The two of us looked nothing alike, which I was thankful for.

At his side was Ciana. Her mangled hair had been trimmed and styled into a pixie cut. It was cute on her, but knowing my cousin as well as I did, I knew she must have been mourning the loss of her long locks. She was wearing an outfit she normally would have worn before she’d started hiding her pregnancy from everyone. The dress was black, designer, and hit her mid-thigh. The material stretched over her slight baby bump, showcasing her pregnancy.

It was the way Bain’s hand went from Ciana’s wrist to her belly, rubbing over the bump possessively when he noticed where my gaze had traveled, that caught me off guard. But only for a moment, because the sun hitting the huge diamond on my cousin’s left hand was what I couldn’t wrap my mind around.

“How are my brothers?” Ciana asked, her voice trembling and pulling my gaze back to her face.

I noted how pale she was, the way her eyes were glazed with tears and the dark shadows beneath them. She looked sad, scared, but worst of all, sick. Her chin trembled, and she quickly bit her bottom lip to stop it.

“Vito is fine. He was released from the hospital the same day. Bennie…”

Ciana began to tremble and tried to step away from Bain. He grabbed her wrist once again, holding her in place. “No, please.”

“He lost a lot of blood,” I told her. “He had to have surgery, and it was touch and go for the first twenty-four hours, but he finally came around yesterday. He should make a full recovery.”

She sagged against Bain in relief. “Thank God,” she whispered brokenly.

“I told you I didn’t kill him,” Bain muttered in his Irish brogue, his voice laced with annoyance. “The idiot shouldn’t have gotten in my way. I wouldn’t have had to shoot him if he had just let me have you.”

“Shut up!” she snapped, slapping her hands against his chest. “Just shut up.”

With a predatory grin, Bain captured both of her hands and held them behind her back. “We’ve already had this conversation, a chroí. Sheathe those claws before your beloved cousin thinks you don’t want to be here.”

Ciana went still in his arms. I couldn’t see anything except the side of her face, but I could feel her tension, the hate she felt for him. As she turned to face me, she struggled to mask her feelings, but I knew her too well and could tell she wasn’t happy.

“Has he hurt you?” I asked her, keeping my tone neutral so as not to scare her with my simmering rage.

Bain drew himself up, offended by my question. “I would never harm her.”

“Bullshit,” I thought Ciana muttered, but when I looked at her, her face was completely blank. “He hasn’t physically hurt me in any shape or form,” she assured me. “Ryan, I-I’ve decided to stay here. After what happened to Nova…” Tears filled her eyes, and she couldn’t stop them from falling. “I keep seeing her, Ry. Lying on that table… I can hear Sheena cackling like a hyena as she did those horrible, horrible things. I can’t sleep because of it.”