“Of course, like any mother worth her salt, she came looking for me. Ireland is a beautiful place, but parts of it are ravaged by skirmishes. That day, she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The bombs were starting to go off. Smoke was everywhere and people were yelling.
My ears were ringing after the third explosion. People were running everywhere.” He shook his head. “I saw her. Our eyes met. We started toward one another. The next thing I remember is heat, smoke, impact, then nothing. It was the last time I ever saw her alive.”
“Oh my God.” Gia dropped her hands, horrified by the weight he must’ve carried on his
shoulders. “Colm, how old were you?”
“Seven.”
“You can’t believe it was your fault.”
“If it wasn’t for me, she wouldn’t have been out there. That’s a fact I’ll have to live with. I know I didn’t throw the bombs, but it doesn’t take away from that gut-gnawing guilt. So, when I tell you I understand, I’m not blowing smoke up your ass. Shit happens we have no control over.
After that I got shipped here because my father couldn’t stand the sight of me. I spent a lot of time trying to hurt myself. But it never got me anywhere and I knew in my heart, it’s not what my mom would’ve wanted. The Taffy you knew is gone now, Gia. But if she could speak with
her old frame of mind, she’d tell you exactly the same shit I am.”
His words cut through her mania, siphoning off some of the borderline hysteria clouding her thoughts. “What do we do, Colm?”
“We call the pres and move up the time table.”
“How?”
“By shutting her ass down. You don’t come onto someone else’s turf and piss off the locals.
We could make it damn hard for her supplier to keep dealing. He’ll cut her off before he risks that.”
“And Taffy?” Gia whispered.
Colm shook his head. “I know you want to save her, but sometimes, you can’t save people.”
“I refuse to accept that. I can’t let her continue to be tortured.”
“I’ll see what we can do. Best I can offer you, ‘cause I promised I wouldn’t lie.”
Gia nodded. “I’ll pay whatever she wants.”
He wrapped his arms around her shoulders. “I know you would, so does she. Which is why
we’re going to do the negotiating. Come on, let’s go. We need to go piss off Demon.”
“Thank you for telling me.”
“Now, you’ve seen all of me, Gia.”
“Only fair, since you’ve seen all of me.”
“I want to make this shit official.”
Gia bit her bottom lip, warring with the part of her that wondered if Taffy had been right.
“Your silence isn’t reassuring.”
“It’s hard for me, Colm.”
“You’re making it hard, Gia.”
“I just had my head thoroughly fucked and you want to pile more shit on me?”