I clench my jaw, hating to admit my failure. "Two nights ago. We had an argument and I... I told her to get out. I didn't mean it literally, but she left in the middle of the night."
Dominic's eyebrows shoot up. "And you're just now looking for her?"
The accusation in his tone makes my hackles rise, but I force myself to remain calm. "I was... indisposed. When I came to my senses, she was already gone."
Roisin scoffs. "Indisposed. Right. She told me you didn’t want the baby, but I thought you’d changed your mind. I guess you changed it back again and were too busy wallowing in your own indignation to notice your pregnant wife had vanished?"
I bite back a harsh retort, knowing she's right. My silence is admission enough.
"Christ, Niko," Dominic mutters, shaking his head. "What the hell happened between you two?"
I hesitate, not wanting to air our dirty laundry, but aware Roisin might know something since they’ve been friends forever.
"She lied to me," I finally admit, the harsh words tasting bitter on my tongue. "About everything. Her past, her age…"
Roisin's eyes widen in surprise, but there's something else there too. A dawning suspicion that tells me she knows something.
"What do you know?" I demand, taking a step towards her.
She shakes her head. “I’m not sure it’s anything,” she says, furrowing her brow and biting her bottom lip looking away as if remembering something.
“Tell me!” I demand, reaching out towards her.
Dominic tenses, ready to intervene, but Roisin holds up a hand. "Her mother - Lenka - was batshit crazy. She always seemed to be running from something, but I don't know what, and I don’t think Lyah did, either. She never told me anything past being thankful to be in school, so they weren’t constantly moving around and changing names."
I run a hand through my hair, frustration mounting. "Did she ever mention anything about a forced marriage? Or an organization called Red Scorpion?"
Roisin shakes her head, confusion clear on her face, but Dominic’s fists curl at my mention of the name, and I know he’ll demand an explanation.
"No, nothing like that. What's going on, Niko?"
I pace the room, debating how much to reveal. These are allies, but allies only remain so for as long as it suits them, although Roisin and Emylyah’s friendship always served to keep things stable with the Irish… Dominic is Cosa Nostra, though. A new player and so far, a relatively unknown entity, despite proving he’d do anything for his wife. Even sacrifice his life.
"Our marriage is invalid. It seems Emylyah is legally married to someone else." I say finally, exerting every bit of control I have to keep my voice even. I can’t afford to alienate Roisin or let her think I might be a danger to Emylyah.
Roisin gasps, her hand flying to her mouth. “What!?” she exclaims, her shock convincing me she didn’t know. “Lyah is no bigamist!” This she says with righteous indignation, her Irish accent becoming broader with her incredulity. “And I would know! We’ve spent all our time together since she was ten years old. There’s no way this happened without me knowing.”
“Well, something you didn’t know is that your dear friend is actually two years older than she says she is.” The cynicism is creeping into my voice again, and Roisin’s eyes narrow to slits as she glares at me. “And she was married when she was twelve years old. Likely before you started school together.”
Roisin cocks her hip and folds her arms over her chest belligerently. “She still would have told me something that massive,” she replies, mutinously. “And what the hell do you mean… she was twelve years old? That’s…’
“All true,” I finish when she pauses, apparently lost for words for once in her life. “I have the marriage certificate to prove it, and yes, I’ve checked it’s genuine,” I tell her when she opens her mouth to argue some more.
Apparently being lost for words doesn’t last long for Roisin.
Her face pales as the implications sink in. "Oh my god," she whispers. "Is this something to do with why they were always running?"
I nod grimly. "It seems likely, but I need to know more. Anything you can remember about Emylyah's past will help, Roisin. I need to find her. She’s out there all alone without protection."
Being born into a crime family, she knows exactly what that means and her lips quiver as tears well in her eyes. Dominic moves to her side and slides his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close, and for a moment she buries her face in his chest before taking a breath and looking back at me.
“The one thing that stood out above all the other stuff she told me was about an incident that took place shortly before she started school.”
Disentangling herself from Dominic, Roisin crosses the room to sit on the couch and he and I follow suit.
When she’s wrapped up in his arms again, Roisin continues. “She was still freaked out about it, and although we didn’t know each other well at that point, I think she needed to talk to someone… it’s what cemented our friendship, in fact.”
She pauses, like she’s thinking back on it, then tells me the story.
