The ride is slow and arduous, with my instinct to step on the gas and drive faster. But I let her go. Just ahead of me. Still, it feels weirdly symbolic. Am I getting sentimental in my old age? Everything feels symbolic and poignant.
Her goodbye kiss. The way she drives away from me. I can’t shake the feeling that something terrible’s going to happen.
But we pull up to her house, and I’m parked a good bit behind. I wait, while she takes the kids out of the car and heads inside. She shuts and locks the door behind her, and still I wait. I watch to be sure no one followed them, that they’re alone. I wait just until I see the son of a bitch she calls her ex lurking in the shadows.
I’m tempted to get out and call to him, to draw the gun I’ve got tucked in the harness around my waist, and point it at his scrawny head. If I fucking knew he ever put his hands on Sheena before…
“You motherfucker,” I mutter to myself. “Didn’t wait long, did you?”
Didn’t think he would, though. We had a few locals spread the word they were returning. He’s been lying in wait.
I watch what he does. He isn’t alone. He nods to one man, then another. These fucking douchebags think they’re not so transparent but I can see right through them.
I tug a hat on my head and drape a jacket around me, all black so I blend in with the surroundings, when a text comes in from Lachlan.
We’re here. O’Gregors are about. Didn’t see us, we came in one by one. You see anything?
I text back.
Aye. Fucking douchebag ex hovering outside.
Lachlan: Don’t kill him. Not yet. You’ll fuck things up.
I mutter to myself but don’t reply just yet. It’s time for me to go in though.
I’m going in.
I open the car door when I feel someone behind me and cool metal pushed up to my neck. “Make a fucking sound, I kill you.”Chapter 18SheenaI despise being back here. The trash bin’s overflowing, the sink still filled with dirty dishes, and it smells like garbage and weed. I hate that Nolan’s plan involves us being here, but I know he has reasons. We can’t lie in hiding from the O’Gregors any longer. It’s time we draw them out, make it clear where our loyalties lie.
I hate that my family’s been dragged through this. I feel responsible, somehow, even though their very presence in Stone City puts them in contact with the O’Gregors. Reason doesn’t matter at times like these, though. My instinct to gather my family to me and run is stronger than ever.
“I hate it here,” Fiona says, echoing my own thoughts. “Why are we back? I don’t understand why the McCarthys kicked us out like that.”
“Right,” Tiernan says, shaking his head. “I actually thought for a while they were friends of ours. Bloody hell.”
My heart squeezes. I can’t believe it didn’t even dawn on me to explain anything to them.
“Listen,” I say. “I can’t speak freely here. I don’t know who’s watching or what the plan is, but you have to trust me. Can you trust me?”
Fiona nods first. “Of course. Yes, of course I can trust you.”
Tiernan finally nods, too. “Of course is right,” he says. His jaw hardens. “And we don’t need the McCarthys. We can get by on our own.”
His words make a lump form in my throat. I want to tell them that it’ll be okay, that we can trust them. Instead, I gather up my courage, draw myself up to my full height, and nod. “Aye,” I tell them. “We will get through this. Once we know for sure the O’Gregors aren’t going to hurt us… we’ll regroup. This is part of the plan, though.” I’m afraid if I tell them the plan, we could be overheard.
“What about mum?” Fiona asks. Her normally pretty eyes grow hard when she speaks of her.
“We’ll deal with her. Don’t you worry about her, now, sweetheart.”
She sighs. “I’m going to get Sam’s toys.”
I reach over and ruffle her hair when I get a buzz on my phone.
I see Nolan’s name come up and go to swipe it on.
“I’m getting this stinking trash out,” Tiernan says. He ties up the bag as I open the text.
It isn’t a text but a video. I blink in surprise at first. I can’t comprehend what I’m seeing. It’s Nolan, but he’s tied up and gagged, his head hanging as if he’s passed out, or worse.
The door shuts as Tiernan steps outside.
The words below Nolan’s picture are even worse than the image. Chilling.
Give us your brother or the boyfriend dies.
“Tiernan!” I scream. “No!”
But Tiernan doesn’t come back.
Fiona comes into the kitchen with the baby on her hip, her eyes wide. Her face pales when I show her the text. She looks to the window, but I tell her not to. “Go to your room,” I tell her in a hoarse whisper. “Take the baby and hide in the closet. Go!”