Ciarán: The O'Hanlon Family Trilogy Book One: Social Rejects Syndicate
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Ronan holds up his hand stopping me from continuing. “You seem to know everything and if not, you’re quick to find out. Has he ever looked for Eevee after that night? Will Brigid be safe with us? What I mean by that is, I know we can protect her, but what are the chances he will come looking?”
“No matter what we do, there is always a chance he could come looking. However, I don’t think he has any idea what happened after he raped her. That night, he drugged her. He held her prisoner in his chambers for hours. He repeatedly raped her and beat her. He dumped her in the park on his way home. I found her naked on the bench. I wrapped my coat around her and took her home. When she told me who did it, I realized I needed to take action fast. I started with removing all footage from all the cameras she would have come into contact with. Then, I removed everything and anything I could find about her on the net. I planted an obit that she committed suicide. No one looks into suicides. Soon after that, she found out she was pregnant, and we moved her to Japan. You know the rest. I have monitored him from day one and he’s never once looked for her. I’m linked into his computer. If he so much as types in her name, I’m alerted. He never has.”
“Do you know what went down in the church that night?” Patrick’s jaw is so tight yet it’s ticking. He’s a loaded cannon ready to blow.
“I have an idea. Savanna Aiello wanted to know why, but Jason Aiello wanted revenge. Dax did the worst thing next to being a rat, he publicly humiliated Savanna which, in turn, humiliated Jason. He hired Eevee to publicly humiliate Dax and after that, his head would be on the chopping block. Jason hired someone to make sure the deed was done. Unfortunately, he went too far. Word on the street says it was the work of Mr. X. Patrick, before you go off halfcocked, many have tried to eliminate him, and all have failed. Please keep the safety of Brigid in mind,” I reiterate what’s important as I see he is about to explode.
“What am I supposed to do about Savanna? She believes we are married for life.” Ciarán begins cracking his knuckles, which I’m sure is a nervous habit.
“That’s a decision only you can make. However, you do have options.” I hear the door and quickly close my laptop.
“Gentlemen, get ready to meet your niece.” I get up and Brigid comes running in with a balloon and cotton candy. She stops when she sees everyone and takes my hand.
“Brigid, this is Ciarán, Patrick, and Ronan. They are Aunt Eve’s brothers.”
“Hi, is Aunt Eve here, too?” My mom quickly steps in to distract her.
“Hi, I’m Yua, Jian’s mom. We need to get cleaned up after the park. We will leave you alone to your business.” She takes Brigid into the restroom to get cleaned up.
“I was going to tell her about Eevee, but my mom felt we should all tell her. Are you okay with that?” I ask.
Ronan looks at his brothers and turns to me. “As a priest, delivering bad news is something I do a lot. If you don’t mind, I’d like to break the news.”
I knock on the restroom door and ask them to come out. I’m watching how he interacts with her, and it’s like he’s a totally different person.
“Hi, Brigid. Do you know what heaven is?”
“Of course, I do. When my kitty never came home, Aunt Eve said he went to a beautiful place where there is no pain, and he is drinking a lot of milk with his family.”
“How did that make you feel?”
“At first, I was sad, but I knew how much Mr. Buttons loved milk, so then I was happy for him.”
I want to jump in and take the opening, but it’s not for me to do. So, I bite my tongue.
“Brigid, Aunt Eve was in an accident and went to heaven. She loves you so much, but God needed her to come home. So, she made a deal with him. She went home, but she will always be with you. She is your special angel. She will watch over you forever.”
“So, I will never see her again?!” Her lip begins to tremble as my heart begins to break.
“She will always be in your heart, and now you have the three of us, too.”
“Obaachan, when can we go home?” Brigid cries to my mother.
My mom pulls her into her arms. “My dear child, I know things will be different, but I promise you everything will be okay. I will always be with you.”
Patrick squats down to look her in the eye while taking her hand. “How would you like to come back to our home. We have horses you can ride and so many different animals to play with. Would you like that?”
“Can Obaachan come, too?” She seems to finally relax.
“Of course, she can . . . forever.”
Now starts the fifty million questions she usually asks. I failed to warn them about that.
“How many horses do you have? What other animals do you have? Do you have dogs?”
“How about I help you get your stuff, and we head home?” Patrick answers.
“Okay, do you have an elephant?” she continues. I laugh as she takes him into her room.
“It looks like you guys will do just fine. In the meantime, Ciarán let me know what you decide.”
“No need to put it off. I think it’s in the best interest for everyone involved if I take over his clients. I just need a little bit of time getting to know Brigid before I dive in. Can you make that happen?”
“Yes. That’s not a problem.”
Patrick comes out with Brigid in his arms. She’s still asking a million questions. As I watch her leave, I realize I’m not losing her. She is gaining a family that she needs. That makes me happy, and I’m sure Eevee is looking down and smiling.
Patrick
I think most people are creatures of habit. They go through life with, what they think is, a great plan to be successful. However, success is really a figment of our own imagination. I thought my life was going well, that is until my sister died and I found out I have a niece, whom I’m now partially in charge of. I realized the night Eevee died that stuff is nothing. I heard someone say once that “whomever has the most toys when they die, wins.” I never could understand that; they’re dead, so what did they win? What matters most now is that this young child is looking up to me to do the right thing.
Ciarán has been so busy with taking over Dax’s accounting firm that it has left him little time for anything, including Savanna, his unexpected wife. Ronan has been helping with Brigid, but he also has a ton of stuff keeping him busy at the church. So, that leaves me—Uncle Patrick—to pick up the pieces. I want revenge for Eevee’s death, but Ciarán and Ronan want to bury it and walk away. Ciarán wants to move forward. He’s got to handle a growing business, a wife, and now a niece. Revenge is not on the top of the list. Ronan views everything that went down as a second chance. I tried to tell him Brigid is her own little person; no one will replace Eevee.
Ciarán says we all played a part in Eevee’s death. We need to own it and move forward. I don’t know how to do that. I look at Ciarán’s wife Savanna and I see red. Her father was the crux of this whole mess and now she is part of our family. How do I live with that? How do I see her every day and not blow her brains out when all I want is to serve them up to her father on a silver platter? Keeping my focus on Brigid is the only thing saving me right now. The little girl with the doe brown eyes.
The ringing phone snaps me back to reality. I take a quick glance at the screen—LaDonna, Aiello’s new right-hand man now that Vinnie is dead. “Hey, Tommy, what do you need?”
“Always right to the point, Patrick. Aiello wants his daughter protected, no matter what. What can I do to make that happen?”
“You got a lot of fucking nerve; I’ll give you that. She’s now part of the O’Hanlon family. Her safety is a guarantee. Aiello, on the other hand, is another story. I want revenge for my sister’s death, and it seems to me Aiello better watch his back.” I get nothing but dead air in response to my threat—no—promise. When I pull my cell away to look at it, the call is gone. Guess I hit a nerve. Doesn’t matter, my time is better spent at the stables with teaching Brigid about the different ho
rses we breed.
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Shattered Lies
The Bench
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Discrete Investigations
The Fitz Series
Uniquely Mine, Book One
Silent Innocence, Book Two
It Will Always Be Us, Book Three
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Theresa Sederholt is a Brooklyn, New York native turned country girl. She is a graduate of Campbell University in North Carolina, with a degree in Criminal Justice. Theresa now calls North Carolina home with her husband, a professional chef, and her two dogs.
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