I search for any reasoning as to why he is acting so manic. How someone who is given a firearm and allowed to protect and serve society can be so mentally off.
There isn’t one.
There never will be a reason. Just the same as Jason. Convincing everyone he is a good man when really, it’s just the mask he wears.
Jason Parkin and Drake Kirkland are the same. Disgusting people who abuse power, who take the trust they never earned, and crush the paper hearts they’re given.
It has to end.
My butt hits the edge of the kitchen island. I’ve reached a spot where I can’t leave. Drake runs at me and his hand clasps around my throat, cutting off my airway.
My eyes widen as I try to claw free. “Jason…” I grind out, then realize I’ve said the wrong name.
″Who’s Jason?” Drake asks, letting me free. I’ve confused him enough to pause his little game, as he called it earlier. Gasping for air, I pull back my fist and punch Drake’s jaw. The pain in my knuckles is immediate and I continue to punch Drake in his sides and face until he stumbles back. I make a beeline for the knives on the counter and grab a small slicing knife , knowing it’d be harder to pull from his body.
He advances, so focused on me that he doesn’t notice the weapon in my hand, and once he grabs me, I make my move. One hand wraps around the back of his neck, pulling him close to me and the other that’s holding the knife pushes into the side of his neck. His eyes widen as I pull out the knife.
Ten seconds and he’ll be dead. I drive the knife into his neck again.
Nine seconds. I pull it out again.
Eight seconds. His weak hands clutch around mine as blood squirts from his neck. I stab again.
Seven seconds. He tries to push me away.
Six seconds. He stumbles back.
Five. Four. Three. Two. One.
He drops. His body is lifeless, though he’s still got a faint heartbeat, and I stare as the blood drains from his neck. I’ve just killed a man. A police officer.
My head pounds again and I reach up to grab it.
″Haley. Haley, come help me get these off. You’re safe now.” Cillian is in the distance, but I can’t focus on him. Fatigue courses through me. I need to get some sleep.
Chapter thirty
“Boss?”Scottyinterruptsmeas I explain to the Bratva the miscommunication that caused Sean to steal bitcoin from one of their men. Of course, I never exactly told them that GaelicLord was my brother, but now, we’re trying to work out an agreement to keep the peace.
″What is it, Scotty?” I snap, turning to glare at him.
″Cillian missed two check-ins. Her shift ended two hours ago.”
Fuck.
I loosen the tie around my neck, suddenly unable to breathe. My hand goes to my temple, rubbing as I try to control the emotions riddling me.
″Excuse me,” I say, turning to Pakan, the Russian boss of their organized crime. “There’s a security breach I have to deal with.”
He nods. “We will talk later. This isn’t over,” he says as I leave.
The second we leave the restaurant where I met with Pakan, I clench my fist and ask, “What’s going on Scotty?”
″The systems have been down. Someone cut the power to the cameras and the alarm notifications. Sean didn’t see it because there was a loop playing on the cameras. Cillian’s and Haley’s phone locations are pinging at her house.”
″And we didn’t know for two hours!” I bellow, rage pulsating so strongly that I see white.
The churning in my stomach worsens as I think of all the possibilities of what could’ve happened to her. My foot rapidly taps against the floor. She could just as well be fucking dead, and it would be my fault because I didn’t keep her safe. Scotty weaves through Boston traffic quickly, navigating the lane closures and one-way streets as he comes to a screeching halt in front of the brownstone. The door is closed. Cillian’s truck is parked across the street. If I didn’t know they’d been MIA for two hours, I would think this is just another day for her.