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I chain my bike in front of my flat and make my way inside. There is nothing special about this place, but he rented it for me with a purpose. I needed to be close to the Kellys.
As I unlock my door, I seehimsitting in my armchair, casually smoking a cigar. “Ack, finally, lass. Where ye been?”
Tossing my keys into the bowl near the door, I shrug out of my coat, playing cool. “Where do you think? Doing your bidding, that’s where. Where haveyoubeen these past few days?”
He ignores my jab. “Hugh’s dead,” he reveals, winding me. “Burned alive. But not before his face was painted like Aidan’s. When we got there, it was too late to save him. But we saw what was done to him.”
Face painted?
I remain calm, measuring my breaths because I think I know who’s responsible. I don’t think he is, however, because if he was, Punky wouldn’t be alive.
“He was a knacker, but he was a good boyo.”
I refuse to agree because Hugh Doyle was a sick motherfucker.
“Ach, what’s done is done. I’m here to tell ya, yer gettin’ yer wish.”
“What wish?” I ask, walking into the living room slowly.
“To go home. Now, in fact.”
I’ve clearly not heard him right. “W-what? Now? Like, right now?”
He digs into his inner jacket pocket and produces a plane ticket. “Aye. Yer job ’ere is done. I’ll make sure yer ma gets what she needs.”
The world begins to spin, but I quash down the urge to vomit. “But, what about—”
“Enough now,” he warns, his cool demeanor swiftly replaced with the monster who was merely sleeping. “I’ll not tell ye again. Pack yer things.”
This is happening too fast. I need more time.
“From the looks of ya, ya’d think ya didn’t want to leave.”
Is this a test?
Hugh’s death was just the beginning, but the beginning of what?
I need to warn Punky. If he said myjobis done, then that means Punky’s life is in danger. They have everything they need to carry out whatever fate they think is owed to him. I don’t know what that is because they never told me.
But I can guess that it ends with his death.
All of this…because of a fucking name.
“Awesome,” I say, slipping into the character I’ve been forced to become. I need to get out of here before it’s too late for Punky. “I’ll just go pack. Make sure my mom gets what was promised to her.”
She’s the reason for this. She and my little sister are innocent victims in all of this.
“Y’ve my word.”
Turning on my heel, I don’t run as I don’t want to make a scene, but my heart is bursting from my chest as I enter my bedroom and reach for my suitcase. My hands tremble as I gather my minimal possessions. All I can think about is warning Punky.
As I turn, I jump, startled to see him standing in the doorway. “You can go,” I say aloofly, gathering my cosmetics from the vanity. “I’ll catch a cab.”
I tell myself to keep calm because he’s watching for any signs of deceit. One wrong move, and everyone will pay.
“Naw,” he says with a sharp smile. “I’ll run ye over.”
“That won’t be necessary,” I counter, folding my T-shirts quickly. “I’m more than happy to—”
But he makes clear this isn’t optional, and that’s because he knows me better than I think. Punky’s life isn’t the only one in danger—mine is too.
“I won’t hear of it. Nothin’ but the best for my…daughter.”
Oh, fuck me.
