Chapter 31
TIERNEY
If I don’t move, the pain around my stitches stays manageable. Like if I keep everything locked down tight, nothing else will split open either.
Angry threads hold the raw flesh together and bite every time my lungs expand. I swear my body knows exactly what I’m trying not to feel.
Part of me hates how I didn’t even hesitate, how I moved for him out of instinct.
And the other part… the other part wishes the blade had gone clean through his chest instead, just to see if he’d bleed the same way I am now.
Connor knocks and steps inside my private room, braced for impact. He knows what he’s done. After he closes the door behind him, his gaze is all over me, searching for a hint of softness in my tired expression.
“Tier—”
“Whatever bullshit you’ve got lined up, save it,” I say, my voice rough with a wobble that gives away how close I am to breaking. “I’m not interested. You need to go home to Dublin. There’s nothing for you in this city. And as of today, there’s bad blood between us and the Viacavas.”
He exhales and moves closer to the bed I’m lying in.
“I’m not leaving without you,” he says. “I’ll help you get back on your feet.”
“I don’t need your help.” I glare at him, letting the full force of it land—the betrayal, the fury, the disbelief that still hasn’t dulled. “You know I’ve looked after myself for years. Go back to da and sort your shit out.”
He flinches. “Tierney, please don’t be like this—”
“Be like what?”
My hand tightens in the sheet, the movement tugging at my side hard enough to make my breath hitch, but I push through it anyway, because pain is easier than whatever this is.
“You knew there wasn’t any incriminating footage of you held inside the Blood Vault, Connor.
I risked my neck to go in there, and Da knew I’d never come out empty handed.
He knew I’d seal my fate by getting intel on one of the higher ranking families.
And you kept your mouth shut the whole time.
You watched me walk straight into it and said nothing. Not once.”
Connor drags a hand through his hair and starts pacing.
“I wasn’t working against you, Tier,” he says, the desperation in his tone thick. “I was trying to protect you, like you’ve done for me all these years. Da knew I’d do anything for you. And when he said those fuckers were gonna kill us… you… I panicked.”
A humourless laugh scrapes out of my dry throat. “You’re just as bad as da. You sold me out.”
He steps closer, stopping at the edge of the bed as if there’s an invisible line he knows better than to cross.
“The debt kept climbing, Tier. Our main supplier got wind of it and stopped a shipment. Da kept pushing me. He had me running in circles trying to keep up, trying to stay ahead of it, and every move I made just made it worse.”
I say nothing and let him keep digging.
“I was going to tell you,” he adds. “I swear to you, I was. I just…didn’t know how.”
My jaw tightens. “So you figured lying was the better option.”
“I figured buying time was.” His eyes flick up to mine, and there’s no defence left in them now, just regret, heavy and unfiltered. “And then—then you married Bronx.”
My stomach churns and my heart turns traitorous at the mention of his name, kicking against the truth that he’s already dead to me. I look up at the ceiling and swallow hard.
“That man is dead to me," I hiss. “We’re no longer together.”
Connor folds his arms.
“You were different with him, ya know,” he says.
“I haven’t seen you happy like that in years.
Maybe ever. You were…lighter. And he—” Connor huffs out a breath, shaking his head.
“He took care of you. I saw it from the start. The way he opened his home to you and made sure you were safe and comfortable. Even when you smiled, Tier… he smiled too. Men who don’t give a fuck don’t notice the small stuff. ”
My breath catches mid-inhale and won’t fill my lungs, my ribs locking tight around it.
“He was playing a fucking game,” I bite out in a rush. “That’s all it was. That’s all it ever was. Da forced me upon him, and he only agreed to have me because I was the pawn stuck between a threat to his family and our da.”
“I know,” he continues, “But a few days after your wedding…when I saw the two of you together, I thought that maybe this disaster had one good thing in it. That you and him actually worked.”
“We got along for the greater cause. Now I hate him more than ever,” I say, the words flat and final. “I’ll never speak to that bastard again.”
Connor goes still.
“Tier—”
“I mean it.” I hold his gaze, letting him see there’s no softness left to reach for. “The marriage is over. And if he comes near me, I’ll put a hole in his chest.”
Connor scratches his head as he considers me.
“Then why did you protect him?” he asks. “Why d'ya put yourself in danger if you hate the guy so much?”
I freeze.
Not a single word comes. Not even a lie. Because there isn’t an answer that won’t unravel the truth I’m trying so hard to bury.
Connor watches me in silence, knowing perfectly well that my walls are too high to let anyone back inside.
“For what it’s worth,” he says, a little cautious now, “you’re not the only one who caught feelings in all of this.”
My pulse stutters.
“He loves you, Tierney. He admitted it to me himself.”
The words hit like a blunt force to the chest, knocking the air clean out of me, and for a second I can’t tell if the pain is from the stitches or something deeper falling apart.
For a second, I remember how amazing he looked the night before everything went to hell, hand at the back of my neck, dark eyes steady on mine so I’d believe he was into me.
I shut it down and clear my throat.
“Spare me the bullshit, Connor.”
I push myself up just enough to feel the tug of every stitch and let the anger rush in to suffocate the hurt before it can take hold.
“He loves control,” I fire back. “And sex. That’s it. That’s all there is to him.”
Connor shakes his head and lowers his lashes.
“You saved the guy,” he says with a half-shrug. “And he’s in the waiting room, refusing to leave.”
My pulse stumbles, just once, but it’s enough to piss me off.
I make a face at my brother.
“You aren’t paying attention,” I snap. “Men like him don’t love. They take. They use. And when they’re done, they move on. He’s just pissed because I ended things. Not him. The powerful Bronx Viacava was jilted by his wife.”
My chest tightens as the sting behind my eyes threatens tears. I blink them back and take a steadying breath.
“I saved him once. That’s my debt to him paid in full.” I swipe a lock of hair away from my face. “But don’t think for one second I care about him. Whatever intel he needs, he can go straight to da. They can fight it out between them.”
Connor exhales, and I get the impression he wants to say more. Rather, he just nods.
“Alright,” he murmurs. “What will you do now? You can’t fly home yet.”
When I swing my legs off the bed, the walls seem to move. I pause, fingers digging into the mattress until it steadies.
“Give me your phone. You still have access to the credit card that Bronx let you use?”
He nods and hands me his phone.
“The PIN number is my birthday,” he says. “Where will you go?”
“I’ll stay in a hotel for a few days and then I’ll fly home.”
“Let me stay with you, Tier… please.”
I unlock his phone and check for the saved credit card details.
“I can’t trust you right now. If you want any chance of fixing this,” I say, not looking at him, “you’ll keep Bronx busy long enough for me to disappear.”
“And da?” he asks, hand already on the door.
“Fuck him too.” It comes out through clenched teeth. “He knew I’d never agree to an arranged marriage, so he boxed me in until I had no choice. That’s not something I’ll forgive. I’ve got enough money stashed at home.”
I pull up maps and start scrolling through hotels.
“Once I’m back, I’ll empty it out and disappear.”
My thumb keeps moving across the screen, even though I’m not taking anything in.
“I’m done with this. With all of you.”
“You don’t mean that,” Connor says, shoulders sagging.
I lock eyes with my brother and ignore the urge to hug him.
“Yeah, Connor, I do.”
Walking away means burning everything I’ve ever known to the ground. But there’s no other way to survive this. I have to strike the match, let it drop, and run as fast as I can.