Kane scoffed. “Liar.”
Kieran glared at his brother. “Fine, I don’t know what I expect. I don’t expect her to wait, but, yeah, I really hope she does. I really hope she comes today and visits me and tells me that she forgives me, that none of this matters to her. That she’s fine with dating an ex-con. Or current con.”
Kane was quiet, letting him rant. A lump in Kieran’s throat made him pause as he thought about Fiona seeing him behind bars. As much as he wanted her to come today and tell him everything was fine, he also didn’t. He didn’t want her to see him like this. He didn’t want her forever to think of him with bars between them. He wanted her to look at him the same way she had over the last few weeks…before she knew the truth.
But he’d blown that chance by not being completely honest with her in the first place.
“Hey,” Jimmy said, walking back into the small gray room that offered as little hope in its decor as it did in its purpose. “So you’ll go before the judge Monday morning. Prosecution is going to recommend thirty days for the violation. Any future offenses or violations, or any misconduct during incarceration, you’ll be made to complete the rest of your sentence.”
Kieran gritted his teeth, absorbing the information. He wanted to be angry. He wanted to flip the table and slam his fist through a concrete wall, but he knew Jimmy had done the most he could by getting him only thirty days. There was no one to blame but himself.
“Thanks for trying, kid.” He nodded toward Jimmy, who just frowned back at him. Kane joined Jimmy by the door.
“I’ll be back on Monday to visit, bro,” Kane told him. Kieran just nodded as a guard entered and motioned him to his feet. He stood, and the guard unlocked his handcuffs from the steel bar on the table, then locked his wrists together behind his back. Then he grabbed Kieran’s elbow and pushed him out of the room past his brothers. “See you Monday,” he told them.
“Be safe, K,” Kane replied.
Jimmy nodded. “See you then.”
Kieran looked back at the guard as they moved through the door and wondered how easy it would be to smash an elbow into his face and make a run for it. The officer was scrawny, not much to look at. Jimmy had told him they’d been hiring younger and younger, bringing in newer and less experienced police officers and guards to fill empty spots. If Kieran really wanted to, he could probably escape. He could start over somewhere new, never returning home again. But he didn’t want a life that didn’t have Fiona.
Even though that might be exactly what he had to look forward to now.
Chapter 19
“Shea, please calm down,” Fiona begged, holding the bag of frozen chicken nuggets in her hands.
“No!” Shea screamed from where she sat at the kitchen table in the Kavanaghs’ house. Her forehead was flat against the table and she was kicking her feet against the chair legs.
Hoping food might help calm down her sister, Fiona lined the nuggets on a plate and popped it into the microwave. “Shea, we have to look at apartments. We need to find a place to live.”
A small foot smashed into the table leg. “Here!”
“This was just temporary, honey. We can’t stay here forever.” Fiona tried to touch her shoulder, but Shea shook her off quickly. Her sister had somewhat average verbal skills, albeit not exactly at her age level. However, when she got really upset and frustrated, she either stopped responding or found a word, or phrase, to repeat tirelessly.
Frowning, Fiona did her best to swallow her own tears. She didn’t want to upset her sister into yet another massive life upheaval, not with Shea’s need for routine. However, she couldn’t expect the Kavanaghs to keep letting her live there rent-free when their son was in prison.
“What is going on in here? That’s quite the ruckus, little one,” Dee said as she walked in and dropped her purse and keys on the counter. “Is this a new one, or is it a continuation of the last one?”
Dee was referring to Shea’s last temper tantrum, which had occurred before Dee had left the house a few hours earlier. While there had been a brief respite, it felt as if Shea had been nonstop up and down since the moment Kieran had been taken into custody. It was wearing on everyone, but Fiona worried most about how her little sister was reacting to the loss.
“Here!” Shea screamed again, a hoarse rasp in her voice.
Dee cocked her head to the side, hands on her hips, as Seamus walked into the kitchen. “Who’s here?”
“She’s upset about having to look at apartments.” Fiona sounded as frazzled as Shea felt. “I can do it without her—I’ll find a babysitter.”