“Served myself on a platter to them. Lena would never…” He swallowed. “I broke her. I’m the reason she did what she did. The blame rests where it should. I broke up our family. She’s paying the price now.”
Lost for words, the sounds of doors being flung open drew my attention.
Screaming out a warning, I yelled, “There’s a gunman. Active shooter,” and watched them all drop to the ground.
Senior’s hand squeezed mine again as I watched the others scramble toward me. “They’re… here?”
The slurred words were barely understandable, but I squeezed his hand and rasped, “Yeah. They’re here.”
Eoghan reached us first, then Brennan and Declan. Junior appeared a second later.
Eoghan grabbed something from his pocket, a knife I saw a second later, then after rearranging Da and shoving my coat away, sliced down the back of Senior’s. I watched as Brennan started helping, baring the open wounds to our gaze.
Declan grunted at the sight because the damage was extensive.
“Hollow-point bullet,” Eoghan grated out, drawing something else from his pocket.
Duct tape.
“You carry that wherever you go?” I bit off.
“In my line of work, yeah.”
Senior groaned as his youngest taped up his back then carefully turned him over to deal with his front.
“Where’s—” He gulped. “—my boy?”
A wild look appeared in Eoghan’s eyes as the tape started shifting against Aidan’s blood-slick skin, and I closed mine a second, well aware that if the EMTs didn’t get here soon, Aidan would bleed out.
I peered up at the road, praying I’d see Kid’s Mini, and when I did, I rasped, “He’s coming, Da. He’s driving like a lunatic.”
His smile lit his face up. “That’s—” He sucked in a breath that sounded like a death rattle. “—my boy.”
“Fuck,” Junior ground out.
Eoghan, Junior, Declan, and Brennan worked hard to tape up the massive crater where the hollow point had done its damage.
I just held our father’s hand, but as they worked, Senior told me, “Second you walked into my house, it was like seeing Frank again.” He smiled. “I miss him, but I’ll see him soon. Paddy’s back. You won’t be alone—”
“Shut up, Da,” Brennan snapped. “You’re not allowed to die.”
My teeth clenched at that, and I bowed my head, trying not to fucking cry, but Christ, it was impossible.
My throat was thick with tears as I rasped, “He’s right, Da. You’re not allowed to die.”
“Da…” Senior smiled again. That ghostly wisp of a smile. “Look after your mother until she comes to me.”
And that was when his eyes closed.
He sucked in the longest breath imaginable before it rattled out, stuttering to a halt.
And I knew,I knew, that he was gone.