Page 43 of His Kidnapped Irish Mafia Virgin

“I should have protected you,” she said, the words spilling out of her now. “I should have taken you and run the first time you told me you were afraid. I was weak and selfish, and I kept telling myself that if I stayed quiet long enough, things would get better. They never got better, Nora. They only got worse, and now I’m terrified that I’ve waited too long to ask for your forgiveness.”

I stopped pacing. The room suddenly felt too small, too warm.

Part of me wanted to hang up and tell her that none of this was my responsibility anymore, that she’d made her choices and I’d made mine. But another part of me, the part that still remembered being her daughter, couldn’t ignore the fear in her voice.

“What do you want me to do?” I asked quietly.

There was another pause, and I knew I wasn’t going to like what came next. Mom was breathing heavily on the other end of the phone. We didn’t say for a second. A door closed somewhere in the distance. Then she spoke. Her voice was very quiet. I had to hold the phone to my ear to hear her.

“Nora, you need to listen to me. I don’t have a lot of time to talk. I wouldn’t be calling you if I could handle this myself. I wouldn’t be asking for your help if I thought I could keep myself safe.”

I sat down on the bed. My legs felt weak. “What’s going on? Please tell me what’s happening.”

“I can’t stay here anymore. I just can’t do this anymore.”

My chest ached. “Then leave. Pack your things. Go to a neighbor or a hotel. Just go somewhere that is not near him. I’ll help you from here.”

“It’s not that simple. You don’t know how much he watches me now. If I leave on my own, he’ll look for me, and I don’t know what he’ll do when he finds me.”

I closed my eyes. “I want to help you if you’re really in danger, but I need you to tell me the truth. What do you need me to do?”

My mother didn’t say anything for a long time. When she finally spoke, her voice was shaking. “Nora, I need you to come back. I need you to come home and see me. I don’t think I can get out of this situation without you.”

My eyes widened. “Come back? You want me to go back to that house after everything that happened?”

“I know it sounds crazy. I know I shouldn’t be asking you to do this. Things are really bad now. I’m not safe here. If you don’t come, something terrible might happen.”

Her words hung there between us.

I held the phone tighter. “If I come, I’m not coming alone. Someone will help me, and they’ll make sure you’re safe.”

“No!” she yelled. I wondered where her voice got that strength from. “You can’t bring anyone with you. Nobody can follow you. If he sees strangers around the house, he’ll know something is wrong. I’m scared of what he might do.”

I looked at the wall, my heart racing. “Why do you want me to come alone? If you’re really scared, why do you want me to go into that situation without anyone to protect me?”

“Because I’m your mother. Please, Nora. Come alone. Don’t bring anyone. Just help me before it’s too late.”

I didn’t trust my mother. I didn’t trust her years of silence. I didn’t trust the times she chose him over me. But I could hear the fear in her voice.

“You’re asking me to go to the one place I said I’d never go back to,” I said.

“I know what I’m asking. I know I don’t deserve to ask you, but I have no other choice. I’m scared. I don’t know how long I can pretend that everything is fine.”

I put my hand on my forehead. “Where is he now?”

“He’s gone. I don’t know where he is. That’s what scares me. He leaves without telling me anything. When he comes back, he’s angry about things I don’t understand. Please, Nora. Just see me. We can talk when you are here.” My mother’s words felt heavy in my chest. “Come alone. Don’t tell anyone.”

Every part of me wanted to say no. Every sensible thought told me that going back to that house would be a bad idea. Another part of me couldn’t stop hearing the fear in her voice. The fear sounded real, no matter how much I wanted to doubt her.

“I need to think,” I said quietly.

“Please don’t take too long,” she replied. “I’m afraid of what might happen if you wait.”

The line went silent for a moment, and I realized neither of us knew how to end the conversation. I sat there with the phone pressed to my ear, my heart beating hard against my ribs, knowing that whatever decision I made next would pull me back toward the past I’d spent years trying to escape. The desperation in her voice settled heavily inside me. Before I could answer, the bedroom door opened. I looked up sharply. Liam stepped into the room, his attention on me immediately. He must have noticed the tension in my face, because his expression changed the moment our eyes met.

“I have to go,” I whispered into the receiver.

“Nora, wait—”