Lorenzo #2
She glances away. "I expect you to give me the chance to explain it properly."
"You've had the chance. You keep telling me you can't."
"I'm telling you I need more time—"
"You don't have more time." I stand. This conversation is over. I’m not getting anything from her.
"The wedding is in four weeks. You're moving into my home after the ceremony.
That's still happening. All of it." I move toward the desk on the far side of the room, putting distance between us, needing it.
"Start thinking about what you're bringing.
Clothes, books, whatever matters to you.
Once you're under my roof there won't be reasons to keep coming back here. "
She goes very still.
"Whatever is yours that you want, bring it. But understand—" I turn to look at her fully. "Once you're in my house, you're subject to my protection, my rules and my judgment. And my judgment requires me to know who I've brought in."
"I understand that," she says quietly.
"Do you?" I cross the room toward her. Stop close enough that she has to look up to hold my gaze. "Because you keep giving me the impression that you're managing how much I know. And I don't accept managed versions of things, Quinn. Not in my business and not in my home."
"I'm not managing—"
"Then tell me."
"I can't yet."
My anger rises swiftly and I breathe through it. I keep it very controlled. It’s why I’m a cold bastard to most and that’s what Quinn is about to experience.
"If you've lied to me," I say. "If you've manipulated what I know or don't know to protect yourself, if there's something in your history that puts my family at risk?" I pause. "Especially Vittoria and Sofia. My sisters."
She looks at me steadily.
"If you ever bring danger to this family," I say. "If you do to someone in my household what happened to Orla Geraghty—"
"I didn't do anything to Orla—"
"If you ever betray me." The words come out very flat and very quiet. "I will kill you myself."
The room is completely silent. Quinn looks at me and I see the moment she realizes just who I truly am.
"You really are ruthless," she says. “You would actually kill me wouldn’t you?”
I stare blankly at her. "This is who I've always been." I step closer, because she needs to understand this. "You should have known," I say, "what kind of vow a man like me would make. It was always going to be a ruthless vow," I say. "If you betray me."
The silence falls between us and I don’t take my gaze off her. She looks at me for a beat. I watch as she squares her shoulders, but even with that defiant move, I see the way she shrinks within herself, the emptiness of her eyes, the way her body seems to grow smaller.
“Fine,” she replies, it’s emotionless and cool.
I don’t know why her reaction hits me hard, I want to say something to ease her, but I don’t. “Good, then pack. We’re weeks away from the wedding.”
"Understood," she says, and turns on her heels and walks out of the room.
I move to follow her and see that Daithí’s in the hallway. I knew he would be. I thought for sure he’d interrupt us but instead he stood outside and waited. I’m not sure what that says about him? Does it mean he trusts his sister to take care of herself?
He takes one look at Quinn's face and his jaw sets. I watch as she whispers something to him. He nods, and we both watch as she makes her way up the stairs.
The moment she’s out of sight he whirls on me. "What the fuck did you say to her?" he hisses.
"That's between Quinn and me," I say, not letting his anger get to me. I won’t be goaded into a fight and Daithí won’t like what’ll happen if he tries to start one.
"No." He steps toward me. He's not physically intimidated by me, which not many people can say. "It stopped being between you and Quinn the moment she walked out of that room looking like that."
"She's fine,” I tell him, ignoring the pain that lances through my chest.
"She's not fine," he growls, anger has his eyes hardening and his jaw tightening. "Today was the first time in weeks where I’ve actually seen my sister happy. Today was the first good day she’s had in a fucking long time. Then she walks in here and you...” he sighs, shaking his head.
“Fuck you, Lorenzo. Whatever the fuck you said to her made her so not fine, so, fuck you.”
I say nothing, I’m not able to. He’s let slip a lot more than he meant to, that’s for fucking sure, and it’s given me so many more questions.
"Quinn doesn't manipulate people." He steps closer to me, his breathing hard.
"She doesn't play games and she doesn't use people.
You want to know what Quinn does? She survives.
She has spent her entire life in this family being torn apart and she has survived every single day of it without once becoming what they tried to make her.
" His eyes don't leave mine. "She is not Daire. "
"I know she's not Daire."
"Do you? Because you went in there on Daire's information and you came out having done exactly what Daire wanted.
" He pulls in a ragged breath as he watches me.
"Daire came to you at the party, she chose that moment to unload half-truths and lies, and she walked away letting her words do their work.
And they did." He looks at me steadily. "How long have you been playing chess with people, Lorenzo?
Does it not occur to you that you were moved? "
Fuck.
"Orla was real," I say.
"I know Orla's real." His expression is like granite. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him like this before. "I know exactly how real Orla was."
"Then you know what happened."
"I know more than you do." His voice drops.
"And I'm not telling you here, not like this.
But I'll tell you this much for free." He looks at me with such disgust that I’m not sure what happens from here.
"You think you know what happened to that girl?
You don't. You have the story someone constructed for you.
There is a different version and when you hear it, you're going to have to live with the fact that you went in there today and said whatever you said to Quinn off the back of Daire's poison. "
I hold his gaze.
"Ask yourself one question," he says. "If Quinn did what you think she did? If she drove Orla Geraghty to her death the way Daire described? Why the fuck would Tony Geraghty still be standing beside my father every single day?"
I don't answer because I've asked myself this exact question and I don't have an answer that holds.
"You don't know the truth," he says. "And until you do—" He steps back. "If you hurt my sister because of Daire's lies? If you make her life in your house one more version of what she's survived in this one?" The fury in his eyes is palpable. "I will bury you."