“Your favorite,” he says, offering me the bottle of whiskey.
Accepting it, I break the seal as he knows better than to offer me an opened bottle. “Cut the bullshit,” I spit, reaching for a glass. “What do you want?”
Sean laughs. “What I want is for us to act like a family. We are Kellys, after all.”
“Ye didn’t think that way when ye got Ethan hooked on whatever shite he was pumpin’ into his system,” I counter, filling my glass to the brim with whiskey. “I am done playin’ yer games. I agreed to yer terms on the proviso that once it was done, ye would give Cami back to me.
“I am not interested in yer fuckin’ theatrics.”
Hannah whimpers, afraid. But this is what Sean would expect. If I was to behave in any other way, it would rouse suspicion.
“Ye really are my son,” he says, insulting me in the worst possible way. “I just thought, with everythin’ so close to completion, it might be a good idea to keep youse close.”
I was right. He is paranoid. He wants to watch us in case we’re conspiring behind his back. This close to the end, he doesn’t want to take any chances.
“I am not interested in being anywhere near you,” I retort, throwing back my drink. “I told ye I would do what ya wanted, so let Ethan and Hannah go home. They’re not a part of any of this.”
“On the contrary, they are,” Sean argues. “They are Kellys, after all.”
But what Sean really means is that Ethan is a threat. This is why he took him under his wing. Not for protection, but control. He knows that Ethan could retaliate, and being a Kelly, being Connor’s son, could mean competition.
He thought he could use Ethan to do his bidding and to be on his side, but now that Ethan has turned, he sees him as a danger to his throne.
He has me where he wants me, holding Cami over my head. And I know he now has something over Ethan’s—Eva.
We watch as Sean walks over to the wooden coffee table and opens the drawer. What he retrieves has me shooting upright, standing in front of Ethan.
“Get that away from him.” All plans are quickly thrown out the window when I look at the small leather case in his hand. I will kill him before he gets that shite near Ethan.
“Calm down,” Sean flippantly orders. “It’s nothin’ he can’t handle. It’s just something to take the edge off.”
“Yer not shootin’ him up with that shite ever again.” In Sean’s hand is an ex-addict’s weakness. It is also the way for Sean to subdue Ethan until he can cement his position on his throne.
When Sean steps forward, I strike out and punch him in the jaw. “I won’t tell ye again.”
He wipes the blood from his lip, smirking as I’ve allowed him to see my weakness. “Ethan, what would ye like to do?”
I never take my eyes off Sean because I am ready to end this—consequences be damned.
Ethan comes to a stand by me. “It’s all right, Puck,” he assures me.
“Naw, it is not all right.”
“Ethan, no,” Hannah cries, also coming to a stand.
It’s three against one. Sean is outnumbered, and I like those odds.
“Ye see, I have a lot at stake, and I can’t take any chances.”
He needs Ethan as a comatose zombie because any threat, no matter how small, is still a threat.
“Why would I do that? That shite ruined my life.”
Sean mulls over his comment. “I don’t remember it bein’ all bad. In fact, I remember ye likin’ it. A lot.”
Ethan lowers his eyes, ashamed.
“But if ye don’t want it, maybe I can offer it to yer girlfriend? She’s still at Fiona’s, am I right? I like what she’s done with her hair.”
Fuck.
He cannot go there. If he does and sees Cami, all of this would have been for nothing. But I can’t allow Ethan to do this. This will destroy him.
Who do I choose?
Eva has recently cut her hair, which means Sean has eyes on the house or, at the very least, Eva. Does this mean he already knows Cami is free?
I am presented with two options. I do as Sean wants, or…I kill him.
I decide on the latter.
Shoving Ethan and Hannah aside, I launch for Sean, primed on killing him with my bare hands. I don’t think about anything but crushing this fucker. Anger explodes from me, and I attack Sean from every angle. He doesn’t stand a chance.
He stumbles backward as I punch him in the stomach, then the ribs. He crashes into a cabinet, whatever inside breaking with the force. Gripping him by the collar of his shirt, I headbutt him, relishing in the pained wheeze which escapes him.
I know this is wrong, that by doing this I put everyone at risk. But I can’t stop.
Elbowing him in the face, I holler in happiness when blood pours from his nose. I don’t know what happens when I kill him, but I don’t care. The bloodshed rouses the bloodlust, and I won’t be satisfied until he’s dead.
“Puck!” Hannah screams, but I can’t stop. This is all I’ve dreamt of.
Slamming his back against the wall, I press my forearm over his throat, choking the life from him as he turns a bright red. He doesn’t fight, and again, déjà vu overcomes me. I’m about to kill him; he should be fighting for his life.
“Let him go.”
When I hear a gun being cocked, I turn over my shoulder to see Hannah and Ethan being held at gunpoint by Flynn and Grady. I regret not killing them when I had the chance.
Sean wheezes a laugh. “Yer temper will be the death of ye, Punky.”
“From where I stand, it looks like I’ll be the death of you.”
“Kill me now, and y’ll never see yer Babydoll again.” Suddenly, something flickers behind his eyes. “Or is it possible that ye already know where she is?”
I think of what that means. If I go through with this, then what does that mean for Shay? He will be at risk because I have no doubt if anything happens to Sean, he has ordered my son pays. I can’t save them all. I’ve already witnessed that firsthand.
And with Hannah and Ethan at gunpoint, we won’t make it out of this alive.
This is why I decided on the plan because there will always be someone waiting in the shadows. I can’t risk it, but by losing my temper, I just may have done so already.
With no other choice, I let Sean go.
He gasps for air, clutching at his throat while I stand back, needing to get my shit together.
“Let them go.”
“We don’t take orders from you,” Flynn spits, lingering too close to Hannah.
Sean takes a moment to catch his breath, but continues scrutinizing me, looking for any signs that will prove his theory.
“Grady.” His voice is raspy, thanks to his windpipe being crushed. “I need ye to check on sweet Camilla for me.”
Hannah’s eyes widen because Cami isn’t where she’s supposed to be. If they find that out, then Aoife and Shay will pay for my mistake. I keep my cool, however, as I need to think fast.
Grady nods and is out the door. Flynn, however, stays.
Playtime is over as Sean orders for me to sit.
Instead, I stand near Hannah and Ethan. “It’ll be all right,” I promise them, but I don’t know how.
Grady is on his way to Aoife’s, and when she doesn’t deliver a cuffed Cami, we’re all going to pay. This is really it this time. I fucked up beyond repair. But I couldn’t allow Ethan to sacrifice himself that way.