Chapter 68
Chapter Sixty-Eight
KNOX
We are in the kitchen having coffee when Heather walks in, looking like the fierce killer she is.
“Good morning,” we all say to her, but I grin when I get the first kiss of the day as I hold up a cup for her.
“Fucking cheater.” Killian complains, and she walks over to both of them and kisses them good morning.
“We don’t say cheat in this house. That word makes my skin crawl.”
The thought of us cheating is comical. We are so fucking obsessed with her it would be impossible. Surely she must know that.
Heather takes a sip of her coffee and plops down on Killian's lap, nearly spilling her drink on him. There was a time he would’ve snapped at her, but now he doesn’t say a word. She has calmed him significantly. I shake my head and she flashes me a questioning expression.
“I was just thinking you must be the asshole whisperer.”
She giggles as Kill scowls at me.
“After you finish your coffee, we need to go, Little Heathen. Finish what we started.”
She chugs her coffee and sets her cup on the table.
“Ready when you are.”
Carter shakes his head at her and tosses the gift from Bones that she refused.
“We go after you open this.”
She turns to Killian with a whine.
“Kill, tell him we can open this later.”
He arches a brow at her and he growls his response.
“Or you could do what you were told.”
She picks up the card with a scowl on her adorable face.
“Do you want me to read it out loud?”
Carter nods his response as she opens the envelope and pulls the card out.
Letting out a long sigh, she reads it to us.
Heather,
When you’re done reading this, start a fire and burn it. Completely.
You have asked why I’m so nice to you. I think that’s rather telling that you question my motives, but I understand why.
You’re not my sister, but I feel a kinship with you that I rarely have outside of my brothers and their wives.
Your past reminds me of my wife and all the things I wish I had done differently.
You didn’t deserve the life you were given.
I wish better for you now and will hold those bastards accountable if you aren’t happy. Family or not.
My gift to you is the following:
Tonight I have a team that will burn down the Morte Mafia compound with all of them in it.
The list of names you gave at the asylum will be set free.
The rest will be burned inside except for Father Murphy and the nun, who will be flown to New York tonight for you to do with as you please.
They will be in Psycho’s basement, kept in a cage until you get there.
All four of you are under Bonetti protection. Meaning law enforcement will not hassle you. Your conviction will be over-turned. You are free now.
When you arrive at Psycho’s, I will give you a million dollars in cash to start your new life. We will not have a conversation about it. I want to do this. I promise you I do not do things I don’t want to do.
This is in part wedding gift and part compensation. I should’ve known about Carter, Knox and Killian. My father should have put a stop to Frank's behavior long ago, but instead participated in it. The guilt weighs on me. There were signs. I should have known. And I missed them all.
Welcome to the family where you’ve always belonged.
-Bones
Heather places her face in her hands and sobs.
“I knew he was going to make me emotional.”
Carter gets up and places wood in the fireplace.
Killian glances at me and then back to Heather.
“Baby, I think now might be the perfect time to dispose of the pictures. Maybe it’ll make you feel better too.”
She rises to her feet silently and heads to the bedroom.
“Should one of us go with her?” Killian asks.
I shake my head no.
“Give her a minute. It might be important for her to have a second alone.”
When we hear her screaming and smashing things I quickly change my mind.
All three of us run to the bedroom and find her in a state of panic. She’s on her knees holding a couple of the pictures, staring at them, lost to a different time. I nod to Carter and he drops to his knees in front of her.
Pulling her into his arms he reassures her.
“It’s over now. We will burn the pictures. It’s over, baby. You are safe.”
She wraps her arms around him and presses her face to his chest.
“I saw the pictures and remembered when they were taken. I’ve been doing so well and then it hit me without warning.”
Rubbing her back, he kisses her on the top of her head.
“There’s never a warning, but we will get through it together.”
She tilts her head back, staring at him, her eyes filled with so much love. I love that they can be there for each other like this.
“Let’s go burn this garbage and then you’ll never see them again.”
They both get up, Carter wraps his arm around her waist, and I grab the photographs from the floor, being careful to not look at them.
“This will keep coming up for a long time.” Kill says quietly as we follow them to the living room. Unfortunately, he’s right. Healing is neither quick nor easy.
She grabs the letter from Bones off the table and throws it into the fire first.
Taking all the photos, she flashes each of us a narrowed gaze with a stern warning.
“Do not look at them. I mean it.”
I shake my head at her and promise, “You have our word. None of us would ever do that to you, Tesoro.”
Heather sighs audibly and apologizes.
“I know that. I’m sorry. This has me in my head and—I’m sorry.”
She walks to the fire and releases a long breath.
“Rot in hell you fucking piece of shit. I was a little girl. You had no right.”
Throwing the images into the fire, her voice gets quieter, and it's heartbreaking to listen to.
“I was a little girl.”
Heather turns to me and falls into my arms.
“I was a little girl.”
I rub slow circles on her back to calm her down.
“You were. And look at how many little girls you saved. I’m so fucking proud of you, Tesoro.”
Pressing her hand to my face, she sighs my name, and it nearly brings me to my knees.
“Knox.”
Carter works on putting the fire out once he verifies everything is ash.
Heather's face brightens instantly, which concerns me slightly.
“Let’s go kill this motherfucker.”
Kill comes and grabs her hand and pulls her to the door.
“That is probably exactly what you need. How are you going to do it? Is it planned?”
Carter walks out with her bag of supplies and tosses them into the back of our SUV.
“I don’t have it planned. We will see how I feel when I get there.”
Her eyes flash, as her lips pull up into a crazed grin.
“All I really need is five minutes and a pair of scissors.”
She shrugs as Killian opens the door for her.
“But we’ll see.”