by Vi Carter
His eyes meet mine. ”I know, Liam.”
I didn’t think he understood the full implications of what that meant. If Tom survived this, he would want my brother's head. Yet killing him would cause a war between me and the RA. I just needed to hope that after Tom and his men wiped out Novak’s men, that I could wipe them out. I had two guns in my glove compartment. They had ten men, I hadn’t that many bullets.
“You brought a gun?” I ask Shane, and he nods while staring out the window.
We drive for a while in silence, but I can sense Shane’s unease beside me.
“I rang the hospital this morning.”
I turn onto more back roads. Dust fills my rearview mirror but I still catch glimpses of the black van.
“Dad’s still in a coma.” Shane continues.
If Tom had lied about having more men, I wasn’t exactly sure if I could pull this off, but I knew this was my best hope of freeing Svetlana and my family.
“I think we should try to wake him up.”
“He’s in a coma for a reason, Shane.” One I didn’t plan on letting him wake up from.
“Because he was shot?” Shane sounds doubtful and I don’t glance at him. I can feel his eyes on me.
“Exactly,” I lie as I push my foot heavier on the accelerator.
More silence follows, and I know Shane is thinking again. I glance in the rearview mirror to make sure we are still being followed, we are.
“About Una.”
“Shane. I need you focused. Right now you aren’t.” I glance at him and he nods.
“We will talk about it later.”
I wasn’t so sure if there would be a later for all of us. I slow down as I come close to the turnoff that will lead us onto the road that Novak is staying at.
“Don’t leave my side,” I tell Shane as I pull in alongside some old broken down fencing. I didn’t want to drive too close to the yard that Novak was at before I allowed Tom to see Shane. I didn’t want him to get a surprise and get all trigger happy when I needed him to focus.
Getting out of the car, Tom and his men pull up behind me. The moment Tom sees Shane, I see his eyes flash with anger.
“He’s not to be touched,” I say to Tom who refocuses on me.
“For now.”
I grit my teeth at his answer. “I’ll go first and distract him. You attack on my signal.”
Tom nods and he returns to this van.
“You’re driving,” I tell Shane while circling around to the passenger side. I climb back into the car with a weary Shane.
“You want to tell me what we are doing?” I can hear the irritation in his voice.
“No.” I answer as he pulls out. “Remove any weapons and leave them in the car.”
Shane doesn’t act straight away, and when I glance at him he shakes his head, but removes his gun from its holder that’s strapped under his jumper; he hands it to me. I open the glove compartment and put Shane’s gun in along with my own.
The moment we pull into the yard, two of Novak’s men, armed with machine guns turn to us.
Shane rolls down the window as we move closer.
“I’m here to see Mr. Novak,” I say while keeping my focus straight ahead, like I’m waiting for them to pull the gate back. I don’t give them my attention. The one beside me speaks into a walkie talkie.
“Open it.” His broken English is roared across the yard as the gate starts to open. Shane drives on.
The moment we pass the gate, we stop dead in a large open shed. Once again a few men sit around. There is no sign of Novak. Shane turns off the ignition and I step out of the car. Shane follows suit. I keep my hands raised as I’m patted down. The man pauses at my side and I hiss.
“Go easy.” I tell him and he eyes me for a moment before he finishes.
Shane follows my lead and allows Novak’s men to pat him down. Once we are checked, another man who’s been watching, speaks into a walkie talkie. It doesn’t take long for Novak to arrive.
“Mr. O’ Reagan. What a nice surprise to see you walking around.” He claps his hands together, a large smile on his face.
I move towards him favoring my right side, one of his men steps towards me.
“Leave him.” Mr. Novak’s words have his man stepping away from me.
“I’m glad you’re here. I actually have something for you.” His smile is still there, but I know to be very careful. I don’t speak as he claps his hands to two of his men. They leave the shed.
“And who is this?” He takes a step towards Shane.
“My chauffeur. Driving with my injuries isn’t easy. He can stay in the car.” I offer.
“No, he can stay here.” Novak’s attention is back on me and I nod.
His men arrive dragging a body bag with them.
“Holic, buried him deep in the ground.”
The bag lands at our feet, Novak stands waiting, but I don’t react.
“Do you not want to open it?”
“Would you mind? I’m still tender.”
He isn’t smiling now and nods at one of his men. “Open his shirt.” He speaks in Czech to one of his men, and I open my arms wide before he approaches me. As he opens my shirt, I focus on Novak.
“How is my niece?”
“Alive.”
My answer has him smiling. Once my shirt is open, his man steps back to let Novak see the bandage that covers my side.
“My men felt something I needed to check.” He nods at me and I close two buttons as he leans down and zips open the body bag. I don’t move back, even as the smell assaults me.
“I’m assuming that’s your man, as he has no hands.”
I nod as my eyes meet Novak’s. His shine. He did this. I know it.
“I would punish Holic, only …” He shrugs while smiling “he is already dead.” His laugh spreads across his men who laugh with him.
“So what brings you here?” His serious tone has silence falling around the shed.
“I want to discuss another matter.”
I glance at his black shirt pocket. “Could I have a smoke?”
He takes the packet out of his pocket. “I didn’t know you were a smoker.”
He hands the pack to one of his men who gives it to me. He was still weary.
I take the pack and remove one cigarette. His man hands me a light.
“I wanted to discuss, Svetlana.”
“You couldn’t speak across a phone?”
I light the cigarette while blowing smoke into the air.
“No. You never know who is listening.”
The cigarette tasted like burning bushes, I felt slightly light-headed and decided the second time not to inhale. I knew Shane was watching me, maybe wondering what I was doing.
I inhale again and blow the smoke out. I’m tempted to glance around. Me lighting up the cigarette was the signal to attack. My stomach lurches. Novak looks shifty, he knows something is going on.
“What about Svetlana?” His accent is heavy. He seems impatient now.
“How much?” I didn’t think the conversation would ever get this far. Why wasn’t Tom attacking?
“You think you can just come here, and buy my niece.”
I inhale one last time before dropping the cigarette to the ground. I crush it under my foot.
Guns being fired in the distance has everyone’s attention. He didn’t leave me. Novak starts shouting in Czech, telling his men to go check it out. Most of them leave.
I don’t hesitate but pull open my shirt and tear off the bandage. I rip some stitches that burn instantly, along with the warm liquid that flows down my torso. I grip the small blade and take the three steps to Novak. His eyes widen as I wrap one arm around his neck like I might embrace him before I plunge the knife into his neck. I continue to sink the knife in three times, blood covers my hand and I let Novak sink to the ground. A gun is fired close to my head. One of Novak’s men drops only a foot away from me.
I release Novak and turn to Shane, who has a
gun in each hand. He fires them again and I duck down, using Novak’s body as a shield as his men return fire. The impact of the bullets I feel as they tear into Novak’s back. I move towards the car and drop his body as I crawl across the seat. A shot through the front windshield shatters the glass. I cover my head as it rains down on top of me, cutting into my hands. I wait for more bullets, but none are fired.
“Liam,” Shane’s voice has me looking out through the shattered windscreen. I move out of the car slowly.
Shanes hands are raised above his head. I count four men with Tom, who has a gun pointed at Shane.
“This wasn’t part of the deal,” I say as I step out of the car.
“Yes, it was. I said we would deal with it after the Czech were dead. They are all dead.”
I glance around at the bodies that are littered across the floor. He must have lost men in the crossfire as only four of them are with him now. I can hear the sound of a van approaching, the black one that had followed us here.
Once it stops, the driver gets out and opens the back door. Matthew is tied up.
“I promised you Matthew.”
His man pulls Matthew from the van.
Once Matthew is on his knees before us, Tom’s men move towards Shane and I step in their way. The gun that Tom holds points at my head.
“We had a deal, Liam.”
“I want to make a new one.”
“The only thing I want is the man who took my son’s life.”
“What about the man who took our mother’s life?”
Tom’s jaw tightens and his brows pull down.
“You had Connor looking into it, so I know what this means to you, and I know who did it.”
I can feel Shane stir behind me.
“Who?” Tom barely speaks and right now I feel like the whole world is holding its breath.
“Shane gets into the car behind me, and drives away, and I give you my word that I will tell who killed her.”
Tom lowers his gun and I can see he’s bending.
“Boss.” One of the men speaks.
“Shut up. I’m thinking.”
He glances at me. “If you lie to me.”
I hold up both my hands. “You will kill all of us. I know.” There is another tense moment as I wait.
“Leave,” he barks at Shane and something in me breathes.
“Not without you, Liam.”
I turn to Shane. Now wasn’t the time for his heroics. “Go.” He still stands, and I’m afraid Tom will change his mind.
“Now,” I shout and Shane snaps his eyes from me to Tom, before he steps towards the car. I keep an eye on everyone as Shane closes the car door, the engine starts and he drives out of the shed.
“Tell me now.”
“He found out about the affair. He was so angry.”
The pain that floods my mouth I could nearly chew on it. “She told him about Connor.”
Tom’s hands hang at his side, the gun still in his hand, but it hangs limply as he listens to each word like it’s a dying man’s final confession.
“He couldn’t control himself.”
Tom looks at me from the corner of his eye. He doesn’t want to believe me. “How could you know this?”
This was the part I hated the most, the part that I had buried for years. “I was there.” His gun is pointed at my head now.
“If you were there, why didn’t you stop him.”
“I froze.” I had. I had never frozen before at anything in my life, but watching your father strangle your mother can do that to you. Darragh had walked in on it, and keeping him calm had become my focus. Later, I had tried to bury the truth by drugging him so my father could live.
“You froze?” The gun is closer to my head now. I didn’t like Tom holding a gun and being this irrational.
“You know the truth and now it ends,” I say as calmly as I can but the gun isn’t removed from my face.
“If you were there and you froze, then you are responsible too.”
Sweat starts to gather at the base of my neck. He’s right. I played my part. I did nothing to save our mother.
“Mike Gordon, have you heard of him?” I keep my hands raised as I speak carefully.
“Yes, why?” Tom doesn’t seem present right now and I need him to be.
“He’s aware of what’s happening today. He and his men will arrive here shortly to announce they have seized guns, drugs, and stopped the Czech from trafficking women.”
“You’re lying.”
I wasn’t, and I needed him to believe me. “If my body is found here today, I’ve given your name, your rank in the RA, your home address.”
He lowers the gun and my uncle seems surprised. “You sneaky little bastard.”
“It doesn’t have to go down like that, Tom.”
Tom has the gun pointed at my head again.
“Don’t do this. I’ve told you what you wanted to know.”
“I’ll take my chances with Mike Gordon.”
I’m surprised at Tom’s words. I didn’t think he’d have the bottle.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
LIAM
Tom doesn’t blink as I stare at him, and I see it in his eyes. He’s going to pull the trigger.
The bang of a gun being fired rips through my ears, they ring, as warm liquid splashes across my face. I open my eyes as Tom’s dead eyes stare at me before he tumbles to the ground. A clean shot between his eyes has me looking around for the shooter.
“Don’t fucking move.” Darragh appears holding the gun, while Finn, Shane, and Connor appear out of nowhere. Shane’s eyes meet mine. “You okay?” He asks while walking towards us, his eyes darting to the five men.
“Yes.” I reach into my suit jacket and remove a handkerchief. Wiping some of the blood off my face, I turn as Connor steps up alongside me.
“Lower them and you can live.”
Five men stand against us, but they slowly lower their guns at Connor’s foolish words. We couldn’t let them live after what they saw. Connor wasn’t stupid, he had to know this.
Connor walks in front of them, kicking the guns away. He stops at Matt, who’s still tied up on the ground. I don’t know what passes through them, but I don’t hesitate as I reach down and fire four clean head shots.
“You didn’t have to do that.” Connor’s still standing over Matt, a look of despair on his face.
“Don’t be so stupid, of course I did, and he’s mine too.” I point at Matt as I finish wiping the blood from my face.
Finn is staring at the bodies, his face pale.
“Finn.” His eyes immediately snap to mine.
“That’s who killed Siobhan.” I point at Matt and Finn seems to grow with each step he takes.
Connor steps aside. Of course he does. He knows Finn won’t do anything. I meet Connor’s eyes and I can see the hate there.
“He shot Siobhan,” I say again, daring Connor to try to silence me. Another loose end we could take care of here and now.
“Why?” Finn’s shouts have me turning to Darragh who still holds his gun. I give him a nod of thanks and he returns it.
“It wasn’t meant to be her.” Matt’s foreign voice has me looking around us, the ground is scattered with bodies. We had to leave soon.
“Who was it meant for?” I ask, already knowing.
“Shane and Una.” Matt’s words are mingled with his panic. He keeps looking at Connor like he might save him.
Shane steps forward and I hold up my hand.
“This is Finn’s kill,” I tell Shane and he stops in his tracks. Connor swings around to face me and I ignore him.
Finn looks up at me, running both his hands through his hair. “You think killing him will bring her back?”
He looks at Shane. “You took Tom’s son from him. If anyone is to blame, it’s you. Shooting him won’t bring Siobhan back to me. Nothing will.”
“Please let him live,” Connor pleads behind Finn.
I take a step towards my bro
thers. “Someone has to pay the price. If you want to volunteer…” I trail off as Darragh steps up beside Connor.
“Liam.” The warning in Darragh’s voice is clear. He will side with Connor. Shane stays firmly beside me.
I smile at Darragh. “It was only a suggestion.”
Hate is what I see in my brother’s eyes. Darragh looks like he’s toying with saying something, so before he does, I speak.
“There is something you all wanted to know about mother. I’ve kept this hidden from all of you for a reason.”
Darragh’s jaw tightens as he stares at me. “I’m dying to hear.” Darragh’s sarcasm fills each word.
“She was having an affair with Tom, and that’s where Connor came from.” Everyone knew this, but I wanted them to see Connor for what he was.
“So when father found out, he was angry.”
“He was hitting her, did you tell them that?” Connor tries to counteract my words with his.
“How can I when you’re interrupting me?” I fire back at Connor.
“What?” Innocent Finn looks like his world just shattered.
“He killed her,” I say before we get off track. There is a lull and a sense of disbelief among my brothers. I want to leave now. The next question is the one I fear the most.
“How do you know this?” Darragh seems confused. “I was there?” His brows are furrowed as he sludge’s through his memories of that night.
“Yes and so was I. I tried to make you forget.”
“By drugging me? By making me believe I killed my own mother?”
“This isn’t about you right now, Darragh. Right now we need to decide if we let him live.”
“Why didn’t you stop it?” This was the first time Shane has spoken and I turn to my brother.
I hate the truth, but I give it. “I froze.” I froze and watched as he strangled her to death. The only thing that made me move was Darragh, who I glance at now, his sneer is focused on me.
“You’re such a fucking liar. You did it.”
“I already told you father did.”
“You froze?” Shane is still staring at me and as I look around my circle of brothers, I see all of them are.
“We need to leave before the Gardai get here. I’ve rang this in.”
