Something solid slammed into my head. My mind went tumbling alongside my body as I collapsed on the ground.Dizziness and the urge to vomit struck me so roughly that I nearly passed out. I didn’t have time to gather myself before whatever hit me on the head was smashed against my leg. An involuntary yell ripped up my throat.
My stomach roiled and a full body ache spread from my head and leg. Shadows descended down around me, and when I finally gathered the awareness to glance up, I took in the five men above me. The guard who spoke—O’Nunan—smirked as he swung a baseball bat over his shoulder.
“Hey,Boss.”
My head spun and the nausea grew worse, but I held myself together, even though blood gushed from a cut in my temple. I’d bitten the inside of my cheek when they’d hit me in the head, so the taste of blood soaked the inside of my mouth, too. “O’Nunan. Here to kill me?”
“What do you think?” O’Nunan’s smirk widened and he gestured at Gilmore, who held a handgun firmly in his hand. “But first, we’re going to get some payback.”
“For what?” I spat blood onto the ground next to his foot and grinned up at him. “If you’re going to kill a man, at least tell him why.”
O’Nunan’s expression flickered briefly, but I didn’t miss it. “You killed my brother.”
I burst out laughing. “I killed a lot of brothers. I’m even killing mine right now.”
He frowned.
“Which one is yours?” I leaned back, the throbbing in my head and leg growing. I had to give it to O’Nunan, he had balls. When I’d cleared my men from the backyard, I hadn’t expected an attack because I still had soldiers guarding the perimeter. The irony was that O’Nunan and some of these men with him were part of that crew.
O’Nunan stood straighter and pointed the end of the bat at my chest. “Kip.”
I raised an eyebrow and his expression turned stormy.
“Kip Young. The man you beat to death in your office,” he hissed.
Ah. Young. The same man who’d been pointing a gun at Conall’s head. I’d reacted impulsively that day, but I supposed he would have died either way. “Half brothers? Is that why you have different last names?”
“No.” His tone turned lighter again, like he’d gathered his anger and hidden it away. Smart. Men who react in rage made stupid mistakes. Young had been one of my very few. He still would have died, of course, for his treachery, but I would’ve killed him in a much more poetic way. “He took our mother’s last name. He didn’t want to rise in this company on our father’s back.”
“Well, that’s admirable. Too bad he had to die.” I grinned and shrugged despite the agony that streaked heat through me. My vision was blurred slightly from the hit to the head. I probably had a concussion or worse. “That’s life in my business. You betray me, you point a gun atmypet, you die, Mr. O’Nunan. You know how it works. It’s the same with you and how you’re going to die for this.”
O’Nunan laughed and so did the other four men with him. “Or maybe we’ll run the company.”
I cocked my head. “And here I thought I’d need to take you seriously. What? You think the company will just fall into your lap?” Itsked. “That’s a child’s way of thinking. The second you take your shot, my men will be on the hunt. How do you even expect to get out of here alive?”
“Kill them all.” He paused, then smirked again. “Although, I might have some fun withConallfirst.”
My muscles locked up and a blazing fury scalded my insides. I gritted my teeth but forced myself to stay calm. With the amount of pain I was in, there was no way I could take on five men anyway, but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t die if it meant protecting Conall.
O’Nunan crouched to my level—his first mistake. He flashed me his white teeth. “Conall’s a sexy man, isn’t he? A fucking tease. Shaking his ass around in those tight jeans like we won’t ever have the chance at him. He’s so obedient to you, but I wonder if he’d be the same to me if I make him take my cock? What do you think?”
I smiled sinisterly. “I think you need to assess your surroundings better and stop underestimating your enemy.” My head pounded, but that didn’t stop me from headbutting him as hard as I could in the face. Thecrunchfrom his nose was satisfying.
He screamed and fell backward, clutching at his face as blood gushed out of his nostrils. Two of his men rushed toward him, while Gilmore kicked me in the back with a heavy boot. The heel of his shoe slammed into the base of my spine, and I groaned, pain exploding up my back.
I laughed despite the discomfort that spread up my back. “You’re amateurs. If you were smart, you would’ve killed me by now.”
O’Nunan’s men helped him to his feet, and he glared over the hand pressed to his bleeding nose. “Fuck no. I’m going to drag this out for as long as possible. Make you fucking hurt.”
I already did. It didn’t matter what he did to me, it wouldn’t compare to the anguish of Conall being mad at me. They could torture me all they wanted, I’d survive.
I smirked. “I’d like to see you try, Mr. O’Nunan.”
He raised the baseball bat again, and I jutted out my chin, ready for the hit. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of begging.This was how a Killough went out—with pride. Though, I had regrets. Leaving Conall so early wasn’t part of my life plan. I hope he knew how much I loved him.
20
CONALL
