AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The address has led us into the Republic.
No word of a lie. It sickens me that my men, men who were loyal comrades of Connor, can come here and serve another leader. But I need to get past that for this to work.
During the car ride, I applied my “mask,” as I promised Brody the men wouldn’t recognize me. And what better way to do that than by reverting to where this started.
The moment I circled my fingers in the face paint, I was at home. I haven’t worn this face in so long, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t as much a part of me as my usual face. I see myself wearing both, split right down the middle.
But the darkness has always won.
Cian turns over his shoulder to look at me from the passenger seat as I’m adding the final strokes to my lips. Hunting through my backpack, I open the box and hold the silver hoops between my fingers. My mask isn’t complete without my piercings.
I don’t have time to wait and see a piercer, so finding the small, closed-over hole in my nose, I press the post of the hoop and pierce the skin. Cian shudders, cursing under his breath.
“Don’t be such a pussy,” I tease, doing the same for the hoop in my bottom lip. “Yer nose is pierced.”
“Ach, that it is, but I got a professional to do it. I didn’t do it in the back of Rory’s car.”
“What’s wrong with my car?” Rory asks, lightening the mood.
Once my piercings are in, I suddenly feel like the old me, but I’m not. None of us are who we once were.
“Let’s do this.”
We’re in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by nothing but greenery. The old abandoned farmhouse up ahead is where we’re meeting.
“This is how every horror movie starts,” Cian says, using the light on his phone to help guide us up the drive.
He’s not wrong. This place is fucking boggin’.
Cars are parked behind the house, and when we turn the corner, I’m surprised to see there is electricity. A few men stand outside the back door, plumes of smoke filling the night air as they finish their fegs.
When I get closer, one of the men nudges his friend with his elbow, hinting he’s to look in my direction, and when he does, he almost swallows his cigarette.
“Time for you boys to make yerselves scarce,” I instruct as no one can know they are here. If anyone recognizes them, they’ll put two and two together and assume Brody is working with me.
Nodding, they walk to opposite ends of the property, guns in hand just in case we have any unplanned visitors.
“What’s the craic, lads?” I ask as I walk past Brody’s men.
One of them, however, doesn’t seem too happy that I’m here. “Yer not welcome here,” he spits, gripping my forearm to stop me from taking another step.
Reining in the need to break his hand, I smile. “Oh, is that so? This a private party, is it?”
The man doesn’t let go. “Aye, and yer away in the head if ya think yer comin’ in here lookin’ like that.”
“Like what?” I sarcastically question, arching a brow.
“Like a fucking molly. Get outta here before ya break a fingernail.”
His friends all laugh, egging him on as they think his joke is fucking hilarious. I’ll give them something to laugh about.
I join in with their laughter, confusing them, but my amusement is due to me quickly striking out and punching him in the esophagus. He chokes mid-laugh, his eyes bugging out of his head as he cups his throat, gasping for air. But I’m not that generous.
Cupping his throat, I force him to squeeze his larynx. He turns a lovely shade of red as he struggles to breathe. His friends’ laughter soon dies.
“Anythin’ else ya want to say to me?” I question inches from his face.
He quickly shakes his head, begging me to let him go.
