Irish Lullaby (Book One of A Violent Melody Duet)

Chapter Six

Five dead and dozens injured, three men and two women. One of the victims was her cousin, it seemed he had a real fondness for shrinking Fallon's parents' Christmas guest list. She was not close to the cousin who fell dead by a support beam crushing her upper body, she hadn't even spoken to hear in years even with all the family events they saw one another at. Truthfully Fallon hadn't forgived her for when she threw dirt in her horse's eye when she had nipped the girl years earlier. She'd warned her not to mess with Macha but she hadn't listened, now she'd never get the chance to ignore simple instructions ever again.
Her mother sat beside her sister in law who sobbed at the funeral, her husband had passed some years earlier in what Fallon believed was a business deal gone wrong. She had eavesdropped on the conversation when the news was broken to her father. Her aunt had two other children, a younger son and older daughter, both of which held each other's hand as they placed their flowers atop the solid white casket. It was beautiful, a lovely resting place for a girl of such high standards.

Fallon believed she would have approved of her mothers choice.

She sat beside Nicholas, who was silent besides the occasional sound of his fingers tapping across his phone when he typed out a text. He had been kinder to her in the week following the incident, hadn't hit her once and even stopped coming to her for release. Ronan had let her go when she heard someone in the distance screaming her name, he promised it wouldn't be the last they saw of each other before kissing her hand and telling her to hurry.
She had felt a pull in her chest when she ran up the few steps and found her way in the chaos of people. Nicholas had been unnervingly confused when he found her soaked and her dress ripped but when she said the explosion had caused her to trip into the pool not far from the ballroom he left her be. He hadn't even questioned why she was out here alone when she had only been meant to use the restroom and return.
"It's our turn." She whispered when the priest handed them both a flower and motioned for them to approach the closed casket. It felt oddly familiar to her last cousin's funeral. She laid the red rose down and held onto the soft hand NIcholas had latched around her own.
She held another secret for a man she didn't even know deserved to be protected by her. Her family had suspicions on who placed the bomb, she had heard the loud conversations in the days following the attack as her parents and other men she vaguely recalled stayed at Nicholas's home to handle it all. Ronan's name had come up but it had come up along with a list of others.
Nicholas seemed to be certain it was a man named Francisco he had done business with in the past, she wanted to know what her fiance had done to make him so certain this man would retaliate so harshly. How many enemies would she be getting in this marriage? What if next time it was this Francisco or someone else Nicholas fucked over and she became the key to their revenge? Her death wouldn't hurt him as much as it would her but they didn't know that and stealing or killing a man's wife, no matter how little she mattered, was a hit to the pride all men in her fathers world seemed to have issues with.
—
What a lovely service that was, her mother spoke as they piled into the limo that would take them back to their hotel. Her cousin had been buried in America where she had grown up and they all had made the trip to be there for their family in this time of need, it had nothing to do with the paparazzi that her mother had stopped twice to pose for on their way out of the cemetery.
Fallon reached for the decanter of scotch beside her seat and poured herself a tall glass that was quickly plucked out of her hands by Nicholas. Her mother watched the interaction as Fallon held back her words and went to grab another glass only for Nicholas to grab her around the waist and pull her in closer.
"Nothing like death to remind you of what really matters." She smiled at the young couple before digging around in her purse for a little box of pills she always kept on her. She took a glass of champagne and popped one into her mouth, not caring that Fallon's father was glaring at her as she did so.
Sometimes she wondered if they still loved each other or if they ever even did, it didn't seem like either of them loved much besides money and power. Her father needed the business to feel alive and her mother needed the limelight. Her brothers were like their dad in that way, they needed power and they all married for it too, now she would be doing the same thing.
Two months, two months and she would be married.
Nicholas let his arm rest on her bare thigh, his soft things making her ticklish more than anything, it was like a feather brushing against her. She imagined Ronans hands would bring a more heady feel to her, she pushed him from her mind, she did not need to be thinking about Ronan Medvedev. Didn't need to think about his breath on her neck or the way his hands brushed against her skin or how she wanted to feel him pressed against every part of her body, to let their skin touch till she felt a fire in her that she couldn't ignore.
He made her feel and want things she never imagined, things she read about in the books her maids would sneak her once they finished, ones that had highlanders on the cover and titles that made her cringe. It was the only reason she knew about sex, her parents never taught her a thing and she didn't have free access to a phone or computer. The shows she watched her even monitored, never anything that would teach her about the inebriating side of life.
She wanted Ronan to teach her about all of it though.