Page 96 of Dirty Legacy

The last Gallagher soldier grins as he aims, but Marcus blows his jaw off. He gags, tongue flailing, choking on blood.

I barrel past the corpses and slam into Fergus.

It’s like hitting a brick wall. The eldest Gallagher is a physical monster. He’s thicker and heavier than me, but I’m in better shape. I bash him in the face with my gun, smacking his skull, kneeing, punching, kicking. He fights back, jabbing the end of his cigar into my neck. I roar, skin hissing and burning, and I shove the barrel of my gun into his mouth.

I’m out of bullets, but I keep pushing. I shove, harder, until the cigar falls away, but I still don’t stop. I grab his hair, jamming the gun deeper into his throat. He gags, choking, and I drive a thumb into his eye. I rip and hook, gouging it out, blood spraying as I savage him. I knee him over and over, tearing at his hair, forcing the gun so deep it shreds his esophagus. Blood wells up around the barrel, choking him, and Fergus flails at me. I hit him more, beating him, pummeling him with both fists now, until his body goes still.

I kneel on top of the corpse, breathing hard, covered in blood. I’m drenched in it from hair to toes.

“You should reload,” Marcus says, picking up a rifle. One of the dead men dropped it. “There’s still fighting inside.” He tosses me the gun.

I catch it and stand. Blood drips from my clothes. “We go in through the back. Kill everyone. My family is the priority.”

I stalk forward into hell.

Angie

The stink of smoke slips in from somewhere in the house. Mom’s barely conscious. Rowan’s leaning against Danielle, eyes fixed on nothing. Cathal can’t seem to sit still.

“Don’t worry, we have our own air,” he says, trying to smile at me, but he doesn’t seem comforted. “We’ll be safe unless the Gallaghers have a nuke.”

He doesn’t sound sure at all and I don’t have the energy to argue.

The gunfire slows but doesn’t stop. Somewhere in the house, people are still fighting. Where is Connor? How did this happen? I close my eyes and see Colm’s head explode. I have his blood all over me. I’m slick with it. Slick with poor Colm’s gore. I cover my mouth to keep from retching and sit with my hand on my belly, worried for my family, for my baby. Afraid for my husband.

What if he’s dead already? What if he rushed home only to get ambushed?

Nobody talks for what feels like an hour, but it can’t be more than a few minutes. There’s a banging from outside the doors and Rowan whimpers, gripping tighter to Danielle. Something clicks, beeps, and the door disengages.

“Stay behind me,” Cathal says, facing the room.

Thin smoke billows in.

Deck is standing alone in the closet, a gun resting on his shoulder. “Everyone alive in here?”

“Thank fuck, Deck.” Cathal steps forward. “Are you alright? Where’s Connor? Are the Gallaghers still fighting?”

Deck holds a hand out to stop him. “You’d better stay in there, Cathal. It’s not safe out here.”

“Then why the fuck are you opening the door?”

Deck’s eyes settle on me. And I know, deep in my bones, that something is wrong. Something is very wrong.

“Angie, you’re with me, sweetheart.” Deck’s smile isn’t remotely reassuring.

“Now wait a second.” Cathal gestures for me to stay. “Why the hell do you need her? If it’s not safe, she should stay here.”

“Orders are orders. Angie’s with me, everyone else doesn’t move.”

“That makes no sense. We should stay together⁠—“

Deck slams the butt of his gun straight into Cathal’s face. Cathal grunts and falls backward, crashing into the rack of food. Deck lowers the barrel and aims it at me.

“On your feet.”

“What are you doing?” Danielle says. “What the fuck is wrong with you, Deck?!”

“Give me an excuse to shoot you, bitch, go ahead. I’ve always wanted to.” Deck hasn’t taken his eyes off me. “You’re with me now, Angie. Come on, fucking move.”