16

Rian preceded me into the kitchen and calmly prepared two cups of coffee for both of us before handing me one and giving me a good look.

"How exactly did that happen?" he wanted to know and I told him about the party, about Padraig and Tina and about the weird Chinese, how they beat me up and then dumped me in the forest. I preferred to keep quiet about the fact that I now also knew my therapist privately.

He drank happily from his cup, took a few deep breaths and then turned back to me. I thought there was going to be another lecture, like always. Getting ready to have him tell me it was my own fault, I was all the more shocked when he suddenly came towards me and took me in his arms, briefly pulling me tightly to his chest.

"They will pay for that, brother," he whispered in my ear full of anger and I was completely overwhelmed by his closeness to me, so that I just stood there speechless when he pulled away and turned to Odran, who was still sitting at the table and waited for new orders.

"We're going to see Cathan. Please stay here with Keeva," he instructed me and then disappeared upstairs, presumably to change.

I took a dazed sip of the coffee and then looked at Odran, who was eyeing me sympathetically.

"They take it out on you... Such motherfuckers," he got upset, slamming the dining table so hard that I jumped in shock. "You should come straight to me!"

He got up angrily and paced nervously around the table while Rian came down the stairs in his black suit, loading his gun.

"No! No! No!" I heard Keeva yell in disbelief as she followed him and tugged at his suit. "You're not going to drive headless to some Chinese and shoot around you!"

"Stay out of my business!" Rian turned to her angrily and turned so that she looked up at him with tears in her eyes. My fucking guilty conscience caught up with me at this sight and at that moment I wished I had just lied or had not come here after all.

I knew my brothers had such a. attack, but it was only now that I looked at Keeva crying in desperation that I thought about what could happen.

"You don't have to avenge me," I interjected and suddenly all eyes were on me, taking my breath away for a moment.

Then, when Rian exchanged a serious look with Odran, I knew that no matter what I or Keeva said, it wouldn't change their decision.

"I love you," Rian breathed to Keeva and gave her a kiss on the forehead, after which she suddenly slapped him and disappeared upstairs, crying.

I could understand her...

"Be careful that no one comes into the house and Senan," Rian spoke to me, stepping close to me. "I'm trusting there won't be any surprises this time. I know Jake was in the house. I'm not stupid, but tonight I demand that you just focus on keeping things quiet around here."

I nodded in agreement and swallowed hard, because the fact that Rian knew but didn't freak out somehow showed me that he was giving me more freedom than I deserved with my past few days...

Or he just didn't care about me. I didn't know and I was still so confused from the last few nights that I couldn't think straight anymore anyway. I just wanted my brothers to come home safely and then all that Chinese shit would end.

And then there was also Irina, who was expecting me tonight at 6 p.m., but she was just a side issue. Much more important now was Keeva, who was probably crying her eyes out upstairs because her husband was risking his life for me.

I quickly grabbed the pot of coffee again, filled my cup and another, then ran upstairs to call her when I got to her door.

"Keeva?" I spoke in a calm voice and I immediately heard her sobs.

"Komm rein."

I elbowed the door open and then walked over to the dessert table to put the cups down before eyeing her sitting cross-legged on the bed and stroking Nero.

My gaze fell to the side bed, where Esme was still sleeping peacefully, and so I sit down on the edge of the bed to pet Nero as well.

"I'm just scared," she began to break the silence, seeking my gaze. "I don't just mean about Rian. Also about you and Odran. I thought after Juri everything bad would be behind us, but somehow new problems keep coming."

She looked back at Nero and shook her head.

"I always thought that golf and politics were totally dull and boring, but that's exactly what I wish for now and not that I have to wait here to see if my husband comes home alive."

"Oh, Keeva," I said soothingly, taking her hand so that she looked at me again with tears in her eyes. "Nothing will happen to either of them. Odran is too angry for that and Rian too intelligent. Believe me, if anyone has to be afraid, it's these dirty Chinese."

"Oh yeah? Odran was shot before my eyes and I almost lost Rian too if it wasn't for my cousin. What if there's no Padraig around today to save her? And the way you look, you're just lucky yourself not to have succumbed to your injuries."

Shit... She was right... And the more I had to admit it to myself, the more scared I suddenly became and all I wanted to do was whistle at something that would pollinate my sanity.

But Keeva needed me sane and Rian, oddly enough, trusted me, so I pulled myself together, took a deep breath, and turned to her again.

"What do you think if I fix a bottle for Esme, let Nero out and then we watch a movie?"

She raised her eyebrow questioningly while looking at Esme who was slowly but surely waking up.

"How about Ariel the Mermaid?"

I got big eyes for a moment and would have liked to say no, but I grinned and nodded, which also brightened up her facial expressions a little.

So I was right about Mandy after all. Our mafia really had something to bake muffins and change diapers...