Chapter 42 Declan
Declan
Verity curled up into herself, looking like she'd rather be anywhere but here, in this hotel suite with me. Well, tough fucking shit. I needed her to see that running away every time something or someone caused her emotional pain was not the answer.
After talking to Conal, I understood why she'd left. Saoirse had behaved like a brat. It was none of her fucking business who Verity slept with, and acting all betrayed when she discovered her best friend had formed a relationship with our brothers was ridiculous.
"Did Saoirse ever tell you about Grant?"
Verity looked confused about where this was going. "No?"
"Grant was Katie's father."
"Katie, from school?" I nodded and her brow furrowed. "Katie left rather abruptly, but I never knew why. She was Saoirse's friend, not mine. Did something happen?"
"Yeah, you could say that." I grimaced at the memory.
"Saoirse slept with Grant." It had caused me all kinds of grief when I found out.
Mostly because I put the asshole in hospital for daring to sleep with a 16-year-old girl.
He and his family moved to Scotland a month after the hospital discharged him.
Naturally, conveniently, Saoirse had forgotten about that brief lapse in judgment.
"My point here is that she has no right to judge you for sleeping with the twins when she's done stupid shit, too."
Verity seemed stunned. Saoirse had obviously not told her about Grant. Unsurprisingly, given what happened after.
She and the twins had been blowing up my phone ever since we arrived in the hotel, but so far, I'd ignored all of them after providing a brief update to say our girl was safe.
Since I planned to deliver Verity back into the arms of her loving sister the minute the airport reopened, there was little point in them getting inside her head.
The twins might not agree, but it was better for all of them if their fling ended. Verity deserved someone better than my asshole brothers. And she definitely deserved a better man than me.
Not only was I way too old for her, but I already had my hands full with fucking Bridget and her drama.
The silly mare had thrown a major hissy fit when she discovered I wouldn't be around to escort her to the Rose Gala in New York, the highlight of her social calendar.
An event attended by all the key names in the fashion world, A-list celebrities, top media personalities, and minor royalty.
Frankly, I'd rather stick my head in a gas oven.
Greg, her gay BFF, could accompany her. He loved that shit.
Bridget didn't know it yet but she and I were done. I planned to take her out for lunch and give her the good news. She'd not be happy about it, but I didn't give a flying fuck.
The only reason I'd stuck it out this long was because she spent less time in Ireland these days. But since Verity's arrival, Bridget had become needy, for lack of a better word, and I thought I knew why.
"Wow. Thanks. Not that it helps, as she probably won't talk to me again and also, good to know you think I'm stupid, too."
"I don't think you're stupid, Verity." Why did she always see herself that way?
It was fucking infuriating. "Saoirse feels bad.
She's truly sorry for the things she said.
" I'd read them all the riot act before leaving.
Ronan had been utterly unrepentant, of course, but Conal and Saoirse had taken my opinions on board.
"She is?" I hated the sadness in her eyes. Like she needed someone to wrap her up in a thick blanket and give her the biggest hug ever. I wished it could be me, but that would send entirely the wrong message. And I couldn't afford to cross any more lines.
"Yes. Once you get to your sister's house, call her." She nodded while chewing her lip. "And next time you two have a falling out, fucking talk it through instead of running away!"
This time she said nothing, but I noticed the way she scowled when I looked down at my phone. Probably because she knew I was right.
"I have a call to make, but when I'm done, let's watch a movie."
"A movie?" Her eyes widened in surprise at my suggestion. She probably figured I'd leave her to her own devices for the rest of the night. Not fucking happening. I didn't trust her to stay put if I left her alone.
"Yeah." I picked up the TV remote and passed it to her. "Pick something while I call Conal." At the mention of my brother's name, her shoulders curled inward again, and she sniffed. I knew then that whatever had gone on between them wasn't over. Not by a long stretch.
Ronan answered Conal's phone. "Is she OK? Let me talk to her."
"Yes, she's fine, and no."
"What the fuck, Dec? Put her on the phone!"
I gripped the phone and fought to contain my temper. Yelling at my stupid brother wouldn't help my cause.
"You two have already put her in danger, so this ends now. Once the storm passes, I'm flying her to the US, delivering her to her sister, and then we all move on. Now put Conal on. Where is he, anyway?"
"Getting a coffee." It sounded suspiciously noisy in the background. Way noisier than our kitchen at home. "Ronan, what's going on?"
"Sorry. Got another call!" The line went dead, leaving me frowning at my handset. My brothers were up to something.
I dialed the main house, where Mrs. O'Mara picked up.
"Everything alright, sir?" She sounded confused about why I'd rung the house phone.
"Are my brothers there?"
"No, they left for the airport a while ago." I swore under my breath. Those fuckers. I'd warned them to stay at home once Saoirse returned to college. We couldn't afford to take our eyes off the ball with the O'Rourkes looking for any excuse to attack us.
"OK, thanks," I gritted out, not wishing to alarm her. "Just checking." No doubt she was busy scratching her head over my odd behavior, but whatever. I hung up and tried calling Ronan again, but this time, my call went straight to voicemail.
I had no fucking clue what their plan was, but good luck to them reaching us while a major storm battered the region. With the airport closed and local ferries canceled, they'd be stuck on the mainland. And by the time they got here, we'd be back in the air.
Verity fell asleep again before the end of the movie. Once the credits rolled, I picked her up and carried her back into the bedroom. The suite had a Super King bed, which was plenty big enough for the two of us, but lying next to her wasn't an option.
My self-control had officially reached its limit.
I placed her down on the mattress and gently pulled the covers over her. With a bit of luck, she'd sleep through until morning, at which point the airport would have reopened.
Outside, rain fell in sheets while the wind howled around the edge of the balcony, screeching through the cast iron balustrade like a banshee. In here, though, silence reigned.
I wandered back into the living room and switched to a satellite news channel with the volume off and subtitles on. A faint knock on the door came as I poured myself a drink from the minibar.
Ash stood outside when I unlocked the door, his gun tucked away. I gestured at him to enter, and he walked in, casting a brief look around.
"She asleep?"
"Yeah. Drink?" He nodded. I picked up the bottle of Macallan I’d ordered from Room Service and poured him a glass.
"The twins are on their way." I handed him his drink before taking a seat on the sofa. On screen, a news reporter stood overlooking the ocean as enormous waves battered the shore behind her. There were flood warnings in place across various regions, including Sicily.
Thank God this hotel was half-way up a mountain.
Ash sipped his whisky and then huffed out a dry laugh at my announcement.
"You don't seem surprised?" I observed, my eyes narrowed in irritation.
"Ronan's obsessed. No way is he letting her go that easily."
"And Conal?" Ash spent more time with my brothers than I did. I trusted his observations.
"Yeah, he's…" He scratched his head while searching for the right words. "Half in love with her."
Shit. This was worse than I thought. How had this happened under my nose?
"And you?" Ash's question took me by surprise. My brow furrowed.
"What about me?" Ash and I had known each other since we were kids. He and Connor were my closest friends. I trusted them with my life. If I had my back to the wall, I knew I could rely on them. What I didn't expect, however, was Ash asking me questions I wasn't comfortable answering.
"You seem very invested in her safety."
"She's part of our family, not to mention Thea Orliov's sister. Of course I need to keep her safe!"
He smirked. "Seems like you've gone the extra mile to keep her safe. You could have sent me and Connor out here without getting involved. Or the twins, like you did last time."
"As you already pointed out, the twins are in too deep with her." I swallowed the last of my drink and poured a fresh one. "I'd have done the same for my sisters."
"Oh, so she's like a sister to you?"
From his knowing grin, he saw way more than I wanted him to see, but I squared my shoulders, shrugging off his insinuation. He knew nothing.
"Of course. Besides, she's way too young for me." Maybe if I said the words, I might actually believe them.
Ash watched me for a moment, an inscrutable look on his scarred face. "You deserve to be happy, man."
"I am happy!" How had this turned into a fucking counseling session?
"No, you're not. All you do is work. It's not healthy."
I snatched his glass from his hand. "If I want fucking life coaching, I'll pay an expert. Now get back to your fucking job, which I reward you handsomely for, by the way."
He rolled his eyes. "Fine. If you decide you want to talk about shit, you know where I am." We both knew this was me deflecting. I was angry at myself, not him.
"Fuck off." I shoved him out of the suite, resisting the temptation to slam the door in his face. Doing that would wake Verity up, and God knows I'd had enough temptation for one night.
Instead of heading into the bedroom, I poured a fresh drink, settled down on the sofa, and searched for something mindless to watch.
Maybe Ash was right, and I needed to find a wife. Someone to come home to. Ma had always been there for Pa. Even when they fought, they still loved each other. I wanted what they'd had. A woman who understood our life. A woman who wasn't career oriented or driven by money.
Someone soft and empathetic.
Someone to care for, treat like a queen, and be the center of my universe.
A woman who'd fit into our fucked-up family dynamic without causing friction with my brothers or sisters.
The more I thought about it, the more I realized Verity was the only person who came close to meeting those exacting requirements. Except she was also the one person off-limits to me.
It was going to be a long night.