Binding 13 (Boys of Tommen, #1)

by Chloe Walsh

“Get off her!” a voice cried out. My eyes landed on my eleven-year-old brother standing in the doorway and my heart sank. “No, Tadhg,” I strangled out. “Go back upstairs.” “Get the fuck out, boy,” Dad barked, releasing me. “If you know what’s good for ya.” “Leave my sister alone,” Tadhg growled, taking a step into the kitchen. “Your sister’s a cunt,” Dad slurred, focusing his attention on my little brother. “Are you going to defend a cunt, boy?” “Ollie,” Tadhg called out bravely. “Get help.” Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed my nine-year-old brother cowering in the hallway with three-year-old Sean tucked under his arm. All three boys were reincarnations of our father, with sandy blond hair and big brown eyes, and all three boys in this moment were staring at our father in horror. “Get your holes up that stairs before I redden them,” Dad snarled. Sean scrambled for the staircase and Ollie dove for the front door. But Tadhg stayed where he was. “You can’t do that to her,” he challenged, glaring at our father with his chin jutted out. “Joey says we don’t hit girls.” Shaking, I scrambled to my feet and hurried to intercept Tadhg before our father could. “Go next door to Fran and phone Joey,” I pleaded, as I tried to shove him out of the kitchen and out of harm’s way. Even though he was only eleven, he was already taller and stronger than me. But he was my little brother and I would protect him with my life. “Please, Tadhg,” I begged him. “Just go.” Tadhg wouldn’t budge. “...