Page 4 of Bittersweet Revenge (Sins of the Father #1)

Tiernan

“W hy are you such a dick?” Aislin pushes into my room in the off-campus house I share with Cillian and Rory.

I’m sitting on my bed, with my back against the headboard, and set my book on the mattress beside me. “It’s good to see you too, sis. How have your first few days of college been?”

She rolls her eyes. “I’m serious, T. Why are you such a dick?”

“Have you met our father?”

My reply elicits a sigh, and she walks over and sits on the bed beside me. “We don’t have to be like him here.”

I have to be like him everywhere. “Who said I don’t want to?” When she doesn’t answer, I add, “I don’t know him.” It’s as far as I’ll go in explaining myself, and no one other than her would have even gotten that much out of me.

“That’s because he’s a freshman, dumbass.”

“Yeah, but he was the only freshman sitting at a table with my little sister. It’s my job to keep an eye on you.”

“I don’t need you to do that.”

No, she doesn’t, but that truth won’t change a damn thing. “I didn’t know he’s gay. I thought he wanted to fuck you.” I grab a joint from my nightstand, light the end, and take a drag.

It surprised the hell out of me that he’d admitted it so freely.

Not that he should have a reason not to, but there’s something intriguing about him altogether.

I can’t put my finger on it. He’s gorgeous, with buzzed brown hair, the look making him appear…

mean or edgy or something. He has a sexy mouth with lips that definitely look like they’d be good for dick sucking, but what really gets me about him is his eyes.

Not even the vivid blue, but the anger I see in them.

Our new kid must hate the world as much as I do.

But he’s also fucking stupid because you don’t walk around talking to me, Cil, and Rory the way he did.

“Who cares if he did want to fuck me? I’m allowed to do that. You screw people all the time. Hell, Dad’s been married to Mom for almost thirty years, and he fucks people all the time.”

My body stiffens at her words, and I have to keep myself from losing my shit. Not because I want to stick up for him, but because I hate what he does to my mom.

I take another hit off the joint, then hold it out for my sister. She takes it, holding it to her mouth and pulling the smoke into her lungs.

When she exhales, she hands it back and drops her head to my shoulder. “I want to have fun while I’m here. I’ve never been given the same freedom as you. I want to make friends. I want to hook up with guys…and maybe girls. I want to party and do dumb shit.”

It’s so wild, all the freedom she thinks I have.

Yeah, I can do a lot of things she can’t, but in other ways, I’m even more under our father’s thumb than she is.

There are things she’ll have choices about that I never will.

Still, I understand what she’s saying. He doesn’t look at my sister or my mom and see the strength I know is there.

“I get it, Ash. Just…be careful. If anything happens to you, if you’re hurt in any way—”

“I know, I know. It’ll bring down the wrath of Dad on you.”

“I was going to say I couldn’t fuckin’ handle it.”

She threads her arm through mine, cuddling close. “Aww, best big brother ever. You’re secretly sweet, do you know that?”

“Take it back, or I’ll kill your new friend.”

Aislin laughs, but then says, “You are, though.”

“I literally put a bullet in someone’s head a few days ago.”

“Ugh. I knew Dad had you doing something like that.”

“It’s who we are.” Who we’ve always been, and who we’ll always be. I take another hit, then put it out.

“I don’t care. That’s our life, and it’ll never change, but you’re still a good man.”

I roll my eyes. “I’m having a party this weekend. Bring New Kid.”

She pulls away from me. “Now you’ll make me regret what I just said to you.”

“What?” I smirk. “I’m just trying to be nice. He needs to learn the way things work here before he gets into trouble.”

“I hung out with him once , for like thirty seconds. I don’t even know if we’ll stay friends.”

I playfully flutter my lashes at her. “Bring him for me . Best big brother ever, remember?”

“What do you want with him?” Aislin gets off the bed.

“Maybe nothing. I don’t know yet. He does have a nice mouth, though, so possibly just that. Or…maybe I want to be his friend .”

“I hate you.” My sister grabs one of the pillows from my bed and hits me with it.

“He’ll enjoy it, little sister. I promise you.

It’ll be a much better use of said mouth than how he used it today.

” Because that shit isn’t going to fucking fly.

But I’d be lying if I said I don’t want a taste of him, if I don’t want to turn him into someone who’s dying for my cock instead of looking at me with disdain.

“If I bring him, I’m telling him you’re trying to fuck him.”

I shrug, not caring.

She picks up my book. “ Crime and Punishment ? You read the weirdest shit.”

Everyone around me seems to think that, so I just shrug again. “Murder, Mafia, and college by day, books by night. What can I say? I’m well rounded.” She gives me a shake of her head and a sad smile, but before she has the chance to say anything else, I tell her, “I’ll walk you to your dorm.”

“I don’t need you to protect me.”

“I’ll have Cil or Rory do it, then.”

“Jesus. You never fucking learn, do you? We just talked about me not needing someone to take care of me, and you basically agreed to give me some freedom while I’m here.”

She doesn’t get that I really do love her and don’t know how I would survive if anything ever happened to her. “College is dangerous. Frat boys all around who should probably have their dicks cut off.”

“And if they try something I don’t want, I’ll be the one to cut it off. Love you, brother.” Aislin kisses my forehead and leaves my room.

As soon as she’s gone, I pick up my cell and call Cil. It’s after dark, and she’s walking. Campus is close enough that she can do that, but that doesn’t mean it’s safe.

“Yeah.”

“You home?”

“Yep.”

“Follow Aislin back to her dorm. Don’t let her see you, though.”

He curses. “She’s gonna have my fuckin’ balls for this.”

“Not if you don’t get caught.” I end the call, pick up my book, and get back to reading.

*

Friday night, the house is full just like I want it to be.

I enjoy time to myself, always have and always will, but I can’t deny loving a good party from time to time.

I’ve been drinking beer since I was eight, my father saying it would put hair on my chest, make me a man, and Mom…

well, he snuffs out the fire in her, and she doesn’t go against anything he says.

Conan says she didn’t use to be like that. I’ve seen it at times with my own eyes when it comes to anyone but my father, but somehow he’s extinguished the light in her…just like he’s trying to do with Aislin…and maybe I’m doing that to her too… Fuck.

It’s hard to find the lines sometimes. Most of the time, I don’t give a fuck, but when it comes to my mom or my sister, I do.

Speaking of Aislin, I haven’t seen her tonight. She said she would try to bring Dean, but when she asked him on Thursday in class, he said maybe. What the fuck is with the maybe? He got invited to a party at Tiernan fucking O’Shea’s house. When that happens, you come.

Everyone fucking comes.

Music pumps through the speakers. There aren’t other homes close, but even if there were, they wouldn’t call the cops on us. We own Ashford—the college and the town. People don’t breathe without our permission.

“Why are you sulking?” Rory leans against the wall beside me and wipes his nose.

“Did you fucking snort cocaine tonight?”

He grins. “Just a bump.” He doesn’t do it a lot—none of us do.

No good comes of partaking much in your own product, but every once in a while, we have to reel Rory in.

“Come on, T. Don’t go all Daddy Boss Man on us tonight.

We’re back at school, where we’re fucking kings, and I wanted to have some fun. ”

I shake my head, but I’m not angry with him. “Don’t do any more.”

“Yes, sir,” he says playfully. “Also, Aislin just got here with your fucking boy. Thought you might want to know.”

I roll my eyes, but my skin heats, something unfamiliar unfurling in my gut. I should fucking hate this guy, and I do. I hate anyone I don’t know. But…I want him too. Probably just to prove I can have him.

“He’s not my boy.”

“No, but you want to dick him down. If not, Aislin wouldn’t have brought him. Not after the other day.”

No, she wouldn’t have. “Why don’t you go find something to do?”

“Because annoying you is fun?”

I bite back a smile. Rory takes life easiest of the three of us, and even Cil takes it less seriously than me. Sometimes a bit of silliness helps put things in perspective.

Rory nudges me. “Go get your dick sucked or something. You’ve been off all fuckin’ week, maybe even longer.”

He’s right, but I can’t put my finger on why. Nothing has changed, but I don’t feel like myself. “Don’t tell me what to do.”

Rory grins and shakes his head before disappearing into the house full of people. No one is upstairs, of course, they know better than that, and for a moment, I contemplate disappearing up there myself, but I don’t.

I also don’t push off this wall to go find my sister and the new kid. I don’t chase after anyone. He’ll have to come to me.

I drink my beer, watching the idiots around me laugh and dance and party. Rory and Cillian will be selling them anything they’re looking for to get high tonight.

It’s not long before a blonde approaches me. She’s got great tits and is showing them off in the tight shirt she’s wearing. “You’re Tiernan,” she says, redundantly.

“I know.”

She chuckles, cheeks going pink. “Sorry. That was dumb. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“I’m not—” Before I can say interested, I see Aislin and Dean on the other side of the room. My sister is talking to a couple of other people, but Dean is looking at me, watching me with those blue eyes that look like they’re hiding a world of secrets.

“Not…”

“What’s your name?” I ask her, without taking my eyes off Dean.

“Lindy.”

“Nice to meet you, Lindy. Are you having fun?” I glance her way, but when I look up again, New Kid is gone.

Motherfucker.

“Yes.” She steps closer, putting her hand on my chest. “But I’m hoping to have even more fun with you.”

Lindy isn’t leaving anything to the imagination, and while normally I would jump at the opportunity, I’m not feeling it. I’m pissed I let Dean disappear and that he had the audacity to walk away.

“Not tonight,” I reply, not in the mood to play games, at least not with her.

“Oh.”

“Go find Rory and Cillian. One or both of them will want to play.” She frowns at me like she’s surprised I would turn her down and clearly not happy about it. “Now,” I add, and she scoffs before walking away.

And I’m left standing here, about to break one of my own rules and chase down the new kid to get what I want.