Released (Devil's Blaze MC #3)(54)

“I get a little crazy thinking about anyone else near you, mi cielo.”

“I’m gathering that, but relax. You’ve ruined me for other men. If I didn’t go anywhere in the time we were apart, I sure as hell won’t now that I finally have you back.”

My hand is at the base of her neck and I squeeze once, smiling at the joy those words send through me before letting go so she can finish.

“We soon found out that while Redmond was married to Isabel, he had an affair with a girl that the family bought… God. The Donahues are involved in human trafficking,” she whispers. “They all deserve to die…”

I reach over and pull her up into my lap, hating that she looks so lost and alone in that moment. I used to feel guilt that I pursued Beth when she was so young. I’m not anymore. I was meant to find her on the street that day. I was meant to rescue her from this f*cked up family and be here for her. I was meant to do all of the things Tucker failed to do when it came to her mother. Beth is my purpose. Mierda, she’s my reason for living…

She snuggles into me, turning so her arms and legs wrap around me. I move my hands over her back, trying to comfort her. “Keep going, mi cielo,” I whisper into her hair, hoping the heat of my body warms and reassures her.

“He got her pregnant and, normally, he would just have her and the child killed, but my grandfather’s brother made moves, and they wanted heirs to ensure they would maintain control of the family long after they were gone. I don’t understand, but that whole family’s so f*cked up, Skull. It sounds like a bad movie. He made a deal with Isabel that if she raised us as her own, he would make sure she always kept the things she wanted…”

“Meaning?”

“The Donahue name, the jewelry, the furs… Isabel was nothing if not mercenary. Katie and I accepted that, even when we thought she was our mother.”

“What happened to your mother?” I ask her, pretty sure I already know.

“Redmond killed her, for daring to get pregnant,” she whispers. “Our mother died because of us, Skull.”

I’ve got my hand at her neck again, using my thumb to push the tears that fall from her eyes. There’s not many, just a couple that escape, but somehow that’s more heartbreaking for me to see. I squeeze my hand, forcing her head so she’ll look in my eyes when I speak.

“Your mother died because the Donahues are f*cked in the head. They are evil men who have to die… and they will die, querida. Voy a matarlos.”

I will kill them, I tell her, and I will. Colin, Viper, whoever his spy is… all of them will die.

“Katie and I decided that, too. Matthew… he and Colin, really, they worked together to kill Redmond. They wanted control of the family, but they didn’t want to risk alienating my grandfather. So they made it appear like an accident. But Matthew let it slip one day when he was—”

“When he was what, querida?”

“With Redmond gone, Matthew and Colin convinced grandfather they could control the family and make sure everything ran smoothly. Soon, they began taking Redmond’s place.”

“Place in what?” I ask, but in my gut, I already know.

“Torturing us. With Redmond, it was because we proved to be weak like our mother. With Colin and Matthew, they knew the truth about us.”

“Truth?”

“We weren’t Donahues. Redmond wasn’t our father. All this mess, Skull, and I’m not even a Donahue.”

“How did they know?”

“I’m not sure, or if they told us, I didn’t really listen. I was just relieved. But then… grandfather found out that Colin and Matthew had worked together to have Redmond killed.”

This whole story is giving me a headache. What had it done to Beth and Katie? How had they survived having their world continuously altered and out of their hands? Colin should die for that alone. I think about telling her I’m the one who did Redmond in. I will eventually, but for now, she just needs to get this story out, so I hold her and wait for her to continue. When she seems lost in her thoughts, I try and bring her back around.

“What happened?”

“He went crazy. He was so upset. He said he’d kill them for killing his son. He was shooting and waving a gun around. I thought Katie and I were going to die that day. I would have almost been glad for it, except I was carrying Gabby. I wanted to survive so she could live.”

Christo!

“Colin told grandfather he couldn’t kill them because his brother Dom would take over the family, as he had no heirs left,” she explains. “Grandfather said he would use Katie and me and the whelp I was carrying to ensure he had heirs…”

“Let me guess: that’s when your grandfather found out you weren’t really Donahues.”

“Yeah. Matthew delivered that news…”

“I wish we could kill him again.” She smiles weakly at my words and kisses my chest, as if to bring me comfort. “What happened next, querida? Let’s get it all out and we’ll never visit it again. It’ll be as dead as the ones who caused you this pain.”

“Grandfather gave up after that. He seemed broken. But the next day, he came in and he had been drinking… heavily. You could smell it on his breath. He centered his rage on Katie, I think, because she’s the one who told him who was responsible for Redmond’s death. He was choking her. He was going to kill her, Skull. I had to save her.”