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“Pack it in,” Joey commanded in an authoritative tone, locking eyes on our little brother. “You want to be pissed with Mam and Dad—with the whole damn world? Then go right ahead. Feel it. It’s real and it’s justified. You should be raging. It’s not fair. But don’t even think about taking it out on her, me, or those two kids upstairs, because we didn’t do shit to you, kid. We didn’t do a damn thing to deserve this life, the same as you, so remember that before you come out here aiming your pain at us.”
“The law is a fucking joke,” both Joey and Tadhg muttered at the exact same time. “Jinx,” Tadhg whispered with a small smile tugging his lips.
“Not with Gerard, you won’t.” My jaw fell open. “I’m not gay!” “It would be fine if you were,” she offered. “Thanks, I agree, but I’m still not gay,” I shot back. “I have a girlfriend.”
She looked fucking adorable as she ran several yards up the beach with the rugby ball in her small hands. Her wooly hat and scarf swamped her face and that mountain of dark hair was blowing around her, with wet clumps sticking to her rosy cheeks. Rain was dripping from her coat, her school skirt was drenched through and clinging to her bare legs, and I swear I had never seen anything so fucking beautiful. Freedom suited her.
“Fuck!” Inhaling several calming breaths through his nose, Johnny released my hands and dropped his hands to my thighs. “Go ahead.” With a stiff nod, he added, “Take what you need.”
“Beautiful,” I finally breathed, my gaze flicking back to his. “You’re so beautiful.”
“I’m on your team,” he added huskily. “Do you get that? I’m totally with you, Shannon Lynch. One call, that’s all you need to make, and I’ll come. I won’t let you down, and I won’t leave you alone in this. I promise.”
“Don’t you think that’s a bit short?” Hughie quizzed, cocking a brow as he leaned in the doorway of the bathroom. Frowning, he added, “I feel like I need to take off my jumper and put it on you.”
“Ah, fuck it,” he growled and smashed his lips to mine.
His eyes blazed with heat as he lowered his lips to mine. “I promise I’ll make you feel good,” he whispered between kisses. “Just tell me if you don’t want it or if I’m moving too fast and I’ll stop, okay?”
“Shh,” he coaxed, kissing my neck. “Just ride it out.” He suckled on my neck. “Enjoy it.”
So where tf is my Johnny ..
“If that’s what you call hand-holding, then I’d really like to know what you call the other shit,” I heard Darren say from somewhere nearby. “Maybe they’re gone beyond hand-holding,” I heard Joey muse. “I can’t always be right.”
“Because you’re little?” He laughed. “And you’re Shannon.” Grinning, he shrugged. “Little Shannon.” Fair enough. “Well, I just wanted to ask if you were okay.” Shifting uncomfortably, I clasped my hands together. “After what happened at lunch today?” “It’s all good,” he told me, smile still in place. “No worries.” “Okay.” Shrugging helplessly, I added, “But for the record, I think you’re really smart.” His brows shot up. “Me?” “You,” I confirmed quietly before slipping out of the room.
“Lad, I think I love your girlfriend,” Gibsie stated when Shannon whizzed out of the sitting room. “That’s weird, right?” “What’s weird is you telling me that you love my girlfriend,” I replied, climbing to my feet. “That’s dangerous.”
“If I had one of those, it would be sticking up, too,” she blurted out, cheeks pink. “For you, I mean. Because I feel the same way about you.”
One fucking bruise, I’ll see it and I’ll know who put it there,” he snarled, chest heaving. “And then I’ll come for you, and when I do, God himself won’t save you.” He shoved my father again. “Are we clear, you poisonous piece of shit?”
“I owed you one,” he explained with a shrug as he shook out his wrist. “Besides, I’m already getting arrested.” I gaped at him. “For what?” “For this,” he replied before lunging at Cormac.
“Hey, don’t call my boyfriend a scumbag,” Aoife snarled as she barreled toward Bella. “Is this her, Shan?” she demanded. “Did she do this to you?” “Please, just leave it,” Shannon choked out. “Who the hell are you?” Bella hissed, glaring at Aoife. “Oh, I’m your worst nightmare, bitch.” Taking her to the ground in one fell swoop. Aoife straddled Bella. “You like terrorizing little girls?” she demanded. “Try someone your own size.”
“They’re not a pick and mix,” Mam continued to rant, not giving my father a chance to speak. “You don’t get to pick and choose your favorites and leave the rest in the box. There’s five of them, and broken, bent, or out of shape, I want them all!” “The Lynchs?” Awareness hit me smack in the chest and my jaw fell open. “You’re taking them?” “I’m taking them,” Mam confirmed with a determined gleam in her eye. “All of them.”
“Save her.” Swallowing, I added, “Save them all.” Mam’s eyes blazed with heat when she said, “We will, love.”
“Look at me!” she screamed. “Goddammit, Joey Lynch, you better look at me!” “Aoife, please,” he whispered, shaking his head. “Just let me go.” “I can’t,” she cried, sniffling. “I won’t!”
Sniffling, I wiped my cheeks with my hands and stood up. “Joey?” I called out, straining to see who was behind the tinted windows. “Is that you?” The driver’s door opened and he stepped out, all blond hair and smiles. Except it wasn’t Joey’s blond hair, and it wasn’t his smile. No… “Hello, Shannon.”
Ollie slid clean off the bottom step and lunged for me. Wrapping his arms around my waist, he clung to me tighter than Sean was. “Shh,” I whispered when he hiccupped a tiny sob. “Shh, buddy.” Trembling from head to toe, Tadhg skated across the floor to my other side, burying his face in my side, and my heart cracked clean open. I knew this kid was prideful. He was badass for twelve. To see him fall apart like this was sobering.
“Kav,” he choked out, noticing me. “I fucking left them in there.” Tears were dripping down his soot-stained cheeks as he broke free from a Garda’s hold and ran straight for me. “You have to help me get them out,” he panted, eyes wild and clothes covered in soot and smoke stains. “I walked out… I got pissed and left, but I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t leave them, so I came back, but the house was… And my mother… Fuck, Shannon…Tadhg! Nobody’s listening to me—” “I have them, Joey,” I snapped at him, desperate to get him to hear me. “I got them out.” “You have them—” His voice cracked. “You got
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“Mammy,” Sean cried. “Mammy gone.” “She’s not gone, guys,” Joey whispered, sniffling. “She’s just an angel now instead.” “An angel?” Ollie sniffled, looking up at Joey. “With wings?” “Yeah. Big beautiful wings,” he choked out, wiping his cheek against his shoulder. “A special angel just for you.”
Oh im sobbing.
When my eyes landed on the silver Ford Focus parking up outside, and the familiar blond head climbing out, I felt my body give out beneath me.
“I’ve got you, Johnny,” Gibsie said, wrapping his arms around me just before I collapsed in a heap. “I’m right here, lad,” he whispered, lowering us both to the ground. “Let it out.” So I did.
:(
you must have given that lady some serious peace. Seeing her kids getting out? Knowing that they would be safe? You gave that to her, lad. She couldn’t go anywhere. She knew that. The whole place was rigged to blow. If she had tried to leave with you and he lit that match, you’d have all burned to death before you had a chance to blink—you and Sean included.”
She…sacrificed herself for those kids.
“I know what it’s like, Johnny,” Gibsie barked. “I’ve been there, so I can tell you to stop. I have the right and the experience to tell you to get a fucking grip. You did what you could and you did a damn good job. Now enough. Stop torturing yourself. Dwelling won’t change what happened to her. All it’s going to change is what happens to you—present and future tenses.”
“I see you, Joey Lynch.” She stroked her nose against his and whispered, “You can’t hide from me.” His hand shot out then, moving straight to her abdomen. “That’s it,” she encouraged, pulling his head onto her lap and cradling him there. “Come on back to me, baby.”
Is she prego
“Which one is he?” Feely whispered. “Ollie,” I replied quietly. “He’s my favorite,” Gibsie announced. “Hey, Ollie,” Feely said, waving down at him.
Sean nodded happily. “Onny.” He smashed my cheeks in his hands. “My Onny.” “Your Onny?” Gibsie teased. “No, no, I don’t think so.” Draping an arm over my shoulders, he said, “This is my Onny.” Sean’s face reddened. “My Onny.” Clutching my face in his tiny hands, he pulled me closer. “My Onny.”
“Gussie,” Joey said shakily, pointing to Gibsie, who was sitting in the third row with our friends. “I need a favor, lad.” “Say no more, buddy.” Gibsie rose from his pew and walked straight up to Joey. “Gussie’s here,” he said, patting him on the shoulder.
She wasn’t joking about the putting weight on my bones comment, either. I’d gained six pounds in the past month from Mrs. Kavanagh’s cooking alone.
Sean was obsessed with Johnny. Seriously, he followed him around everywhere, watching his every move.
“Shh,” he coaxed, teasing me with his fingers and tongue. “Keep your eyes on that door and don’t make a sound.”
“I love you, Shannon like the river,” he whispered, and the heat of his breath on my flesh caused a shiver of pleasure to roll through me. “And I’m coming home to you.” He was breathing hard, his heart racing almost violently in his chest as he drew in short breaths. “I promise.”
“Hey, Little Shannon.” Shannon’s eyes widened. “Uh, hey, Gibsie.” “Nice floral bra, Shan,” he added. “I love the colors—hold on a second! Are you a B cup now?” “Get the fuck out of here,” I roared. “And don’t touch her bra!” “I’m just saying that a full cup size is a big jump in one month,” Gibsie replied. “Fair play, girl. You’re blossoming—”
“Well, give it back to him now,” Ollie insisted, not budging from the doorway. “Come on,” he urged. “Do the right thing, and say you’re sorry.” “I’m so sorry, Johnny,” Gibsie choked out, holding a hand in front of his mouth. “And I would love to give you back your towel, but I seem to have misplaced it.”
“Think very carefully about your next move, because if you’re coming, then you’re going to be happy. You’re going to smile, and you’re going to have a good bastard time. You’re going to eat the cake, you’re going to sing all the happy fucking birthdays, and you’re going to thank that girl for spending the last bloody month organizing this trip for your unworthy asses!” Exhaling heavily, he looked around at us. “We left our heavily pregnant cat at home for this, and Claire’s anxious enough about Cherub without all of you breathing down her neck, so if you upset her again, I will legit take
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“You’re okay, buddy,” Hughie coaxed, holding Gibsie’s pale face in between his hands and out of the water, as Johnny swam back toward the bank with Gibsie’s trembling frame slung over his shoulder. “We’ve got you,” Hughie continued to say in a soothing tone, treading water as Feely hauled himself back onto the riverbank. “We’re right here. You’re with us, okay? You’re not back there. That’s it. Good job, lad. Just keep nice and calm…”
“They know,” Feely replied. Turning to Lizzie, he crooked a finger and said, “Come here.” “Wh-what?” “I said come here,” he repeated in a no-nonsense tone of voice. “Now.” Stunned, I watched as Lizzie complied without a word and walked over to him. “Now, you and I are going to go for a walk and let them all cool off,” Feely said, taking ahold of her hand. “And we’re going to come back when everyone here remembers that they’re not perfect angels.”
Johnny paused and thought about it for a moment before responding. “Gibs was seven, so she would have been two or three?” My heart broke. “She was only a baby!” “Yeah.” Johnny exhaled a heavy sigh. “She would have been about Sean’s age.” “Oh my god.” I shook my head, struggling to comprehend what I’d just heard. “I can’t believe this.”
Smirking, I pushed him onto his back and whipped his towel away. “If you want more.” “Oh fuck,” he growled, nodding in appreciation as his hands moved to my hips. “I definitely want more.”
“Then we’ll have some,” he announced. “I’ll do the rugby thing, and you’ll do the vet thing, and then we’ll settle down and cook up some babies.” He smiled. “Good talk.”
“I’m coming back to you, Shannon like the river.”
“But don’t forget that you’ll always be my 13.” She sniffled and wiped my cheek with her fingers. “My binding 13.” I choked out a pained laugh, thinking about that stupid bet. “You heard about that?” “Yeah.” Half sobbing, half laughing, Shannon smiled and nodded. “I won.” “Hands down.” I kissed her puffy lips. “Undisputed.” “Now, I’m keeping 13,” she told me. “So come home to me when you’re done, okay?” “I will.”
There’s a beach here about four miles from the team hotel, and every time I walk on the sand, I think of you. Of that day we spent at the beach back home. You’re in my mind all the time, Shannon. My heart, too. You did something to me all those months ago. I think you broke me, because I’ve not been right since. When we’re apart like this, I feel unsteady, like I’m balancing a weight on my shoulders and my reward for not dropping it is seeing your face again.
“Fine by me,” Ollie replied, unaffected. “I’m going to be wearing a lot of blazers when I’m a barracker anyway.” “A barrister.” “Just like John,” Ollie confirmed proudly. “Well, I’m going to be a mechanic,” Tadhg shot back. “Just like Joey.”
