Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 87709 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 439(@200wpm)___ 351(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87709 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 439(@200wpm)___ 351(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
Shite.
I set down my glass. He slams the car into park, punches his door shut, and jumps up the stairs toward my flat, two at a time. Then he fills my doorway for a moment, taking in the room, taking in me, standing at the kitchen counter. I’m bracing for impact.
“You fucking arsehole,” he says, and then he lunges.
He crosses the kitchen in four strides and hits me so hard my head snaps sideways, and I fall against the counter. The glass falls off the edge and shatters on the floor. I straighten up, touch the corner of my mouth with the back of my hand, look at the blood on my knuckles, then stare at Cavin, who stands in the middle of the kitchen, breathing hard, with his fist still half raised.
Adrenaline surges through me, but I hold myself back.
“She's my fucking sister!” Cavin growls. Then he lunges at me again, but this time I deflect the hit, and he doesn't connect.
“She's not your sister,” I say, slamming him into the counter.
He swings again. Cavin’s an experienced fighter, but I’ve been trained too.
He catches my arm and drives me into the table. The chair goes sideways. I land a punch to his gut, but he gets an elbow into my ribs. I shove him hard enough to put space between us, but he comes straight back.
“You fucking gobshite.”
I kick at him, deflect, and manage to get away. Then I move fast, spin, and he falls to the ground on his arse.
“Stop it. You're my fucking brother.” I hold a hand up. “You draw blood, and Seamus will fucking kill you. You know that.”
“I didn't know you were sleeping with her.”
I don’t respond.
“How long?”
Silence.
“How long, Declan?”
“Not long enough,” I tell him. “I love her.”
He moves again, and this time he grabs my collar. We're the same height, roughly, but he's been doing this since he was fifteen. Cavin fights because he's good at it. I fight because I have to. There's a difference, and right now I let him have it.
“Let go of me.”
“No. You let go of me.”
“Not until you calm down.”
“I am calm.”
But his jaw is tight, and his eyes are bright.
“She's pregnant.” His voice drops. “You fucking knocked her up. You're engaged. Do you know what this is going to do to us?”
“Aye, I fucking know.”
“And what the fuck are you going to do about it?”
“I'm working on it.”
“Working on it,” Cavin says. He moves like he's going to punch me again, but I shove him back. I grab him by the collar and put him against the wall. I caught him off guard. I never catch him off guard.
I hold him there. “You're going to sit down, and we're going to talk about this like civilized guys. Do not make me fight you, Cavin.”
He growls at me. “Put me down.”
I growl right back. “Tell me you're not going to fight me again.”
“Promise you won't hit me again.”
“You fucking arsehole.”
He holds my eyes before something goes out of him. I let go. He collapses into a chair.
Last time we got into a fight, we were fifteen years old, and it was over a girl. Seamus caught us, dragged us home, and gave us a lesson we didn’t forget, along with making us promise that we'd never fight again. We haven't fought since.
He’s my best mate.
“Erin's a fucking mess.”
Jesus. “Is she alright? Look, brother, I was going to tell you,” I say. “That night your da went to the hospital. Remember? I told you I had something to tell you.”
Cavin nods and runs a hand through his hair. He’s panting and sweating and looks half wrecked.
“Aye, I should’ve known. I should have known you were going to go for her.”
“Go for her? Christ, Cavin, I love her. I’d do anything for her.”
He frowns at me. “Except break off the fucking engagement with the people who are supposed to be putting us on the map.”
“I know. Tell me about it.”
Cavin exhales and looks to the ceiling. “She almost died, Declan. She spent years in a hospital bed. Erin gave up everything to keep her alive, and she finally gets to have a chance at a life. And now she's pregnant and alone, and she won't say anything to anyone because of who she is. That's what she does. She just carries it alone.”
“She isn't.” I say it again, harder. “She isn't alone. Christ, Cav, I went with her to the doctor. I’m in hourly contact with her guards.” My voice breaks.
Cavin looks at me. “Will you? Find a way?”
“I promise,” I say.
He stares at me.
“You said you love her.”
“I do.”
Cavin shakes his head.
“I don't know why Seamus allowed her to stay. It's not like him. He's not… merciful.” He blinks and looks away.
He doesn't know the promise I made, then. Good. “You sure you love her?”