Page 96 of Thick as Thieves
“I could’ve taken that doctor,” says Oisin. “I had him in my sights,” he tells his dad. “I had this spoon,” he says, still brandishing the long-handled serving spoon. I hiccup-laugh at him.
“Well done, Colm. How did you unlock the door?” I finally sputter out.
“With that lock-picking kit uncle Jonno gave us for Christmas,” he tells us. “It was our challenge to see how fast we can get into a locked door,” he says proudly.
I look at Bug for his reaction. Tommy chortles from the driving seat, a huge grin on his face.
“Jonno turns them into criminals at a young age. He’s like Fagin. He had James and then Bucky doing the same things, all part of his quarterly challenges.” I smile indulgently at my little brother's antics.
“Well thank god he has. I was upset and worried. I couldn’t get out,” puts in Orla, kissing her eldest boy.
“Rowena’s an impossible snob, as well as the worst sort of foolish,” states Bug. “I know Marcus is not your favourite person right now Kitten, but he’ll go apeshit when he hears what she’s done.” He’s checking over each and every one of us.
“Yeah, especially as he beat her to the punch. She should have asked Kell, the traitorous git. He already tested the kids,” I add with zero humour, bursting to tell them what’s happened.
Orla gasps again. “He never.” They both look shocked.
I nod and tears brim in my eyes, and not for laughter. “It’s why I left. He never told me. And I had expressly said I did not want a test. Regardless of the speculation and crap floating around, it’s not the norm to do them.”
Bug blows out a breath. For an intelligent man, he’s such a fool at times.” He shakes his head. “Unbelievable.”
“It gets worse.” I’m on a roll now, needing to spill my guts to someone, to my friends, people who love me. “He had the snip and never told me. So no more babies for me,” I say touching Caoimhe, who is just over a month old. I look sadly into Orla’s eyes and she starts to cry again.
“Oh Evie, he never.”
I nod and we both sit, holding each other in the back of the minivan, crying for the loss of something, but we’re not exactly sure what. She holds me the whole way home, with Bug clinging on whenever he can.
We arrive at my apartments and disembark in the garages underground. The bigger boys pile out, while Tommy and Bug carry all the kids into the house.
“Do you need someone to go get your stuff?” Tommy asks Bug. “I can send someone for it.”
He nods. “Is it okay if we stay here? I’ll need to speak to Marcus at some point about what we’re doing. My mother is out. And as for Rowena, if they’re all back up in Yorkshire, we’re leaving. I’ve had enough of them, anyway. All she does is spend money we don’t have. I can’t make the changes I want to. She’s even started to put her oar in, overruling me with the staff and farmers. If she wants to run Eastwood herself, she can. We’re off.” Bug is one of the most calm and measured people. For him to be so worked up, the interference must be at an epic proportion.
“We have lots of places in Devon if you want to come there. Don’t go back to Ireland. Come to me.” I hold his hand, my love pouring into him.
He touches my face. “Let me speak to my idiot cousin first. Then I’ll see what we’re doing.”
Orla gets upset again and I try to comfort my friend. I hate seeing her upset. It’s all my fault. “I’m so sorry Orla, I’m?—”
“It’s not your fault, Evie,” she cuts me off. “It’s them. I’ve heard all their vile chatter for months. All winding Rowena up. Chrissy, Isobel, and Betty the ex nanny. She came back with a book of information from her time working for you. Dates, names, events, she’d written them all down.”
“Do you mean this book?” asks Oisin, pulling a small diary from his trousers. We all stare at the little black diary.
I throw my head back and laugh. “Jonno’s Easter challenge?” I ask him, and he nods.
“Pick pocketing,” he says. “Purely for need-to-do-only purposes. But I thought this was one of them.”
We all look at Bug, who’s frowning at the diary, but not at his light fingered son. “She wrote it all down?” he says incredulously. He plucks the book out of Oisin’s hands and flicks through, his brows getting higher and higher. “Let’s hope she’s totally old school and there’s no other copy. I know what we need tonight, a nice roaring fire. Out on that terrace. And I have the perfect thing for kindling.”
He grins round at his sons. “Well done, my loves.” He kisses all his sons on their heads. “Who do we protect?” he asks them.
“Mummy, Kitten, and each other,” they all reply in unison.
I smile at him. “And I you,” I pledge to them, kissing each of them in turn.
“Who’s in Devon?”Bug comes into my bedroom to help me pack some last minute bits.
“Just Xander, Kell’s in LA. Not sure when he’s back. Have you spoken to him?” I lift my eyes to one of my oldest friends.
