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“And I with Dublin,” Connor counters, but something’s changed.
What? What’s changed for them to be here now?
“Puck is my son,” Brody states, smiling when Connor’s surprise is clear. “I’ve the test to prove it.”
Connor turns to me, guilt and sorrow reflecting in his eyes. “Y’ll always be a Kelly,” he says, and I believe him. “No matter what the tests say, y’ll always be my wain. Mine and yer ma’s.”
“Do ye know who killed my ma?” I ask, begging he tell me the truth once and for all.
He sighs, complete exhaustion overtaking him. “Aye, I do. And I’m sorry for everything. But I’m about to make it right.”
I stand utterly still when he reaches for me and cups the back of my neck, drawing me close.
“Look after the twins for me,” he whispers into my ear.
When I desperately try to break away, he holds me tight. He’s not done.
“Yer all they have now. I was hard on ya because I knew one day…y’d rule this country. And that day is now. No matter what name ye bear, y’ll always be my wain. Y’ll always be Puck Connor Kelly, and don’tcha be forgettin’ it.
“Yer a leader. Lead with the compassion yer ma gave ya. And rule with the cruelty I taught ya because it’s the only way to survive in our world. I’m sorry I never told ya this…but I love ya, and I’m proud of the man y’ve become.”
Before I have a chance to ask what he means, the doors on the back of the truck are kicked open and gunfire erupts around us. Connor shoves me out of the way while I attempt to process what the fuck is going on.
I take cover behind the wheel of the lorry, focusing on the bedlam that is happening feet away. Masked men appear out of nowhere, shooting one another. I don’t know who is on our side, but when I see Uncle Sean jump out of the back of the truck and take aim at Brody, I realize he was just biding his time to ambush this fucker. He and Connor were.
Connor has taken cover behind the door of the lorry, ducking his head out to shoot anyone game enough to try to take him down. Instantly, my survival instinct kicks in, and I reach for my gun, focusing on where Babydoll is.
She’s hiding behind the back of the van, but it won’t be long until she’s picked off by these men. She’s unarmed and afraid. I can’t leave her alone.
Keeping low, I scope out my surroundings and see about thirty men shooting at one another. Some are Kellys. Some are Doyles. Neither family came into this unprepared. Uncle Sean knew Brody wouldn’t come unmanned, which is why he’s rounded up our troops.
I can’t see their faces as they’re wearing balaclavas, but if Uncle Sean trusts them, then I do too, which is why I take a deep breath and make a run for the van.
Gunshots tear around me, but I shoot first, taking down two men who advance toward me, guns raised. I don’t know where anyone else is because all I see is a masked man running toward the back of the van, ready to shoot.
“Baby!” I scream to be heard over the gunfire.
She pokes her head around the van, and I gesture for her to run. But it’s too late, and a shot is fired.
With adrenaline coursing through me, I charge through the chaos, shooting anyone who stands in my way. My boots kick at the gravel as I scramble to get to Babydoll, and when I do, I almost cry in relief.
Sliding along the ground, I cover her with my body, and she hugs me tight. “Your uncle shot h-him,” she states, her voice trembling.
The man lies in a crumpled mess, feet away. I rip off his balaclava, and when I see it’s Danny, I want to kill him again. Even with a busted kneecap, his loyalty knows no bounds. Every one of our men are traitorous fuckers, and it’s time they all paid.
“Rule with the cruelty I taught ya because it’s the only way to survive in our world.”
Connor’s words echo inside my head, and although I’ll never forgive him, I understand why he did what he did. He raised a ruthless, heartless monster because he knew it would always come to this. Opening his heart is what got him in trouble, and he never wanted that for me.
In his own fucked-up way, he was trying to teach me not to be like him. Love and emotion are what got him here. A leader cannot love because love leads to destruction…
Prying the gun from Danny’s lifeless hand, I give it to Babydoll. Looking into the back window, I see the keys are in the ignition.
“Get inside the van and drive away from here.”
“Punky—” she argues.
“I’ll not tell ya again! The next town is only over the way. Go.”
