Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 86629 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 433(@200wpm)___ 347(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86629 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 433(@200wpm)___ 347(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
“Marcus. Please. Tell me.” I crawl to him over the blacktop. “Marcus—“
“He’s breathing.” Marcus turns to me, grim-faced. “But it’s bad.”
“Get out of the way.” I shove the back door of the car open. “I’m taking him to the hospital.”
“They won’t let you leave. Not with this many bullet wounds. They’ll have questions.”
“I don’t fucking care!”
“Damn it,” Marcus says under his breath as I get my father into the back of the car.
He’s hit in multiple places. The vest saved him from the worst, but it took half a dozen strikes. His legs are bloody, his lower back, his arms. His breathing is shallow. “I got you, Dad. I got you.”
“Let me.” Marcus pulls me back from the car. I try to shake him free, but he shoves harder. “Damn it, Connor, we need you free. Take Deck to Sinead. Finish this fucking nightmare.”
“Marcus—“
“And bail me out of prison, for fuck’s sake.” Marcus gets behind the wheel of my father’s car. “Don’t stand there gawking. I got to fucking drive!”
“Thank you.”
He slams the door, hits the gas, and peels out. I watch him go, our soldiers standing around watching the corpses grimly. Once the car is gone, I walk over to Deck’s body and kneel beside it.
Slowly, carefully, with a kind of loving grace, I start sawing at his neck.
33
CONNOR
It’s a humid morning in New Jersey. The bench is wet but it doesn’t bother me too much. A few older folks wander down paths while aides help them along. The building behind me is big and beautiful, lots of pretty landscaping. I sit with a bag at my feet, mostly ignored by the people around me.
She comes out after a while carrying two steaming paper cups of coffee. I accept one with thanks and wipe off the seat beside me. Her nose wrinkles, but she sits.
“Dad’s settling in,” Sinead says, looking back at the building. “It’s strange, coming here. He knows on some level that he won’t ever leave again, but he’s not talking about it.”
“Do you want him to?”
“I’m not sure.” She sips her coffee. “Where do you want to die when it happens?”
“Home surrounded by my five kids and my ten grandkids.”
“Sounds awful.”
“What about you?”
“Skydiving. Smack right into the ground.” She smiles at me. “That or in the bath.”
“Sounds like fun.”
We lapse into silence. I finish the coffee with a grunt and toss the cup into a nearby trashcan.
“You look terrible, you know. I’m surprised they haven’t called the police yet.”
“I’m being good.” I nudge the bag toward her. “Got what you wanted.”
She pays attention to the plain black duffel for the first time. “What’s in there?”
“Deck. A part of him, anyway.”
I expect her to shrink back, but she only drags it closer and unzips a portion. “Huh. Bit of a cliche, don’t you think?”
“I considered bringing his balls, but the head seemed better.”
She snorts and zips it back up. “Cillian backed me yesterday. Lorcan wasn’t happy, but now that I have this—“ She nudges my cousin’s remains with her toe. “Nobody can say I left any loose ends.”
“And our arrangement?”
“You can consider the war over. There will be amends to make. Reparations to pay. Lorcan will make dramatic demands. In the end, life will go on.”
“I’ll pray for your dad.”
“Will you? Do you think that’ll help?”
“Not at all, but I’ll do it anyway.”
“Thank you.” She stands and sighs. “Go home and shower.”
“I have a few more stops to make before I can do that.”
“Heavy is the head that wears the crown.”
I give her a mocking salute. “As you’ll find out soon, boss.”
“Good luck.” She walks off with a small wave. “And remember. We’re not friends. Never will be.”
I watch her go.
Hell, at least we aren’t enemies.
I’d hate to be the man who crosses that woman.
Casey Whelan leans against the doorjamb and crosses her arms. “Well, look at this. I didn’t expect to see you today. Or ever again, actually.”
“Declan’s still that mad?”
“Can’t blame him.” She purses her lips before nodding for me to follow. “Come on. You wait in his office. I’ll drag him from a very important appointment.”
I sit heavily in front of Declan’s desk. It’s not easy, keeping my eyes open. I keep checking my phone, waiting for an update from Marcus, but there’s nothing. Danielle’s at the hospital with Rowan and Angie, and someone has to know what’s going on. Dad should be out of surgery by now.
“Heard you had an eventful evening.” Declan comes into the room. He’s in gray sweats and a black polo shirt. “I hope you have good news. You pulled me from spending time with my girls. I even got them to stop watching screens for ten minutes.”
“It’s done with the Gallaghers. I spoke with Sinead Gallagher an hour ago.”
Declan sinks down into his chair and studies me. “Your cousin’s dead. How’s your father?”