CHAPTER NINE #2
I look away, blinking hard. "I'm fine."
"Aoife..."
"I said I'm fine." My voice sharpens. I force myself to look back at him, to keep my expression neutral even as emotions threaten to surface. "I'm okay."
He studies me for a long moment. Then something shifts in his posture. He looks almost... awkward. Uncertain.
"I shouldn't have left you alone last night." The words come out rough. Like they're costing him something. "In the kitchen. After everything. That was..." He stops. Starts again. "I'm sorry."
I stare at him. William Murphy, apologizing. Showing regret.
"You owe me nothing," I say carefully. "I didn't expect you to stay."
Hurt crosses his face. His jaw tightens, and just like that, the softness is gone. His gaze hardens back into that familiar hostility.
"Right." The word is clipped. Cold.
He turns toward the door.
"My men will be ready in twenty minutes," he says without looking back. "You'll go with them to see your father."
He stops at the door. His hand on the handle.
"And Aoife?" He glances back over his shoulder. "When you come back here, you stay. No more leaving without security. No more taking chances. Understood?"
It's not a question. It's an order.
I lift my chin. "I'm not one of your soldiers."
"No." His eyes hold mine, and there's something complicated in them now. something unreadable. "You're something far more dangerous."
Then he's gone, the door closing behind him with careful control.
I stand there in my towel, water dripping onto the carpet, my hands still gripping the fabric so tightly my knuckles are white.
Something far more dangerous.
I don't know what he meant by that. Don't know if I want to.
William Murphy looked at me like he wanted to devour me. Like he hated himself for wanting it. Like if I'd made one wrong move, one invitation, he would've crossed that space between us and...
I shiver. Not from cold.
A soft knock at the door makes me jump.
"Yes?"
The door opens a crack. A young woman in a staff uniform stands there, holding a garment bag. "Miss O'Rourke? Your brother is downstairs. He asked me to bring these up."
She holds out the bag, eyes carefully averted from my state of undress.
"Thank you." I take the clothes from her.
She nods and disappears, closing the door quietly behind her.
I'm alone again.
I drop the towel and pull on the clothes Reilan brought. Beige high-waist trousers, undergarments, a cream off-the-shoulder pure wool jumper that was a gift from an aunt in Galway. The kind of clothes that remind me of who I am. Simple. Elegant. Mine.
I feel more like myself immediately. More armored. Less exposed.
I pull on the boots and slip into the long beige jacket Reilan included, then check my reflection in the mirror. My hair is still damp, but I look human again. Look like someone who can face what comes next.
I grab my phone from the nightstand and cross to the dressing table for my purse. Everything I need.
I head downstairs.
Reilan is waiting in the foyer, his posture tense and something urgent in his eyes.
"Ready?" he asks, glancing toward the door.
I open my mouth to explain about William's security team, that we can't just leave, when footsteps sound on the stairs behind me.
William appears at the top of the landing. He's changed clothes. Showered. Looks more put together than he did in that bedroom, but there's still something sharp in his eyes when they land on Reilan.
"Going somewhere?" William descends the stairs with measured steps.
Reilan's jaw tightens. "Taking my sister to see our father."
"No." William stops at the bottom of the stairs, positioning himself between us and the door. "She goes with my security team. You can follow behind if you want."
"Excuse me?" Reilan takes a step forward. "She's an O'Rourke."
"She's going to be a Murphy." William's voice is cold. Hard. "Which means she doesn't leave this house without proper protection. Not after last night."
"Our father was shot," Reilan says through gritted teeth. "She needs family right now, not your—"
"She needs to stay alive." William cuts him off. "My men are trained. They know what they're doing. And they answer to me, which means I know she'll be protected."
The air in the foyer crackles with tension. The security guards stationed near the entrance shift uncomfortably, unsure where to look.
I want to snap at William. Want to tell him he doesn't get to dictate my movements, doesn't get to treat my brother like a threat, doesn't get to stand there acting like he owns me.
But I bite my tongue.
"Fine," Reilan says finally, his voice tight. "Your security team. But I'm going with her."
"You'll follow behind," William repeats. "Separate car."
Reilan looks at me, waiting for me to argue. To tell William where he can shove his orders.
I meet William's eyes instead. "Your men will take me to the hospital. They'll let me see my father. And they'll bring me back here."
"Yes." Something in William's expression shifts. Not quite relief, but close.
"And you," I turn to Reilan, keeping my voice level even though fury simmers beneath it, "will meet me there. We can talk then."
Reilan stares at me for a long moment. Then he nods once, sharp and angry.
"My men are waiting outside," William says. "They'll take you now."
He gestures to one of the security guards, who steps forward.
"Miss O'Rourke, if you'll come with me."
I adjust my purse on my shoulder and follow the guard toward the door. I don't look back at William. Don't acknowledge the way I can feel his eyes on me.
But Reilan does. As he passes William, he leans in close enough that only the three of us can hear.
"If anything happens to her," Reilan says quietly, "I don't care what alliance our fathers made. I'll burn your entire family to the ground."
William doesn't flinch. "Get in line."