CHAPTER 14
The Pawn
Irish or not, I’ve never considered myself a lucky bloke.
I must have broken a lot of mirrors in a past life or slipped under one too many ladders.
Aside from that, I have to say…I do consider myself a decent person.
Okay…so I’ve killed a few people. I had reasons.
The man behind the screen is not that guy.
I’ve always treated women with respect. They deserve it the most. I’ve held doors, took a back seat, and helped old ladies across the road.
I don’t know if the dark shit in my life cancels out all the good I try to do…
but I swear to God…I don’t understand how I always draw the short fucking straw.
How did I get lucky enough to get a woman like that to love me…but unlucky enough to watch her walk in and out of my life on her own accord—without a single thing that can be done about it? If I were like any other man…I wouldn’t give her a choice. But…here I fucking sit.
The good guy.
My teeth are sore after watching them blind her and take her away from this house.
My fingernails dug into my palms with caked blood of other men dirtying up the space between.
Dan stood in the yard, his sniper rifle laying at his feet as we watched all the Russian fucksticks trail off after their boss…
and my future. I want to flick them all off the grid like lint…
and I can’t. Parlay has my fucking hands tied and I don’t even know what she offered them, other than herself.
“Fuck!” I yelled, slamming my fists on the porch railing. “Píosaí cacamas mallaithe!” Hurried footsteps sounded behind me and Seven appeared on the porch, looking out towards the street, Malek right behind her.
“They took her?!”
“She went on her own, love.” Malek’s jaw feathered, his tell that he’s about to concave. Sev spun on him.
“And you let her?!”
“Sev, you know that if that lass ever makes her mind up about somethin’, then it’s either let her roll with it, or watch her do it behind your back.
That’s why we’re in this mess.” I don’t think it gave her any comfort.
It sure as hell didn’t for me, even as it came out of my mouth, bleeding absolute truth.
Malek nodded in agreement. She pierced him with a hard look that even had me flinching.
“…And you wanna bring a child into this.” I felt the plunge of that knife in my own soul.
I’ve never seen Mal look like this. Not even on the morning we found out about Shavonn.
Seven glanced at me, leaning in and lowering her voice.
“She said to tell you…fifteen grand. I dunno what it means, and I can’t think about it right now.
We’ve gotta get Mom to a hospital. That means cops are on their way. Let’s move.”
She left us all standing like vacant assholes while she charged into the house. I flicked my head at Dan, who picked up his rifle and followed us inside. Greg held a little straggler by the hood of his coat.
“This one missed the school truck,” Greg spat, pointing his pistol at the guy’s head. The prick spouted off Russian nonsense and looked between us all. I raked a hand through my disheveled hair.
“Technically, we can’t touch him now that Bridget’s struck a deal with—”
BANG!
The front of the guy’s hoodie blew wide open, blood and chunks of meat flying everywhere as his body hit the floor. I looked up to see Vernon, standing in the basement doorway…the smoking end of his shotgun still pointed at the man. I don’t think I’ve ever been so fucking proud—or surprised.
“None of you leave this house. I don’t care if you end up in jail…I get answers. Now.”
I’m all for giving the man answers…I’m just not sure he’s ready.
I’m not sure either Malek, nor I, are ready for what’s about to be exposed about us as soon as they see what we’re capable of.
We live in the moment…and what we do in said moment…
can be a little…extreme. Seven brought the little ones upstairs, covering Vivian’s eyes and I’m guessing Emmy’s instructions were to keep hers closed while she led her out of the house.
Greg holstered his pistol to go after them and Malek tugged his arm on his way past.
“Greg…I’m—”
“I’m not. They shot my mom. I didn’t get to be there for Sev when she needed me last year…whether I knew it or not. This is my job. This is your job.” He clapped Mal’s shoulder and nodded firmly. “And we did it well. Thank you for taking care of my girls. All of ‘em.”
I swallowed, hanging my head while he followed Seven outside. Vernon looked about ready to combust, metaphorical question marks popping up all around his head.
He doesn’t know about the O’Dell debacle.
All the dots he’s connecting must be fucking agony.
Sirens started ringing out through the night and the funeral home was…
um…‘dead silent’. Sev’s talents are gonna be missed with these bodies.
Miss Ruth doesn’t have time. What little of it remains, doesn’t need to be wasted on trying to cover up what was necessary to stay alive.
I don’t trust cops, but at the very least…
anything they uncover and have to report will be helpful in whatever I’ll have to dig up to find Bridge.
“Mr. Vernon,” I started, raising my head to address him.
He looked torn between falling apart…and rightfully tearing me apart.
“I’m ready to take full responsibility for everything that’s happened here tonight, sir.
But when the police get here…if you want to protect Seven…
this was a home invasion, and you don’t know what they were after. ”
He looked to Malek, I suppose for confirmation. “What’s she got to do with this?”
“With this? Nothing. But without disrespecting my wife…all I can do is tell you that I agree with Declan on this one. And then we can sit down later and see what Sev’s comfortable telling you.”
Vernon shook his head, defeated and weary. “All this time…I knew my instincts were right. I knew it couldn’t have just been because she was heartsick over you, Malek. I’ll do what you ask. But you owe me something.”
“You have my word.”
The lights from squad cars and an ambulance started flashing throughout the open front door, and I squared myself up for everything coming afterwards. Dan straightened, ready to explain away his involvement, just like we rehearsed, and now…
…Now the real show begins…
I have to admit? Accepting Seven’s aggressive invitation to family dinner at her parents’ house…
didn’t quite look like this in my mind. The four of us sat on a bench at the Castine Police Department, waiting for someone to come follow up with us.
None of us spoke. Nobody even looked at each other, each one of us with a different person on our mind.
Greg had to let his wife and kids go on to the hospital.
Vernon watched his only daughter and the love of his life ride away in an ambulance, one of them in critical condition.
Malek’s thoughts were no doubt on his wife and the potential fate of his only sibling…
and me…all I could think about was how badly I wanted to hold Bridget, while simultaneously ripping her ass apart.
Why is this becoming the norm?
It took them all of two seconds, after trying to get our initial statements, to haul us up to the station for further questioning.
Dan has been in an interrogation room for over an hour and the only thing that we’ve gotten as far as information about Ruth was that she’s currently in surgery.
Vernon is about to die over here to be at her side.
Oh…wait…there’s movement.
Dan shook hands with a man in a cheap suit and nodded towards me before turning to leave. What the fuck, Dan…
Cheap suit guy trudged towards us, stopping in front of the bench and we all looked down at the floor. “Well. Sixteen total victims—”
“Criminals,” Vernon corrected. Damn straight.
“Fine. Sixteen criminals. All dead. Some of them clean shots, and others…questionable. You can’t expect me to believe this was a first time for at least some of you.
” Nobody breathed a word. The detective started pacing the bench, producing a paper he pulled close to his face while he walked.
“One victim was found with a towel rod speared through his gut in a guest bathroom.”
Yeah, that was me. I was excited.
“One victim had paper from a Rolodex shoved down his throat and a letter opener in the back of his skull.”
Also me.
“Hmm…this one’s interesting. One victim was found with a very large crucifix…in his rectum.”
Malek covered his mouth and quietly snorted, chuckling. I bit my lip and shook my head while I kept my eyes on the floor. “It’s always you, dude.” Greg and Vernon looked down the bench at us both, their faces equal parts confusion and shock.
“Two were found with single gunshot wounds to the back of the head, lying right next to each other…about three feet from another victim who was stabbed so many times that the coroner is having a hard time counting.”
Well, that has Bridget written all over it.
“That’s because your coroner don’t have shit on my wife,” Malek smirked, giving the detective a proud look. “It’s pretty simple, detective. Bad guys broke in with ill intent, we cleaned house. Why the fuck are we here?”