Chapter 31
OCTOBER 05 – SUNDAY 2:22 AM
M yles
A heavy hand clamped over my mouth, jarring me from sleep. It took a second for the fog to clear, but when it did, I recognized my father. He looked and smelled like he’d been living on the streets like a rat. Dirt and sweat coated his face and only accentuated the crazy look in his eyes, but it was the blade at my throat that had my attention.
“Shh,” he said, and I nodded as much as I could. He moved the knife and sat on my bed. I slowly pushed myself into a sitting position, wishing that either Nash or Liam were here. Then again, who the hell knew what he’d do if they were?
“Da, what ya doing here? How’d ya even get in?”
He snorted. “I was here for me senior year. Ya think I dinnie know all the ways ta sneak off and meet up for a party or a shag?”
Gross. That was news to me. I thought Devin was the first of the family.
I glanced around for a weapon of any kind, just in case. “What’s going on?”
“Where is she?”
“Who?”
He pointed the knife at me, and I held my hands up. “Din’t ya feck wi me.”
“Tell me who.”
I knew who he was after, but Nash was right when he said we needed to look as oblivious as possible. The insanity written on my father’s face was more than I’d ever seen before. He’d always been cruel, but this was…different…unpredictable and definitely more dangerous. I never thought that was possible.
“That white-haired cunt,” he growled, and I almost leaped at him despite the knife in my face.
“She’s not here.”
“Lies,” he growled, his hand shaking. “I know yer in love wi the wee bitch.” If he called her one more name…. “Ya cannie protect her. We need ta use her.”
“Da, we broke up,” I lied. “She doesn’t want me no more, she used me, and I fekin hate her.” Saying that tasted like battery acid on my tongue. I wanted to cut the thing out of my mouth, but it worked. His eyes lit up. “I’m serious. I’ll show you her room if you want. She left for a retreat with the school. She’s gone for the week. Fuckin’ good riddance if ya ask me.”
Please, God, forgive me.
“Aye, I ‘member those.” Wayward had all different kinds of retreats. Not that I ever participated, and he knew nothing of Ren. I could’ve said anything, and he couldn’t argue it.
“Shite.”
He lowered the knife, twirling it in his hand like I’d done with the chess piece. I looked away, hating that I’d picked up any habit from him.
“We need her, Myles.” He turned toward me again but kept the blade pointed down. “Ya need to bring her to me, son.”
“Why? Yer still not makin’ any sense. What does Ren have ta do with Lawrence?”
He burst up off the bed and stomped across the extra-large dorm room and back again, mumbling to himself.
“He’s tryin’ to destroy us. He’s gonna take it all, but I can take it back. I just need the girl.”
My father’s obsession with Ren was dangerous for her but also him. Even if I didn’t want to help Lawrence, I’d never let my father lay one finger on her. Fuck, I wished I had my gun. My pen was on my desk, and moving slowly, I picked it up and tucked it up my forearm out of sight.
“Don’t ya see, son. If we have da girl, we have da power.”
He grabbed my shoulders, and it took all my willpower not to stab him in the eye. I needed to keep a clear head if I wanted him dead and a future with Ren. If I killed him…I might not live to see another night. There was no telling what the Curators would do for killing someone on school grounds, and I couldn’t take the chance of never seeing Ren again.
“Okay, tell me what ya want me ta do, and I’ll do it.”
He pulled me into a hug. My da hadn’t hugged me since I was a wee lad. I held perfectly still, half expecting him to shove the blade into my back. Stepping away, he smiled, a shimmering of tears in his wild eyes.
“We’ll beat em’ and when we get yer brother back, we’ll be a family again.”
I nodded but still felt a knot in the pit of my stomach at the mention of Devin. Lawrence said Owen had started to fall apart after Devin’s capture. Would he be like this if something happened to me? No. Who was I kidding? He would go on as if I never existed. I’d probably never know the reason why my father was so indifferent toward me, but it didn’t matter. He was a dead man.
“As soon as the group gets back, I’ll text ya,” I said.
“I knew I could count on ya, son.” He walked to the door, and a thought occurred to me.
“Da.” He looked at me with his hand on the handle. “Whatever ya do, don’t go see Lip. Lawrence figured ya’d try and has men there waitin’.”
“How do ya know that?”
“Nash. He mentioned it when he got home from visiting Lawrence last night. He said his father was livid, and it had something to do with yer trip to Ireland. That’s all I know, but he said that he was covering all the places you’d go. Seeing Lip was one of them. I guess he figured ya wouldn’t try to see me.” I lifted a shoulder and let it flop down. “Ya know with us normally arguin’ and stuff.”
He nodded, and I could see the wheels of chaos working in his psychotic mind.
“Aye, he does know me. You’d turn on Nash like that? Ta tell me this.”
“Like ya said, no matter what, blood is thicker than water. Yer me da. McCoys look after one another,” I said and put conviction behind it.
“Ya did good, son. Let me know when da bitch is back,” he said and slipped out of my dorm room.
I yanked on my hoodie and sneakers before grabbing my phone. Following the slippery bastard, I ran down the stairs to the back exit. I pulled up Nash’s number, and he answered like he’d been waiting for the call.
“What’s up?”
“My father broke into our room.”
“What? You fucking kidding me?”
“No, I’m following him. If I can figure out where he’s staying, we can get him tonight,” I said, pushing outside.
It was quiet, and I worried that I had missed him, but then a shadow darted into the trees. Running for the spot where he’d disappeared, I bent down and checked the ground. There was a set of boot prints heading toward the road. That had to be him.
“Don’t, Myles. He’s too dangerous to go after by yourself.” Not bothering to listen, I ran along the overgrown path. “Fuck, Myles. Stop, we’ll get him. I’m on my way.”
“You’ll be too late. Gotta go.”
“No—”
Hitting end before Nash could finish, I stuffed the phone in my pocket and skidded to a stop. An engine started, and a beam of light cut through the trees. I bolted in that direction, sprinting as hard as I could, and reached the edge of the forest as a car disappeared around the bend in the road. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
“No one threatens my Snowflake,” I growled and returned to the campus.
I would find Owen and kill him, and then we would take care of Lawrence.
Nash was pacing by the back door when I walked up the path.
“How the hell did ya get here so fast? I thought ya were at the cabin.” I stumbled and landed on my ass as Nash clocked me hard enough that I saw stars. “What the fuck was that fir?”
He squatted down beside me, his eyes furious.
“I got back early and went to the pool. Don’t ever ignore a direct order again.”
I rubbed my jaw. “He fuckin’ threatened Snowflake. I couldn’t just let him drive off without trying to stop him or get a license plate.”
Nash shook his head at me. “What fucking good would that do us? It’ll be stolen. He’s probably going to dump it tonight. And, he’s certifiable at the best of times, you don’t go after someone like that alone. Who knows what the fuck he’d do.”
“Aye, fuck, yer right.” I pulled my knees up and wrapped my arms around them. “I can’t let him hurt her, Nash.”
“And we won’t, but I can’t question if you’ll follow orders, Myles. Your dick is not your brain. Start using the right head to think.”
Standing, he held his hand out and hauled me to my feet.
“Did ya have to hit me so fuckin’ hard?”
“Did it knock some sense into you?”
“I don’t like ya.”
“I get that a lot. I’ve learned to live with it.” He nodded toward the door. “Come on, you can tell me exactly what he said, and we can make a plan.”
Nash was right. I needed to keep my cool. But it was far more difficult with my da than it was with anyone else. Owen pushed a button in me, one that would end his life, and the sooner, the better.