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“Ade,” Tristan grunted, ducking a punch. “Stay back.”
Every instinct screamed at me to intervene, but I couldn’t risk it. Instead, I stood helpless, my hands trembling as I clutched my belly, praying for it to end without more bloodshed.
“Enough!” I shouted again, but neither man heard me over the roar of their own combat. I felt tears welling up, blurring my vision, as I realized that this world of power and control had no place for mercy.
Tristan ducked another punch as they went to the ground again. The struggle seemed to stretch on forever, a nightmarish dance of violence that blurred before my eyes. Then, with a suddenness that made my heart lurch, Tristan’s hand shot out lightning-quick, seizing the gun from Vinny’s breast pocket as if he’d known it was there all along.
“Ade, look away!” he barked, just as the gun roared and Vinny’s body went limp while the gunshot sounded out. A spray of red mist filled the air, and I turned away too late, bile rising in my throat. The sound of Vinny’s body crumpling to the ground was a dull thud against the roaring in my ears.
“Adriana! At me! Look at me!”
I forced my gaze up, meeting Tristan’s piercing blue eyes. They were cold now, the warmth I’d seen in them so many times before replaced by the hard glint of necessity. He scanned the area quickly, annoyance etched across his features. “Damn it,” he muttered under his breath.
My heart still hammering in my chest, I told myself to get a grip.
“Tristan, we need to leave,” I managed to say, my voice quivering. “The police—“
“I know,” he cut in sharply. “The cops will be here any minute because of the explosion. We can’t be here when they arrive.”
My legs felt like jelly, but I followed his lead. Behind us, the beach stretched wide and desolate under the dimming sky. The tide was going out, the waves dragging back toward the horizon like reluctant witnesses fleeing the scene.
“Help me with this,” Tristan said, nodding toward Vinny’s lifeless body. It wasn’t a request.
“Tristan, I—“ My protest died on my lips as I saw the resolve in his eyes. This man, who I thought I knew, was showing me the depth of his world—a world where disposing of a body was just another inconvenience.
“Ade, please.” His voice softened for a moment, and I saw a flicker of the man I cared for. But it vanished as quickly as it came. “You’ve done this before. You can do it again.”
“Okay,” I whispered, steeling myself against the nausea that threatened to overcome me. Together, we dragged Vinny’s body away from the sidewalk and toward the water. His body left a mark across the sand, moving with an urgency driven by the knowledge that time was our enemy now. The wet sand clung to my slippers, heavy and accusing, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that with each step, we got closer and closer to being found out.
It was weird–I knew this man, I hadn’t wanted him to die. And dragging his body felt…horrible. Nauseating. Necessary, sure. But I hated it.
“Into the water,” he instructed, his voice barely audible over the sound of the surf. “It has to look like he drowned.”
I barely had time to register his words as the cold water lapping at my ankles when Kieran’s voice cut through the night. “Tristan, you need a hand?”
“Kieran,” Tristan acknowledged with a curt nod, his gaze never leaving the dark waters where Vinny’s body was now adrift. “Handle this, will you? We have to leave before Silvio sends more of his men to clean up his mess.”
“Of course,” Kieran replied, his tone as dark as the ocean before us. “I can manage here. You two get going.”
Relief washed over me like a warm tide. I wasn’t sure if I could stomach any more of this grisly task, and the thought of Kieran taking over was a strange comfort. He was part of this world, capable of things that would haunt me for the rest of my days.
“Thanks, Kieran,” I murmured, but he didn’t seem to hear me, already focused on what needed to be done.
“Let’s go, Ade,” Tristan said firmly, reaching for my hand and pulling me away from the scene. His touch sent an unexpected jolt through me.
“Kieran, I’ll send a car for you,” Tristan called over his shoulder as we made our way back to where the car was parked.
“Make it quick,” Kieran shot back, his silhouette blending into the darkness as he began his solitary work. “I’m counting on it.”
Tristan’s grip tightened around my hand, and I felt the silent promise in his touch. He would do whatever it took to protect his brother, just as he would do anything to keep me safe. It was a dangerous bond that tied us all together, but in that moment, there was a fierce loyalty that I couldn’t deny.
“You okay?” Tristan asked me when we reached his car, then shook his head. “I mean, physically.”
“I’m unharmed. Traumatized, but unharmed.”
He smiled a little. “Good. We need to get back to the estate.”
“Tristan, I can’t—I just want to go home,” I begged, the weight of the night’s events pressing down on me. I couldn’t face the austere walls of the Callahan estate, not after what had just transpired.
