Chapter 58: Am I All You Hoped That I Would Be?

(Leah Andreone)

She gasped in horror, and Murphy's hand flew to cover her mouth. The three of them had stopped all motion, yet it was still tough not to wail in frustration. She made an attempt to wriggle out of their entanglement in fear, though both boys kept her still.

Connor put his finger on his lips to needlessly signal her to keep quiet, then he lightly kissed the side of her face to appease her. Murphy, with his hand still loosely in front of her mouth did the same on her shoulder. They didn't intent to move. They simply perked up their ear and listened while they heard the old man drag himself to the kitchen and open the fridge. After only a minute, they heard the sound of the TV blasting from down there.

Connor smiled reassuringly: "It's alright, love. The door is closed, with the key outside in the lock; he'll just think ye're asleep."

"Either way, we'll never let him hurt ye, Tin'," Murphy added in a murmur.

She tried to breathe and relax a bit. They were right. Her father wasn't as strong as he used to be. Several times since she had come back, she had wondered if she couldn't take him herself. However, the fear he had implanted inside her brain, all these years, kept her paralysed. But not today. Moreover, if they kept quiet enough, he would merely go to sleep, and they wouldn't have to face him at all, nor beat up an old man. They'd simply sneak out later into the night.

Though the boys weren't planning on keeping completely quiet either. First, she felt Murphy move sensually behind her. Then, Connor's lips trailed from her cheek to her neck.

"See, there's nothing ye can't do, love…" he breathily murmured.

"Ye're not seriously suggesting-" But Murphy placed his fingers back on her mouth.

"Shhh…" he commanded. She was going to burst out at this dismissal—more in angst than in anger, to be honest—, when he whispered in her ear with a smirk:

"What d'ye reckon would be his worst nightmare?"

That made her pause. This. Of course. Them. In his own fucking house. Doing precisely this. Her father would probably die of a heart attack if he walked in right now. She huffed at the idea. The danger and transgression awakening her darkest side.

She turned to kiss him as an answer. And as his tongue plunged inside her mouth, he thrust back fully into her. Thankfully, her moan was muffled as she sucked harshly on his lip.

She then caught Connor's nape to bring his mouth to hers in turn. He answered equally with passion, and the three of them started moving together again.

Though her eyes kept darting to the door handle. Despite herself, despite the wholesome sensation of feeling their slow back-and-forth, both their mouths on her skin, and their hands roaming to electrify every single part of her, she couldn't smother the dread settled in her stomach.

Until her eyes were drawn down by the word 'Æquitas' burying itself in her bush, and it truly felt like 'justice' after everything. The involuntary jolt of her muscles when Murphy brushed her clit, his fingers just above a thrusting Connor, had them both quicken the pace in response. Once again, their movements perfectly synchronised, in and out. Just as Murphy's little rubbing circles were keeping her powerless to the fast-growing exultation that started in her groin and spread everywhere. They were completely overtaking her senses.

She erupted suddenly. And yet it kept building.

Murphy was biting her shoulder to keep himself from outright growling. As herself tensed and trembled, she felt him jerk and come inside her, and it sent her higher even. Connor was holding onto her, increasing the pace faster and faster still. Pushing them back, bringing her legs up so he could reach even further, with his mouth crushed on hers to keep her quiet. She was biting his lower lip so hard she was drawing blood, but neither cared.

When his own body stiffened, shaking violently, he closed his eyes, jaw firmly clenched, and buried his face in the crook of her neck with a soft, repressed whimper. She moaned and Murphy's left hand flew back on her mouth, while the right, was still relentlessly rubbing her bundle of nerves between his brother and her.

She arched far back one last time for several seemingly never-ending seconds before they all collapsed.

Still inside her, panting, they were reduced to limp sweaty bodies drained of all strength. Delightfully crushed between them, she may have lost consciousness for a moment…

She came back to her senses with a start. Maybe because she suddenly felt cold where Connor had been, maybe because she couldn't hear the TV downstairs. And she remembered where she was. Murphy's arms immediately tightened their embrace, soothing her tension.

Still in the nude, Connor stood at the door, his gun in hand, to be ready if the old man tried to come in. Murphy shifted to get in front of her, shielding her. She would have protested against this excess of attention, but she wasn't yet sure her legs would have supported her if she'd tried to stand.

However, when Connor handed his gun to Murphy as well, she opened her mouth to object. Though that's when they heard her father's steps passing by the door, before he continued to his own room.

They all let a silent sigh out.

"We should have surprised him…" Murphy mumbled standing up, and Connor gestured for him to be quiet.

"Just get dressed," he breathed out.

Murphy grumbled but agreed, and they all remained silent for a while as they did, gathering and tossing each other's clothes. Until she had to whisper:

"I don't…" she started before finding her strength: "I don't want ye to kill him."

They glanced at each other, then at her with a frown.

"I don't," she stressed. "Whatever he did, he's still my father."

She could tell by their gritted teeth that they both disagreed, though she didn't back down. Eventually, Connor shrugged and gestured for them to be quieter even. Slowly, he opened the door, just enough to peer into the dark and silent corridor. Murphy shouldered her bag, so she joined Connor, and he took her hand to lead her out.

However, when the wooden floor creaked under his foot, Aideen motioned for him to follow her. She'd spent so much time locked up in that house these last years, that she knew every inch of it, even in the pitch black night.

Her hand was on the front door handle when the light suddenly brightened the room. The three of them jumped and turned to face the barrel of a shotgun.

"Ye bastards!" William Sr snarled.

The boys hadn't seen him since they were eleven years old, and they were surprised to find him so diminished. The tall, large, strong and scary bloke they remembered was long gone to this bony, hunched greybeard.

"Aideen, ye little slut, get away from them!"

However, before any of them could even utter a word, the old man aimed his weapon. Both twins instantly raised their guns in response.

"STOP!" she screamed.

But the shot was fired.

The sound of it resonated in her ear before she could understand what had happened. She had thrown herself between them to try and defuse the situation, though she suddenly felt like a punch in her guts.

Time seemingly flowed in slow motion as she fell back into Connor's arms.

She heard another shot being fired, but then everything became hazy. The sound of their shouting voices like a faraway echo. The warmth spreading inside her stomach. The cold seizing everywhere else. Then the room turned black.

This is it.

Then, for the first time, she realised: No! I don't want to die… Please, I… I want to live.