I turned my face away and held my breath.
He slowly knelt in front of me, trailing his fingers over my thighs, his dirty nails scraping the fabric of my jeans. “Brothers are supposed to share, right? Plus, what I do here will pale in comparison to where you’ll end up.”
He moved his hands to the button of my jeans, but before he could get too far, I kneed him in the nose. He stumbled back as blood gushed over his face. I freed my wrists in the swift move William taught me and shoved against Angus, toppling us both to the floor.
He laughed maniacally. “Oh, she’s had training! This should be fun.”
I scrambled to my feet and stood in a defensive position, pulling out the knife William insisted I keep in my boot.
Angus got up and stalked me as we circled one another. “Do you even know how to use that, little girl?”
“I can manage.”
Angus chuckled, but a loud bang came from outside the door. He pounced on me while I was distracted and dragged me to the floor, then grappled to get on top of me. I elbowed his face a couple of times until he started bleeding from his mouth. I gripped his hips with my thighs and used my core to roll myself on top of him.
The bastard laughed. “Funny, this is the same position William found me in with Shannon.”
He was still fighting for control of the knife, and it slipped from my grip, slicing through my forearm, but I barely felt a thing. I rolled forward above him and tumbled away, but before I could get my bearings, he caught hold of my ankle. I twisted and stomped his face with my other foot. He grunted in pain and stabbed the knife into my calf, and I yelped.
In a flash, Angus’s body was kicked to the side.
Strong arms lifted me off the floor, and I fought back, but Finn’s familiar Irish accent spoke from behind me. “It’s Finn. You’re alright. You’re okay.”
My body relaxed slightly, but I watched in anticipation as William hovered over Angus on the floor. I’d never heard his voice so devoid of feelings. His eyes filled with such rage. This was William in battle, and I was glad I wasn’t on the receiving end of his wrath.
“Get up, you piece of shite.” William kicked Angus again for good measure.
Angus lifted himself off the floor and wiped the blood trailing from his mouth.
He pointed an accusing finger at William. “Everything I did was for you, Will! Never forget that. I’m your brother.”
They stalked each other in a circle, and William letout an acrid laugh. “You’re pulling that shit now? After years of mental and physical abuse? Tormenting me the last several years?”
Angus still had a grip on the knife, and his eyes glinted with malice. “It was to make you better! You were capable of so much more. We could have built this together. And you turned your back on me over what? Some pussy? Look at you now.” He pointed toward me. “Still the same, guided by your emotions and not your head. Somebody had to teach you about the way the world works, boy. You don’t walk away from family.”
“You’re not my family. Nairie’s my future. And when you’re rotting in your cell, I want you to think about what you traded your life for, this kingdom you think you’ve built. It’s a type of hell that will never see the light of day again.”
Angus scoffed. “Still a disappointment even after all these years. I should have ended this when Mum brought you home from the hospital. What a waste.”
In a swift move I didn’t know Angus was capable of, he whipped a gun from his back and pointed it at me. There was a loud bang, and Finn shielded me with his body. I waited for the pain to set in, but when I searched my body for wounds, I couldn’t find any.
I looked up and saw Angus on the floor with a bullet hole between his eyes. William stood over him with his own gun in his hand.
Finn released me and grabbed William’s shoulder. “You did what you had to, Will. It’s okay. It’s done.”
William’s glazed eyes found Finn and then me. He looked at me, as if assessing me for damage. A flicker of fear crossed his face.
I ran and leaped into his open arms. He gripped metightly like our lives depended on it and stroked the back of my hair as I silently cried against his shoulder.
William gently whispered, “Did he touch you? Are you alright?”
I pulled back and looked at William with tears in my eyes. “Just over the clothes. He didn’t get farther than that. He said there’s a shipment with people on it. We have to help them.”
William gripped me tighter and laid my head back against his chest. “Everyone’s safe, love. We got to them in time. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. You’re safe now.”
I clutched onto him like a lifeline, and he carried me out of the room since my calf was heavily bleeding now. I tucked my face into his neck and tried to calm my breathing.
Once outside, I lifted my head from his shoulder and looked around. Police swarmed the area, and Shannon was face down on the gravel with a knee on her back pinning her down as she screamed like a banshee.
