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“What a beautiful reunion,” Patrick snidely remarks.
Snapping her head back around, she glares at Patrick before promising to make his death as quick as possible.
While we hear the pair throw insults at each other, movement in the doorway catches my eye.
Liam and Quinn
To stay inconspicuous, Patrick has opted to use lanterns for illumination, which he has placed close to where we are seated in the middle of the room. Using the darkness that skirts around it, Liam and Quinn slip into the room unnoticed. With their backs to the wall, they wait until Patrick’s remaining soldier edges close enough for them to take him down.
“Just out of curiosity,” Antony now joins in. “How many men did you bring to this fight?”
“I only needed two, but why the sudden fascination?”
“Because it appears you have underestimated us.” He grins.
Quickly turning around, Patrick sees Liam and Quinn approaching him from the rear. With their guns raised, they continue to push him back right into Hadley’s path, who has used the distraction to remove her restraints.
By the time Patrick realizes what has happened, he is standing face to face with the woman who holds his fate in her hands. She will be his demise; the question now will be just how quickly she finishes him.
“Untie the others,” Hadley calmly orders Liam.
To prevent Patrick from escaping, Quinn holds firm behind him.
“My grandmother was a callous, vicious woman who had no compassion for those she despised.”
Continuing to stand before her enemy, Hadley torments Patrick by reminding him of her heritage.
“Her one rule, though, was no one was allowed to bring harm to her family,” she declares. “Do you know what she did to those who did?” she asks.
“I’m sure you are about to tell me.” He spits.
“She, without mercy, destroyed them.”
And then, with a quick, swift motion, Hadley pushes the blade she has hidden behind her back into Patrick’s chest, straight into his heart. As he slumps to the ground, a look of shock and disbelief takes over his features.
“I promised you I would be the one to kill you, Patrick,” she reminds him as his body hits the floor. “And I never break my promises.”
With Patrick dead, Hadley rushes to her husband’s side. “Oh, my God, Sean, what did that bastard do to you?” she cries.
“I am fine, sweetheart,” Sean whispers. “But I think I’m ready for that vacation,” he jokes.
Slapping his shoulder, causing him to wince in pain, Hadley berates her husband for trying to be funny before hugging him close and admitting she would like that.
“Can we go home now?” Mark injects, rubbing the back of his head.
The unanimous chant of yes engulfs the room.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-EIGHT
Emily
Being a psychiatrist means I need to not only understand my client’s emotions and behaviors, but I also need to evaluate them. Out of everyone I have treated over the years, there is only one person I’ve never been able to do that with, and it’s Hawke.
Since the day he first walked through my door, I have tried my hardest to understand how that man ticked; after all, he was initially just one of my patients. After multiple sessions, it became evident that he’d been suffering through his traumas in silence, which made him close off. Instead of dealing with each traumatic experience as they’d occurred, Hawke would lock them away in the far reaches of his mind and carry on.
I don’t know if it’s because I knew the two of us were similar, but whatever that connection was, I was drawn to him from the very moment I laid eyes on him. It was as though there was an undeniable spark between us that refused to be extinguished.
I haven’t seen Hawke at his worst, but just knowing what he has had to suffer through gave me the strength I needed to finally take the leap and allow him to get a glimpse at the version of me I liked to keep buried. Sadly, though, and I have tried, I’ve never been able to evaluate the person he hides from the world. That man has scars that run far deeper than any of us could imagine.
