“I’mbraw,little fox, truebraw,it’s all right. Your grandad, he’s-”
She looks past me and pulls away, dropping to her knees next to Collin. “No. No no no, I’m so sorry Grandad. You should have come into the room with me! We’ll…” She frantically pats his chest and finds the wound on his left pectoral, over his heart. “Get me something to stop the blood! Kai, get me some bandages and he needs a doctor! Where’s the doctor?”
Collin smiles, and I wince, seeing the blood staining his teeth. “You called me Grandad.”
“I’m sorry!” Luna sobs, “Do you want me to call you Grandfather? Grandpa?”
“No, Grandad’s good,” he manages. I gently lift his arm, putting his hand over Luna’s on his chest as he coughs, spitting up more blood. “I didn’t know. I would never have brought you here. I didn’t…”
“I know, Grandad, I do. It’s not your fault.” Luna’s sobbing so hard that her sentences are coming out in short little spurts.“Thank you for coming for me. Thank you for wanting me to be in your family. I’m sorry it wasn’t sooner.”
“Me, too,” he groans, and his head rolls loosely as he squints at me. “Thank you for telling me I had a granddaughter.”
“I was selfish…” I want to apologize, to make amends, but his eyes are already blank. His soul has left his body. Luna wails, rocking back and forth.
“I just got him.”
“C’mon love, we need to go. I’ll have our people bring him, don’t worry. Come now.” I lift her in my arms, waiting for two of Gary’s men to gently carry Collin out.
Luna’s silent on the jet. Conversation eddies and flows around us, everyone relieved and boisterous after the fight. Scooping her up, I settle her on my lap.
“How are ya feeling?”
“I lost my grandfather. And I killed my uncle, so that’s pretty bad,” she says listlessly.
“He wasn’t much of an uncle to ya,” I say reasonably. “And he was trying to kill me.”
While we were navigating the craters in the lawn, Collin’s son Kurt surged out of the house, screaming at us and firing randomly. He’d either been shot or was drunk, because he couldn’t aim for shite. But he was charging toward us and a bullet would find Luna or me. I put her down and behind me so I could pull my gun, but he got me first.
The bullet thudded against my chest. It felt like getting hit by a car, knocking me over.
Luna stumbled down, grabbing my Glock, and in one graceful swing, she aimed and pulled the trigger, the bullet hitting her uncle in the neck. I could see his white, shocked face before he toppled over into the mud.
Dropping the gun, she waved her hands mindlessly, like she was shaking off water or shooing away a bee. “Don’t die too, please don’t die!” She curled over my chest, weeping.
“No, baby. I’ve got a bulletproof vest on, he dinna hurt me.” It’s gonna leave a bruise the size of Mars, but that’s not important. Getting to my feet with a groan, I picked her up again, ignoring her protests, and headed for the armored car.
The gunfire was already slowing down enough to hear Uncle Lachlan negotiating with Uncle Cormac. “Are ya a hard ‘no’ on arson? ‘Cause I really think we can wrap this whole thing up with fire.”
“I wish you’d never called him about me,” Luna says, staring out the jet window. “Then he wouldn’t have died.”
“His brother was a piece of shite and he would have crossed Collin sooner than later.” I kissed the top of her head. “At least this way, ya had a chance to get to know each other. I know Collin wanted that more than anything.” It feels like a fist is gripping my heart, squeezing. “I should have told ya sooner. I’m so sorry, love.”
“That doesn’t matter now,” she says listlessly. “My parents shouldn’t have died in that car accident. I shouldn’t have been on that island. Grandad shouldn’t have been killed by his own fucking brother and I hope Malcolm rots in hell. It all happenedthe way it was going to, whether we wanted it to or not. Life is like that.”
“When I couldn’t find ya in that room…” I swallow, squeezing her a bit. “I love ya, my sweet bride. I should have told you the moment I realized it.”
Her fingers run along mine, linking them. “And I love you. I should have been brave enough to say it first.”
“As long as ya say it. That’s all I need.”
Her red, swollen eyes look up at mine. “What happens now?”
My jaw works as I try not to grit my teeth. “As Chieftain, Uncle Cormac stayed behind to lay down the law with Malcolm’s oldest son, Robert. He’s the new head of the Harris Mafia. Like any other self-serving mafia fuck, he seemed happier about taking over than upset about his dad gettin’ killed. He has no interest in moving past their usual activity in guns, strip clubs, and drugs.”
“What about Armstrong and the gas?”
“That’s being taken care of,” I say. “It’s gone for good.”
