Chapter 42
COLLINS
“What happened?”
Maeve and I look up at the interruption, both of us in the med lab. One of the younger runners took a knife to the side during a sale—Roman has been steadily attacking us every time the guys are on the streets—and I’m hunched over, stapling closed his wound.
It’s not deep, but it’s on his ribs. He’s lucky it didn’t puncture.
Leaning against the wall, arms crossed, my sister watches me work. It’s been like this since Simon left. Somehow she knew what happened in this room and refused to let me go through it alone.
Who would have thought Maeve had a soft side?
She glares at Killian who materializes like a ghost. They’re not on the best of terms since he killed her deal. Thankfully, all I got was a frown when she learned I had been there.
“What are you talking about?” she asks, voice sharp.
Killian rounds on her, curving into her space. Her face twists into a mask of fury and he doesn’t look too thrilled either. Like gasoline and fire.
“Finn called me out of the interview with Hayes. Said there was trouble.”
“I didn’t call for you,” she snaps. They seem to stare each other down, neither willing to give up.
“Then why the fuck am I here?” he asks, eyes narrowing. “You think I wouldn’t run here unless you were in trouble? You call—I come. That’s how it works.”
“Ha. Right.” She shoves off the wall, their chest brushing. “That’s never been the case. You’re putting your nose into someone else’s business. Where it doesn’t concern you.”
The runner cuts me a glance, eyes wide. I shake my head.
In the time I’ve been allowed to see this side of Maeve—this side of the clan, I’ve realized a few things.
One? The men respect her. They very rarely talk poorly to her, ignore her demands, or do anything to get on her bad side. She seems to have built a good rapport with them.
Two? She always speaks calmly back to them. She doesn’t yell or blow up.
And three? All of these things do not apply to Killian.
“Be pissed at me all you want,” he murmurs, smirking down at her angry face, “but do not lie to me. What happened?”
“I didn’t fucking call for you, Linwood.”
Both continue to stare at each other and then, they take a step back, as if realizing something at the same time.
I finish the final staple and wipe my brow. “What? What is it?”
“If you didn’t call for me—”
“He was lying.”
They seem to finish each other’s sentences, leaving me in the dark as a ball of anxiety wounds tight in my gut. I hate being out of the loop.
“Who?” I help the runner stand and usher him out. I’m not sure if he’s supposed to know about this and I know firsthand, the clan doctor needs to be on the Captain’s side concerning privacy.
Simon was for Pops. I don’t want to be like either of those men, but I take my job seriously. This is what I’ve been training for—to be a doctor, to help people. I survived long enough to get here. I’m not wasting it.
“Finley pulled you out?” Maeve asks, eyes bouncing around as she rubs her bottom lip. She taps her boot covered toes, the sound echoing along the metal.
“He said there was trouble and you needed me.”
I watch how Maeve’s brows draw in, and Killian’s mouth frowns.
There’s something between them I’ve never noticed before.
They stand a bit too close, always seeming to be drawn to the other.
When they’re in the same room, they orbit each other like the sun and the planets.
They’ve always just been rivals but, could there be—
Nope. Not thinking about it.
“He knew you’d come if I called.”
Killian shakes his head. “He knew I’d come if I thought you needed me.”
“He’s our leak.” She explodes, kicking her heel into the drywall, pieces flinging around the sterile room.
“Wait. Him?” My voice cracks. Then, my heart pounds in my chest, adrenaline spiking, as I shout, “You left him alone with Hayes?”
Fear so intense pushes me past them both, rushing down the long corridor.
I pass the gym and weapons room to an untouched hallway full of broken chairs and shattered glass.
This is the area of the mansion I’ve never gone back to since those lessons stopped.
I’ve avoided it, ignored its presence entirely because of what it was for me.
Death. Sin. Ugliness in corporeal form.
That doesn’t matter now. I’d live in these rooms if it meant finding Hayes and keeping him safe.
Shoving open the cracked interview room, I see the fallen chair and broken black ties. No Hayes. No Finley. Nothing.
“Fuck,” Killian breathes, shoving past me.
He kicks the chair and it crashes into the far wall, shattering on impact, hand clawing at his hair. Maeve is right next to me, her gun high. She looks as tense as my chest feels.
Roman got Hayes. I was always the target, but we never considered them going after him to get me.
“I want him back,” Maeve tells Killian who stops in front of her, wiping his mouth. I’ve never seen Killian so mad before—sure, maybe angry, or irritated. But this is black rage that even a demon would never understand.
My lungs feel as if they can’t get enough air and I’m crashing to the floor, knees buckling before I understand what’s happening.
Mind spinning, I can only feel—lost, useless, terrified for Hayes. He’s alone—he’s back with those people. He was supposed to be safe.
Maeve squats before me, grabbing my shoulders so I don’t fall forward. “Breathe, kid. Breathe.”
I can’t express to her that I can’t. My lungs won’t function, my chest feels too tight. Everything is swirling in my mind—thoughts, feelings, and my heart feels like it’ll explode. I can’t think. I can’t breathe.
“She’s having a panic attack,” Maeve calls Killian, pulling me close. I catch the light scent of her violet perfume and press my forehead to her shoulder.
She smells like strength and my hands hold her tight.
“She hasn’t had one of those in a while,” he murmurs, rubbing my back.
They’re not wrong. I haven’t had one in a few years.
But without Hayes, I’m not safe. I’m trapped, in this house—this life—without his help, I’m drowning in a riptide. I need him back.
“Inhale,” Maeve commands. “Count to five.” I try to inhale, but it won’t work. Nothing works without him.
“Remember the night of your surgery,” she begins, tucking my hair behind my ears. “You were terrified. You refused to sleep. Pops had left, and even the nurses were taking naps. But not you.”
I inhale, my chest slightly less constricted as I listen to Maeve speak, her words distracting me. The rasp of her voice, the sultry tones lull me into a shaky calm, and I inhale again.
“I had just finished a run, covered in blood. Knuckles cut. Hair a mess.” She gestures to her dark locks, lips lifting with the memory.
“I had come to remind you that you’d be okay.
That you’d beat this. But instead of listening to me, you made me clean up.
You were always more worried about others than yourself. ”
“Must be an O’Brien trait,” Killian quips, hard circles soothing my back. I cough, exhaling.
“You’ve always cared about others first. It’s what made you a great doctor.
A great sister.” She clears her throat and I inhale—then exhale, lungs expanding finally.
“I’ve seen the way you’ve taken care of Hayes.
At first, I didn’t want you two together.
After what you went through—” she cuts off, face closing off all her emotions.
“Well. I just didn’t want it. Didn’t want to push it.
“But I see the way you are with him. You protect him—as much as he protects you. You care about him—love him. And that’s all I’ve wanted for the both of you.
Someone who would make you both feel safe after never having it before.
” She chucks my chin and I inhale, body drooping.
My chest lifts, the weight gone and my mind settles.
“I tried to be that for you, both of you. But maybe you just needed each other. Either way, I’m not going to let anything happen to him. Or you. I promise.”
Shaking my head, I swallow. “You can’t promise that. Not now that Roman has him.”
Her eyes bleed black. This isn’t the caring sister from moments before. This is Ace, my father’s heir. “Watch me.”
Maeve’s cell phone rings and Killian doesn’t wait for her to answer it, slipping it from her back pocket. He puts it on speaker. “Talk.”
“Ah, reaper,” Roman’s cool voice drifts through the phone. Maeve’s morphs into murderous fury and Killian’s eyes lose all warmth.
They’re the ghouls looking to kill.
“Speaking on behalf of your master?”
“Where is he?” she asks, voice deadly calm.
“Oh he’s here.” There’s a struggle, sounds of someone groaning. “We’re getting ready to take him home. We have his room all ready for him.”
My stomach twists and that nervous energy turns white hot. I’ll kill him.
It’s a clear thought, one I know to be true. I will spill every drop of Roman’s blood if he harms Hayes. And there won’t be any guilt for my sins.
“Don’t you fucking touch him,” I threaten. “If you put one finger on him, Roman, I will surgically sew your mouth shut and lock you away to starve to death.”
Roman chuckles. “Little mouse, what a horrible way to speak to your husband.”
“And it’ll be a horrible way to die,” I vow. “I would make you suffer.” Maeve shoots me an impressed look.
“What do you want, Roman?” she asks.
“I want that deal, Ace.” There’s more shuffling. “I want that alliance. I want Collins as my bride and the money Ferguson put aside for her. All of it. Now.”
“In exchange for one life?” She scoffs. “I need something more than that.”
My eyes bug out of my head. Is she really negotiating this?
Before I can yell at her, Killian wraps a hand around my mouth, finger to his lips. He knows something I don’t—something I can’t see.
Bruno laughs loudly. “You’re a cold one.
It wasn’t enough that you fucked me over as kids, but now, you want to take more from me?
” He makes a disgusted sound. “Fine. I heard you missed out on a buyer the other day.” Maeve glares at Killian—that wound is still festering.
“I can arrange three more buyers for your guns. All big players.”
“I want a price,” she says, standing, helping me to my feet. “And names.”
“Deal.”
“Give me a place.” She snaps her fingers at Killian and he takes out his phone, texting away to someone.
“Do you remember the last time we met as kids?” he asks wistfully.
“You mean, when I broke your nose and your jaw?” She smiles.
He scoffs. “I distinctly remember my knife in your side.”
“What of it?”
“Be there in thirty minutes. Otherwise,” he drawls, “Hayes will never see sunlight again and I have a line of his old customers who have missed him.”
The line goes dead and she throws it at the wall in her rage. Pieces rain down to mix into the tarry mud.
Killian sighs. “Now you need a new phone.”
“I’ll order it later.” She crosses her arms, jerking her chin to his hands. “Anything?”
“Briar has the cameras,” he answers, showing us the video. Briar? Our brother is helping them?
Never mind that the guy hasn’t been seen in years, but he talks to Killian? To Maeve? He doesn’t do more than send me a quick birthday text or a Christmas card but he’ll talk to them?
One thing at a time.
“I assume they’ve got the place surrounded.” She opens the magazine, checking her ammunition. “With eyes above.”
“Of course.” He clicks the screen, showing Hayes at a far back corner, with Roman and another man watching over his slumped form. I can’t make it out, but I’m sure that’s Finley.
My blood pressure skyrockets. I want him—all of them. Under my foot. Dead.
“Good.” She takes his phone, sending off a text. “Briar will alert everyone in the area to assist. Meg is on standby if more are needed.”
Turning toward me, they stall, debating. This is what they know—this is their life. They rush into danger, guns blazing, knowing the risks. I’ve never been a part of it—only knowing what my family does for power and greed.
This is my sister’s world. Not mine.
Maeve taps my arm. “I’ll need you to come with us. To heal him in case his injuries are too extensive.”
But for Hayes? I’ll do anything.
“Okay,” I agree.
“It won’t be a safe place, Collins.” Her eyes plead with me to understand. “You’ll be at risk. You could be killed. If I fail—”
“You won’t.”
I’ve been mad at her, angry for never being allowed in, but I’m slowly understanding why. This world isn’t safe—it’s harsh and dangerous. And she never wanted me exposed to it, no matter what Pops planned for me. No matter what he did to make me this way.
But now I’m risking everything to help Hayes. He’d do it for me.
“You won’t fail,” I say again. “You kept me home when you went after Sloane. You’re not keeping back now. Not with the man I love.”
Nodding, Maeve looks at Killian. “Call Lex. We’ll need him too.”
“Already ahead of you, Princess.”