“I know,” I murmured, sending her a smile. Real or not, she was Sloan’s ma.
“Hmm.” She sat back against the bench. “I still like it here. It’s nice. Quiet. Away from all the workin’ of the mob business.”
I chuckled, earning me a frown from Ronan.
Bridget glanced his way and hummed. “I know. He can’t see me, so I won’t ask ye to talk. Let me tell ye about some of me favorite flowers.”
I grinned. “Please.”
10
SLOAN
I rolled my bare shoulders and winced as the stitches pulled and a spike of pain streaked through me. Hot and blazing, the sensation was a reminder of why I was here, naked as the day I was born and standing in front of the two men in our cellblock showers. The only piece of clothing I wore was a pair of flip-flops because I wasn’t about to stand on these tiles in my bare feet.
The men tied up in front of me were the same two who had scampered like cowards. Hanson’s minions. They’d run, but they shouldn’t have thought about attacking me in the first place. Hanson had heard about his first man, stabbed to death, but I had a bigger message to send him—I wasn’t weak, even in Rikers, and I wouldn’t back down.
A new rage burned inside me, mixed with a feeling I hadn’t experienced since my brother’s death. Anxiety and desperation. My chest was being clawed at, sharp nails digging into my lungs and dragging through my organs, and the urge tokill,kill,killflooded me. I was in survival mode. My family needed me—Fionn and Conall—and I wasn’t going to stop surviving this place until I was out of it.
I held up a shiv, the same one I’d taken from the man I’d killed, and turned it in my hand, the steel gleaming under the lights. “I don’t take being attacked lightly. This ismyterritory.”
I raised my gaze to them and smirked, and the one on the right—a young man with an array of tattoos weaving across his chest—let out a whimper. The second guy was older, with a receding hairline and scared, bloodshot blue eyes. Reyes had happily informed me that he was a simple thief by the name of McAroy.
“Don’t worry, I won’t kill your families because you walked away, but you? You’re not so lucky.” I took one step toward them and the young, tattooed man flinched. I laughed. “I won’t drag it out.”
I glanced behind myself at my men. There were at least ten of them, ready to lay their lives on the line for me. Doherty leaned against the wall to my right, arms crossed and eyes dark as he stared at the men he’d tied to the faucets earlier. I’d given him the job to retrieve them, and he hadn’t failed. He never did, even outside of these walls.
“Watch the door,” I said, even though I knew Taffart and one of the other officers on our payroll were outside guarding the showers.
A couple of men moved closer to the entrance while I closed the distance between me and my current playthings. They struggled against their bonds, and I grinned meanly at them.
I waved at my naked body. “Don’t mind me, gentlemen, but I don’t want to get any blood on my clothes. You understand. Better to keep the evidence of your murders off me.”
McAroy said something, but it was muffled by the gag—which happened to be a pair of stained underwear. I didn’t know who they belonged to.
I shushed him and shook my head. “Nothing you say will change this. Youagreedto kill me for Hanson.”
I crouched in front of the young man and tapped the shiv against his nose, and he sobbed, fat blobs of tears falling down his cheeks. He stared at me pleadingly, as if it would help.
It wouldn’t.
I lowered the tip of the shiv down to the base of his neck and pressed in, blood beading at first, then growing in intensity as I dug the sharp end deeper into his vulnerable flesh.
His whimpering grew louder and more tears spilled. He cried something behind the gag, and I grinned widely as I began to drag the shiv down.
“This is going to hurt,” I whispered. “Scream, little boy. Scream.”
And scream he did, but the satisfaction of the soundwas lost to his gag. I took my time, slicing down his chest and stomach until he trembled so hard it messed with my artwork. Boredom set in when he finally passed out, so I slit his throat, and he gurgled before slumping against his bonds.
I turned to McAroy and smiled, pleased with myself. “Your turn.”
By the time I was done with McAroy, he was sliced up as well, with Hanson’s name carved into his chest. He slumped forward, his head drooping and a shiv sticking out of his throat. I washed off the blood in the shower closest to them before I grabbed my clothes from Gallagher with a sharp nod and dressed.
Taffart strode in and winced at the sight. “Damn, Boss. You weren’t kidding when you said you were going to send Hanson a message.”
I smirked, pleased with my work now that some of my anxieties were soothed. I might be confined in jail, but I still had a point to prove. I was Sloan Killough. No one could threaten me and get away with it.
“Make sure Hanson is the one to find them.” I patted Taffart on the shoulder as I strode past.
