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SEAMUS

TWO YEARS LATER

“Stop it,” Katina groused at my side. “This isn’t funny.”

“It’s kind of funny,” I teased, knocking into her with my elbow.

“It isn’t,” she argued. “It’s in bad taste.”

I smirked at the Harry Potter meme. “You need to lighten up.”

“Today’s a somber occasion,” she argued.

“Didn’t stop you from wearing pink.”

She huffed. “A pink scarf. Everything else is black.”

I tried not to think about what else could be black.

Or, fuck, pink .

I didn’t need to be getting a boner in front of a crowd of millions.

Especially not because of my cousin.

God, that sounded so bad.

But she wasn’t really my cousin.

What the fuck was it with me?

Did I get a kick out of the taboo or something?

First Victoria, now Katina.

Never mind Aunt Inessa.

I’d worry I was sick if my shrink hadn’t told me it was perfectly normal. The trouble was, it didn’t feel perfectly normal.

Not the way she made me smile.

Not the way she made me happy.

Not the way her obsession with pink always made me snort.

Not the way I wanted to hold her and to kiss her brow, to help her when she had one of her darker days.

I sometimes thought that was what made us so perfect for each other—we knew what real evil was. We could be each other’s soft place to land. We both had shrinks, we both had goals, and we both wanted to accomplish more than what our parents had achieved.

The only trouble?

She saw me as a friend.

A fucking friend.

I released a breath as she stepped out of the car, trying not to stare at her ass and how her skirt pulled taut around her hips.

“If she catches you looking, she’ll kill you.”

I smirked at Kat’s brother, Niall, the only one in the family who seemed to recognize my less-than-friendly feelings for Kat. “She won’t catch me.”

“You make it so obvious,” he retorted. “Girls are gross anyway. Kat’s grosser than them all. Pink sucks.”

“You’ll change your mind about girls when you’re my age,” I promised him. “You ready for this?”

“Have to be, don’t I?” he grumbled, tugging on his necktie as Kat leaned into the back of the limo again and helped her younger siblings out.

There was fourteen-year-old Benjamim who’d been saved from a child brothel in Rio de Janeiro, then there was six-year-old Enzo, who they’d managed to spare from death when a now-jailed tycoon had paid for his lungs and heart in a transplant that would’ve saved his kid while using Enzo like his body was an organ store.

Minnie, the only one in the car with Star and Conor, was a baby. Her mom had killed herself a few months after Minnie’s birth, unable to deal with what had happened to her as Sparrow chattel, unable to cope with bearing her rapist’s child.

Each of Star and Conor’s sons and daughters was born of or into tragedy, but here, they were normal.

Here, they were annoyed at having to wear suits and were grouching at being awoken at six to get ready for the ceremony.

Having promised to help Kat with her younger siblings—for obvious reasons—I dragged Enzo and Niall out onto the sidewalk and straightened up their ties and jackets as Benjamim did the same with his own suit.

“You just have to smile when a camera pops up in your face. Don’t say a word,” I ordered.

“And don’t touch anything,” Kat prompted. “Don’t fidget either. Just stand still and don’t get into trouble.”

Enzo giggled. “I’m a good boy.”

“No, Enzo, you’re not. I love you and I love that you and Third are our bringers of chaos, but today, you need to be good. This is bigger than all of us. Mom has worked for decades for this moment, ya hear me? She’s earned this.”

“Hey, so’d Conor,” I argued.

Kat sniffed. “I love my dad, but he didn’t know anything until Mom came along.”

“Girl power,” Niall said with a sigh.

“Exactly,” Kat chirped. “We’re the best, Niall. Remember that now and it will save you lots of problems in the future.”

Though I snorted, I saw the other cars were parked, my family already on the sidewalk. “Right, are we good to go?”

“I think I need the bathroom,” Enzo whined.

“Jesus,” Kat grumbled, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I took you twice before we got here. Do you really have to go?”

His bottom lip popped out from between his teeth. “Maybe?”

“How about you make a decision now, kiddo,” I quipped, “and if you decide not to drive Kat and me crazy, then we promise we’ll take you to the movies tonight.”

“Can I pick what we go see?”

“Duh.” I didn’t care what we watched. Not if Kat was there. It was a win-win for me.

Enzo grinned, revealing a space where his teeth were missing. “I don’t need the bathroom.”

“Magic,” I drawled.

“Enzo, when you smile, keep your mouth closed. We have to look perfect for Mom.”

That had me blinking at her. “Star never said you had to look perfect.”

I’d know. I was there, listening into their conversation when she’d asked Kat to help with the younger kids. Kat was only on edge because of something else Star had shared with her.

Apparently, she had a large legacy from her father and a living aunt from his side of her bloodline too…

I had no idea why that knowledge upset her, but it had, and she’d been acting like a dragonfly had burrowed into her ear and taken it hostage ever since.

“No, she just asked us to look decent,” Kat agreed. “So, look decent we will. Right?”

Niall sniffed. “You’re worse than Lenin.”

“I’m not,” Kat argued, straightening her shoulders and then grabbing Enzo’s hand. “And I regret telling you about him now.” To me, she ordered, “You get Niall.”

“I’m not holding his hand! I’m not a kid,” Niall cried.

“Don’t worry, dude,” I soothed, clamping my fingers on his shoulder. “That better?”

“Much better,” Niall said with a sniff, glowering at his sister who surprised us both by sticking out her tongue at him.

I hid a grin at the move because that was Kat. Not this uptight Type-A chick that was dealing with something since Star had dumped the news of her inheritance and her aunt on her last night.

Why she’d waited until this moment to share that with her kid, I didn’t know. Maybe it was because Kat was starting college in the fall, or maybe she just figured it was time—who the fuck knew how Star’s mind worked?

What I did know was that Kat was dealing with the aftermath of these revelations and me being the moron who was head over fucking heels for her, I wanted to help.

Even if that only meant corralling the demon spawns that were her siblings.

As guards gathered around us and aides began to lead us toward a stage, we stayed in a pretty tight formation, which was a miracle considering how many of us were here.

The whole O’Donnelly clan numbered over two dozen now with all the kids.

To be honest, I was lucky I didn’t have to keep control of my siblings because if Kat thought Enzo was a bringer of chaos, that was nothing on my freakin’ brother, Dermot.

Even Aidan the Third was behaving, and she was a fucking nightmare worthy of Savannah and Aidan Jr.’s DNA.

Of course, with any family event of ours, there had to be drama.

When the guards suddenly shouted, “GET DOWN! SHOOTER!” and we were shoved onto the ground, men piling on top of us and the kids to keep us safe, I heaved an impatient sigh. Even Enzo, the youngest of our group, yawned.

This was life as an O’Donnelly, after all.

Especially this new version that was the hybrid Irish Mob/sports team owner/renowned kids’ books author/baker/face that smashed a thousand Sparrow and Brotherhood ships.

Around us, the mania of an active shooting situation blared to life, but to the kids, Kat and I played ‘I Spy,’ which wasn’t fun when your vision was limited to two feet on the ground but it kept them occupied until security contained the sniper.

Fifteen minutes later, Lucinda popped up, brushing us all down and making us presentable again.

“Who was it, Cin? Are they in custody?”

She tutted. “I’m not Cin anymore, Seamus. I’m Lucinda.”

Kat snorted. “What a difference a name doesn’t make.”

“I work with your mom now.”

“And?” Kat arched a brow at her. “Let me guess, you handled the shooter.”

Cin preened. “I can’t help it that I have an eye for these things.”

“That’s why Star hired you, isn’t it?” I questioned in a low voice. “It has nothing to do with you being a great assistant?—”

“—or the only person who’ll deal with her without wanting to strangle her,” Kat finished.

Cin smirked. “You can’t put words in my mouth. Anyway, the shooter is in a body bag and so he should be for disturbing this momentous occasion. Now, the crowd is ready?—”

“You mean to tell me that you didn’t clear out the audience?” Kat shrieked.

“Why bother? They weren’t targeting the audience.”

“So reassuring, Cin.”

She sniffed at her. “Come on. We gotta get this ball rolling.”

“Are people still trying to kill us?” Enzo asked as he tugged on my hand.

Kat and I shared a glance. “You don’t need to worry about that,” I told him.

“I’m not worried. I’m asking a question,” he replied, sounding far too serious for a six-year-old.

But I knew how that worked.

Hadn’t I watched my grandparents be slaughtered when I was around the same age as him?

This life… this world… No matter what Star promised, there was no cleaning it up entirely.

The urge to make a real difference had me in a chokehold.

Not for the first time, either.

“We’ll never let anyone kill us, Enzo,” Kat reassured him. “That’s not the O’Donnelly way, is it?”

He blinked but he agreed, “No, it’s not.”

“Your mom is untouchable anyway,” Cin quipped.

I stared in the distance, seeking out my aunt, and found her soothing Minnie on her hip. Uncle Conor was making faces at the baby, and as much as it always was with the two of them, hell, my parents and aunts and uncles as well, it was like the world didn’t exist when they were together.

Everyone else faded into nothingness.

Maybe not their kids, but that level of connection, the unity, the love , it was something I’d been raised with and something I craved.

Nervously, I studied Kat and saw a wistful expression on her face as well.

Did she feel it too?

“Come on, troubles,” Cin chirped, breaking into the moment. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

Kat surprised me by slipping her hand into mine and squeezing it tight. As our fingers knotted, she peered at me. “Good to go?”

My heart stuttered. “Good to go.”

As if the last twenty minutes hadn’t happened, the O’Donnelly brood strolled down a short path that led to a stage where over five hundred people were seated, most of them press which explained why they hadn’t run off—they were covering the event. Cameras were broadcasting it around the world and tomorrow’s papers would be plastered with it too.

As a clan, we made it onto the stage, moving into pre-arranged positions. In the middle, Star’s parents, Lorelei and Dagger Daniels, stood pride of place.

For the first time, I wasn’t with Kat but had to return to my parents’ and siblings’ sides.

That didn’t mean I wasn’t looking at her.

Maybe Niall wasn't the only one who’d noticed my crush on Kat… I knew Uncle Conor had helped arrange the security for the stage and had worked with Cin to ensure our safety. He was probably why I could stare straight at her instead of being out in the cold.

Did that mean he didn’t mind?

To a round of applause, Star walked toward a podium once some boring diplomat introduced her to the crowd.

Christ, I needed to focus. Not think about Kat. And whether her overprotective father might approve of me having feelings for her…

“It’s taken nine years of striving, of fighting, of international cooperation, of governments uniting together with sanctions to fight the toxicity that has infected this world for over four hundred years, but here we are, still standing.

“Even today, they tried to stop us, but this is the proof we needed to show you that our fight isn’t over. It will never truly be over.

“Today, however, isn’t about the New World Sparrows or the United Brotherhood.” She waved a hand and more people climbed onto the stage: Aaron Goldstein as well as the Satans’ Sinners’ MC’s Old Ladies who worked with Star on her foundation. “It’s about remembrance.”

Behind us, the odd black wall that had blocked the audience from seeing behind us cascaded to the floor, revealing a labyrinthine path forged from walls that were inscribed with names.

Millions of them.

“Today, we celebrate the lives of those who didn’t make it. We beg forgiveness for failing them, and we promise them we’ll never allow their deaths to have been in vain.

“May this monument stand forever as a global apology to the women, men, and children who endured and who found peace in death.

“May this monument stand as a thank you to the people who served on the side of justice and died in the act of duty.

“May this monument prove that we stand united against authoritarianism, that democracy is as Abraham Lincoln himself said, ‘A government of the people, by the people, and for the people.’”

At the second massive round of applause in less than ten minutes, Uncle Conor moved behind her, Minnie on his hip—as always, presenting a united front.

While the audience opened up for questions that peppered Aunt Star about her new role as a UN ambassador, I zoned out, more curious over Kat’s pained expression as she angled herself so she was looking back at the monument.

Did she know how beautiful she was?

Did she know how gracious and graceful?

How couldn’t she know how badly I wanted to kiss her? How badly I wanted to turn that freakin’ frown upside down?

As I studied her, a reporter asked, “What’s next for you, Ms. Sullivan?”

“There isn’t a ‘next.’ That implies this is over. It is not over. More names will be added to the monument as and when we uncover those we failed. More arrests will be made and more governments will topple as crooked officials are revealed through our investigations.

“This monument exists because two million women deserve to be remembered.”

“But personally, Ms. Sullivan? There are rumors?—”

“There are always rumors.” Star smiled at the crowd, a special smile that hadn’t existed before. That was a new mask. A PR mask that had come into being when she’d become the face of the ATRF foundation and had been revealed, by a tabloid, to be one of the key sources of intel for Aaron Goldstein’s Special Trafficking Unit. A move I still wasn’t sure was a leak Conor had orchestrated or not, but I figured it was likely. “The rumors of a split are not true. I’ve decided to make an honest man out of my fiancé.” When Conor’s brows lifted, she chuckled. “See? Even he didn’t know that. You are not invited to my wedding; it will most definitely be a family affair.

“But it’s time. Nine years, he’s waited for me, and I know he’ll wait a lifetime, but the longer this investigation carries on, the more I realize that there will never be a definite end point to it. That was what I was waiting for.

“There is centuries’ worth of corruption to unravel, and together, Conor and I, as well as the team at Interpol, will work to bring justice to those we failed, while the ATRF will work to ensure that the victims have a safe place to land.”

As the journalists applauded, I was close enough to Conor to hear him mutter, “I’ll hold you to that promise, seeing as you skipped out on the tequila. I’m rather looking forward to being an honest man.”

“Teamwork makes the dream work,” she told him, turning into him as the cameras flashed, her cameo-beringed hand settling on his chest, her nose nuzzling Minnie’s.

None of us knew that that shot would be the one featured on the front pages in the morning.

None of us knew that that shot would, panned wide with the monument in the background and the clan surrounding them, be used in the history books and that kids, years down the line, would have to reason in their essays why that was such a powerful image.

Why it was a declaration of love and intent.

Why it represented the fight for democracy and liberty for all.

No, to us, that was just Conor and Star.

Our uncle and aunt, mother and father, brother and sister-in-law.

As they made history together, I turned to Kat and found her watching me.

I smiled.

She smiled back.