Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 90211 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 451(@200wpm)___ 361(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90211 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 451(@200wpm)___ 361(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
There’s no blood. That’s good, at least.
But Luke’s not here. He’s gone, and I don’t know where he could have possibly vanished to. I feel empty, drained and wrung out like a dirty sponge. I collapse to my knees in my brother’s living room, not sure why he’d turn his back on our family like this, wondering what he was thinking when he decided to throw his life away, but desperate to find him. Maybe, somehow, I can still help him.
Or maybe we’re all beyond saving.
CHAPTER 26
LIAM
Ipark outside the Corrigan family house. I study the nice facade, the expensive stone and the dark black door. Regan grew up in this place, and I wonder what it was like. Terrible, if I had to guess. Not the best in the world. Though probably a hell of a lot nicer than the orphanages, foster homes, and juvenile detention centers that were the backgrounds of my youth.
I knock, expecting a housekeeper. I’m not sure what I’m going to say yet, but I have to come up with something. A few moments later, the door opens, and it’s Regan’s mother peering out at me with a curious smile.
That surprises me and throws me off balance.
“Ah, hello Liam, how are you? What can I help you with?”
“Mrs. Corrigan, hello. I was hoping I might talk with your husband. Is he around?”
She hesitates. Her smile slips as she looks over her shoulder. “He’s in his office, but—“ Her hands smooth at the wooden frame. “It’s maybe not the best time.”
“Did something happen?”
“No, no, nothing like that. Only a disagreement, that’s all.”
My heart rate ticks up. “Was Regan here?”
“She was.” Her eyebrows raise. “You know what that was about.”
“Unfortunately.”
“Come inside.” She ushers me through the entryway and into a side sitting room. Regan’s mother is a willowy woman, impossibly thin, and she fusses around like a squirrel rearranging her hoard of stashed nuts. I watch her twitchy motions with curiosity, and can almost see Regan in them, except my wife is much more deliberate and composed.
“Is there something you want to talk to me about, Mrs. Corrigan?” I ask, standing near the couch but not sitting.
She looks at me in a near-panic. “Noreen. Please call me Noreen.”
“Alright, Noreen. What’s going on?”
“I think… maybe… Martin isn’t quite ready to speak with any guests. His argument with Regan was… not good.”
“What happened?” I fight to steady myself. I know this family holds secrets. I can’t imagine Regan’s father has been the best dad in the world. Most likely he’s been a real bastard. But I had assumed that was in the past.
“Whatever Regan told him, Martin got angry.”
“Did he touch her?”
“No, no, nothing like that. But they had a disagreement… I think some choice words were spoken…”
“What did he do to my wife?”
Noreen’s face pales. “He sent her away. Please, Liam, when you talk to him, I’m begging you, whatever you say, please get him to let her come back home. Luke’s missing, and now Martin forbade Regan from stepping foot in this house, and I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to do anymore.”
Her shoulders slump. She seems very old and frail as she sits heavily in a chair, hugging herself, drawing inward. I do my best to remain calm, because getting angry won’t help this woman right now, but it’s not fucking easy.
“Noreen, I’m going to ask you something. I want you to answer honestly. Did your husband ever touch Regan? Did he threaten to hurt her?”
“Threats, mostly.” She looks at her hands. “Martin’s under a lot of stress and pressure. He needs things to be a certain way, but children aren’t like that. Children are messy and silly. Martin couldn’t accept it though. He was especially hard on Regan, since she was the oldest, and he flattened her. He crushed her, the way he crushes everything around him, and I think he’ll do it again… I mean, he’ll try to…”
“Listen to me.” I sit across from her on the edge of a couch. “Regan’s my wife now. She’s under my protection, do you understand? Whatever your husband says, he can’t hurt her. He can’t touch her. He shouldn’t even speak to her in a disrespectful manner.”
“I don’t think he knows that yet.”
“He will.” I take her hands on a whim. They’re papery and cold. She squeezes back, eyes watery but not crying. “I don’t know what he put you through, but it’s coming to an end now. I promise.”
“You can’t keep that. Nobody really can. Please, it’s better if you don’t say it.”
“I don’t break my word, not for anything.” I release her and stand. “Stay here. You’ll know when it’s over. Where’s his office?”
She gives me directions. I leave the sitting room. I haven’t felt this clear in a very long time. I haven’t had this kind of purpose since back when I first met Finn and he dragged me from the string of shitty half-lives and hellish abusive psychopaths I was trapped with. Back then life was simple: work for the Whelans, do whatever they needed, never fail them. I built my life around them.