Page 71 of Chaos Luck Wrath

Layne had been so distracted by Mick’s resurrection that she hadn’t realized there was another goon waiting to strike.

Weakly, she attempted to scramble onto all fours, only to have the rubber sole of a boot force her back down onto her stomach. Mick had a satisfied smirk stretched across his weathered face as he walked toward her.

“As I’ve always said, you’re a stupid little bitch,” Mick spoke with such disdain that she was certain that she’d be seeing either brimstone and hellfire or pearly gates soon enough.

Despite the sweet allure of unconsciousness wanting to drag her under, she stubbornly willed herself to keep her eyes mostly open. However, it was questionable how much she succeeded in those efforts as her recollection of the trip up to the former ballroom one floor above was spotty after she had been yanked to her feet.

When the double doors swung open to the expansive room, the lights from the chandeliers were blinding in comparison to the rest of the lack of lighting throughout the house. With one hand of the miscreant latched on the back of her neck, and the other squeezing her upper arm painfully, she had nowhere to go.

Layne was still feeling wobbly on her feet, and as she looked at the occupants of the sweeping expanse of the ballroom her remaining strength was ready to check-the-fuck-out.

There were hired hands all around the room, more than she wanted to give her brother credit for. At the center of it all, Liam was standing there with a stupid fucking glass of whiskey in his hand like he suddenly was the epitome of sophistication amongst douchebags. To his right, tied to an ornate gilded chair, was Joey.

Controlling her facial expressions was never a strong suit, and seeing half of her heart strapped down to the chair with obvious wounds to his face and bloodied clothes made it nearly impossible. There was no telling just how much of Liam or Mick’s hatred he had endured in her absence. With the skull mask covering the lower half of her face, she considered it a blessing in this instance.

“Sis!” Liam exclaimed like he was seeing her for the first time in years. “I am so happy you made it! Fuck, you certainly took your time, didn’t you?”

Mick walked past her to join Liam at his side, wrapping an arm around his shoulders, like a proud papa. “I told you, Liam. It just requires a little bit of patience.”

Still being detained by the asshole at her back, she began quickly assessing the already dire situation. Her emerald eyes kept glancing over at Joey. His eyes were shut and all she could do was pray to see them open one more time. Duct tape was not only covering his mouth but bound his hands behind his back and adhered his ankles to the legs of the chair.

“You got me here, Li. Congrats,” she spoke up without looking at her brother. Layne took notice of several other men standing along the far walls. Even with her anticipated support on its way, they were still outnumbered.

She continued, “I guess this means you win.” Her words lacked any level of sincerity.

The sound of her voice prompted Joey to open his eyes wearily. He was alive and that in and of itself was motivation to keep fighting. If she walked in here only to find him dead, she would have gone blind unleashing the wrath of all hell’s inner circles.

Sipping from his glass, Liam was all too happy as he smiled. “Oh, I’ve always been the winner, Layne. I’ve just been waiting to see how long you were willing to keep pathetically playing along.”

Her eyes met Joey’s, trying to convey reassurance to him with looks alone. It was interrupted when Mick stepped between them, breaking her line of sight.

Layne ground her teeth together as she glared at Mick. “How the hell are you even here?”

The man who she could have sworn had been killed in the dining room of O’Reilly Manor, seemingly had an aversion to death.

Mick grinned at her before turning and walking to Joey’s side, gripping his shoulder firmly. “Well, it seems your fucktoy here isn’t as great of a shot as he thinks he is. You should have seen his face when I caught him trying to set an explosive on my truck last night.” He gave a laugh reminiscent of a clown on crack.

He lifted two fingers to a spot just behind his ear, tapping a scar at the base of his skull by his hairline. “Call it a blessing from God, maybe even a damn miracle, but the bullet entered behind my ear here and came out just above my occipital bone. Head wounds bleed like a fucker though, don’t they?”

“And your funeral?” Layne inquired.

“A setup,” Mick responded with a shrug like he was discussing the weather. “I had a real come-to-Jesus moment after that night. I realized with your dad withering away and Liam having no one to guide him, there was a real opportunity to see to it that the business remained in good hands. He’s been so kind to make sure I’ve had adequate accommodations.” Mick gestured at the room they were all in.

Liam added his side of the story, “You look as shocked as I was, Layne. When Uncle Mick showed up at my door, I couldn’t believe it. He explained what really happened that night and how he wanted nothing but to see the family business thrive in the hands of its rightful owner. The only problem is you kept doing what you fucking do. You kept ignoring your place.”

Taking another sip of the whiskey, Liam went to the other side of Joey and spat at the side of his face. “Then, you invite this asshole to live permanently between your legs and reap the benefits of a business that isn’t his.”

Joey grunted and pulled against his restraints in the chair. Layne’s body tensed, waiting on edge for Liam to be stupid enough to do something that would force her to try to take on every fucking soul in this room by herself.

Chuckling, Liam looked at his sister. “To add insult to injury, you had to drag his brother into it. Speaking of which, I’m sure he’s not too far. The great thing about Eric was he knew how to make a home a fortress, so my men will find him before he gets too far.”

Liam looked at Mick like he was some savior. “Nevertheless, Mick has been guiding me and teaching me how to take back control of what is rightfully mine. If it wasn’t for him, I may have eaten a bullet after Dad died.”

If only.

Her brother continued to reminisce, “I was in a dark place, Layne. But once Mick helped me see my true potential, he made sure that my failed assassination attempt on your life became my advantage. He has been by my side nearly every day, ensuring that I never fail again.”

Jesus Christ, Layne would have thought that Liam was ready to drop to his knees and start sucking Mick’s cock the way he was placing the man on a pedestal.

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