Chapter 14

Mrs Hampson sits back in his chair again. “That still doesn’t explain why you’re here.”

“I’m here because I hope you’ll protect me from him.”

“Not to be cruel, but why should I care what Ruby does, so long as it has no bearing on me or my organization?”

It’s not said unkindly, but Mrs Hampson question still hurts. I push down the pain, take another deep breath, and stare him straight in the eye. If I didn’t let Nathan intimidate me, I certainly won’t let the man in front of me either, no matter who he might be. “Because Maire Walsh was my mum. And on the day she died, she told me that you were my da.”

In our world, the only price for betrayal was blood, and she knew fucking well what she’d done was way worse.

How did I miss all the signs? How could she have planned all those schemes right under my nose in my own home with my own fucking friends? How could a little girl that knew nothing of the world but what I’d taught her fool me like that?

My mind leafed through the moments she’d ma