Page 36 of Sinful King
“The minute I found out, Eoghan made moves to get you home. I stepped back and unofficially gave the power to you. No need for a driver. Letting Landell run rampant since is only meant to draw out all the players on the board.”
Mmm.
“And what moves exactly did my uncle make?”
I posed the question as if it were for my father, but my gaze had already locked onto the man beside me.
“I tracked the hack back to Blair before Niamh figured it out,” he said nonchalantly. “We decided exposing her early didn’t make sense. She’d unknowingly uncovered it was Landell behind the job to us, and if she could do the rest, why stop it?”
I frowned and my da fucking laughed as he leaned forward.
“She’s brilliant,” he said, the smile gone from his face as if it hadn’t been there. “Never met anyone well versed in so much like Eoghan until her. And because Finnegan can’t do it, Blair is who you need as your second.”
If I killed them both would everyone hate me?I thought as my gaze moved between them.
“Let me just… Let me make sure I’m understanding. You two thought instead of, I don’t know, picking up the phone and saying I’m needed in New York that luring me back was the better idea?”
I locked eyes with my da.
“You gave me a bogus ultimatum about killing the love of my life or marrying her because you knew what I’d choose.”
And then it fucking hit me as the words left my lips.
“No, you did it to ensure I chose her as my second.”
It wasn’t a question and neither answered.
“You’ve been tracking her all this time and figured out this is what she wanted.”
More silence.
“Your suggestion is noted.” I shook my head and stood. “Don’t involve yourselves from this point on. I got it.”
A weird feeling slowly spread through me and rooted itself in my fucking chest, right over my heart.
I didn’t really understand it but then my da spoke and reminded me of something I had finally forgotten.
“You can hide it from her but you can’t hide it from me. What happened to your grandmother didn’t happen to your mother and it won’t happen to Blair.”
We were allowed our own secrets to an extent.
There was one thing Blair didn’t know about me, a fear I kept to myself because I wanted her to live freely without the burden.
My grandmother dying in front of me changed everything and nothing at the same time. It’d been so far in the back of my mind, I wasn’t sure if I was projecting any of it in my personality or decisions.
Is that why she kept so much a secret? Because she felt that shit anyway?
The door opened before I got to it and Finnegan stepped in with a silly smile on his face.
“Did I miss something important?” he asked, frowning like we knew he’d be here.
“I’ll tell you when it’s time,” I said.
He nodded and turned toward our da, a request on his lips he’d never get to make.
“I know why you’re really here and the answer is yes,” our da said as he stood. “Schedule it with Eoghan, then convince Gianna to do the same and I’ll feel better about leaving all of this to the four of you.”
He kept talking and we followed him all the way to the kitchen, where Blair, Violet and my ma were.
