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I look over to see Kevin watching us from the ground. He did such a pitiful act of falling down. He stands and dusts himself off, watching as Reese and I continue home. I will do anything for Reese and that same feeling extends to Kevin, even if I have to disturb my place of peace. He doesn’t need to know.
We turn a corner and Reese sneaks her hand under my shirt, scraping her nails across my skin.
“You did that because he wanted to take me out to dinner?” she whispers. Her tone low with appreciation.
I nod, still looking ahead. If I look at her, I surely will push her up against any of these small-town business windows and destroy her already dripping pussy. We need to get home before my resolve diminishes.
“Are you going to do that thing?” She breathes.
That resolve is peeling away. I push her into a small alley with her back against the stone. My hand covers her neck, with my other cupping her jaw. Her tiny hands grip my wrist and her knees rub together. I lean in, touching my nose with hers, and my lips hover over hers.
“Try me again with that dirty mouth. You know what you do to me,” I say.
She lets out a shaky breath and her eyes stay locked on mine. She drops her hands and lifts her head slightly. She is exposing herself to me.
“Take me home,” she expresses.
Home, our home, our private oasis along the jagged rocks that welcome the unforgiving ocean, clashing of peace and mayhem.
“I love you,” I say, watching her eyes glow with passion. “Now, let’s go do something about that dirty mouth of yours.”
CHAPTER 42
EPILOGUE
Kevin Grafton
My hair gets tussled in the blowback of the explosion.
Fucking Adam.
I pretend to fall over like the detonation knocks me back. Falling along with so many other people who groan with fear. They look around and the chatter starts. People are running in all directions, sirens are blasting, grown men are crying.
The café owner stumbles out of the destroyed building, shaking his head. I find Adam walking away with his arm around Reese like he didn’t just cause that over the owner of the café flirting with her. Carefree and in love, those two reek of twisted fates. Not afraid to die and instead welcoming death like an old friend. They are so fucked up.
I stand, dust myself off, and fix my jacket. Turning my back on my family and leaving my fate in this unknown world. I have to return to the mess of my life, hoping whatever backdoor plan we can create will give me a glimmer of hope that I might live. Reese asked if I was “sorted.” I lied to my deceiving sister. I am nowhere near sorted. I am almost certain she didn’t believe me either.
I walk up to the fancy sports car and unlock it. Sliding into the expensive leather seat feels so foreign to me. This silver Maserati is something I would never normally drive. So many advanced details confuse the hell out of me. Parts of me feel like a liar and it’s up to me to find that part of me I consider a traitor. I place the buttery, flaky dough, which is a reminder of my childhood, in the passenger seat. I stare at it for a moment to let the memories of sitting on the living room floor with nothing and enjoying a laugh with the last family I had in this world.
Unhealed trauma bends to the will of the assassin. When that assassin is part of you, pointing the gun at yourself, you become at war with the reflection. The gun loaded and cocked, ready to find its final destination. Finally, I understand Adam in a distinct way, getting the silent turmoil he caused himself. I’ve become a quieter version of my former self, thus becoming more observant. Locking my heart in a steel cage and refusing to open it to just anyone. I am not a killer, but I want to eliminate the evil in this world.
One part of my life closed with Reese and Adam walking away in the anonymity of life. That Kevin was scared, broken, and shut down in this life. The next part of my life opened with a woman who misled me about everything. The darkness of the past leads to the bleeding red of the present.
I am pissed at the lack of information that has now been presented by Bailey and Donald. Her authenticity is now shattered under the weight of unsaid lies. Did she lie? Well, technically… no. I blindly trusted someone that Donald gave my name to. I had just walked away from a life full of lies and deception to gain clarity and truth. I won’t let it happen again.
I take off with my foot to the floor, speeding through this small Italian town. The car hugs the curves as I test my luck. Racing to the airport, needing to get back to Ireland.
I climb into the small aircraft, placing my sister’s gift by my side. Looking down at my expensive watch to check the time and compare it to my flight time. I’ll be late, but this was a necessary diversion. My thumb glides over the smooth metal, remembering when Bailey gave me this watch upon receiving my pilot’s license. She glared proudly at the other mindless fools at the graduation. I only attained this license to help our recovery business. In and out of locations, under the radar, and in plain sight. It had worked well for us for a time. Adam had taught me how to hide in plain sight. A skill I happily showed Bailey a time or two. I became a wolf among the sheep.
The last recovery turned into Pandora’s box. Bailey’s past flooded out with unwanted apologies. I saw the fear in her eyes the moment the men filtered through the door of the warehouse. False pretenses lured us there for a false recovery, only to be kidnapped and held there at the mansion. On our knees in the middle of a basement, among the men who brought us there blindfolded, stood the master of the orchestra.
“A leanbh,” he said. This old man stood before Bailey, cupping her cheek, as sweetness dripped from his cracked lips. “My child.”
Bailey closed her eyes and dropped her head. I watched a single tear fall from her bright-blue eyes. “Blonde does not suit you. I prefer your natural color, the one your mother bore you and your sister with,” he expressed.
I watched Bailey gulp back a sob. An overwhelming need to protect her filled my body. It was compounded by the past deception of my sister. Bailey was not my woman, not my family, not anything official. Yet, that night, I silently vowed to protect her.
Tonight, I push the airplane into gear. Increase the speed to sixty knots, moving the rudder to keep control and pull the steering wheel toward me. It brings the nose of the plane up in the air. My forearms tighten to control the force of this small aircraft. Once at my desired height, flying secretly, and as quickly as I can, the aircraft hits every single bump. I bring out my map and compass to take in the landscape. Following my flight plan, I watch the topography and check the time to keep up with where I need to be. The misty fog rolls through the area. Before it can fully hinder anything, I dip the nose of the plane slightly down for landing. Finding the open field where my car should still sit, I make a shaky landing. The aircraft reverberates so hard I could swear it’s giving me a concussion.
