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I laugh bitterly, "I don't need your kind of care, old man. I saw it for years how you nearly destroyed my mother while professing to care about her." I watch shock roll over Ryan's features. I don't ever talk about my mother to him, and this is why.
"I vow to you, Killian, I will make this right."
"There's no way you can make it right."
“I remember back when I begged you not to enter into my world, and you ignored me. I told you this life has consequences. Right now, where you are is a consequence for doing just that. If I had told everyone who you were from the beginning, it would've afforded you some protection—”
“We both know why you didn’t do that,” I quip.
“You didn’t want me to either. You can’t deny that,” he points out, and he’s mostly right. “Now, it's time for you to suck it up and show that you're worthy of becoming my heir."
"What the fuck are you talking about?"
"From this day forward, the world will know that you're my child, and you won't be touched." I sit there staring at him for a moment. Then, I laugh bitterly.
"Orla will love that," I say dryly.
"Orla won't be a problem."
“I think all of this has to do with her, old man.”
"I'm protecting us so you can be my successor one day, which is what I want, Killian. It’s what I've always wanted."
All I can do is stare at him. My anger is clouding my judgment, but I also know that Ryan and I will never have a true relationship. There’s just too much water under the bridge. I'm too far into this world to get out now. Ryan is right about that. I chose this. It's time for me to man up.
The only way I know I can do that is by getting revenge on the men who dared try and bring me down. When I do it—and I will—it needs to be in a way that shows no one should ever fuck with me.
"Fine. If I agree to this bullshit, I'm in charge of my own dealings from here on out. I'll slowly begin taking more responsibility from you, and I choose my own fucking men. None of this would be happening if I had done that in the first place."
Regret flashes on Ryan's face to the point he looks pained as he nods his acceptance.
"First thing I want is revenge."
"Donovan is dead." Ryan points out.
"If it's any consolation, Killian, it wasn't an easy death," E-Z says, finally speaking up.
"I appreciate that, but that's not good enough. I need the world to know so that this will never happen again. I want Bones found, but he won't be touched. I want him monitored. I don't care how you do it; make the fucker think that we think Orla's nephews and Donovan were the only ones that were in on it, and he didn’t even show up at the shit show. Make him think you were worried they got him, too. I don’t give a fuck. I just want him thinking he is fine. I want Bones breathing clean air until I get out of here," I say, staring Ryan down. "I'm going to be the one that gets to take that from him." I sit waiting for him to test me, to say something otherwise, but he doesn't. E-Z nods in agreement.
"It will be done," Ryan says.
"Next, I want Donovan's daughter brought to me."
E-Z looks uncomfortable, "She tried to warn you. She's the one who told me everything she knew about her father. She did everything she really could to help you." He's frowning. It's not like him to disagree with me at all. Hell, it’s not like him to give a fuck in general.
All I can do is shrug.
"She has her father's blood in her veins. That dooms her."
CHAPTER 19
BELLE
One Month Later
I run a brush through my hair, trying to tame it, but it’s not doing much more than adding to the static. Rain, humidity, and my hair has always been a bad combination. I spare a glance at E-Z, but the minute I do, he looks out the window. He’s not really talking to me at all.
He showed up this morning without warning. He came to pick me up in a black SUV with tinted windows, not even giving me time to clean up. He won't tell me where we're going. I'm pretty sure he's going to kill me.
My first mistake was talking to him the other day. He was nice to me, and it made me let my guard down. That’s the only reason I let him in a second time. Heck, it’s the reason I wasn’t on a plane somewhere else! My second mistake was going with him calmly. I should have thrown a fit, screamed, fought, begged—anything to draw attention and maybe get help. Now, I can't escape. At least I had a brush in my purse so that I won't look downright awful when they find my body…if they find it.
