The rain is heavy against the window pane as I drive through the country roads of Ireland. I doubt that Paul will be at the house already, not if he has any fear of his nephews anyway. But I have no doubt he will be watching. My heart is beating in my chest like a jackhammer as I pull up outside the old stone farmhouse. There is no car outside but there is a faint light coming from the window, as though someone has a lantern or a torch. Is he in there? Waiting for me.
I take a deep breath and step out of the car. With the gun in my hand, I approach the front door.
The house is empty when I walk inside but the flashing red light in the hallway tells me there抯 a camera here and he抣l be watching. I look up to it.
揑抦 here. What are you waiting for??I challenge him.
I sit on the staircase and wait for him. I expect he抣l be here soon. This is it. One way or another, only one of us will walk out of this house alive.
Chapter 33
Shane
揝hane! Conor!?
The sound of my brothers?shouting wakes me with a jolt. Instinctively, I grab for my gun and jump out of bed. I almost crash into Mikey as he comes running into the room.
揥hat??I scowl at him.
揝he抯 gone!?he says and my world stops turning.
揥hat do you mean? Gone??I shout. She was in bed with him and Liam, so what the fuck is he talking about?
揑 woke up and she wasn抰 there. Her clothes and shoes aren抰 there, either. She抯 gone,?he stammers, his face full of anxiety and concern.
揝he left a note,?Conor pops his head inside the door and I look up at him. My insides fucking sink through my knees. Not another fucking note.
揥hat kind of note??I snarl.
揅ome see,?he walks out of the room and Mikey and I follow him to the front door of the house. Sure enough, in bright red lipstick, she has scrawled us a note.
Find my iPhone
I feel a rush of relief, anger, frustration and fear all at the same time. 揝he抯 gone to find him,?I snarl.
揓essie!?Conor sighs and shakes his head while Mikey and Liam stare at the two of us, waiting for answers.
揑 will tan her fucking ass when we get hold of her,?I snarl. This woman is going to give me a fucking heart attack, or at least turn me gray before I hit forty.
揝omeone pull up that fucking tracking app,?I snap as I head back into the house. 揂nd let抯 go find her.?
Twenty minutes later, we are driving as fast as the car will take us towards Paul抯 house in Antrim where, according to the Find my iPhone app, Jessie is. I am so pissed at her for taking off and putting herself in danger, but my anger is far eclipsed by my fear that he is going to hurt her or that we won抰 make it in time and they will disappear.
揥e should have listened to her plan,?Mikey says with a sigh from the back seat. 揥e should have known she抎 pull something like this.?
揌ow the fuck did she sneak away from you both??Conor snaps.
揑 don抰 know,?Liam shakes his head and leans back against the seat and my heart breaks for him. Jessie Ryan is a law unto herself. She is the most stubborn woman I have ever met in my life. She is fiercely independent and way smarter than any man in this car. She might submit to us in bed, but she makes her own choices in every other aspect of her life.
揘ow isn抰 the time for finger pointing,?I say to Conor. 揥e all know Jessie does what Jessie wants to do. Maybe we should have listened to her.?
揧ou for real??Conor snaps.
揥ell, we wouldn抰 be hurtling through Antrim at ninety miles an hour looking for her right now if we had, would we??
He glares at the road ahead instead of answering me and I know that he is as consumed by his anger and worry as I am.
揥ell, just so we抮e clear, are we all okay with shooting Uncle Paul in the head??Mikey asks and I bristle at him calling him that. If I told them the truth now, would it help or hinder the situation?
揂 bullet in the head is too good for the cunt!?Liam spits.
Hinder! This is not the right time to be revealing long buried secrets. Maybe we can even get through this whole thing without them discovering the truth, because I抦 not sure it抯 something they would want to know. There抯 a reason they say ignorance is bliss, right?
Chapter 34
Jessie
I stare at the front door waiting for Paul Ryan抯 arrival. This has been such a long time coming and I am ready for it. For him.
It抯 a sound from the back of the house that startles me. Of course he wouldn抰 walk through the front door like a man. Sneaking in where he won抰 be seen is entirely fitting for him. I walk through the hallway to the kitchen and see the basement door is ajar and the light is on. It bathes the kitchen in a soft amber glow that makes the old farmhouse look almost homely.
揂re you hiding from me??I call. 揝urely you抮e not afraid??
His laugh echoes up the basement steps and it makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
揂fraid of you, little bird. Never,?he hisses.
I walk closer to the steps and peer into the basement. He stands out of sight but I see his shadow on the wall. 揂fter all these years, you抮e still hiding in the dark. Why don抰 you come up here and face me??
揑抦 standing in the light, Jessica. Come down here and see for yourself.?
I take a deep breath. I know this must be a trap, but I want answers and he is the only man left to give me any. I can抰 go on living half a life.
I walk down the stairs, with my gun pointed straight at his head. He places his hand over his heart as though he is deeply wounded by the fact I抎 love nothing more than to shoot him in the face. 揑s this what we have come to, Jessica??
揧ou must know I want you dead??I arch an eyebrow at him. 揟his time I抣l make sure to finish the job.?
He rubs a hand over his throat, his fingers curling through his thick beard as he glares at me. 揌mm. That was a nasty scratch.?
揌ow did you survive??
He starts to laugh as he takes a step toward me. 揑 have survived far worse than that before. You think that you have the power to kill me? I am the Wolf!?
揧ou are Paul Ryan. A man who pretends to be something more is still just a man.?
I point the gun as he takes another step and he looks above my head. I look up too and see the red spot on the door above me. That抯 when I notice the small black box in his hand. 揑 have them all over this room, Jessica.?He holds up the box and shows me his finger over a silver button. 揧ou抣l be dead before you can squeeze off a round. As soon as your rescuers come for you, they will walk straight in here and meet their deaths. It seems everyone around you meets a similar fate, doesn抰 it? Perhaps you are cursed??
揊uck you!?I hiss.
揌mm. We抣l get to that later,?he leers at me and the bile rushes up from my stomach and burns my throat.
揥hy did you take me??I ask as I walk further down the steps. I抎 take my chances with dropping him before he has a chance to press that button, but I still want answers before I kill him.
揥hat??
揥hy? Why didn抰 you kill me like you were supposed to??
He frowns at me. 揑 saved your life.?
揘o. You chose not to kill me but kidnapped and tortured me instead. Risking everything you had built. Why??
揑 risked nothing,?he spits. 揗oney and houses and things are not everything.?
揑 know. But your reputation. Your livelihood. Why did you give all that up??
揊or you, Jessica.?
揘o,?I shake my head. 揧ou didn抰 even know me. Tell me why.?
揑 didn抰 have to know you to see that you were special. Alexei didn抰 deserve you. Your parents could not protect you. I could. I did.?He beats his own chest with pride as though he actually believes that. 揗y nephews think they are powerful men, but they couldn抰 protect you either.?