13

"I'm so glad d-"

I couldn't even finish my sentence because I was in so much pain in my chest that it made me cough. Every breath burned and I had no idea how long the two giants had been beating me for it.

"It's okay. We're here," Jake reassured me, supporting me on one side as best he could while Padraig took my other side and Valentina ran ahead of us. She had her cell phone in hand and lit our way through the darkness.

"How long was I gone?" I asked, then spat out blood again.

"Two days. That night at the club, a guy came to us. He didn't say a word to anyone, otherwise you would be dead and we should pick you up here today," Padraig explained, noticing just how he kept tensing his jaw me how angry he seemed.

"We have to get him home," Jake said and I immediately stopped and shook my head violently.

"Absolutely not!", I tried to say out loud, but I just gasped to myself again. "Rian and Odran mustn't find out about this, otherwise these pissers will have exactly what they wanted!"

I glanced at Padraig until he finally nodded in agreement and then at Jake, who also nodded assuring me of silence.

"But you can't come to me. The others would call Keeva right away and your brothers would know about it," Padraig then interjected and unfortunately I had to agree with him. Ever since Esme was born, Keeva had become something of a gypsy queen and if I was seen in the neighborhood like that I'd be screwed.

"And my stepfather will probably beat me up too for looking like you when I drag you home like that," Jake admitted now that he had no place for me. I wasn't mad at him though, after all I knew his stepdad and it wouldn't be the first time he'd beat Jake in hospital.

We slowly walked on through the darkness until we finally came to a road and I saw Valentina's car.

"Then you'll just come to me," she suddenly said seriously and turned her gaze to Padraig. "Of course only if it's okay with you."

I too now looked at Padraig and was curious to see to what extent he really trusted me. Rian wouldn't even let me near Keeva...

"I don't mind at all. But I'll come with you to disinfect the wounds, because that would be going too far for me," he said calmly and I had to hold back a laugh.

"You only want to touch my bare skin," I replied with a grin and he raised an eyebrow provocatively.

"I'm going to have such damn fun pouring alcohol on your wounds. You have no idea."

He smiled and I really had to smile too, despite my condition.

Jake then held the door of Valentina's pink car open for me and I painfully took a seat while Padraig slipped Jake money so he could call a cab.

"See you, brother," he called to me in the car and disappeared behind us in the darkness while the other two took a seat and we slowly drove off.

Completely exhausted, I leaned my head against the window pane, watched the many lights that passed me by so incredibly fast, while Valentina and Padraig talked about their future.

I just listened in a daze, but I didn't hear the faint rushing in my ears anyway and was struggling enough to even keep myself awake. My eyes kept closing and I felt trapped in a kind of daydream, although the constant pain was more of a nightmare.

"So, here we are," Tina's voice ripped me out of my dozing state and I stared curiously at a small single-family house in front of us that didn't seem to suit her at all.

It looked more like a suburban family living there with the small front yard, which made Tina even more interesting.

"Tell me, what do you actually do?" I asked straight out as the two were just unbuckling themselves.

"I work in kindergarten," she smiled, looking at me in the rearview mirror.

"Serious?"

"Yes, why?" she wanted to know and looked back at me, where I just shrugged my shoulders unknowingly at her gaze. I had never seen a kindergarten teacher with so many piercings and tattoos. They usually walked around in grandma's clothes, didn't they?

Times must have changed...

"Come on, I'll help you," Padraig snapped me out of my thoughts and gave me his hand to help me out of the car. I really started to feel like a nursing case...

We follow Tina to her house and after she unlocked the white front door with the glass in the middle, several small dogs came running towards us, all of whom made squeaking sounds of joy.

Chihuahuas... How I hated barkers like that...

"Hey!" Tina admonished me with a stern look, since she must have noticed that I wasn't exactly happy about the three little ones. "Not a word against them. They're more family than most people."

"Understood," I replied sheepishly, because her look told me all too well that she might rip my head off at the slightest provocation. "Why don't you stay here tonight?" I immediately turned to Padraig, who only laughed and shook his head, supporting me as we walked around the corner into a large living room.

"Gypsies do business at night, you know that," he let me know, helping me onto the yellow couch against the far wall.

While Padraig then disappeared into an adjoining room with Valentina, I leaned back and let my gaze wander through the really colorful-looking room.

She had a small TV in the back corner, which showed only too well that she probably didn't watch much TV. In front of the couch was a round glass table, on which lay several magazines and all kinds of sweets. In addition, all the plants around me and a large bookshelf.

Yes, that somehow reminded me of a woman who worked in kindergarten...

Padraig came back into the living room with a bottle of vodka, followed by Tina with several towels and they placed everything neatly on the table in front of me while I was already cramping slightly for fear of the pain.

I had no idea how bad my face really looked and the rest of my body. In the end I could only feel that I had to look really battered.

"I'll help you out of your jacket," Padraig said and I leaned forward a bit to take off my jacket myself. I wanted to keep some of my remaining pride.

Padraig then began to clean my wounds on my face and arms in excruciating pain, while Tina stood opposite me and probably tried to distract me.

"They're called Sun, Moon, and Sky," she said of her dogs, holding each one individually so that I could memorize their faces for the names, which was easy since they were all different colors.

I liked Moon best. He was male and all black. His gaze was also somehow depressed and I could identify with him directly.

"Mouse, will you get us something to drink?" Padraig turned to her smiling and just put the bottle and the cloth back on the table while Tina disappeared from the room after a friendly nod.

"No sound, Senan," he suddenly said and looked deep into my eyes. Before I knew what was going on, he grabbed my crotch and squeezed so hard I was biting my lip in pain and clutching my hands on the couch.

"I trust you, so dare you to betray my trust even with a fucking look at her and no alcohol in the world will be able to help you anymore! Do you understand that!?"

I nodded vigorously and only when he finally let go of my balls did I expel all of my pent-up air and clutched my aching stomach.

"Here, babe," Tina came back with a bottle of water and three glasses, glancing irritably between me and Padraig, who gave her a grin and patted my shoulder.

"Thank you," he said, handing me one of the glasses to sit next to me on the couch while I still felt like he'd ripped my balls out....

I didn't even dare to look at her anymore, so I concentrated on Moon, who was sitting on the floor next to me and was looking at me and was still glad that Padraig trusted me that much at all.