Alannah didn’t look away from Damien’s back.
“He helped me get over you—”
“By getting under him?” he snapped.
Alannah winced. “That’s not fair, Damien. You were gone for so long, and we weren’t on good terms.”
“I left for you!” Damien shouted as he spun around to face Alannah. “When I realised how much I hurt you, when Bronagh told me the things no one else would, I made the decision to leave to better myself but also to give you time. I didn’t know how to attempt to make things right back then, but I was always going to come back for you, Alannah. I was going to fix everything, but you’ve made it so hard.”
Alannah’s voice cracked. “I... I didn’t know.”
Damien shook his head. “I have to go.”
He turned around and walked out of the kitchen, but Alannah quickly followed him while we all stayed rooted to the spot.
“Damien, please,” she pleaded from the hallway.
Georgie began to cry, which prompted Jax to become distressed also.
“Let go, Lana,” he replied, his tone low.
She has hold of him.
“No,” she shouted. “We need to talk.”
“What we need to do is be away from each other,” Damien replied. “Go to Dante; I’m sure he’ll be more than happy to comfort you.”
“Damien, stop. You don’t mean that.”
“Alannah. Let. Go.”
“No, I won’t.”
My eyes slid to Bronagh after she got Georgie from the play area. She tried to hand her daughter to Dominic, but he only hooked an arm around Bronagh’s waist, keeping both of his girls in place.
“Let them figure this out themselves,” he said into her ear.
“Does it sound like they’re figurin’ anythin’ out?” she quipped while bouncing Georgie to calm her.
Aideen took out her phone and began tapping on the screen. Kane, who was looking over her shoulder as he consoled Jax, groaned and looked up at the ceiling when she sent whatever message she texted.
“This is going to be bad,” he murmured to Ryder and Alec.
They nodded in unison.
“Why do you want to talk all of a sudden?” Damien demanded from the hallway. “Why not the first million times I asked?”
“Because I’m ready to deal with all of this.”
“It took you long enough!”
“Don’t be nasty,” Alannah hit back. “None of this is me fault. I’m the one who was hurt and embarrassed and have been carryin’ it around for years, not you.”
“Not me?” Damien bellowed. “I’ve carried it around since the second I did you wrong, and I fucking know it. I know what I did, and I’ve tried to make it right, but I can’t. You’ve made it impossible.”
“How?” Alannah asked.
“By being with him!” Damien roared. “I haven’t touched anyone since I touched you. I haven’t kissed anyone since I kissed you. I haven’t looked at another woman since I was fucking eighteen, but that ends tonight. If you have moved on, then so will I.”
I felt my mouth drop open with shock at Damien’s admission, and so did everyone else’s.
“Fine,” Alannah screamed, but I heard it in her voice that she was going to cry. “Go be with some bitch ‘cause I won’t be here when you get back. You say you’re done? Well, so am I!”
Damien humourlessly laughed. “You’ve been done with me for years, and you know it!”
I jumped when the hall door opened and slammed shut. Bronagh handed over Georgie then pushed away from Dominic and ran out to the hallway when Alannah’s crying could be heard. I turned and gripped Ryder’s arm after he handed Locke back to his mother.
“Go after ‘im,” I pleaded with my husband. “He will never forgive ‘imself if he gets with someone tonight. He loves ‘er, Ryder, and she loves ‘im. They just need to figure a lot of shite out before they get to the point where they both realise it.”
Ryder nodded and looked at his brothers.
“It’ll take all of us to talk some sense into him,” he said.
My heart hurt. Everything in my personal life with Ryder was perfect, but Alannah and Damien were a part of my life overall, and I couldn’t stand by while they both self-destructed.
“We have to help them,” I said to the girls.
I could hear Bronagh trying to comfort Alannah, but I heard that she was semi-crying too. It hurt her when Alannah hurt, just like it was hurting the other girls and me to see her in this state.
“What will we do?” Aideen asked while the brothers muttered to one another.
“If she isn’t serious about ‘im, then she needs to end whatever she has goin’ on with Dante,” Keela said. “I know it sounds awful, but that’s what needs to be done if she wants a chance with Damien.”
We nodded in agreement.
Keela looked at Aideen. “Your brothers are only comin’ around to Kane’s brothers now, but that progress will halt if Damien jumps Dante out of hurt and anger. None of your brothers will stand by and let that happen. If Dante gets the better of Damien, Dominic will step in, and then Harley will be on ‘im like a bad rash, and Kane will get involved and so on. It will cause nothin’ but trouble.”