Page 5 of A Temptation Too Great

I slip my helmet on, kick up the stand, and fire up my Harley. I nod at her, then turn back to him, giving him a death stare. She doesn’t know it, but I still have eyes on her.

I ride until I’m far enough away they won’t hear me stop. I pull over, drop the stand, and pull out my phone. As I look down, I pace the sidewalk, burning with anger. She lied to me.

Chapter Two

Moira

I watch as Brody leaves, not paying attention to my brother. Big mistake. I hated lying to Brody, but I couldn’t have him going to jail or getting hurt because of me.

Eion grabs me by my bun, his hands digging into my hair as he yanks me into his body. “I’ll fucking kill him, and it will be justified if you are dating him, sister.” He swings me around and throws me to the ground.

My hands fly out to catch myself. Pain radiates up my wrists, but I don’t cry out or let him know he hurt me. For years, I’ve endured his abuse and anger.

As the first police car pulls up, I glance over, and that’s when I see him. A man sitting in a car watching me. He’s one of Brody’s men, and he's videoing everything that just happened to me.

“Feck. Please don’t.” I mouth the words as I look into the camera, knowing Brody is watching me. Horror and revulsion flood through me. I’ve hidden this from everyone. No one knows because I didn’t want to be treated differently.

I hear voices and look up as my roommates rush to me. I pray they didn’t see the whole interaction.

“Are you okay, Ms. Kelly?” An officer reaches out to help me.

“Don’t touch her,” my brother barks, and the officer steps back. “She was attacked by Brody Tiernan,” he lies.

It’s in that moment I decide I’m done. I’m tired of it all.

I push myself up, cringing at the pain in my knees and wrists. I brush myself off as Arianna hurries toward me and wraps her arm around my shoulders.

“No, he didn’t. You pushed me.” I point at Eoin.

I know this could come back to bite me, but I’m done being his whipping bitch. I’m always telling Fiona and Giselle to stand up for themselves. Well, now it’s time I take my own advice.

I stand taller and face the other officer. “I’d like to file a report.”

“Are you sure?” the officer asks, glancing between me and Eoin.

“I’m sure.” I limp toward the house with the girls and the officer following close behind.

“Don’t do this, Moira. You’ll regret it,” Eoin yells after me. But his words only confirm I’m making the right choice.

I stop and turn to face him. “I regret not saying something sooner.”

We turn back, and when I step through the door into the house, the weight of what I’m about to do crashes down on me. The officer sits at the table with me while Arianna gently cleans my hands and checks my knees. My phone vibrates across the surface, but I ignore it. I don’t need to look. I already know it’s my father.

Standing at the counter at work, I’m glad there’s security here, but a flicker of relief settles inside me knowing Brody’s man followed me in. Even if I don’t want to admit it, I’m grateful someone is keeping an eye on me.

I never got my eggs and soldiers. I barely had time to shower, slap on some makeup, and braid my hair before rushing out the door. The police report is filed, and my father keeps blowing up my phone, but I ignore it. I know he’ll try to talk me into changing my mind. All my life, he’s either taken my brother’s side or told me it was nothing. I’ve never had a voice.

When my mother was alive, she would punish Eoin, but it only made his retaliation worse, so I stopped complaining. After she died, it was like he had free rein. His abuse escalated, and he began overstepping boundaries. One night, I caught him in my room. It terrified me enough to get a lock for my door. He complained to my father, and that’s when I started staying at school with Fiona. I told her it was to keep her company. That wasn’t the first time I lied to her about what was really going on. She’d seen the bruises, and I told her they came from our hand-to-hand defense classes, which my father didn’t think I should take but that I’m glad I did.

The door swings open, and part of me expects Brody to storm in, but it’s my father instead. I’m pissed. When security checks me, I nod, and they step closer.

“Moira Lynne Kelly, what do you think you’re doing?” It’s the second time today someone’s asked me that question.

“What I need to. I just told the truth.”

“You know you could ruin his career with this little stunt of yours,” he yells louder, and I look around.

Security moves toward him. “Sir, you’re going to have to leave if you don’t calm down. We’ll be forced to call the police.”

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