The door to the room opened a little, banged against the piano, and Aidan and Nancy both jumped and clutched at each other.
“Come out, Aidan, or I’ll send a pretty redhead to God in your place,” Jim wheezed.
“Stay in there!” Tara Donovan called, and then I heard her yelp. I pictured Mr. D’s face if he had to come and identify his sister in the morgue. Aidan’s distressed cry when she yelped again made up my mind. I put my gun down on the top of the piano.
“Help me move this,” I told John, and to give him his due, he came over at once with no arguments.
“Teo,no—” Aidan ran to me, tried to pull me away from the piano, but I grabbed his hands.
“I have to do this, baby. It’s not only my job, but it’s my privilege, too, to keep people safe. Finch’s sister is out there, and she needs help. Okay?” I put my hands on his face and looked at him until he nodded, and then I kissed him.
“Come back to me,” he whispered. “You have to promise.”
“I promise. And you—I want you to pray for me. For all of us. Can you do that?”
“I can do that.”
I smiled with a gentleness and confidence I did not feel, kissed his forehead, then sent him back to the corner with his mother.
“You ready?” John asked me, and I nodded, and together we shoved the piano back enough to give me room to slip out the door. I crouched, opened it slightly, and stuck my gun through first. I could hear shuffling in the hallway, but no shots fired at me, so I slid out and pulled the door shut behind me.
Jim had his hand wrapped around Tara’s arm, dragging her along. She was in a bad way. By the looks of her, she’d been close to the point of impact of that armored truck. She was covered in blood, her clothes ripped and dirty, limping as he yanked her forward in front of him, but she kept struggling with him, pulling him off-balance.
Jim didn’t look much better, though I wondered how much of the blood was his own. I could see terror in his eyes as I advanced on him, gun straight and steady, while his own wavered around.
“Where’s Aidan?” he demanded.
“You get me instead. Let Ms. Donovan go and I’ll let you live.”
I really didn’t expect him to go for it; I assumed we’d have some back and forth and then I’d have to shoot him, but I’d forgotten how surprising the O’Learys could be. Jim let her go and she fell to her knees. I kept my gun on him and moved forward a step, but she shook her head, warning in her eyes.
“Put the gun down,” I barked.
The hand holding it dropped to his side, but he didn’t move to put his weapon on the ground. “I wanna make a deal.”
“You made one. I’ll let you go, but you need to put the gun down.”
“No, I want another deal. I wantprotection.” His tongue flicked out, and he glanced down the stairs to his right.
“Protection? Why the hell would I give you that? You tried to kill Aidan and you just threatened Ms. Donovan’s life.”
“I tried to warn him off taking his vows, that’s all. I’m no killer.” From the floor, Ms. Donovan gave him the dirtiest look I’d ever seen her make. “Isavedyou, didn’t I?” he said to her, his voice taking on a whining note that made her wince. “I pulled you out from the wreckage downstairs, got you up here without those crazy bastards noticing? I wasn’treallygoing to kill you, Ms. Donovan, I’d never do that. I watched you grow up, I’d never—”
Behind me I heard the music room door opening again, and Jim’s face changed as he looked over my shoulder, filled with outrage and hate. He brought his gun up, aiming behind me.
I didn’t hesitate. I shot him three times to the chest, perfectly placed.
Angelo Messina would’ve been proud of me.
Chapter Forty-Four
Aidan
Iwas so focused on Mom that it was only when I heard the gunshots outside that I looked up from her and realized Dad was no longer in the room with us.
“Johnny,” Mom whispered, clutching at my upper arm so hard it hurt. I yanked her hand off me and scrambled to my feet, the heavy skirts of the robe making me stumble as I did, and then I ran as fast as I could to the door. Fear made me fast—fear and the dead silence in the hallway outside.
I shoved my way out the door, crying out, “Teo? Dad? Are you—” But I broke off with a surge of relief. They were both standing there in the hallway side by side, facing down the hall. Teo whirled around and tried to block my view, but I pushed past him. “Tara?”
