Eden

“You’ll be fine here, so just relax,” Sean said.

It had been a day since I got out of the hospital, and now that I was at Patrick’s house, the unbearable tension and worry of before had only intensified.

I hadn’t seen Michael, and other than telling me that he was out of jail, no one had given me any updates.

I did know Gerald was dead.

Too much had happened in these last days for me to be shocked, but I was worried.

The police had questioned me about his murder. Fortunately, my stay at the hospital had proven a convenient alibi. I’d thought that Michael being in jail would be an alibi for him, but Sean had gently explained that Michael wouldn’t have to do commit the act personally to be responsible.

Between the Murphys and their very high-priced lawyers, I hadn’t had to deal with the police again, but when they’d questioned me, they’d asked questions about Gerald but had quickly moved to questions about Michael, their desire to have me implicate him, perhaps all of the Murphys, clear.

Something I would never do.

I hadn’t even bothered to ask if Michael or the others had been involved. Gerald had been right that killing him would be stupid, and Michael wasn’t that.

Sean had explained that Michael and I needed to stay apart for now, and though I understood, I didn’t like it, hated it in fact. And Patrick’s generosity, his lovely home, didn’t come close to filling the emptiness that came from missing Michael.

I was sitting in the kitchen, a bright, airy room, and I turned when the French doors that led to the lovely grounds opened.

“Would you like to come sit outside with us?” Nya, Patrick’s wife asked.

She looked at me kindly, with compassion, as she had since the day I had arrived. The shorter woman next to her was openly assessing me, her gaze not hostile, but certainly skeptical.

Before I could answer Nya’s question, she spoke. “You’re the assistant GM of the hotel, right?”

“Yeah.” I shrugged. “At least I used to be.”

She sighed. “Remind me never to stay there. Not that I even have the option anymore.”

I frowned at her and Nya did too before she looked at me apologetically.

“Don’t mind my dear friend Jade. She was just leaving and she had no home training,” Nya said.

Jade snorted. “None at all. Take care of yourself, girl,” she said, hugging Nya and then giving me a little wave before she left.

I couldn’t help but laugh in her wake, something I’d done far too little of recently. Nya did the same and then sat beside me on one of the kitchen bar stools.

“Sorry for intruding,” I said.

She shook her head and smiled at me kindly. “It’s no intrusion. You’re welcome here for as long as you need to be, and I’m happy to lend an ear if you need it,” she said.

“I appreciate it,” I replied.

We went quiet for a moment and then she looked at me, studying me. “This is a tough situation, but try not to worry too much.”

“You sound pretty certain that I shouldn’t be worried,” I said.

She smiled. “I am.”

I returned the smile, but my mind spun with fear. “I hope you’re right, Nya,” I whispered.

* * *

Michael

“I have a son named Michael,” my mother said, her eyes bright, her face smiling, carefree.

“I know. I’ve met him,” I replied.

“Good. He’s a nice boy,” she said.

Then she was gone, lost in whatever world she was trapped in. For the first time, it occurred to me she might be exactly where she wanted to be.

I wasn’t sure why I had come here, but I had felt compelled, and was now glad I had. She wasn’t herself, hadn’t been in decades, but seeing her still comforted me.

Right now, I needed all the comfort I could get.

We were no closer to figuring out who had killed Gerald and until we did, Patrick and Patrick’s lawyers, who he paid a fucking fortune, insisted I not see Eden.

I hated it, would have insisted otherwise, but when I was reminded people could, and would, use her to get to me and my brothers, I didn’t fight.

I had done enough to destroy her life. I wouldn’t do more.

“I’ll see you later, Maura,” I called.

“Okay. Maybe you can bring my Michael next time,” she said.

“Maybe,” I replied.

I made my way toward the exit, the one that I had paid extra to use so that I couldn’t be seen, turned the corner.

Found Aengus there.

My anger was instant.

“I thought I told you not to come here anymore,” I said.

“You told me not to see her,” he said, pointing at me. “I’m here to see you.”

He had said that to get a reaction, something I was intent on not giving him.

“What do you want from me?”

“I heard you were having some trouble. Thought I’d check on you,” he said.

“Yeah right, Aengus,” I said.

He shook his head, tsked at me. “You’ve been under your brothers’ thumbs for too long. They’ve influenced you, turned you against me.”

“You did that yourself,” I said.

“What?” Aengus said, feigning ignorance.

I didn’t buy it.

He knew exactly what I was talking about, and I held his gaze, unwilling to look away. He waved a dismissive hand.

“You still hung up on that shit from when you were a kid?”

I said nothing but Aengus waved again, the shit he’d done to me mattering no more now than it ever had.

“Fuck off,” I said, moving to go past him.

He put a hand on my shoulder and I glared at him until he dropped it.

“Fine. But for what it’s worth, I was thinking about going to the cops. Telling them there’s no way you were involved in that asshole’s murder,” Aengus said.

I frowned, wondering what his angle was.

“You’d speak on my behalf?” I asked.

He frowned. “I wouldn’t call it that, but they are misinformed. If they knew anything at all, they’d know the weakest of my sons is too much of a pussy to hurt a fly. At this point, I doubt his brothers would either.”

To my surprise, Aengus’s insult rolled off me completely. I was too distracted with trying to figure out what he was up to. As I tried to read his expression, I saw his near glee. Felt like the truth hit me like a ton of bricks.

“You motherfucker!” I said.

His eyes twinkled, and he tilted his head, shrugged. “Maybe you have some friends who care about your well-being.”

I expected nothing from Aengus, knew what he was capable of. But this…

“What do you hope to gain from this, Aengus?”

“Gain? I just want the world to know that not everyone in my fucking family will take shit lying down,” he said.

After one last taunting smile, he turned and left.

This was so fucked, but I kind of admired Aengus and his crude but effective genius.

He’d killed Gerald, and in the process projected an air of protecting his name while planting the seeds of my destruction. Aengus had cost me my childhood, and now he’d put my only chance at happiness at risk.

I walked back to the SUV in a haze, and when I got in, I barely looked at Sean before I said, “Take me to Eden.”

Sean drove off without protest.