Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 121871 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 609(@200wpm)___ 487(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121871 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 609(@200wpm)___ 487(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
Taran let out a heavy sigh. “Well, there’s no way you’re not coming to my hen weekend, so get your arse out of the car. We have an entire ferry journey to sort it out. And if that isn’t enough time, we have an entire train ride to Glasgow. And if that still isn’t enough time, you two can duke it out while trying on bridesmaid dresses. What we aren’t going to do is not sort it out before we get home. Okay? Mummy has spoken,” she joked before sliding out of the truck.
And despite how awful I felt, I couldn’t help but let out a little snort of admiration.
To our credit, Nee and I attempted not to make our current disagreement awkward and weird for Taran and Cammie. We engaged in conversation with our friends but carefully avoided talking directly to each other. Taran and Cammie kept throwing each other little worried glances that Nee and I pretended to be oblivious to. It was not at all how I’d imagined this weekend. I’d been so looking forward to spending time with my friends and in a new-to-me city.
At least on the train down to Glasgow, I could lose myself in the passing scenery. Which was spectacular and made me long to travel around the rest of the country.
We arrived at our hotel in the middle of the city center tired and ready for bed. We’d eaten on the train and decided to retire for the evening inside the Victorian terraced hotel. The plan had been for Nee and I to share one of the two rooms we’d booked, but without even discussing it with us, Cammie and Taran made the executive decision that I’d share with Taran instead.
“I’m sorry,” I apologized as soon as the hotel room door shut behind me and the bride-to-be.
The room was a large twin with Victoriana purple and pink wallpaper, brass accents, and a kind of over-the-top floral and brass glam. The light feature in the middle of the room was a huge brass dome with brass feathers attached around the rim. It was boutique and moody and should have been a cool backdrop to a special weekend.
“Are you ready to tell me exactly what happened?” Taran asked as she dropped down onto the end of one of the king-size beds.
Shaking my head, I sat on the old-fashioned velvet sofa opposite her. “I think I should keep it between me and Nee for now. She’s already pissed at me for telling Murray before I told her.”
My friend frowned. “Should I be worried about you?”
“No.” I let out an angry huff. “Which is why that controlling bastard should have kept his mouth shut.”
Taran’s eyebrows practically hit her hairline. “Whoa. You are bloody angry at Murray, eh?”
“Uh, yeah.” I pushed up off the sofa, not wanting to discuss that either. “I need to pee.”
Locking myself in the stylish bathroom, I sat down on the toilet seat and curled my hands into fists, breathing deep. In and out. Slow. Easy. I refused to cry and I concentrated on my breathing to stave off another panic attack. My gaze caught on the stunning turquoise and diamond engagement ring Murray had slipped onto my finger several weeks ago. Longing and hurt rose up within me. I’d been so proud to walk around Leth Sholas wearing the ring; a more perfect piece for me didn’t exist. How could a man who seemed to know me so well go behind my back and drive a wedge between me and my best friend?
A sob caught in my throat and I covered it, taking a few deep breaths.
Two minutes later, after using the bathroom, I discovered I was bleeding.
My period had come three days early.
Great. Just what I needed for a girls’ weekend that involved trying on dresses with a best friend who wasn’t talking to me.
MURRAY
Staring down at the burner phone DC McCubbins gave me, I read over our text messages from today as I sat on the deck off the music room. The evening was mild, despite the lack of sun, and the sea breeze grounded me. Or at least I imagined it did. I grasped onto anything to make me feel sane so I didn’t roar all my frustrations out into the night.
Everything was set for us to execute what Fraser had started calling “the mission.” In five days’ time, I’d be on a boat traveling to Southport to entrap a criminal gang. While a set of officers would arrest Russo and the men on his boat after we were out of sight, another set, in conjunction with the Gardai, would arrest Siobhan, and another were going to raid every single Walsh-run residency, including the Walsh brothers’ own home.
It was a big operation for a small organization. Well, two organizations, if you counted Siobhan Cosway’s.