She got surprisingly quiet. Quiet enough that I looked over my shoulder to see her gnawing on her red lip. “I didn’t know. I’m sorry. Ishecoming?”
“He has no choice. The only way Pop is closing that deal with them is through Braughton, himself. He can’t afford not to come. It’s gonna be tonight. I’m not waiting a second after he puts that money through and it’s confirmed.”
She dropped my phone to the bed and slid off the edge, padding to the bedroom door. Before she opened it, she turned and gave me a onceover. “It shoulda been you, Malek. Nobody disagrees with that. But killin’ that pig won’t bring her back. And it doesn’t really feel that much better afterwards.”
“That’s rich, comin’ fromyou.”
“Feels good at first,” she shrugged. “But I can’t say I don’t regret some of ‘em. It’s left more tears in my pillow than I care to admit. And if you tell anybody that, I’ll snap your cock off.”
“Noted. Thanks.”
I buttoned my shirt, staring at my reflection in the gilded mirror and straightening my collar, knowing damn well I’d see the life leave that fucker’s eyes tonight. It’ll be the most satisfying kill I’ve ever made, no matterwhatBridget says. Seven years ago, the lass I loved and planned to marry, or maybe just run away with…was sold off to the O’Dell’s. Shavonn has been my everything since we were wee kids, but growing up with the kind of families we have…not everybody is as ‘lucky’ as fucking Bridget. We were already close-knit with the McCannon’s, and there was opportunity there for Shavonn’s father to tie in with Nolan O’Dell. They thought it would put a plug in the blood flow between all of us. All it really did was make it worse…make itdarker. I tried my best to fight it and sodid she. I offered everything, even mysoul,to get her out of it. Braughton O’Dell has been one of my biggest rivals since before either of us were even born. The Byrne’s and the O’Dell’s have had a long-standing feud for nearly fifty years. My father never had any ambition to end it…until my little sapphire ended her own life.
That was two years ago, now.
I vowed to be the one to slaughter this prick the day he forced her to take his last name. The day he tried to stake a claim in what was fuckingmine. And now she’s lost to us both. Forever. Six months ago, Pop struck a deal with Braughton’s father, and after nearly half a century of playing cat and mouse…we’re on a level of parlay.
Or so they believe.
We’re selling nearly a hundred-thousand dollars’ worth of guns and blow that will be personally delivered to the O’Dell sanction inactualBelfast later this week, and from there…distributed out to other potential buyers. A slow trickle that is quickly becoming a business far more lucrative than whiskey. And twice as dangerous, which is where I like to thrive. I’ll be killing the heir to the O’Dell throne tonight. It’ll be a slight bump in the beaten path, but old man Nolan has known this was coming for his eldest son for some time now, and he has three others to fulfill the role. Whether they live long enough to do so, after tonight…that’s something we’ll have to find out as the chips fall.
I’ve been my father’s paid executioner since I was sixteen. I’ve paid my dues. I’ve done my waiting. I’ve been the ever patient and doting big brother. I’ve made my sacrifices. He owes me this night. The life I’m about to claim now, seems like a sorry-ass payment for the one they took from me, but I’ll sleep better knowing he no longer breathes the same air. To know that the last thing this sack of shit sees…is the tip of my blade beforeI gouge his pretty blue eyes out and use them to season my stew. I dragged a hand through my hair, trembling with excitement before heading downstairs.
I’ve been standing outside this door for almost an hour.
My palms are twitching. My blood is singing. I can hear Braughton’s clean voice through the wood and it’s splintering my fucking eardrums. He’s got three guys with him. Clearly, he’s not as bright as I was generous enough to give him credit for. It would take Nolan’s entire army to stop me from ripping his throat out tonight. I can almost taste the spray of blood in my mouth.
“He’s ready,” Conor whispers, sliding his silenced phone back into his pocket. He used to run the books for the O’Dell’s, and he wants this chance to act out as bad as I do…I can tell. But I’ve never trusted Conor, and I’ll have a sharp eye on him throughout this little blood bath…even if Pop is naive enough to think he’s not a dirty little prick.
He turned his back on me and opened the door and Braughton’s face went fifty shades of gray when he saw me trail in behind.
Good. I want you to know what’s coming.
“Callum, what is this?”Your fucking comeuppance.The little bitch darted his head back and forth like Pop was gonna save him. “You know if I don’t show up at that—”
“‘Yer father paid a great deal for the shipment…as did I. This is where I leave you, Braughton. Pleasure doin’ business.”
I knew he’d made it possible for me to have my moment, but I hadn’t known the little detail that Nolan had sold his own son into the hands of the fucking Reaper. My father buttoned hisjacket and walked towards me, clapping my shoulder on his way out the door. My cue to enjoy the gift he likely paid a steep price for. One I paideverythingfor. I’ll have to find a way to properly thank him for this.
“Fuckin’traitor.”
That wasn’t directed at me. That one was for Conor, who seemed to devour it with a smile while he stalked like a mountain cat towards a beefy-looking acquaintance from his past. He might be talkin’ shit, but the sweat glistening on his bald head suggests he knows none of this ends with any of them being alive by the end of the night. Gunshots started firing off and I took my eyes off Braughton just in time to see Conor empty a pistol into one guy’s ribcage before dropping the glock to the floor. He likes guns. I prefer knives. Especially tonight. Makes that emotional connection all the sweeter when I take my time peeling the skin off of someone deserving of the pain I’m about to inflict before I answer their prayers for death. I took no pleasure in making a noose out of lover boy’s intestines earlier today, butthis…this I’ll thoroughly enjoy.
Braughton’s snack-sized bodyguard started for me, and I whipped my hook blades from my pockets, crossing them in front of me and making good use of the split second he moved his arms to try for whatever weapons he was carrying. I sliced a St. Andrew’s cross through his chest and tried to concentrate through the thwacking of fists and breaking glass wherever Conor had finally started working on ‘Baldy’. In the time it took the guy to hit his knees, I angled the blade so his chin landed like a skewer onto my knife. I used the other one in my right hand to plunge it into his temple and went to stabbing like a mad man. I reckon it isn’t far from the truth. His bloody body thumped to the floor, and I could feel the warm blood on my face cooling as I raised it to look at Braughton.
The guy hadn’t moved an inch.
He just stood, watching as if he’d been counting down the minutes to this very moment for seven fucking years. I wasn’t sure if it suddenly seemed quieter then because I was seeing red, or if it was because Conor was finishing off his buddy over by the fireplace. For what it’s worth, I don’t care. I set my sights on my target and pointed with my blade to the wooden chair at the reading desk he was standing near.
“Time to talk, Braughton. Pull the chair and put your arse into it.”
He stared quietly for a moment, swallowing hard and then dragged the chair from behind the desk, watching me the entire time he lowered himself into it. Conor didn’t need any direction. He made his way over and made quick work of cable tying his arms and legs to the chair.
“I always knew it’d come to this, Malek. Gotta say…I didn’t think it’d be the man that orchestrated this whole shit show that sold me out. That marriage wasn’t any more my doing than it was hers. All for it to come to this at the end.” He lowered his head and shook it, smirking in utter disappointment. Not one part of me feels a shred of pity for him.
“If you didn’t want it, you should have done more to keep it from happening and you might still be walkin’ the Earth tomorrow.”
“You know just as well as I do that I would’ve been dead long before now if I hadn’t married her.”
