Lorenzo #2
The smile that appears doesn't reach his eyes, because he's already doing the math. He understands what could have happened. "That fucking bitch."
"I'm going to find her," I promise him.
Daithí meets my gaze and nods, because there's nothing else to say.
The drive to New Hampshire takes us an hour and ten minutes
Nobody talks and I’m fucking grateful that they’re not.
Marco’s driving and Ciro’s upfront, giving me space and peace in the back.
I watch the miles disappear beneath us and think about all the ways I’m going to kill Daire.
I know that I’m going to enjoy it. This bitch went to fucking far and now she’ll pay the price for all the shit that she’s put Quinn through.
I check my phone for what feels like the hundredth time, no message from Quinn.
She’s safe. Daithí arrived, and he brought both Caden and Conn with him.
He’s staying with her until I return. They’re pissed at me for not calling them last night when she was first brought in.
I get it I’d have been pissed had it been any of my sisters, but I was so consumed by pain and fear that my mind wasn’t clear enough to think of calling anyone.
I look back out the window, the rage is still there.
It's been there since I watched her struggle to breathe. Since I heard the doctor tell me my wife was pregnant. It’s been sitting in my chest, cold and heavy.
"You okay?" Ciro asks, glancing back at me.
It's a stupid question, we both know it. "No," I say coldly. I’m far from okay. I’ve pushed the all consuming rage I’ve felt down while I focused on Quinn and assuring myself that she’s okay, that she’s alive. Now, I need to unleash it.
Within minutes a cabin appears between the trees, it has lights on, which means someone's home. Good, because Daire’s about to get what’s coming to her.
The door isn't locked, the stupid woman thinks she's safe. How fucking naive. I step inside and close the door behind me.
Daire is sitting at the kitchen table when I walk in. She looks up, sees me, and goes pale. "Where's Rurik?"
I stand with my arms over my chest. I watch her eyes widen as she gulps. "He told me where to find you."
The silence stretches, I smile as I watch her figure it out, enjoying the moment the panic hits, loving the realization settle in as she realizes that nobody is coming for her.
Not this time, never fucking again.
"Lorenzo—"
"Don't." I rumble and the anger in my voice makes her flinch.
"I can explain," she says, her eyes wide and pleading. God, she’s a good actress, but I don’t believe a word that she says. “Please, Lorenzo.”
"No." I take a step toward her. "You don't get to explain." Her jaw tightens but I don't stop.
"Tony talked. Bruno talked."
Her hand trembles slightly but she remains silent.
"I know about Frederick." I take another step toward her, thriving on the fear that shines in her eyes. "I know about Gregory." I move forward again. "I know about the money."
My hands curl into fists as she remains silent. "I know what you did to Quinn."
Daire swallows, but makes no sound. No denial and no excuses, because she knows she's caught.
"I know you told Bruno to put peanuts in her food." The rage that’s been curling around my chest is ready to escape. "You tried to kill my wife."
Daire lifts her chin, the fear disappears and that fucking mask slides back into place. Arrogant, cold, untouchable. The facade Daire has spent years building, the one that has her believing she’s smarter than everyone around her.
"Did I?" she asks quietly.
I smile. God, she’s fucking pathetic. "You really think this is still a conversation?"
Her jaw tightens and I reach into my jacket and pull out a thick file, then I drop it onto the table.
The sound echoes through the cabin. I watch Daire's eyes flick to it.
It has everything. Travel records, bank transfers, photographs, and phone logs.
Years of evidence laid out in the file on the table. I watch the color drain from her face.
"We have everything."
For the first time she doesn't have a response ready.
"There isn't a single thing left for you to lie about."
The panic returns, her eyes are wide once again. "You don't understand."
I laugh. "No, Daire. You don't understand."
I straighten. "Frederick is gone, and so is Gregory. They left you behind."
She flinches as hurt flashes through her eyes. Good.
"Nobody came for you,” I goad her. "Nobody warned you what was coming." I hold her gaze. "Nobody even bothered to move you to somewhere safe."
The silence is brutal. Tears well in her eyes, and I know she’s fighting them not to fall. So, I deliver the final blow. "Even Rurik handed you over."
Daire's face crumples. I see the fear and betrayal, the understanding that she’s alone. Completely fucking alone.
"You were going to be mine," she says.
"No," I say, my lips twisting into a snarl. "I wasn't."
"We could have—"
"No," I say again. "There was never a fucking we."
"What are you going to do?" she asks.
I don't answer. There's nothing left to say. Instead, I pull my phone from my pocket and hit dial. Daire's eyes follow the movement. When the call connects, I put it on speaker and set the phone down on the table between us.
For a second, silence spreads and then a voice fills the cabin.
"Hello, Daire."
She goes pale. "No." The word leaves her in a whisper. I don't think she even realizes she said it out loud. Her eyes lock on the phone. "No." This time there's panic behind it.
"Daire?" the voice says again.
Her composure shatters, and for the first time since I walked into this cabin, I see her for what she really is. Just a frightened woman who has finally run out of places to hide.
"Look at you."
Daire's hands begin to shake, but I don't think she notices.
"You had everything." The voice is calm and void of emotion.
"You had a family." Daire swallows hard at the words. “You had people who loved you." The silence stretches. "You had a sister who would have forgiven you for anything."
I watch as Daire flinches, her eyes closing.
"And you threw it away."
"No," Daire whispers.
The voice ignores her. "You lied and you manipulated."
Her breathing quickens.
"You destroyed lives."
"Stop." Her voice is small.
"You wanted power." The voice is relentless. "You wanted attention."
Daire's eyes fill with tears.
"You wanted everyone to choose you, and in the end, nobody did."
Daire is crying now, her body wracking with sobs.
But the caller doesn't soften, not even in the slightest.
"You are exactly where your choices brought you. You'll be forgotten," the voice says. "That's the part you won't be able to stand."
Daire’s sobs get louder, her body trembling beneath them.
"What happens next is more mercy than you deserve." The line goes dead.
Silence fills the cabin and she looks up at me, tears streaming down her face. "They left me." The words are broken.
I don't answer. Because what is there to say? What goes around comes around, and Daire is finally getting what she’s owed.
"They left me," she repeats.
I pull a syringe from my pocket, her eyes find it immediately. "Lorenzo," she says, her voice shaking.
I take a step toward her.