Page 43 of The Warrior's Salvation

I make my way across the lawn, carefully rehearsing what I'll say to her. I don't know how my father got tangled up with the O'Rourke clan, but I know he's in deep. It's likely the reason he wants to marry me off. I know things like that happen in families like Lochlan's all the time. I'm just not letting it happen to me, not anymore.

Mum is sitting out back on a patio chair when I walk up. There is a pile of tissues on the table in front of her. Her phone is in her trembling hand. She has mascara streaks down her cheeks, and her eyes are red-rimmed and puffy.

"Mum, are you okay?" My first thought is that something has happened—that Darren Connelly's threats have come to fruition and Da is gone. I rush to her side, pulling up a chair. The heavy metal feet drag across the stone pavers making a loud scratching noise, and I sink onto the seat as I clasp my hand around hers.

"I'm okay, dear," she says, smiling and waving it off with her other hand. The evidence doesn't lie, though. She's not okay. She's a mess.

"Mum, what's going on? Why are you crying?" I'm the one who should be crying, emotional from too many hormones and knowing the man I love is out there putting himself in the line of fire to save my family. I should be hysterical, but I’m strangely calm.

She sighs, pressing her lips into a thin line, and I know something is wrong. She picks at the corner of a tissue as she pulls her hand out of my grasp. I feel confused and slightly nervous about what is going to come out of her mouth next.

"Your da…"

Sucking in a breath, I let the tension out of my shoulders and brace for her next words, but they don't come. "Mum, is Da in trouble?" All I can think about is the threat Connelly made about turning Da in. "Is he here?"

"Your father is out with Lochlan and Jasper." Mum's eyes rise to meet my gaze, and I know she knows. She acts uncertain, as if she doesn't know how to break it to me, but when I clasp her hand, her head drops.

"Mum, I know…" I mumble quietly. "Da isn't who we've thought."

Her head pops up, eyes wide in surprise. "You know what?" They narrow as her brow furrows. She grips both of my hands in hers, leaving the phone lying to the side.

"I saw the bank records and I know. Mum, he's laundering money for the O'Rourkes, paying off authorities. I don't know what else, and I'm not sure I want to know, but they've been coming for him for a while. Lochlan was just here… He's…" My lip quivers as I try to find the words.

"They're going to be fine," she says stiffly, a fake happiness to her tone, like she's trying to convince herself it's the truth.

"They're going to kill him," I whisper, shaking my head. Connelly just got the beating of his life. I don't know how he walked away, but he did, and now Lochlan and my father are hunting him down, probably his boss too.

Mum nods and tears well up in her eyes. "I get so scared when he does this."

"So you knew?" It surprises me that she knew about my father's dark side and stayed, or maybe he's always been this way. Maybe she, like me, loves the man and hates his sin.

"Oh, Evelyn," she sighs, leaning back in her seat. She uses a tissue to dab her eyes, and I relax a little as she continues. "I've always known. We tried to keep it from you kids for so long. Jasper stumbled upon it years ago. I wanted so desperately for your father’s life to stay a secret, but there was never a chance we'd keep it from you forever.

"It's why he wanted you to marry Elvin. The Murphys are a good family, not at all a part of this life. And Howard and Melanie are such dear friends. They know the debts your father had, the way he got sucked into this situation. They, like us, wanted a better life for both you and Jasper—offered to adopt you. But I wouldn’t have it."

"So you arranged for me to marry Elvin?" It all makes sense now and I understand what's been going on. They thought they could keep this from me forever, and they were so close to doing it. If not for Darren Connelly—if not for Lochlan. "Mum, I have to tell you something."

She looks up at me with such sorrow in her eyes, and I rub my face to sober myself. "What is it?"

"Mum, Lochlan and I… We've been seeing each other. We, uh… we had sex, and…" My chest is so tight, I think it might snap in two. "I'm pregnant."

Her eyes don't blink. nothing about her changes or shifts even slightly. She absorbs the news without any reaction. I think I'm going to vomit on her.

"Say something." The idea that they've spent my whole life trying to keep me away from Da's world of darkness and crime isn't surprising. The irony of how I walked into it on my own is.

"Do you love him?" Her voice is hollow, but I can hear the disappointment, not in my choices or the fact that she'll be a grandmother soon, but the fact that I am closer to the danger than I've ever been and I chose it for myself.

"I do, more than anything." Pressing a hand to my belly, I tell her bravely, "I'm not marrying Elvin, Mum. Lochlan and I are going to raise this baby together. I want to be with him." Tears form in my eyes as I stand my ground, watching her sit forward. She reaches for my hand and squeezes it.

"Well, the men we love are out there defending our family, Evelyn. I can't speak for your father or give his blessing, but I can tell you that you don't get to choose who your heart loves. Let's just pray those men we love come home to us, and when they do, we'll talk about it." The worry creeps back in around her eyes, pinching them, forming wrinkles, and I weave my fingers between hers and blink a few tears out.

She's right about one thing. We need to pray.

If the storm they're walking into drops tornados, we could both be sleeping alone tonight. And I'm scared that might actually happen now.

30

LOCHLAN

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