Page 126 of Wicked Ruin

“Aye,” he says. “She's the one having the baby.”

“Good answer,” she says with a wink. “Alright, let’s see here. You’re far enough along, it should be an easy tell…” She smiles. “You’re having a baby boy.”

He bends and kisses me.

They finish the scan and check my vital signs. It seems I’m as good as gold.

“What happened back at the house?” I ask him.

“Esposito has custody of her. He’ll be back in touch.”

I sigh and shake my head. “So, not the alliance you’d planned with the Espositos, but it might work in everyone’s favor in the end?”

“Aye.”

Someone clears his throat. When I look up, Seamus and Keenan are standing in the doorway of the hospital room.

“Declan,” Seamus says, arms crossed over his chest. “A word.”

Chapter Thirty-Four

DECLAN

I close the door behind me and face the wall of McCarthy. I don’t fucking care what happens next. Bridget’s safe. Our baby’s safe. Nothing else matters.

Seamus eyes me, his face a mask. “Did I hear right? Her baby is yours?”

“Aye. Course it fuckin’ is.” I don't know whether he's going to hug me or punch me.

“How long have you known about this?”

“Fair bit.” I shove my hands in my pockets.

“Well.”

I stare at the two men who, between them, have managed every serious thing that's happened to this family for the last thirty years, and right now, they're both looking at me with expressions I can't quite read.

Uncle Keenan works through it first. “Seamus. Lorenzo Esposito revealed the impostor’s identity. Her name’s Shannon O’Brien, an informant for the Boston Irish. He's secured information. He's getting my son out of prison.” Then, with a smile, “Declan’s in love with a girl who saved my life. And”—his voice rising—“he's bringing another McCarthy lad into the ring.”

“Jesus Christ.” Seamus shakes his head.

“You’ll let him off whatever promise he made to you, son,” Keenan says, slapping Seamus’s back none too gently. Uncle Keenan’s never done anything gently in his life, and a heart condition hasn’t changed that. “It’s the right thing to do, and you know it.”

Seamus looks at me. “If I do this, you’ll never make me regret it.”

“Of course not.”

Uncle Keenan smiles, pushes himself off the wall, and takes off down the hall toward the cafeteria, whistling something under his breath, easy as a man who's just settled the whole thing. Which, knowing my uncle, he has.

Might say Keenan's gone a little soft in his old age. I love the bastard.

“Right,” Seamus says, shaking his head. “You heard the man.” He holds up the thumb drive. “This is the most important thing right now. Getting my brother out of prison. You take good care of that girl.” A pause. Something shifts in his face, the same shift I've seen once or twice when Seamus stops being Seamus the authority and becomes something closer to a person. “She's something special, isn't she?”

I swallow hard. “Aye.” I grin at him. I can hardly believe this is actually happening. I can’t help but needle Seamus. “Aren't you glad you didn't exile her along with the parents?”

“Don't push your fucking luck,” Seamus says, winking at me. “This isn’t finished, Declan. O’Brien answers to people who don’t stop because one plan failed. We got the intel. We got Torin. Esposito’s got O’Brien in custody, but Boston’s still there.”

“Aye.” I nod. I know he’s right.