Page 139 of Three Irish Kings

“I don’t know! I don’t bloody know, Cill, all right?”

I stay quiet for only a moment, allowing him to collect himself.

“I won’t let you.”

“Won’t let mewhat?” Liam sounds less angry and just exasperated now, tired.

“I won’t let you hurt her.”

He scoffs. “God, you sound like Dare.”

Maybe he’s right, but I don't care.

I love Isla, whoever she is, whatever she’s done. And I don’t love easily, so the matter of her betrayal is inconsequential to me.

We kidnapped her, she escaped. We find her. If she comes back now, it will be because she wants to be with us. With me.

“Don’t pretend you don’t have feelings for her too.”

He barks out a laugh. ”Feelings? What is this, fucking high school?”

“You’re deflecting.”

“I don’t want to talk about it, Cill.”

“We’ve got three hours left to drive. We have to talk about something.”

“What happened to you being the strong, silent type?”

I shift in my seat, annoyed. “Well, we have to bloody talk about it, Liam. We can’t just snatch her up and put her in the trunk in broad daylight with no plan.”

“I just... I want to see her, all right?”

“Just see her?” I ask hopefully.

“We can’t exactly let her go. What she knows?—”

“She doesn’t know anything other than our names.”

“And the fact that we kidnapped her.”

I huff out a breath. “She’s not going to tell anyone.”

He glances at me, and then back at the road, his jaw set. “You’re like Dare. And just as naive.”

“Everyone’s not against you, Liam.”

“She certainly is. And why wouldn’t she be? We picked her up at the gala, locked her away, used her as a... pet.”

“Remind me again whose idea that was?” I know I’m provoking Liam, but I can’t help it.

Some part of me feels like this is all his fault. If he hadn’t been so fucking mean to her all the time...

“We all needed a release.”

I know even he knows that’s a lie. He wanted her. He wanted her any way he could have her, just like the rest of us.

He’s silent for the rest of the ride, and I look out the window, thinking of Isla, of the last time we made love, how I wanted to tell her so badly.