Far Away (Gypsy Fairy Tale Book Two) Read Free

and the others that your uncle took me?” I asked, not really having believed it until that moment.
    “I had to,” he said as he turned back to me slowly. “My uncle had good reasons for what he did, but he just took it too far.”
    Too far?
    I felt the ache in my shoulder and if I close my eyes I could still hear the gunshot echoing in my memory. Too far? Yeah, I would say that they took it too far.
    “You have no idea how far they took it,” I accused. “And you were part of it all along.”
    Alec took a few limping steps toward me, “I’m sorry, but I thought that I was doing the right thing, that I was protecting you.”
    “Protecting me?” I repeated in disbelief, “Protecting me from what?”
    He shook his head and held out his hands, “From them... From the Tuatha De Danann and their filthy ways and dirty magic.”
    “Seriously?” I asked, amazed that he would be sucked into ancient prejudices.
    He nodded, “You have no idea what those creatures are capable of.”
    My blood wanted to boil, I wanted to spit in his face and punished him for his ignorance, but I kept picturing the years he wasted working for next to nothing helping me and my grandmother out. I pushed my anger back down, doing my best to keep it from bubbling to the surface.
    “I could say the same for your uncle,” I spat back. “You have no idea what he was capable of.”
    “Meaning?”
    “Did you know that your uncle shot me?”
    “No, he wouldn’t do that.” Alec said as he shook his head, but even I could tell he wasn’t certain.
    “He would and did,” I snapped. “If it wasn’t for Kieran using his ‘filthy ways’ and ‘dirty magic’ to heal me, I’d be dead. I’d be dead right now and it would be your uncle’s fault.”
    Alec paled, “He said you wouldn’t get hurt. He promised me nothing would happen to you.”
    “He lied.”
    “Harmony, I –“ He stopped, took a deep breath and looked away. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for how everything turned out and I’m sorry for my part in it.”
    It was odd to hear such a common phrase applied to such an uncommon series of events. What was I supposed to say to that?
    Alec didn’t wait for me to say anything. He shoved his hands into his pockets and shrugged, “Well, I just wanted to tell you that I was sorry. I’m glad I got the chance before you left.”
    “Before I left? I’m not going anywhere.”
    He glanced up at me, his eyebrows going up in surprise. “I’m sorry; I just thought that he would’ve taken you with him. I mean, I know they left, I just thought you’d be leaving to go with them.”
    Hot pain shot through me. Kirin wanted me to go with him, but I refused, wanting more time to sort things out. Of course, there was no way for Alec to know that I was that much of a fool.
    “My life is here,” I said simply, sparing him the rest of the details.
    Alec nodded as if he understood which of course was impossible.
    “Well, I’m glad you’re okay,” he said. “And again, I’m sorry for everything.”
    He turned to leave and it hit me then how very alone I was. My grandmother was dead, as was every other member of my family; Kieran was God knows where, and now Alec was walking away from me to. I was really going to be on my own now. What was I supposed to do?
    “Wait!” I called out before I could stop myself.
    He paused; hand on the doorknob, looking back at me in confusion. “What?”
    I bit my lip and shifted from one foot to the other.
    What am I doing? I should be hating him...
    Taking a deep breath, I said the first thing that came to mind.
    “Are you coming back to work tomorrow?”
    At first he said nothing, he just looked at me as if I’d lost my mind, but then slowly a smile crept over his face and he looked almost like his old self.
    “Sure,” he said and then turned and walked out the door.

 
     
     
    Chapter 4
     
    The boredom of normalcy hung over me the rest of the day. I felt detached, separated and caught between what my