Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Sean
P iper’s going to bolt. I see it in her eyes the moment Tag tells her he killed her brother. She pulls her hand out of mine and can’t get away from us fast enough.
If I could manage it, I would chase her down the hall, but I won’t be going anywhere for a few hours…maybe a few days.
I fucking hate being laid up, but with all the blood I lost and the crack to the head, I won’t get anywhere. And me face-planting in the hallway won’t improve my ugly mug any.
So, I do the only thing I can think of. I send Laine a pleading glance. “Can you please make sure she is okay?”
Her gaze is sharp, and I worry she sees too much, but I’m in no condition to front that I don’t care about Piper. Of course I care about her—I rescued her and have spent the better part of three days with her.
Tag walks Laine to the door, whispers something to her, and then closes the door before coming back.
“What did you tell her?” I don’t like the look he’s pegging me with, and my instincts are screaming at me that I won’t like what he says, either.
“I told her not to get too close to Piper. She’s upset and Laine’s pregnant.”
I meet his stony stare with my own. “You think Piper will attack Laine? You’re taking paranoia to a whole new level there, brother.”
Tag shrugs. “Whether or not you acknowledge it, you brought someone into our home who is not only an unknown danger, but who also has a mafia family hunting for her.”
“Well, that sounds familiar. Wasn’t Aiden spewing those exact words at you when you brought Laine here? You knew her one day when you brought her home. And she had not only a Chicago crime family searching for her but a psychotic husband.”
Tag’s gaze narrows. “You’d be wise to leave Laine out of this.”
“You were the one who brought her into it.”
It doesn’t escape my attention that Finn, Brendan, and Bryan have grown unnaturally quiet. Whatever. Tag may think Laine is the center of the universe, but her coming here was messy, too.
Still, they got through it, and it all worked out.
“At least we’ve known Piper her entire life and know what we’re dealing with, right? There are no surprises, so we can plan for the fallout.”
Tag frowns. “You say that like it’s an advantage. Aye, we know her, but we also know how bad it will be if Gravely and an army of men come take her from us. Whether or not you want to admit it, her being here endangers Laine, our baby, as well as Cora and Connor.”
I feel bad about that. Especially since Connor is still in a cast with a broken leg after being attacked by Laine’s dead husband.
“Give me one night to rest and regain my strength. Tomorrow, I’ll find a spot and move her somewhere you find more suitable.”
Tag lets off a long sigh. “Fine. Tomorrow works.”
When Tag turns to leave, I feel the anger and tension between us, and it doesn’t sit well. “I’m really not trying to jam up the family, T. She was terrified to go back, and with Gravely closing in, I wanted her safe until she could make her own choices.”
Tag dips his chin. “Until tomorrow, then.”
Piper
Tears stream down my cheeks and drip to leave damp spots on the t-shirt I’ve been wearing for days now. It’s Sean’s, and the black fabric hangs to my mid-thighs.
When he first gave it to me to wear, it was gallant and the swoony girl in me softened to the man who was kind to me when no one else was.
And while I don’t regret a moment I’ve spent with him, hiding from my family changes nothing. In truth, it’s shifted the focus of my father and his men and got my brother killed.
The loss of Ryan so soon after Declan compounds the hollow ache in my heart. We weren’t that close—given that there were almost twelve years between Declan and me and more than ten between Ryan and me.
By the time I was old enough to understand that I had six brothers, Niall, Declan, and Ryan, had already moved out to a flat of their own and were busy learning the family business.
Their mother was Aimee, Da’s first wife, and when she died, the boys were only toddlers. From what people say, Da loved her with all his heart and after her death, he was never the same.
He married my mother a couple of years later and while it’s never smart to judge the relationships of others, I’d say they have always been a smart match, but not a love match.
They are partners. They are aligned in focus. And they each do their part to keep the family strong.
It’s not the kind of marriage I want.
I want passion, kindness, and for my children to know they are cherished for who they are—regardless of whether they are a boy or a girl.
Because in our household, the boys mattered. Period. End of story. I was always left behind and dismissed as being too young, na?ve, or delicate to understand the cruel realities of our lives.
Niall, Declan, and Ryan were more like Da’s favorite enforcers that came around the house for holidays. They escorted me to school at times. They intimidated boys who stopped to talk to me. But they never treated me like family.
Still, Ryan was my brother, and my mother loved him as if he was her biological son. She must know by now that he’s dead and will be grieving.
It hurts my heart to know that while she grieves Declan and Ryan, she’s likely also worried and hurting that I’m missing.
Does she know how badly Vladmir and Arkady hurt me? Would she ever have let Da promise me to them if she’d known the way they would treat me?
There’s a part of me that is desperate to believe she wouldn’t. That if she understood what it meant to be handed over to the Bratva as their party favor, she would’ve fought my father’s plan tooth and nail.
And she would’ve won, too.
Da rarely goes against my mother’s wishes.
Happy wife, happy life, right?
“Hey, are you all right?” Laine steps into the room with a box of tissues in her hand.
“Sorry. I can’t believe everything has gone so wrong. Sean has been kind to me, and I returned that kindness by getting him stabbed and my brother killed.”
Laine comes deeper into the room and sits on the edge of the bed beside me. “The boys don’t share everything with me, but I’ve got a pretty good idea of what the past three days have looked like for you. One thing I know for sure is that nothing that happened is your fault.”
“How can you say that? If Sean wasn’t hiding me, Ryan and Billy wouldn’t have come at him and been out for blood. Sean was attacked because of me.”
Laine twists and slides her leg onto the bed to sit sideways, facing me. “This is 100% your father’s fault, Piper. He made a horrifying deal with the Russians. He sent you into a dangerous situation unprepared. He made it impossible for you to feel safe in your own family territory.”
“But maybe if I?—”
“No, sweetie. Don’t do that.” Laine holds out the box of tissues and leans closer to meet my watery gaze. “Don’t make the decisions of angry men your fault.”
“But if I?—”
She shakes her head. “Do you know I worked as a criminal defense attorney in the US until I came here a few weeks ago?”
I pull several tissues free of the box and blow my nose. “No. Sean’s been very private about all of you.”
“Well, I did. Since I graduated from law school, I have spent years defending criminals. I know what I’m talking about when I say they make their own decisions and are responsible for their own actions. Yes, you fled your father’s territory, but he could’ve done a dozen other things than have your brother hunt you down and attack Sean. That was a brute response to a situation, and it reflects what kind of person he is—not you.”
I dry my tears and wad up the tissues in my hand. “But I can’t stay here and hide. Tag’s not wrong to want me out of your family home. Me being here puts all of you in danger.”
She pats my thigh. “All the Quinn boys have an alpha protector streak in them. Tag is worried and protecting his family, but that doesn’t make Sean wrong because he’s worried and wants to protect you.”
“But he shouldn’t have to protect me. I want to protect myself. I’ve told my father for years that I’m a McGuire and I can take care of myself. Then, the first time he gives me a job to do, I ruin all his plans.”
Laine scowls. “You can’t seriously be beating yourself up over the Bratva thing. Piper, that was disgusting.”
“I know. Trust me, I know, but like you said, people are responsible for their actions. When cornered by those Russians, I chose to fight them, and then I ran to Quinn territory to hide for days. Maybe there were other ways to handle it. Maybe I should’ve stood up to them or confronted my father.”
Laine sighs. “Given the situation, I don’t think you had any choice. I’ve seen the video Sean has of what was done to you. It shows how strong and smart you are that you got away from them. There’s nothing wrong with surviving to fight another day.”
I look around the room, wondering what it would’ve been like to grow up in a family home like this. To have brothers who loved me and would kill to protect me instead of leaving me to a bunch of animals.
“I need to go home. I need to be there for Ryan’s funeral and to look my father in the eyes and tell him that what he did was unforgiveable.”
Laine dips her chin in a slow nod. “I understand where you’re coming from—and I applaud your conviction—but why don’t you give it a day or two? You’re still recovering from your injuries and Sean just got home. If you leave, there’s no way he’ll lie in that bed and heal. It seems to me that you both need a day or two to heal wounds and regain your footing.”
What she’s saying makes sense—and not just because I’m terrified to face my family. Each day that passes, I feel stronger and more prepared to take on the next battle.
I envision myself going home to face my father. As long as he doesn’t turn me over to Billy Gravely, I think I’d be all right. He won’t add to my mother’s grief. I could explain what happened, comfort my mother, and then, when he tells me I’m a disappointment and not fit to call myself a McGuire, I’ll pack my things and leave.
It’s not a great plan, but it’s something.
I meet Laine’s deep chestnut gaze and nod. “All right. I’ll stay another day or two. Mam will have O’Reagan’s handle the funeral, so once I find out about Ryan’s service, I’ll know when I need to go. Still, I got the feeling Tag wants me out of this house ASAP.”
Laine pats my leg and gives me a warm smile. “You let me worry about Tag. A couple of days will give Sean time to recover and you a chance to get back on your feet. I think that’s a wise decision.”
I sigh. “That makes one of us.”
Laine chuckles. “Come with me. If you’re staying, you need something better to wear. No offense, girlfriend, but it looks like Sean dressed you out of a lost and found bin.”
I look down at the gray sweatpants and Sean’s t-shirt and laugh. “Yeah, this actually is pretty awful. Something to wear would be great.”