The O’Connells Books 10 - 12

Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

As Iris opened her eyes, the sun streamed through the blinds. She took in her closed bedroom door and the clock, seeing that it was after nine, but the quiet of the house bothered her. When she blinked again, she remembered that not only Brady was there but also Raymond. Her life, her house, her privacy had been turned upside down, invaded by a man who had no right to destroy any part of the new life she’d created for herself and her family.

The way he’d touched her, the way he’d talked to her, the way he’d looked at her…

No more! She wouldn’t let him stay.

She took her time showering and then pulled on yoga pants and a loose cream shirt. Then she pulled open her door and stepped out, expecting something but hearing nothing. Maybe he was gone.

“Yay!” she said to herself, though not feeling the happy relief she’d hoped for.

As she stepped into the empty kitchen, she spotted the coffeemaker with a full pot—freshly made, apparently, based on the timer. She pulled a mug from the cupboard and reached for the carafe to pour herself some.

“So you’re finally up.”

She damn near dropped the carafe, spilling some on the counter, as she jumped. Her heart zigged and her stomach zagged, and she turned, taking in Raymond, put together, tidy, cleaned up. He had changed into blue jeans and a black long-sleeved shirt, but he hadn’t shaved. His day-old whiskers were tinged with dark gray, only adding to his attractiveness.

“Sorry,” he said. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”

He didn’t move from where he leaned in the doorway—tall, too handsome for his own good and for her. Looking at him, she could see how her sons had grown too much into his image. She forced herself to swallow.

“Why are you still here?” she said. “And where’re Luke and Brady?”

Maybe because of the way he was looking at her, as if he could see how he was affecting her, she had to look away. She settled the coffeepot back on the burner and then reached for the sponge in the sink to wipe up the spill on the counter. Then she lifted her mug and turned, because he still hadn’t answered. Then he did.

“Luke took Brady back to the house to get a change of clothes after I got back. It seems my son would rather spend time with anyone but me. He’s still angry. I haven’t had a chance to sit him down and talk. Luke thought it would be best if he talked to him instead to get a feel for where his head is at.”

She took a swallow of the dark brew and could feel the awkwardness, considering how he kept looking at her.

“I guess I didn’t like how we left it last night,” he said. “In fact, Luke insisted I talk to you about some things.”

She didn’t know why, but she found herself squeezing her mug, feeling the burn. Her muscles pulled across her shoulders with the kind of tension that had become her constant companion as of late. “And why would Luke want you talking to me? This was supposed to be just for the night. Brady was upset, and I get that, but now you’re still here, and you’re saying Brady is with Luke? This is becoming complicated, Raymond. You should be gone already.”

She pulled her gaze away, back to her coffee, and took another swallow as she leaned against the sink. Evidently, it was just them in the house, alone, her and a man she’d never expected to see again.

She didn’t understand why he was looking at her the way he was. It made her damned uncomfortable. Then he glanced away, seeming to consider something, and held his hand out to her. What the hell was he doing?

“Come with me, and let’s go sit down,” he said.

She wondered if the panic licking at the back of her throat showed on her face as he stood there, his hand still held out. Was he crazy? There was no way she was letting him touch her ever again.

“Here’s good,” she said, with the island between them. He nodded and dropped his hand, then firmed his lips as if annoyed. Good. Maybe now he would leave.

“I wanted to talk to you about some things you don’t know but should, in all fairness to you. This has come up because Brady overheard me talking with Luke early this morning.”

She knew she wasn’t going to like this. “Oh,” she said. What would it be? Was it about where he was going, who he really was, how he’d never loved her? Yeah, she didn’t want to know.

“First, it’s about Brady’s mother,” he said. “You should know we were never involved in the way you thought.”

Now her heartbeat kicked up, and she had to fight the urge to roll her shoulders. “I have no idea what you’re trying to say, Raymond. Does it matter how you were involved? You were involved. Sure, it was after you left, as you pointed out, but it seems you jumped right into another bed. So after all these years, does it matter? No.” She forced a swallow and took in the odd smile that touched his lips.

“Well, then I guess you’re better than me, Iris, because it would have bothered me. If it were you with another man, I’d probably have killed him. But I’m glad you’re okay with it. In all honesty, I didn’t even know about Brady until after his mother died,” he said, and she wished he’d stop talking.

“And you told Luke about all this, and he wanted you to tell me?” she said. Now she’d be having a word with Luke, because there was a point where this became about digging the knife in deeper, and that was the kind of pain she wasn’t into. She shook her head.

Raymond walked closer to her and rested his hand on the fridge, taking it in. “Didn’t I buy this one?” he said, actually running his hand over the fridge, then gave everything to her in that one look. Seriously?

“Who cares about the fridge?” she said. “Yes, I’m sure it’s the one you bought—evidently a good choice, because it still works. But get to it already, Raymond, because I don’t like these games.” She had to pull in another breath because of how sharply her words had come out. Her heartbeat kicked up another notch.

“Luke wanted me to tell you everything. He seemed to think it would matter. Brady was two when Nancy died, and Nancy had no family to speak of. I received a call from a friend of hers. She had apparently left word to contact me if something happened to her. Nancy and I were together after I left you. It wasn’t planned, and it was meaningless, just two people, s*x and nothing else. It would never have happened again. I knew her because I worked with her, in a way. The car accident she died in was conveniently made to look like a hit and run. I knew then that someone had figured it out. When I met Brady, I took him and moved him, knowing I didn’t have a handle on my troubles anymore. Looking over my shoulder had become constant, but after that, I made sure not to stay in one place too long.”

“And now here you are. Am I supposed to thank you for just sleeping with her, having a kid, and it not meaning anything? There really is a difference between men and women. So Brady overheard this, did he? Hmm, I wonder why he’d be upset, Raymond.” Even she could hear the sarcasm dripping from her words as she thought of who he was and wasn’t.

Raymond O’Connell. The name kept going through her mind.

“If you’re trying to say I screwed up, you’ve made your point. I didn’t know Brady was standing there. He took whatever he heard out of context, and he’s probably making a ton of assumptions, way more than I’m comfortable with, considering I’ve controlled the narrative of what he knew. You should know I assumed his mom’s last name, Baker. He’s going to have a ton of questions about that, as well. He has no idea what I do or did. The deal that I made to stay on US soil has me reporting to a friend of Nancy’s at the CIA, the one who called me to let me know Luke was looking for me.”

All of this was coming full circle in a way she didn’t want. She forced herself to pull in a breath. “I don’t know what to say. Okay, so you’ve told me. Consider yourself off the hook for having to explain anything else, but don’t expect me to say thank you. If that’s why you’re still here…”

He didn’t smile and didn’t look away as he crossed his arms, looking out the kitchen window, past her, and then back to her again. “No, I’m still here because Brady won’t leave. I left you and the kids to protect you, but when I went public to the Feds and the DA here, I put a spotlight on you once again, all of you, the kids.”

“What are you saying?” She rested her mug on the counter.

“I’m saying I’m not going anywhere. I can’t. The situation with Brady has changed because he knows a truth I never wanted him to know. I figured I was protecting all of you, except now I realize I was protecting no one. My plan wasn’t really a plan. I was just staying one step ahead of something the average person has no idea about.”

“So you’re staying in Livingston,” she said. No, this couldn’t be happening.

He didn’t nod and didn’t look away. “Well, that would be part of it.” He uncrossed his arms and took another step closer to her, then rested his hand on the counter beside her. “The other part is that I’m not leaving this house. I left you because I thought that was the only way to protect you and the kids, but now the only way I can do it is to stay right here, with Brady.”

She had to remind herself to breathe. “You’re not staying here, Raymond. There’s no way…”

He was standing right in front of her, too close for comfort. “Well, that’s where you’re wrong, Iris. I am staying. I’m not leaving.”

“For how long?” she snapped.

He just shook his head. “No idea. A while, until I know with certainty that you’re safe, that the kids are safe, that no one else is coming out of the shadows for any of us. Until Brady listens to reason. Take your pick.”

She was shaking her head, too. “No, absolutely not. I can’t make you leave Livingston, but you have a house. You can go back there. You’re not staying here. The kids are all coming over tonight, and you’re not going to be here. You can’t just decide to walk back into our lives and expect me to be okay with this, any of this.”

He smiled, arrogant, cocky, and stepped back again. “Iris, you don’t have to be okay with it. It’s good that the kids are coming over. I’ll have to tell everyone only once, and they’ll understand. Hear me, Iris: I’m not leaving. I’ll sleep on the sofa. I’ll figure things out with Brady and make it right with the kids, and then…”

She just stared in horror, because this couldn’t be happening. “The kids will make you leave,” she said. “I’ll ask them to make you.”

That odd smile touched his lips again, and he stepped back, the arrogant light flickering in those O’Connell blue eyes. She could feel the fire burning like a knot in her stomach, furious, angry.

“We’ll see about that,” he said, then jutted his chin at her. “Oh, and the security system Luke installed? Short of putting bars on the windows, it isn’t going to keep out anyone, at least not the kinds of people who need to be kept out. I plan on adding a few things, a new front door, and cutting down the bushes at the side of the house…”

Then he was out the back door, still talking, and all she could think was that this man, who’d turned her life upside down and abandoned her and her children, had just walked back in the same way he’d left, and he was talking as if he had every right to do so.

Well, that was where he was wrong, and Iris had every intention of making sure he understood how far he’d overstepped her boundaries.