Page 35 of One Kill

“Ry, if I were seeing someone and you referred to her as ‘pussy at the ready’, I’d punch you in the fucking throat for your disrespect.” I cock my head to the side to make sure he knows I’m not fucking joking around.

“Fair.”

“Good.”

His questions follow me all the way home. I think about it as I pull up onto the driveway, ponder the reason why he’d even be interested in who I’m fucking. He definitely never has been before. I wonder if it was an innocent thing because Bridget said something now that the girls are on again. Then, as I walk up the steps to my room, I berate myself, thinking my reaction was too visceral, giving me away like a bad poker player.

But the second I walk into my room, all thoughts of Riley are gone. Vanished.

A lot like Jordyn fucking O’Neill.

Gone. Again.

Chapter Sixteen

J

WhenIwokeupsurrounded by the scent of what can only be described as pure Murphy, I almost rolled over and went straight back to sleep. Only the pain shooting through my ribs reminded me what the fuck happened in the early hours of this morning.

The house was empty when I left Murphy’s bedroom, dressed in one of his t-shirts and a pair of sweatpants I’ve had to roll at the waist so they stay up. I was so happy to find a landline phone hanging on the wall by the kitchen, immediately using it to call into my Reapers—I could hear Crank going batshit in the background when I told them what happened. He had spent a lot of time tuning my baby up and making sure it was exactly what I wanted, so to know it’s been totaled is a bit of a kick in the gut for him too.

My next call was to River, because she and Marco are two of the only people I am willing to let into this other side of me. It was fucking stupid of me to come here last night, but River was right. I’m hurting them whether I stay or not, so why not allow myself a small piece of happiness?

I need to sort this shit out with whoever came for me last night and figure out if it has anything to do with why Mr. Wright is so damn difficult to tail. I thought I had it in the bag until the trigger-happy fucks turned up.

Once I’ve sorted my shit out, then I can do this; spend more time with Murphy, maybe try and be a real family with Hallie, maybe take on some less dangerous jobs…

A conversation with Marco is in order at some point. I know he’ll be able to help.

Now, though, I’m in the passenger seat of Marco’s classic red Aston, being driven to the Reapers’ clubhouse by River. She’s immaculately dressed, as usual, wearing a royal-blue, wide-leg pantsuit, her short hair styled. I explained what happened on the phone, so the journey back to New York from Jersey is silent, bar the beautiful growl of the V8 engine.

I left another note for Murph; not the same shitty “I’m sorry” that I left the other morning. Instead, I told him I’d see him in a couple of days and that I’d text him my new number as soon as I get a new phone.

Beside me, River sighs; a telling sign that she has something on her mind, and I know the silence is about to be broken.

“You decided what you’re doing with them yet?”Thembeing Hallie and Murphy, I’m assuming. She doesn’t take her eyes off the road, which I’m thankful for because it’s frosty and threatening snow outside.

My response is a shrug. River’s known me long enough to understand when I’m not in a talking mood, and now is one of those times. She doesn’t need to be looking directly at me to know my answer.

“Okay, I get it. I will say this though, you think you’ve got problems? I took a pregnancy test this morning and it came back positive.” She laughs, but it’s a little awkward.

“How is that worse than getting shot at?” I could also go into detail about discovering that the little girl I thought died at birth is still alive, but we covered that yesterday afternoon. She knows. This is just River having a sharing moment. She does that sometimes.

“It just is. You gonna argue with a pregnant lady?”

Fucking hell, she’s gonna be one ofthosepregnant women. I roll my eyes and just stare at the side of her head.

“Sorry. I didn’t have a coffee before I left because I don’t know if I’m even allowed coffee anymore, and I’m freaking out because my life is over without coffee.” Her voice gets higher as she speaks, and I’m certain she’s speeding up a little too.

“I mean, my life was almostliterallyover, but sure… coffee.”

“Yeah, okay. Po-tay-to po-tah-to. You’re lucky Marco even let me out of the house after you called. When I left, I think he was ordering the cage and bubble-wrap, ready to contain me for the next nine months.”

Now I do laugh, because she’s not wrong and the mental image of Marco being a father is something I’m actually looking forward to seeing.

“For your baby’s sake, I hope it’s not a girl or she won’t see the light of day until she’s at least thirty.”

“He can try.” She turns her head to me and smirks, slowing down the car as we near the Reapers’ clubhouse.

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