Mafia King (Young Irish Rebels #2) - Vi Carter Page 0,63
me. “You’ll get your refund, now get in the room.” Tracy pushes him, but he doesn’t look away from me or the gun as he backs into the room.
“Ma had said you were at a meeting yesterday. Was it with Lucian?” Was it about Emma?
I face my da, and he turns, walking back towards the double doors he had come through. I follow fast on his heels. “Where is she?” My voice rises. The moment we pass through the doors, I’m slammed against the wall. My da’s temper flaring.
“Hit me,” I taunt, wanting something from him.
“You are forgetting who you are, boy. You can’t come in here kicking in doors and waving a gun. That’s not how Kings act.”
I push my da’s arm away from my neck. “Taking my bride-to-be away from a King is not how other Kings act.”
“Is this how you spoke to Lucian?” My da’s question has me ready to explode.
“Are you ringing each other and telling tales? I just want Emma, and I’m gone.” It takes the unthinkable to make me see what I had. I’ve always been this way. I can’t help it. But I know Emma doesn’t deserve this fate. I don’t deserve her, but I want her.
She was given to me, and she is mine.
“I can’t allow that, son. I tried to dissuade you before. You can’t marry her.”
The gun still hangs along my side. I’m aware of its weight.
I put the gun away before I use it and live in regret. “So what now?”
My da relaxes like I’m giving in. “All I know is that this wedding can’t go ahead. Liam O’ Reagan can’t have any power in the North. No matter the cost.”
I nod like I’m weighing in on it. “The cost is Emma?”
“The cost is you or her. I won’t lose another son.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
SHAY
“She has to disappear.” My da keeps his voice low as he speaks to me.
“She’s innocent.”
My da tilts his head; his gaze diverts away from me as he runs his hand across his face. I know what’s going through his mind—that I never minded killing innocent people before.
“The bombing…” I start gaining my da’s attention. He exhales and touches the belt on his trousers. It’s a reflex he does when he’s worried. “I won’t allow that to happen again, Da.”
“Your words are dangerous.” He’s closer to me, making me think we aren’t alone.
“My actions are dangerous. I’m trying to make things right. That girl doesn’t deserve to die.”
“The decision has already been made.”
Fire flares up inside me. “Where is she?” My voice rises and bounces down the hall. I want to grab him and make him tell me, but years of discipline have my hands remaining fisted at my side. “I won’t fucking stop. I won’t let this go. I won’t have her blood on my hands.”
A door behind me creaks, I’m aware of it, but I’m not fast enough. Pain pulsates through the back of my skull as something heavy smashes into my head. My knees give way, and I hit the ground hard. My vision blurs as I roll onto my back while gripping my head. There must be an open crater in the back of it. Pain pours through me, and I try to see through the swirl of colors. Two people move above me. My da’s voice breaks through the buzz of pain.
“I had it under control.” My da’s words fade as I lose more than my vision.
“Cunt.” I manage to mumble before pain consumes me, along with the darkness.
I’m moving. Hand’s grip my arms and legs. My back bounces off the floor, and all I want to do is cradle my head that roars for protection. I’m trying to stay awake and keep my head up slightly. Each rough movement sends pain slashing at my neck. What the fuck did someone hit me with? A hammer?
“Da.” I’m not sure if he hears me, but I need him to put me down.
“We are nearly there, son.” He sounds breathless; I’m not light. He must be taking me to a hospital. I need to get Emma.
My legs hit the floor, and a wave of sickness has me swallowing. My arms are still gripped tightly. Large hands wrap around my legs, and we are moving again.
Sickness chokes me, but through it all, I hear a soft female whimper.
I’m released onto the ground and try to open my eyes. Pain explodes across the back of my skull, and I roll.