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“Yeah,” Liam says softly. “We were on a plane two days later. Mikey and I could barely walk but Shane and Conor practically carried us onto that plane.”
“It probably wasn’t even the worst thing he ever did to us,” Mikey says with a shake of his head. “But it was the look on his face when he saw how fucking terrified we were. I have never seen that sadistic cunt look at me with so much happiness in his eyes.”
“He sounds like a maniac.” I shake my head, trying to comprehend how someone could do that to his own children.
“He is. Which is why we’ve never spoken to the evil bastard since,” Mikey snarls.
“I’m so sorry that you went through that.” I swallow hard as the four Ryan brothers sit in silence, and I feel the need to lighten the mood. “Jeez! And I thought my father was a psychopath.”
Liam turns to me and smiles. “Erm. He definitely was, baby. Patrick Ryan and Alexei Ivanov are both up there.”
“I guess so.”
“All this talk of Ireland makes me want to lie down in a dark room,” Mikey says as he stands up. “Are we done here?”
“Are we?” Shane looks at me.
“If you’re all sure that there was no one on our roof, then yes, I don’t think there’s anything left to discuss.”
“Good. I need me some sleep.” Mikey stretches and yawns.
“I need to lie down,” Liam groans as he lets go of my hand before standing up and flexes his shoulders.
“You mind if I keep you both company?” I ask.
“I was counting on it,” Liam winks at me and Mikey nods his agreement.
Conor and Shane get up from their seats and each give me a soft kiss on the cheek before I walk out of Shane’s office with the twins.
Ten minutes later, I’m lying in Liam’s bed, sandwiched between him and Mikey as the three of us watch TV. Mikey traces his fingertips up and down my forearm, his eyelids flickering as he fights sleep, while Liam holds my hand and rubs the pad of his thumb over my knuckles.
“I love you both so much. You know that, right?” I say as we lie in silence.
“Yes, Red,” Mikey mumbles sleepily. “I love you too.”
“Love you, baby,” Liam adds and I smile. We are all damaged by our pasts, but we are all stronger for them too. The fact that we have found a way through all of our trauma and the betrayals of the past few months to be here right now, makes me happier than I had ever dreamed possible. I have held onto my thirst for revenge for so long, and maybe now is the time to let it go.
I thought that the Wolf took everything from me, but he can’t take my present or my future. Not unless I allow him to. And I won’t. This life is mine and I will fight for it with every breath in my body. But perhaps it’s time to let the ghost of the Wolf go.
Chapter
Thirty-Four
CONOR
Iwatch Jessie and my younger brothers walking out of Shane’s office and smile at the way she always knows exactly what each of us need. Despite reliving her own trauma today, she is there for them now when they need her, and they didn’t even have to ask.
The night Shane and I pulled our younger brothers out of the middle of that crowd, who were determined to have their blood, still gives me nightmares. They were just kids, and they were being tossed around like pieces of meat, as though they weren’t even human at all. I have killed plenty of people in my lifetime, at least three men at that fight that night, but I have never seen such blatant disregard for human life than from the mob of respectable everyday men who almost tore my sixteen year old brothers to pieces.
Shane played it down for Jessie’s and my brother's sake, but that night was terrifying. None of us like to talk about it because it was the scariest night of our whole damn lives. Shane and I were lucky to get out alive ourselves. We all bear the scars. Patrick Ryan pulled some twisted shit with all of us when we were kids, but that was a whole new level.
“You think they’re all okay?” Shane asks as he steps up behind me.
“Yeah. A morning of TV and whatever else in bed with Jessie and they’ll be just fine.”
“Hmm,” he mumbles. “So tell me more about this Blue Jay on the roof?”
“Mikey fished it out. It looked like it had been shot by an air rifle or some kind of pellet gun. Probably flew as far as it could and fell into the pool,” I shrug.
