I’m sure Giovanni and his men will find out I tipped off the Irish, if Koen can actually warn Liam in time. So, we can addthemto the list of people hunting me down… you know, forfunsies.
I sense Lily before I see her standing in my doorway.
I sniff, struggling to keep in the absolute devastation that’s ripping through me. “Koen knows I betrayed him.”
She pales.
“We have to get out of the city.Tonight. It’s not safe.”
She nods solemnly. “I’m going with you.”
I freeze, looking her way. “I can’t ask you to do that.”
“You’re not asking, I’m telling.”
“Lily—” I start.
“Briar Elizabeth Ralston, if you think for one second I’m going to leave you and that precious little angel baby to face the Irish Devil on your own, you’ve got another thing coming!”
I almost smile, despite myself. “Fine.”
God, if anything happens to Lily because of me, I will never forgive myself.She can’t stay here either; someone will probably hurt her to get to me.
“Grab what you can. I can get us a car,” she shouts, darting between the bathroom and my room, grabbing stuff.
My head shoots up in her direction. “A car? From who?”
Lily just shakes her head. “A friend. Just be ready to go when I get back.” She’s halfway out the door before she adds, “My backpack’s on my bed but… pack me some clean underwear, will ya? I forgot. And it’s a road trip, baby! Don’t forget the snacks!” She hollers as she runs down the hall, and I hear the door slam shut behind her.
I roll my eyes, laughing through my tears, tearing open my bottom drawer to grab an extra pair of leggings. Only Lily could find the fun inrunning for your life.
Ten minutes later, I’ve got one backpack for me, one for Lily, and another one filled to the brim for Remi. I’ve also left the suitcases full of clean laundry (thanks to Lily’s mom) that we still haven’t fully unpacked, to take as well.
Remi is still sleeping the night away, blissfully unaware that her entire life is about to be upended.
The plan is that when Lily gets back with the car, we’ll load it up first, and then I’ll grab Remi. She’s a heavy sleeper, so once we get her into the car and start driving, Lily and I can figure out what the fuck the rest of the plan is.
I take a minute to use the bathroom, not knowing how long we’ll have to drive before it’s safe to stop. After that’s done, I decide to do one more pass over my room to make sure I've packed everything important.
My handgun is already tucked safely into my backpack, loaded and ready to go. Extra bullets in the side pocket.
I make it two feet into my room before I freeze.Literally. My eyes go right to the broken window in the now cold, butempty,room.
One of the first things I did when I got home was seal up that stupid window latch with duct tape. It should have prevented him from running his knife through and flipping it open, but I didn’t consider he could just break it…
A chill, that has nothing to do with the cold air, runs the length of my spine.
The gun.
It’s in my backpack, sitting just beside the kitchen island by the door.
Slowly, I turn back around, walking on leaden feet towards the kitchen.
I step into the room, stopping the second I see him.
Looking every bit the dangerous mafia king that he is, Koen waits in the darkest corner of the living room. I know it’s him, despite the mask obscuring his face. His dark eyes are on me, and he’s leaning far too casually against the back wall. My eyes drop to the blade he’s playing with in his hands. The red glow of the neon sign outside glints off of the hard steel, and I inch closer to my backpack.It’s only a few feet away…
“Is Liam okay?”
