Perfect Sinner by Maggie Cole

23

Gemma

The following day,Nolan drops me off at Nora's, then leaves with Boris. Nora and I spend most of our time playing with Shannon. Whenever I get worried, Nora reminds me they're in a controlled environment.

A few times, she tries to get information about what's going on between Nolan and me, but I don't give her any insight into our relationship. I still don't know what we are. Nolan and I haven't put a label on us. I want to believe it meant something that he asked me to move my things into his bedroom, but I try not to read too much into it. I'm a hot mess with not much to offer anyone right now. At some point, it'll be time for me to move out. I'm not sure what will happen then, and I'm too scared to ask. I've already fallen hard. If he doesn't want me after this is over, it's going to hurt. But things are good between us right now. I don't want to risk rocking the boat and everything becoming awkward again.

The second night I'm at Nora's, my phone rings, waking me up. I answer it, assuming it's Nolan.

"Hey," I answer, with my eyes barely open.

"Hiding from me is impossible," Orla claims.

I open my eyes, sit up, and my heart races. How did she get this number? I turn the lamp on and glance around the room.

"Eamon has all sorts of new ideas about what he's going to do to you," she says.

My pulse shoots to the sky. How is this possible? Did something happen to Nolan and Boris? They were supposed to be killing Eamon.

She's lying, I try to convince myself, but her words have me shaken. What if something did happen to Nolan?

"Check your messages, dear sister." She hangs up, and my gut churns.

For several moments, I attempt to convince myself not to look. My curiosity wins, as it always does with Orla. I glance down at the screen and press play.

Eamon's devilish eyes send a chill down my spine. His thick Irish accent fills my ears. He stares into the camera and threatens, "Your father is getting out. I've prepared for you." He turns the camera. A king-size bed has ankle and hand cuffs ready to imprison its victim. Next to it, on the floor, is a dog cage.

Eamon's sinister grin turns my mouth dry. He taps the metal. "This is where you'll sleep. Unless, of course, I decide to restrain you." He opens the ankle cuff. Spikes are on the inside. He pushes his finger on one of them, and blood appears on it.

Instant nausea attacks me. I put my hand over my mouth, but I'm unable to tear my eyes off the video. I manage to swallow the bile rising in my throat.

Eamon points to the bar attached to the ankle cuffs. "This spreader bar I had made especially for you. Every time you move, it'll get wider."

My hand shakes so badly, I drop the phone. I pick it up.

Eamon's eyes gleam. "There's another thing I purchased." He picks up a flogger. It's black, with leather straps. He brings it closer to the camera, and nausea hits me again.

Dozens of pointy metal balls are on each leather strap. Eamon presses his finger on it just like he did with the cuffs. Blood quickly surfaces.

"Oh God!" I pull my knees to my chest and continue watching the video.

"You will be mine. You won't breathe without my permission. Every second of the rest of your life, I own. And I'm going to take extra pleasure in breaking you in, my future wife."

The video turns black. I stare at the screen. My lungs tighten, and it feels impossible to get oxygen into them. I rise and pace the room then torture myself by replaying the video again. Another message pops up.

Unknown number: I just spoke with Eamon. You'll get an extra special punishment on your wedding night for sleeping with an O'Malley.

I shudder and can no longer breathe. Heart pains streak through my chest so furiously, I think I'm having a heart attack. I bend over, hyperventilating, then kneel on the floor.

If Orla just spoke with Eamon, then something terrible happened. Are Nolan and Boris dead? Have I been sitting in this penthouse for two days on pins and needles while the Baileys have been the ones in control and not Nolan?

My body turns cold, but I break out in a sweat, gasping for air. I rock back and forth with tears dripping on the wood floor.

The door opens. Nolan's voice hits my ears. "Jesus. Gemma, what's wrong?" He picks me off the floor and sits on the bed with me on his lap.

I curl into him, sobbing, still trying to get oxygen into my lungs.

He fists my hair and tugs my head. His green eyes glow like a lightning bug. I focus on them as he commands, "Breathe. Deep breaths, princess." He inhales, trying to model for me what to do.

Forever seems to pass until the heart pain subsides, my breath returns to normal, and my shakes slow down. Nolan's face comes into focus.

He strokes my cheek. "Gemma, what happened?"

"I-I thought you were dead," I cry out, and more tears fall.

"Why did you think that?"

"Sh-she told me she just spoke with Eamon after I got the video."

Nolan's eyes turn cold. He snarls, "What video?"

I reach for my phone sitting on the pillow behind him. "I-I don't want to watch it again. Please don't make me."

He holds my head to his chest and kisses my forehead. "I'm sorry. I don't know how she got this number. Whatever she sent is a lie. Eamon is dead. He's nothing but ashes now."

I pull away and pin my gaze on his. "He won't get to me?"

He clenches his jaw. Hatred fills his expression. "No. I listened to him beg with his last breath. When there was no more life in him, I disintegrated his remains until any proof he was ever on this earth was destroyed. I shouldn't tell you this, but he's nothing but fish food right now."

Some relief trickles into my fear, but Orla found me. The images of the video and Eamon's voice don't instantly disappear. I shut my eyes, willing it to go away.

Nolan wraps his arms tighter around me. "What's on the video?"

I mumble into his chest, "Eamon showing me a cage next to his bed and things he was going to use to hurt me."

Nolan sniffs hard. "He's gone."

"I thought when she sent her message, they somehow found you, and you were dead," I admit.

"She's a liar. I'm here."

I glance up. "Can we go home?"

"Now?"

I nod. All I want to do is snuggle into Nolan and wake up in his bed. Nora and Boris's place is lovely, but it isn't the same thing.

"If you want to go, we'll leave. Do you have to pack?"

I shake my head. "I never unpacked. I just need my toiletries and to throw on some clothes."

"Okay. I'll get your stuff. You get dressed," Nolan orders.

I obey, and within a few minutes, we're in Boris's car. I sit on Nolan's lap, with his arms around me, neither of us speaking. His driver drops us off, and we go to bed. It's only then I notice the red in his eyes.

I kiss him and slide down until my head rests on his chest. He pretzels his limbs around me.

He strokes my back. "Go to sleep, princess. There's one less thing to worry about now."

Everything about his statement is true. But all I can think is how I'm not truly safe until my father and Orla are dead. It takes a while until I finally fall asleep, but when I do, I don't wake up again until music blasts from Nolan's phone.

He groans, and I sleepily open my eyes. His groggy voice quietly answers, "Colin."

I glance up.

Nolan kisses my forehead then says, "My phone wasn't on. I had something I had to deal with." He moves the phone away from his ear and pecks me on the lips.

I move on top of him and start to return his kiss when he retreats.

His eyes turn to slits. "Why would I hide something like that from Nora?" He slides toward the headboard and sits up, bringing me into a seated position. "My brothers agreed to it?"

I'm not sure how to take the conversation. Nolan isn't mad but doesn't seem happy.

He glances at me. "Fine. Come over. But that will be up to Gemma."

What's up to me?

"Give us thirty minutes." Nolan hangs up the phone and sighs.

"What's going on?" I ask.

He stares at the ceiling then meets my gaze. "Colin had Molly remove the photos of me off her social media pages."

"Okay. That's good, isn't it?"

Nolan slowly nods. "Yes. But he's bringing her over here to apologize. My brothers agreed not to tell Nora what happened at the party if I was okay with it. I told Colin that's up to you."

"Me?"

"Yeah. She threw her drink on you. It's your decision," he says.

I slide off him. "Why can't Nora know?"

"Molly is afraid Nora will fire her."

"It wasn't at work," I state.

"Yeah, but Nora isn't going to be happy when she finds out. Darcey didn't like the interaction between you and Molly on St. Patrick's Day. She put Molly on a warning and told her to be kind to you. Nora reiterated it," Nolan informs me.

Surprise fills me. "What did Darcey see?"

Nolan grunts. "Darcey can sniff out a problem better than a bloodhound. She has a sixth sense. And the woman always has her eyes on everything in the pub."

"Hasn't Molly worked at the pub for years?" I ask.

Nolan rises then pulls me off the bed. "Yeah. She still has to adhere to Nora's rules. And one of those rules is to treat all customers as if they are your family."

Molly isn't anyone I'll ever be friends with, but I know what it's like to lose your career. I blurt out, "I don't want her fired over me."

Nolan's face hardens. He looks over my head.

"You want her to get fired?" I question.

He shifts on his feet and scowls. "If she's going to assault you how she did, then she's made her own bed. But I'll leave it up to you. If Nora finds out, she will fire her."

I suddenly feel bad for Molly. Based on her social media profile, it looks like the pub is her entire life. Before Orla entered my life, I had very active social media pages, similar to Killian's. Part of it was for my job, but I had everything I did in my personal life on it, too. All my athletic events, pictures with guys I dated, and nights out with friends were nothing I thought twice about posting. I had thousands of followers I had never met. My life was an open book. Molly's is pretty bare besides her family and the people connected to the pub.

Nolan pats my ass. "Let's get dressed before they get here."

"How long do we have?"

Nolan glances at his phone. "Twenty-five minutes."

My gut flips. "I don't need a fake I'm sorry."

Nolan leads me into the bathroom. "Then tell her you don't accept it. It's your call. Let's get ready."

We take quick showers and put on clothes. I keep debating about whether Molly can be sincere or not. But there doesn't seem like there is any way to get out of this conversation.

Once we're in the kitchen, Nolan makes smoothies. I turn on the espresso machine, and the doorbell rings. I mutter, "Please tell me this won't be a long, drawn-out drama session."

Nolan grunts. "Not unless Colin has changed." He goes and opens the door.

Colin and Molly step inside. Nolan leads them to the family room. Molly avoids me and stares at the floor. Colin hugs me and kisses my cheek. "How are you, Gemma?"

I smile. Molly may be a pain in my ass, but so far, I don't have any issues with Colin. "I'm good. You?"

His brown eyes twinkle. "Still a bit jet-lagged, but I should get over it soon."

"Do you want an espresso or coffee?" I ask.

"Thanks, but I've reached my limit today."

Nolan motions to the chairs. "Have a seat."

Colin spins. In a no-nonsense voice, he questions, "Molly, aren't you going to say hi to Gemma?"

She meets my eye. Her stubborn Irish blood mixes with something I haven't seen in her before. Fear and defiance swirl in her expression. There's no doubt she's worried about her job. She straightens her back and, in a friendly voice, says, "Hi, Gemma."

"Hi," I respond, trying to be the bigger person but feeling uncomfortable. I wonder how to get this over with quickly.

Nolan takes my hand. "Let's sit down." He leads me to the couch and circles his arm around me.

An awkward silence fills the room. Colin stares at Molly, but she's back to focusing on the floor. Her cheeks turn pink, and she's twisting her hands in her lap.

Nolan finally speaks. It comes out gruff. "What you did to Gemma was bull shit, Molly."

She looks up and furrows her eyebrows. Pain emanates from her, and she whispers, "I'm sorry, Nolan."

Witnessing her squirm doesn't make me feel very good. Her social media feed pops into my mind. If Colin finally set her straight that she and Nolan aren't ever going to happen, she's dealing with a broken heart. Maybe it's all the times my heart got broken, but something about the agonizing expression on her face makes me sympathize with her.

Nolan fumes, "Don't tell me you're sorry. Tell Gemma."

I put my hand on his thigh, hoping he'll turn his delivery down a notch.

Molly stares at the floor again, takes a deep breath, then locks eyes with me. Her cheeks turn maroon. She offers, "I'm sorry."

I'm not sure if Molly is sincere or just embarrassed. Perhaps it's a combination of both. Regardless, I just want this over with so I don't have to see her anymore. I reply, "Thank you."

She swallows hard, and her eyes well with tears. She asks Nolan, "Are you going to tell Nora about this?"

My subliminal messaging must not have worked. In as cold of a tone as before, he informs her, "That's Gemma's decision."

Her lips tremble, her face scrunches, and she turns toward the wall.

Colin quietly requests, "Gemma, she needs her job. Do you think—"

"I'm not going to say anything to Nora," I state.

She jerks her head toward me, and her tears fall. "You aren't?"

I pin my gaze on hers. "No."

"Why not?" she chokes out.

I almost blurt out that I have Nolan and she doesn't. I'm the winner in this situation, not her. But I'm not that cruel. And I still don't know what will happen to us when it's time for me to move out.

The way I dismissed Molly the first night I met her flashes in my mind. So I take responsibility for my part in all this. "I wasn't my best self the night I met you. You were nice to me. I didn't treat you as I should have. For that, I'm sorry. Maybe if we hadn't started off on the wrong foot, this wouldn't have happened."

Nolan's body stiffens.

Shock registers on Molly's face.

Colin cuts back to the outcome. "So you won't tell Nora?"

"No. And if Nora does find out, I'll tell her I don't think it's fair for her to fire her."

"You would?" Colin asks as if he doesn't believe me.

"Yes."

"Thank you," Colin replies.

In a shaky breath, Molly adds, "Yes. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

A moment of silence passes, and Colin rises. "Thank you for allowing us to come over."

"You know you're always welcome here," Nolan says.

Colin smiles and addresses me. "Can the three of us go to dinner later this week?"

"Sure. That would be nice," I tell him.

"Great." He turns to Nolan. "I'll shoot you a text in a few days."

"Sounds good," Nolan responds.

Colin guides Molly out of the house.

Nolan shuts the door, and I exhale, happy the confrontation is over. He places his hands on my cheeks and tilts my head up. "You're a really kind person, Gemma O'Hare. Much nicer than me."

I tease, "Then I guess it's a good thing you're the killer in our relationship and not me."

But things can change when you get to your breaking point. And I'm not there yet.