Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 98000 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 490(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98000 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 490(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
There are no shadows that don’t belong. No cars. Nothing.
I rub a hand over my nape, the tension in my gut not easing.
The buttons on my nightstand drawer are silent as I type in the code and pull it open, then my gun box. There are two guns inside, like always. I grab one, press my hand to the lid, then stop without closing it. Other than his fists, which he’s very good at, Dean doesn’t have a way to protect himself. He doesn’t need it when I’m around, but I’m not with him all the time. I leave the drawer ajar.
The screen on my phone lights up, drawing my attention. My father’s name is like a neon sign flashing through my mind. I scoop it off the nightstand and walk to the bathroom, heart thumping in my throat. Something is wrong. I fucking know it.
I wait until I’m behind the closed bathroom door before I click on his message. The second I do, the floor drops out from beneath me, the room spins, my hand shooting out to grab the counter.
With difficulty, I focus on the photos. Dean and Aislin, Dean and me, Dean and Cillian and Rory. Dean coming and going.
They’re fucking watching us? I’ll kill whoever it is.
Heat flushes out my confusion and fear, replacing it with anger, until the next text comes through with two words: Riordan Sullivan.
My vision goes black. For the second time, I have to hold on to the counter so I can stay on my feet.
He knows. Somehow, he fucking knows who Dean is.
The phone rings, and I hurry to answer it, almost dropping my cell to the floor.
“I—”
“Be quiet, Tiernan. As of this moment, I’m assuming you and everyone in that house betrayed me.”
“Why? How? Who is…?”
“Do you not understand what be quiet means? You’re losing focus being away from home. Now, shut up and listen. You’re going to walk to the end of the driveway and get in the car waiting for you. When you get to me, it will be up to you to convince me you aren’t keeping secrets from me. Don’t tell your friends. Come alone. If not, they’ll die. You and I will figure out what to do with our little problem here. Don’t disappoint me again.”
The screen goes black. My hand tightens on the cell. It takes everything in me not to throw it against the wall.
My chest constricts. It’s hard to breathe. How long have they been watching? Who the fuck is it? Finan? Blain? Flynn? It can’t be Conan or Rian, could it?
Are they going to hurt Dean, Aislin, Rory, and Cillian if I go? I don’t think so. He wants me to suffer. There’s no doubt in my mind about that. Plus, it’ll be hard for him to explain killing them all…his kids, his nephew. There will be questions.
Will he kill me if I go? Maybe.
Dean hasn’t done anything to him, but the point is that Dean got away from my father. He killed Liam. He wanted to kill his son and wife, but they escaped him. To men like us, that’s a failure, and my father can’t let that stand. And he sure as shit can’t let me get away with possibly knowing.
When I’m finally able to breathe easier, I sneak into my room, grab clothes and my shoes. I get dressed in the hallway, not wanting to wake Dean, not wanting to leave whoever it is out there waiting for me too long.
I want to wake up Cillian, but no way he’ll let me go without him. Not when it’s something like this. And I can’t be responsible for getting him hurt. I can’t be responsible for any of them getting hurt.
It was always going to come to this—my dad or me. Everyone will be safer without him, even if he kills me in the process.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Dean
The room feels empty. It’s my first thought before I even open my eyes.
When I do, I look toward Tiernan’s side of the bed, only it’s empty. He’s always getting up early to take care of business or do schoolwork because he spent the night before doing shit for his dad, and before school is the only time he can do it. His body seems to be on that schedule now, so I’m not surprised to be alone.
Just thinking about Sloan makes my pulse skyrocket. The hate I have for him still feeds on me every day, still makes my insides rot away, but I love Tiernan even more. I don’t think I was a full person before I had him, and maybe to some people I’m still not, but he makes me feel like I am.
I use the bathroom, wash my hands, and brush my teeth. I pull on underwear and sweats, then head downstairs to see what Tiernan is doing. I wish he would let me help him with shit more. If he thinks he’s trying to save me from getting into trouble or being too involved with what they do, he doesn’t need to worry about that. I don’t want to be saved. I want to be a part of it, which makes things really fucking difficult, considering I still would do anything to be able to kill his father.