Chapter 9
“Rosie, something’s happened to Ella. Can you come pick us up in town?” He had my full attention immediately.
“What do you mean something’s happened? Is she okay?”
He hesitated, and I could hear crying and shouting in the background. “Fionn, what the fuck happened?”
“Tommy is back in town; she ran into him tonight and he went for her, Rosie. We’re with her now, but she’s really upset. We’re outside the chipper...”
“I’m on my way,” I cut him off, jumping up and shoving my runners on while I hunted for my car keys.
Tommy hadn’t been seen around the place for years.
What the fuck was he doing back in Clon, and what had he done to her?
I knew that prick's temper and how terrified Ella had been of ever running into him again. It had taken her years to finally relax and accept she wasn’t likely to ever see his face again.
So the fact she had tonight, and Fionn was ringing me, meant it was bad.
I drove as fast as I could the ten-minute road trip to Gonzo’s chipper in Kiltee, and swung the car in to park in front of the small crowd I could see gathered there.
Shea and Connor were hunched over Ella sitting on the windowsill, while Fionn stood back with his hands in his hair and a serious expression painting his face, Ella’s cousin Tomás beside him.
As I jumped out of the car, Ella lifted her face and my heart stopped.
There was blood pouring down her temple, her lip was split, and her face was swollen from crying.
She was holding her left wrist like it was hurt, and the devastation in her eyes cracked me open.
“Where the fuck is he?” I screamed, ready to tear the skin from his flesh. Fionn came over to intercept me as I started to spin out of control at the vision of my strong, resilient friend sitting broken in front of me.
“He legged it when Connor and Tomás came out of the pub. They went to go after him, but Ella was in such a state Connor stayed with her, and Tomás came into Keiley’s to get me and Shea. You need to calm down Rosie, because she’s shook as fuck.”
I swallowed the boulder in my throat and nodded slowly as I made my way over to Ella, giving her a small smile.
“Where does it hurt, girl?”
“I think my wrist is broken,” she gulped, holding back a fresh wave of tears.
“Do you want to tell me what happened?”
“I saw him in the pub tonight. He appeared in front of me out of nowhere when I was coming out of the toilets. Niamh went home early with Dermot, and I was about to ring a taxi when I saw him,” she explained shakily.
“He tried to ask me how I was, and I told him to stay the fuck away from me before I came outside to get away from him.”
“You never should have left on your own,” Connor said softly, before I turned on him.
“Don’t you dare lecture her like it’s her fault. She should be safe to walk out of a fucking pub,” I spat at him.
He startled. “I know Róis, that’s not what I meant.”
I just shook my head and turned away from him as Ella described how he had followed her and started getting aggressive.
When she asked him to leave her alone, he swung at her.
Splitting her temple with his tacky signet ring before hitting her again in the mouth.
She had hurt her wrist when she tried to block the second blow.
Connor and Tomás had heard her screaming for help as they left Keiley’s and spotted her on the ground, across the road from Keileys, in front of Gonzo’s chipper. And that was when the coward ran.
“We’re still waiting for the guards and an ambulance,” Shea told me, the picture of calm and a steady, reassuring presence in what was turning out to be a terrifying night.
Just then, the blue lights flashed as a squad car came around the corner and pulled up in front of us.
A male and female Garda stepped out of the car.
They took in the scene in front of them before the man held back to say something into his radio, and the female guard introduced herself as Garda Kelly.
It all went by in a blur as Ella tried to explain Tommy attacking her, with Shea filling in any gaps when she was overwhelmed.
I was too choked on my own rage to add anything.
An ambulance appeared five minutes later despite Ella’s protests, and the paramedics checked her over while Garda Kelly stayed close by.
She stepped back to murmur to the male Garda every now and then, but I was too focused on Ella’s shallow breaths to pay attention to what they were saying.
“You’ll need to get this x-rayed, love.” the paramedic said to her softly, and Ella startled at his voice. “I think it’s a fracture but there might be a break somewhere, so better get it checked. We can take you in now...” he trailed off as Ella shook her head vehemently.
“I just want to go home, please Róis?” she said, looking up at me with bloodshot eyes. I nodded as I felt my heart fracture at the desperation in her eyes.
“I can take her in in the morning to get it checked over. It’s been a lot tonight,” I said firmly to the paramedic.
“I know, look after her so love.” he smiled understandingly. Garda Kelly pulled me aside slightly as Shea and the boys crowded around Ella for support.
“She’s been through a big shock tonight, but I’ll need to see her in the morning to get her statement.”
I felt the rage roar inside me, like a fire receiving a hit of oxygen.
“A statement for what? So you can file it under the ‘not dead yet so not our problem’ folder?” I snapped. Garda Kelly reared her head back in shock before regaining her composure.
“What do you mean, Miss Tierney? This will be investigated thoroughly.” I scoffed, interrupting her.
“Oh, like the last time he attacked her? But didn’t do enough damage, so she was sent marching out of the station and left to fend for herself, too scared to come out of her house for months in case that unhinged prick was waiting for her?
” I could feel the tears prickling the backs of my eyes, and the snarl on my face only slipped slightly when a look of fury quickly passed across Garda Kelly’s.
“Róisín, our legal system is broken. It leaves women vulnerable Every. Single. Day. My job is to enforce the letter of the law, and sometimes those broken laws let people get hurt. Let women get hurt. I’m sorry Ella has been through this before and didn’t get the help she needed, but he’s slipped up now.
He’s done enough to bring him in, and I promise you I’ll personally be seeing this through to make sure Ella feels safe.
” Her conviction calmed some of my temper and I nodded.
“I’ll bring her in after we get her wrist checked in the morning,” I said, making my way towards Ella before both Gardai hopped into their car and screeched off.
I pushed past Connor and Shea to find Ella with her face resting on Fionn's shoulder while he rubbed her hair in gentle strokes.
She seemed to have calmed slightly so I was loath to disturb her, but it was late and she needed rest. We also needed to get her home quick in case some idiot do-gooder called her parents before we could get to them.
Michael Rourke had a temper to rival the devil himself when it came to his daughters, and I knew I needed reinforcements before I brought her home in this state.
“Lads, I need ye all to come with me to Ella’s now.” Fionn just watched me while Tomás nodded his head resolutely.
“Ells, I’m going to take you home now and I’ll stay with you tonight, okay girl?
” I tried to coax some response from her, but she just nodded imperceptibly from the crook she’d nuzzled into in Fionn's shoulder. She was obviously more shook up than I had thought because Fionn was the last person I’d go to in a crisis, especially when Shea was around; he was normally as useful as a one-legged man in an arse-kicking competition.
But I was just happy she didn’t look as spooked for now.
Unfortunately, that was not likely to last once her Mam and Dad saw the state of her.
Thankfully her little sister Siobhán was staying at a friend’s tonight, so she wouldn’t see Ella like this.
I knew that would have broken Ells’ heart.
I quickly planned how best to tackle this before relaying orders:
“Fionn, get into the back of my car with Ella and put her on your lap. Connor and Tomás, squeeze in beside them - DO NOT jostle Ella. Shea, jump in the front.” Everyone started moving, though Connor and Shea looked at each other in confusion.
“Róis, we’ll do whatever you need, but why do we all need to go to Ella’s now?” Shea asked, clipping his seatbelt.
“Because,” I answered quietly, peeking to check Ella wasn’t paying attention to us, “her dad is going to fucking flip when he sees what Tommy’s done, and I’d bet my life he’ll go after him.
He has a shotgun for the lamping Shea, and he’s going to lose his mind when he sees her.
” Shea’s eyes widened as he nodded, finally understanding his role in all of this, and I sensed Connor straightening behind my seat.
Tomás remained stone-faced, staring ahead like he couldn’t even bear to glance at Ella.
Her and Siobhán didn’t have any brothers, and her band of male cousins were extremely protective of them both.
But he knew what would happen if we didn’t get a handle on Mr. Rourke: things would go from horrific to catastrophic.
I pulled into Ella’s drive and turned around to check on her, Fionn was murmuring something in her ear while she nodded, so I jumped into action.
“Tomás and Shea, come in with me. I’ll use the spare key, so we don’t scare them knocking.
” A late-night knock out in the country typically meant someone was letting you know of a death, or the gardai were at the door telling you one of yours was dead.
It’d be bad enough as it was without them freaked out their head to begin with.