First his brother, then his uncle on his mother's side. The Kincaid men laughed at the Kincaid curse in a show of bravado, but it was only when he was alone his laughter turned bitter and hollow.
"I won't ask you to," Ian said gently, and that was even worse, because it should have been him comforting his uncle-not the other way around. "I know what it cost you to hear of William's death."
Will's face flashed into mind, pale and gasping for lack of breath, his dark eyes pleading. Kincaid hadn't been able to say goodbye, as the enclaves had only granted him one day of leave to visit his brother before the end-and the end came shortly after, Will slipping away before Kincaid even knew about it.
It was a kind death. A merciful one, Orla said. But he felt the weight of it on his soul every damned day.
"You should find some joy with your girl," Ian said breathlessly. "It's a long, lonely life, Liam-"
"Or a short one," he said brutally, shaking his head. "And I find joy on a regular basis."
"An anonymous roll in the hay's all well and good... but that's not-"
"It's the sort of thing that doesn't destroy people's lives. I provide a widow or two with a bit of fun on a lonely night, and I don't make promises I don't intend to keep. It works for all of us. But Ava's not... not like the others. She's the type of girl who wants things I can't offer."
"Like love?"
"Like a husband, a home, and a family," he said bluntly.
"You could give her all three."
"It would be better if the bloody curse died with me, so let it. I promised myself no children."
"It's only... a bit of bad luck," Ian said, with a cough. "No such thing as curs... curses-" He broke into a hacking cough.
Kincaid hastily reached for the glass of water on the side table, and helped his uncle sit up just enough to sip it. Ian spluttered until the fit finally subsided.
Lowering him back down, he tucked the blankets up under Ian's chin.
"Curse or not, I can't offer her a future." Pressing a kiss to his uncle's forehead, he pushed away from the bed. "I'll fetch Orla for you." Then he strode from the room, and nearly flattened poor Orla.
"What are you arguing with him about?" she demanded.
"Nothing."
"If you've set him off again-"
"He's fine." Kincaid shoved his hands into his pockets, shuttering the sorrow that punched inside his chest like a fist trying to hammer its way out. His voice softened and he barely got the words out. "I agreed to let him die."
"Oh, Liam."
He shook her off and tugged his money pouch out of his pocket. Orla started to protest, as he'd expected. "Shut up and take it. He's my blood too. And you need to pay the rent."
Ignoring the suspicious gleam in her eyes-Orla never cried-he folded her fingers around the coins he poured into her palm, and forced her to accept them.
"You're a good man, Liam Kincaid, and don't ever let anyone else tell you otherwise," she said.
He tugged on the end of her braid with a sad smile, hoping she didn't see through him. "Stop ruining my reputation. I'm a devil, and the ladies love me for it."
That earned him a narrowed look. He'd grown up with her, and they could read each other like books.
"What?" he demanded, opening up a new script, one that was easier to deal with than the other one.
"And does herself downstairs love you for it?"
Bloody hell. Not Orla too. He should never have brought Ava here. "It's not like that." He scrubbed a hand over the back of his neck. "We work together-"
"She's pretty."
"Is she?"
That earned him a snort. "Not your usual sort at all-"
"What gave it away? The craving virus?"
"The intelligent, well-articulated and clearly educated conversation. The frills. The lace. The way she looks at you-"
"She's completely innocent. I don't trouble myself with virgins. And she's not looking at me like that." Which was a blatant lie that would have earned a slap to the back of his head from his mother, God rest her soul.
Ava looked. She lingered too sometimes, and he was rake enough to know tumbling her into bed might require a little bit of effort, but not a lot. Someone was curious.
And hurt. He was wise enough to understand Byrnes's recent marriage had something to do with Ava's sudden lingering looks.
Orla crossed her arms over her chest, eyeing him with an evil look. "I know you, Liam Anthony Kincaid. You want to trouble yourself with her, virgin or not."
"It's complicated."
"I assure you it's not. You've told me many times it's simply a matter of inserting your cock into-"
Kincaid clapped his human hand over her mouth. "Jaysus, woman. That's enough. She might be able to hear you."