Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 132791 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 664(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 443(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132791 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 664(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 443(@300wpm)
“Plans change.”
Apparently, so do fucking I.
Tierney nodded silently, a tear escaping her black eye.
“What is it?” I leaned forward, thumbing the tear away. “You need more morphine? Food? Something to drink?”
She shook her head, her lower lip trembling. “Lila is your number one now, not me.”
I didn’t say anything, because her assessment was correct. She waited for the denial, and when one didn’t come, she continued. “As she should be. But I need someone to put me first.”
“I’m sure you’ll find—”
“That someone is myself.”
For the longest time, I protected Tierney like she was my own daughter. Now, I had a wife to think of. A son on the way. And if Tierney went to the feds, if she put Lila at risk and made me choose between them, I knew where I’d land. So did she.
“Tier.” I pressed her hand to the steady thrum of my heart. “It’s not too late to turn this ship around. Stop fighting. Settle down. Marry a powerful man. Let him take care of you, darlin’. You’ve fought your whole life. Isn’t it time you let go?”
I would let Achilles marry her. I could count on one hand the number of men who were able to handle this banshee, and he was one of them. He’d take good care of her. Keep her safe. And, in time, she might even show him all the broken pieces in her. They could put them back together. Like a fucking 5,000-piece puzzle.
She shook her head.
“I’m tired of un-accidental car crashes. Of the smell of gunpowder and the taste of blood. Of striking alliances based on who can help me survive, not who I truly care for. Let me fight my way out of this world the way I see fit. I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.”
Survive. I detested the word. It implied luck and a degree of victimhood.
“You survived nothing, sweetheart; everything you faced, you fought and overcame. You’ll brave this storm, too.”
“I can’t.” Tears streamed down her face, fast and steady now. “I have no more fight in me. I’m exhausted.”
“Tierney…”
“Please,” she breathed out. “Trust that I’ll keep you, Lila, and my nephew safe. Because I always will. I love you all to death. Let me sacrifice the Ferrantes to save myself. That’s all I ask.”
I squeezed her hand in mine.
A silent yes.
Then I let her go.
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
TIERNAN
130 DAYS TO SELF-DESTRUCTION.
I wanted to live.
I found my purpose.
The spectacular thing worth living with my past and nightmares.
Her.
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
LILA
The first thing I saw when I woke up again was my husband, sitting next to me, his head hung between his massive shoulders.
He was staring at his folded fingers, looking comically giant on the flimsy plastic chair.
A rush of warmth spread across my chest.
He was here.
He survived.
… and so did I.
I reached to touch his hand to alert him that I was awake. His head snapped up. His eye was a pool of misery and concern. The sadness in it tore me to shreds worse than the accident did.
“How are you doing?” he asked.
I mustered a weak smile. “It was just a scratch. Me and the baby are okay.” Not that he wanted to hear about the baby. “Tell me you didn’t kill Alex, Tiernan.”
“Who cares—”
I put my palm up to stop him. “I do. I don’t want you to dwell on what happened to me, at least not yet. Distract me. Tell me what happened in Vegas.”
My husband never took orders from anyone. Let alone a hundred-and-six-pound teenager. Still, he humored me.
His jaw flexed, and he ran his tongue along his straight upper teeth. “He’s alive. We struck a deal with the Bratva. Achilles took a souvenir in the form of his brother, Jeremie. It’s all settled.”
I smiled, even though it hurt my face. “Good.”
“Are you in pain?”
“No,” I lied. The doctors prescribed me with the minimum dose of morphine, but I opted out of it, for the sake of the baby. Every breath made me feel dizzy with pain.
“Did you get hurt?”
“No.”
“Do you know who slammed into us?” I knew better than to believe it was an accident. Especially when the other vehicle managed to escape.
“Working on it.”
“Is Tierney okay?”
“She’s fine.” When he realized how snappy he sounded, he added, “Awake and pissed off, which means she’s back to normal.”
We stared at each other, the silence in my ears louder than ever before.
“What’s with you?” I cocked my head, frowning.
Did he want the baby to die? Was he disappointed that he pulled through?
“I have something to say.”
Oh, no. That didn’t sound good. I waited. When he said nothing, I nervously joked, “Are we waiting for each other’s permission to speak now? Because you know I’m defiant.”
Tiernan didn’t smile. He was very still, as usual. Sculpture-like. Ice ran in his veins. I looked down, following his line of vision.