Page 53 of One Kill

“Oh my God, Daddy!”

“Pull him out and carry him to the truck. Flower, call Stefano and get me the closest address for a doc.”

I love J’s voice, even when she’s giving orders. It’s firm, yet sexy and inviting, with a hoarse quality to it like she’s trying to seduce you and kill you at the same time.

I think I’m being carried. All I see is movement but nothing is clear, like watching the countryside while riding on a speeding train. I know it’s my ceiling but it’s just a flash of nothing.

“Put him in the back. Hallie, you stay with him, all right? Make sure he doesn’t fall asleep.” Who can’t fall asleep? Me?

“Daddy, please, don’t close your eyes.” It suddenly dawns on me that I’m lying on my back, my head resting on Hallie’s thighs as our bodies take off like a bullet. Hallie’s face is all I see and, for that, I’m grateful. She’s my greatest achievement.

“Hey, baby girl.”

“Dad, you can’t talk. You have to keep your strength, okay?” I nod because she’s scared and I don’t want her to be. She needs reassurance and that’s my job, I intend to do it well.

Raising one of my hands to my chest, I feel the wetness, my pain almost debilitating as my fingers find a hole in my shirt that goes straight through my flesh. Fuck, this can’t be good.

“Is he awake, Hallie?” J. Jordyn. She’s worried. So am I, to be honest.

“Yes, but his eyes are fluttering open and closed.”

“Hallie.” My voice is barely audible against the noise of this vehicle. Jesus, how old is this thing?

“Shhh, Daddy. Keep your strength.”

Despite the blood on my fingers, I reach up for Hallie and bring her face closer to mine.

“Listen to me, okay?”

She nods, tears running down her face like a stream in a rainstorm.

“You are everything. The stars and the moon and the entire universe can’t hold a candle to the goodness in your soul.” I cough and a copper taste invades my mouth but I have shit to say and I need to get this out, just in case. “I am so incredibly proud of you. Proud to be your father.”

“Mom! Please hurry! Oh my God, Dad, stop talking!” I shake my head but the numbness makes it impossible to control my actions, so I gather all my strength and focus only on her.

“We’re almost there, just hang on. You fucking hang on, Murphy.”

I smile at J’s words, her emotions a true testament to her feelings for me. For us.

We’re not done yet. After everything we’ve been through, we deserve to be a family.

“Daddy, please, just hang on for me, okay? Don’t leave me, please, please, please, don’t leave me. I don’t think I can live without you.” I shake my head because, if I don’t make it, she needs to keep going. She needs to live… for me.

“You can and you will. You need to take care of your mother because she…” I cough again and, this time, I almost choke on my own blood. I know it’s blood in my throat because it’s like drinking water from old pipes. “She’s going to need you.”

Hallie shakes her head, sobbing and begging me to stay with her as my eyes grow heavy and tired.

“We’re here! You fucking hang on because we’re here!” I smile at J’s words, happy to know that everything is going to be okay.

My girls and I will be together and our forever will be epic.

Chapter Twenty-Four

J

“Comeon,Kid,weneed to get your dad inside.” Hallie’s clinging to Murphy like he’s her lifeline, as if loosening her grip on him is crippling to her, and it breaks my fucking heart to watch her shaking her head.

It’s taking everything I have to not scream, to not shout, to not track down the snake that is Ronan fucking Callaghan and skin the bastard for what he’s done.

---