Chapter 29 Annie
ANNIE
We arrive at one of Ronan's warehouses on the outskirts of the city just as dawn is breaking. The sky is streaked with pink and orange, beautiful in a way that feels wrong after the night we've had.
There are already several vehicles here—Ronan's men must have arrived ahead of us.
Desmond is being dragged out of one SUV, and I see Elio surrounded by guards, his jaw set and his face furious.
My heart leaps in my chest, and I press one hand to the window, reaching for the door as soon as the SUV rolls to a stop.
“You don’t need to get out,” Ronan says firmly.
“I’m going to go make sure Desmond is secure, and then I’m going to get you home.
A doctor will meet us there. You need a full check-up.
You’ve been through hell, Annie, and we need to make sure that you’re okay.
” He pauses, and his face is so full of worry, so full of love, that I almost soften for a moment. “I need you to be okay.”
"I will be," I say quickly. "But first—"
"First, nothing." His voice is firm. "You need to be checked out."
"I know. And I will be. But first, I need to see what happens with Desmond. And with Elio."
His jaw tightens. "Annie—"
"Don't." I unbuckle my seatbelt and turn to face him fully.
"Don't try to protect me from this, Ronan.
Don't try to shield me or send me away like I'm a child. You know better than that. You’ve never treated me like that before, so don’t start now.
Desmond kidnapped me. Killed people protecting me.
Threatened to kill you and Elio. I have a right to be part of what happens next. "
"You don't need to see—"
"Yes, I do." My voice is hard, exhausted. "This is my life, Ronan, that he tried to take away. My choice. And I choose to be there." I try to soften my tone, just a little. “I’m sorry for everything that happened. For all the wrong choices I’ve made in this. But I need to see what happens to him. I can’t…. I can’t let this go, otherwise.”
He studies my face for a long moment, and I can see the conflict in his eyes—the protective brother warring with the man who respects my agency.
"Alright," he says finally. "But if it gets to be too much—"
"I'll leave." I open the car door. "I promise."
We get out, and Elio is immediately there, crossing the distance between vehicles, shoving past the guards. "Annie!"
"I'm okay." I let him pull me into his arms, breathing in the scent of him like gasps of air. I never want to let him go again. "I'm okay."
"Boss." One of Ronan's men approaches. "Desmond is secured inside. He’s stable and awake."
"Good." Ronan's voice is cold. "I want him conscious for what comes next."
The man nods and heads back inside.
"Elio," Ronan says, and there's something in his voice that makes my stomach drop. He looks over at one of his men. "Finn, I need you to take Elio back to—"
"No." The word is out of my mouth before I can think about it.
Ronan turns to me. "Annie—"
"No," I repeat, moving to stand beside Elio. "You're not taking him anywhere."
"This isn't your decision—"
"The hell it isn't." I can feel anger rising, hot and fierce. "Elio saved your life tonight. Saved mine. And you want to… what? Lock him up somewhere? Hurt him? For what? For protecting me?"
"For lying to me." Ronan's voice rises to match mine. "For going behind my back. For marrying you without my permission—"
"I don't need your permission!" The shout echoes in the dawn air. "I'm not your property, Ronan. You know better than that. I’m sorry I went behind your back. I’m sorry I lied. But I was trying to protect you. Just like you’re trying to protect me now.
Do you see where that gets us? Because I finally do.
You want to be angry at someone? Be angry at me for not coming to you when I found out.
But don't you dare be angry at Elio for keeping me safe when no one else could. "
Silence. Everyone is staring at us—Finn, the other men, Elio.
Ronan's expression is unreadable. "We'll deal with this later."
"Ronan—"
"I said later." His voice is final. "Right now, we have bigger problems." He turns and heads toward the warehouse entrance.
Elio looks at me, his expression uncertain. “He’s not going to let this go,” he warns. “Annie, you should go home. After what happened—”
“Don’t.” I stare at him evenly. “I’m not going anywhere except to see what happens to Desmond.”
We follow Ronan inside, and the warehouse is exactly what I expected—concrete floors, metal walls, harsh fluorescent lighting. There are rooms off to the side, and Ronan heads toward one of them.
Inside, Desmond is strapped to a chair similar to the one I was in earlier. One of the men is working on him, trying to stop the bleeding from the gunshot wound in his side. He looks terrible—pale, sweating, barely conscious.
I feel a flicker of satisfaction. He lifts his head to look at me, and there’s pure menace in his eyes. But there’s no reason for me to be afraid of him any longer.
He’s the only one who should be afraid now.
"Will he live?" Ronan asks the man working on him.
"For now." The guard finishes bandaging the wound. "But he needs a hospital if you want him to survive more than a few hours."
"I don't need him for a few hours." Ronan's voice is cold. "Just long enough to get some answers. Wait outside. I’ll call if I need anything.”
"Annie," Elio says quietly. "You don't have to be here for this. It's going to get ugly."
"I know." I cross my arms. "I'm staying anyway."
Ronan walks over to Desmond and slaps him across the face. Hard. Desmond's head snaps to the side, and when he looks back, there's blood on his lip.
"Wake up," Ronan says. "We need to talk."
Desmond laughs, but it turns into a cough that makes him wince. "Talk. Sure. What do you want to know?"
“Why the fuck did you think you could touch my sister?”
Desmond sneers. “Why should I explain myself to you?”
Ronan hits him again, blood spattering on the floor. “Start fucking talking.”
"Or what? You'll kill me?" Desmond laughs again. "I'm already dead. Every breath is harder than the last. So go ahead, Ronan. Do your worst. I've got nothing left to lose."
Elio steps forward. "You have a lot left to lose. Like the ability to die quickly. Painlessly. Because if you don't start talking, I'll make sure your last hours are the most agonizing of your life."
Something in his voice makes Desmond's smile falter. "You think you scare me, Cattaneo?"
“I should.” Elio's voice is soft, deadly. "And if not, you should be scared of him.” He gestures at Ronan. “But mostly, you should be scared of what we both want to do to you for everything you did to hurt Annie.”
He gestures at me, and Desmond's eyes follow the movement.
"Sweet little Annie." His voice is mocking. "How does it feel, knowing you're carrying the bastard of a man who'll never be good enough for you?"
I feel Elio tense beside me, but before he can respond, I step forward.
“It feels like something I chose.” My jaw tightens, and I take another step forward, facing him down.
“Like I had something beautiful with a man I love. Like we made something together. You just tried to take something from me, Desmond. You tried to force me to give you what you wanted. Elio didn’t take anything that I didn’t want to give. And he’s worth a thousand of you.”
Desmond's expression twists with hatred. "You think you've won? You think because you killed my men and captured me that this is over? I have people everywhere. Associates, friends, family. They'll come for you. All of you. And when they do—"
"They won't." Ronan's voice cuts through the threat. "Because no one is going to know what happened to you. You're going to disappear, Desmond. Like you never existed. And everyone who worked with you, everyone who helped you—they're going to disappear too."
"You can't—"
"I can." Ronan leans down, getting in his face. "I'm Ronan O'Malley. I can do whatever the hell I want."
The room falls silent except for Desmond's labored breathing.
“You said you did all of this because of Siobhan.” Ronan’s jaw tightens.
“But you’re going to leave your little sister all alone.
No father, no brother to take care of her.
I’ll try to make sure nothing happens to her.
But all she’s going to know is that you abandoned her.
You should have been thinking of her, Connelly.
Not making up revenge plots for something that didn’t even happen the way you imagine it did. ”
Desmond's face contorts with rage and pain.
"You'll regret this. Both of you. When that baby is born and grows up in this world, when it learns what its father is, what its uncle is—it'll hate you both. And you.” He looks at me. “You think you’ve gotten what you wanted? You should have let me have you, you fucking bitch—”
Elio backhands him so hard that Desmond’s head snaps to one side, and I see him spit out a tooth, his mouth swelling.
"Enough." Ronan's voice is final. "You've said your piece. Now it's time to pay for what you've done."
He pulls out his gun, checking the chamber.
Desmond's eyes widen. "Wait—"
"Wait for what?" Ronan aims the gun at his head. "You killed my men. You assaulted and kidnapped my sister. Tried to destroy my family. And you think I'm going to show you mercy?"
"Please—" For the first time, Desmond sounds scared. "Please, wait—”
Ronan’s finger tightens on the trigger, and something clicks inside of me. Something that I hadn’t realized I needed until right this moment.
"Wait." I hold out my hand. "Give me the gun."
Everyone freezes.
"Annie—" Ronan starts.
"Give. Me. The gun." I keep my hand extended, steady. "He tried to rape me. He tried to force me to marry him. He wanted to kill you and Elio in front of me. I should be the one to end it."
Ronan shakes his head. "You don't have to do this—"
"I know I don't have to." I meet his eyes. "I want to."