Becoming the Whiskey Princess
Page 45

The defense attorney turns from her and heads to the table where Casey sits. Lena looks out at us, and I manage a weak smile to show that I am here, but I know it doesn’t help. When she looks to Micah, I hope that he can comfort her, but I find that he is playing a game on his phone. Letting go of my ma’s hand, I reach over Amberlyn, smacking the phone out of his hand. He looks up, shocked, and I glare.
“My sister is up there, going through something no one should have to live through twice, and you’re playing on yer fucking phone?” I whisper loudly.
His eyes are wide and his mouth is moving, but no words are leaving his lips. Sputtering, he reaches down for his phone, muttering an apology before tucking it back in his pocket. Rolling my eyes, I sit up as the attorney turns to look at my baby sister.
“It’s okay,” Amberlyn whispers in my ear, kissing the lobe. “She’s so strong, Declan. She has this.”
I want to believe her, but my sister looks so frail, so little. Even though she is dressed like a million bucks, not a hair out of place, she still looks like a baby. My wee sister.
“You were there with Mr. Burke the night he allegedly shot Ms. Amberlyn Reilly.”
“He didn’t allegedly shoot her. He did.”
“That hasn’t been determined yet.”
“Only because Amberlyn hasn’t been up here. She has the scar from where she saved my brother.”
I feel Amberlyn move, and I look over to where she is rubbing the spot above her heart. Where a thick scar sits. It’s a constant reminder of what happened, something that has been hard to let go of. It still hurts when I see it. I just want to kiss it away or take it off and put it on me. She is forever scarred, and when I said that to her the other night, she told me it was a badge of honor. It was a sweet way to think of it, but I wish she didn’t have to wear it.
“Why did she ‘save’ your brother? Because he physically and mentally abused Mr. Burke?” he says, and my annoyance grows quickly.
“No, Declan never abused him in any way. They don’t like each other, with good reason. Casey gave more than he took.”
“Okay, can you please explain to me what happened again?”
“I already did for the prosecution.”
“I know, but I want to ask some questions and I want to hear it again.”
Sucking in a deep breath, Lena lets it out before looking back down at her hands. “He texted me. First time in years and it said that he had to speak to me. Told me where he was and I went. Like an idiot, but I did—”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
“Because you still love him?” he supplies.
She scoffs. “Not in the least.”
“So you didn’t tell him you still loved him out there in the alley?”
Her brows come together as my heart starts to pound louder. “No, I did not. I told him I care for him and probably always will, but I don’t love him.”
“Caring for someone is a form of love,” he states, and Lena looks up, glaring.
“Sure it is, but so is wanting to kill someone. So are you stating that Casey Burke loves my brother, but he could never love me?”
“She’s a spitfire,” Amberlyn observes, her face breaking into a grin. “She’s giving him a run for his money.”
“That’s not what I’m implying at all.”
“Okay, then please don’t imply that I still love the guy who raped me and almost killed my brother, but instead shot my future sister-in-law.”
Looking down, I can see the frustration on the attorney’s face. Amberlyn is right; Lena is driving him mad.
“So you went outside in the alley with him?”
“Yes, and he asked me if I still loved him. I said no, that I care for him and his ma. He asked again, and I told him no, that I don’t feel anything for him. I’m getting married next summer; my fiancé is the only one I love,” she pauses, shaking her head before glancing up at the attorney. “He became very upset, yelling at me, telling me to tell my da to back off since my da was trying to pay him to leave due to the fact he causes havoc everywhere he goes. He couldn’t leave though because of his ma, and I understood. But I wasn’t going to tell my da to stop because I believed he needed to pay for what he did to me or leave me be.”
“But he had left you alone. He hadn’t contacted you in years.”
“No, he hadn’t, but when he saw me out, he made it a point to come to me, talking to me about how we should be together and all. But each time I shot him down.”
The attorney bites his lip before waving her along. “Please continue.”
“My brother Declan came out with his fiancée, and then everything went mad. They were yelling at each other for Casey to get away from me, and Casey was accusing Declan of ruining his life, and then the gun was pulled. It was his grandda’s; I had gone out to the field with him once and watched him fire it. It has a very noticeable big stag on the side of the handle. I shouted for him to put it down, but he didn’t. He shot it off, and I screamed as Amberlyn jumped in front of the bullet, taking it above her heart. He intended to shoot my brother; I saw it with my own two eyes.”
The attorney pinches his nose before turning to the table. “That’s all I have.”
“Judge, permission to reexamine Ms. O’Callaghan please?” the prosecution lawyer asks, and the judge nods as the lawyer rises up, heading toward Lena.
“With your two eyes, ya said?”
She nods. “Yes.”
“So Casey Burke shot Amberlyn Reilly but was aiming for your brother, Declan. Do you think he wanted to kill him?”
She looks out at me, and I hold her gaze as she sucks in a deep breath. I watch then as she looks dead-on at Casey and nods her head. “Without a shadow of doubt, Casey Burke wanted to kill my brother. I could see it in his eyes.”
“See what?”
“The rage. The hatred. He hates us, and his last words before he pulled the trigger were, ‘I’m going to ruin your life, like ya have mine’ and then he shot.”
“Do you think he was in his right mind?”
“Yes, I do.”
“So his insanity plea—”
“Is him trying to cover up his mistakes. He does that a lot.”
The prosecution lawyer nods his head. “Thank you, Ms. O’Callaghan.”