34. CHAPTER 34 #2
“I see.” Sawyer leaned in. “I know where Declan is, by the way. You didn’t finish it.
" My stomach dropped. Alive. The bastard was alive. "Don’t look at me like that, I’m not judging.
Much. I’ve cleaned up messes for Hyun before.
Bigger ones. One of them involved Declan’s brother, actually.
Seamus. But that’s ancient history and completely irrelevant right now, obviously. "
“Wait. Go back.” I leaned in, voice dropping under the pounding music. “Seamus Carrick? What do you know?”
“Oh, Cillian. Stay on topic.” Sawyer was about to keep going when a hand landed on my shoulder.
“Hey. You’re here.” Moon leaned down and kissed my cheek. Warmth flooded my chest so fast it almost hurt. Sawyer just sipped his champagne, eyes glinting.
“Let’s meet at 1 a.m. by the cemetery. Shall we?” He slipped away. Moon took his seat.
“What the hell was that about?”
“It’s nothing for you to worry about, prince.” I put my hand on his knee, squeezing once. Warm skin under my palm. He looked at me.
“At the cottage, after last time. We promised each other, no more secrets.”
“I know. But it’s about Declan, and you told me not to tell you.”
He tensed under my hand. Spine locked. His gaze slid away.
“What did Sawyer do? He promised he’d stop with the psychotic shit.” His eyes scanned the room for Sawyer, jaw tight.
“No. It wasn’t Sawyer.” I held his stare. “It was me.”
Vivienne came running over, breathless. “Hello boys. The group’s heading to the old boathouse to drink. You coming?”
Moon stood, tension still coiled in his shoulders. “Sure. You coming, Cillian?”
We left together, my hand staying on the small of his back the whole way.
As we approached the boathouse the lights were already on, music thumping low, less obnoxious than the banquet.
We stepped inside. Aleksei, Misha, Sawyer and Kaelan were hunched over poker.
Some guy with glasses I didn’t recognize sat with them.
He felt familiar. Vivi headed straight over. Moon followed.
Aleksei gathered the cards. “I’ll deal.”
Beer, champagne and wine already flowed around the table.
“I never thought I’d finish first year of Evermourne sitting with three Thorn boys, one Vesper, and one Dahlia. But here we are.”
“Cheers to that.” Misha lifted his glass. Kaelan clinked and downed his in one go. “Fuck. We still got work to do though.”
“What’s that?” Vivienne asked, all sweet innocence while studying her cards. She had a terrifying poker face. I’d give her that.
Kaelan tossed chips into the pot. “Declan, little girl.”
“Don’t call her little girl,” Aleksei growled.
“Touchy. These Russians.”
“Wait. So Declan’s alive?” Moon cut in, voice tight.
“Yes. Alive. Because your Irish boyfriend couldn’t finish the fucking job.”
I flicked a poker chip at Kaelan. “You left for that goddamn owl.”
Sawyer cracked up.
The guy with the glasses cut his eyes to Kaelan.
Kaelan snatched the glasses off his face. “Easy, Birdie. No need to lose your shit.”
Noah lunged. Kaelan held them high, laughing low, then wiped them clean on his own shirt before sliding them back on Noah’s face himself, thumb brushing his cheek. “Relax. I’ve got you.”
Sawyer stood, knocking back the last of his champagne. “I’m out. Kaelan. Cillian.”
Moon’s fingers dug into my arm. “Cillian. What is this?”
I caught his shoulders, forcing his eyes to mine. “Do you trust me?”
His throat worked. “Yes. I trust you.”
I brushed the hair from his face, thumb lingering at his temple. “I’ll be back soon.”
He grabbed my arm again, nails biting in. “Be careful. Cillian.”
“Always, prince.”
The three of us cut through the dark. Kaelan on my left, Sawyer on my right, the cemetery gates rising ahead.
Moon was back there, probably sipping champagne and pretending the world wasn’t spinning, while I went to finish what I started for him.
Declan was already waiting somewhere up ahead. Tied. Sawyer had made sure of that.
I kept my voice hushed, knife in my pocket. “So why do you want him dead so badly, Kaelan?”
Kaelan’s jaw flexed. “He hurt Noah.”
I glanced sideways. “Noah? You two are… together?”
Kaelan let out a low laugh. “Sure. Let’s call it that.”
Sawyer stayed silent beside us, that saintly mask completely gone. His eyes were black in the dark. Wherever Declan was, Sawyer had made sure he stayed there.
The cemetery gates creaked when we pushed them open. Old stone. Soft ground from the rain. Perfect.
Declan was slumped against a headstone, wrists and ankles bound tight. He looked half out of it, head lolling, blood crusted at his mouth, but when he saw us his eyes sharpened with pure hate.
“You fucking traitors,” he slurred, straining against the ropes. “All of you. For some fucking fairies?”
My fingers tightened on the knife. Moon’s face burned behind my eyes, that last kiss, the trust in his voice. This piece of shit had tried to take him from me.
Kaelan stepped forward. “Why the fuck didn’t you gag him, amateur?”
Sawyer rolled his eyes. “I don’t carry a fucking gag, and you two left him unattended in the Glass House. Noah told me—”
“Noah?” Kaelan cut in. “You talk to him?”
“Chill. He hacked my professor’s laptop once. I offered protection in exchange for intel. That’s it.”
“Protection,” Kaelan echoed. “Declan’s crew beat the shit out of him.”
“Why do you care? Didn’t you bully him too?” I cut in, eyes still locked on Declan.
“Fuck this. Kill me already if you’re just gonna yap about your boyfriends.”
Kaelan didn’t answer. He drove his boot into Declan’s stomach. Declan folded, coughing, then laughed through bloodied teeth.
“So the three of you came to kill me? My brother will bury you for this.”
Sawyer crouched, flipping his knife. “Like I give a shit about Ronan Carrick. Your brother was the same. Might do him next. Don’t think a Whitlock scares easy.”
Declan spat in Sawyer’s face. “Don’t talk about Seamus. You kill him?”
Sawyer wiped it off, expression flat. “Since you’re dying anyway… yeah. He tried to take Hyung’s place. I wasn’t going to let that happen.”
Kaelan yanked Sawyer back by the hoodie. “You’ve actually killed before?”
“I’m a Whitlock. What the fuck do you think we do?”
“Fuck, Sawyer. Stab him and let’s go. I’m not here for your little torture foreplay.”
I stepped forward. “I’ll do it.”
Kaelan raised his hands. “Fine by me. Not exactly a killer.”
I usually wasn’t.
But for Moon I would be. Lorcan could handle the rest later. Tonight, this one belonged to me.
Sawyer stepped aside. I flipped the knife and moved behind Declan.
Arm locked across his chest, palm over his mouth.
He jerked. The blade opened his throat in one steady pull.
Warm blood flooded over my hand, down my wrist. He thrashed against me and I held him tighter, letting him feel exactly who was ending him.
I stepped back when the twitching slowed. Breath even. Hands steady.
Declan kept twitching, blood still bubbling from the gash. Wet gasps fading into nothing. The copper smell clung thick in the damp air.
Sawyer vanished behind a crying angel statue. He came back dragging a black duffel. “Start digging, boys.”
I stared at the shovels. For Moon. I grabbed one, the metal cold against my palms.
We dug in silence, dirt flying, sweat mixing with the grave soil. My shoulders burned. Every scrape of the shovel brought back the warm gush across my fingers, the way Declan had jerked and then gone still.
The shovel hit wood with a hollow thunk.
Sawyer dropped down, crowbar in hand, and pried the old coffin open. The lid groaned. A wave of rot rolled out, damp bone and decay so thick it coated my throat.
Kaelan muttered, “You’re a fucking freak, Whitlock.”
Sawyer just shrugged.
We hauled Declan’s limp body over. Sawyer pressed flat against the side of the hole to give us room. I grabbed the legs, Kaelan the shoulders. He was heavier than expected, still leaking. We dropped him in with a dull thud onto the skeleton inside. Bones cracked under the weight.
Kaelan stepped back, face pale. “This is getting too fucking weird.”
I said nothing. The blood on my hands had dried tight and cracking.
We hauled Sawyer out. He started shoveling dirt back in like it was a group project. My arms screamed, but I matched him shovel for shovel, dirt raining down on the closed coffin.
Kaelan paused, breathing hard. “He’s dead, right?”
Sawyer rolled his head dramatically, then jumped back into the hole. He cracked the lid again, knife flashing. Stab into the heart. Nothing. We hauled him out.
“Happy now?”
“Yeah, sure,” Kaelan muttered.
Sawyer’s phone rang. His whole face shifted, that saintly mask sliding back on. He walked a few steps away, voice light. “Hey. No, I’m hanging out with friends at the boathouse. Yeah, I promise. I’m not getting in trouble. The impulses have stopped. I’m good.”
Kaelan looked at me, shaking his head. “That fucking kid needs therapy.” He snorted. “And that’s rich coming from me. Let’s finish this before I change my mind about helping.”
He started dumping dirt again. I matched him shovel for shovel.
Sawyer dumped bleach over the grass. Kaelan scattered fresh soil over the darker patches. The chemical smell cut through the wet earth.
Mine. I’d killed for Moon. I’d bury for him. And when I got back, I’d smile like nothing happened. The blood never really washes off anyway.