then back at me. "The day everything happened."

"Before or after Fitz broke his arm?" I ask.

A flicker of irritation crosses her face. "After."

"Did he apologize to Sadie?" I know he didn't.

But he will. And he'll mean it. His fostering parents raised four boys in the mob. All four are strong men and loyal to the syndicate.

"I don't know. He didn't get a chance before he was ripped from our home and sent off to another country." And even his not-so-doting mother believes he's done it since being sent away. "I don't understand why you're making him sound heartless. He's a child."

"I haven't described his heart at all," I say mildly.

She opens her mouth, then closes it again and takes another sip of tea. "Kenny belongs here with me and his father, not living with some low-level mob soldier's family in Spain. He doesn't even speak Spanish."

"He will. It's good for a child to learn a second language." From what I can tell neither Kenneth Sr. nor Kenny Jr. speak Irish like we were taught to do.

"That's hardly the point."

"No." I fold my hands on the table. "The point is that your son participated in the assault of a twelve-year-old girl."

"It wasn't assault." Allison finally faces Áine and appeals to her, "He never touched her. Kenneth told me Wraith and Mick blew it all out of proportion."

"You are mistaken," Áine says grimly.

"He cornered her with three other boys," I add.

Allison nods. "I know and he's sorry for it, but children tease each other."

"Sexually harassing another child isn't teasing." Áine’s voice reverberates with fury. "Attempted rape isn't teasing."

"That's not true. You have to stop your daughter from lying like this."

How in the dark has Kenneth kept his wife? I'm starting to think she has mushroom status and the crap she's buried in is about to smother her.

"Are you aware that Fitz was a witness to the assault?" I ask her.

"He misunderstood what he saw. Kenny Jr. told me. Kenneth is devastated that Brogan would believe the word of the daughter of a traitor over his own flesh and blood."

I'm worried Áine is going to get angry and pour the pitcher of iced tea over Allison's head before we get a chance to quiz the older woman about her knowledge of her husband's schemes.

Considering how much she doesn't know about what happened at the school that day, it's looking less and less like he kept her in the loop about anything.

Allison reaches for her glass, but misses and frowns down at her hand like she's never seen it before. "I know Kenny made mistakes." She slurs slightly and repeats herself.

"Mistakes," I prompt when she goes silent.

She nods, the movement exaggerated. The compound is definitely taking effect. She's going to have to wait to leave until it's worn off. When security texted she'd arrived at the gate, they said she didn't have a driver with her.

"He's been…heesh been influence…shed by the wrong people."

"The wrong people being?"

She looks genuinely surprised by the question, her eyes going comically wide. "Billy. PJ. Those boys."

"Not Kenneth?"