Page 124 of Shattered Hearts

Cian nods and hops into the back to talk strategy with the soldiers.

“Come on, traitor.” Darren breezes past me. “You’re riding shotgun. I’m driving.”

“You guys got candy ready to lure in the kids?” Our caravan has the appearance of an armored pedo van. Bulletproof walls and no windows except on the driver and passenger side doors make it impossible to tell what or who might be in the back from the outside.

Spearmint and old tobacco choke the air in here, causing me to cough. The hour-plus drive to the safe house kills me a little more with every passing mile.

In the back of the truck, Rory and Cian talk strategy and go over the blueprint that Shane provided. I should eavesdrop on the discussion, so I’ll know what to expect when we arrive, but I can’t stop thinking about Finn. About whether…I’ll ever see him alive again.

In my mind, I relive his final kiss. My nails dig into my palms, and I use the momentary ache to keep the avalanche of emotions at bay.He knew, my mind keeps insisting. When he sent me home at the hospital…when he kissed me, he knew that might be the last time.

What were you thinking?

I want to scream at him. To shake him until his teeth rattle for taking off on his own. How could he do this? I thought…we were in this together.

Angel...a word I’ll hear in my dreams until the day I die.

The warmth of Finn’s breath on my neck as his lips grazed me.

His nose tucked into mine as our eager lips combined.

I swipe a hot tear off my face.

No one hurts my wife.

The way he came for me that day—running—fueled my desire to walk down the aisle and marry him for real.

So did his laughter in a lonely diner while we played cards and swapped secrets in the middle of the night.

My feelings for Finn rage like an uncontained wildfire. Flames erupt everywhere, licking at my skin and burning me from the inside out.

Memories of my short time with him tumble through my mind on shuffle.

Our car rides, our bickering. I recall the moment when I realized Finn was going to waterboard my ex. My horror from back then is a thousand times worse.

Because I know that whatever is happening to Finn right now is probably a thousand times worse than what he would’ve done to Troy.

In the passenger seat, I hug my knees to my chest, thankful for the darkness both inside and outside our caravan.

I guess there was a time when I dreamed of something like this.

Of being a trusted member of the Kings, of being valued for my mind and my skills.

Now I see the flaws in my dreams.

Riding into a dangerous situation, gun holstered at my hips, isn’t glamorous or exciting. Like a deserted stretch of road at night, it’s solemn, dark, and eerie.

As we race down the interstate, I pray there’s a man left to save by the time arrive.

Chapter 33

Finn

Whether the morphine has worn off or the pain Enzo’s inflicted has become sharp enough to cut through it, I’m not certain.

What Iamsure of is that he’s broken all the fingers in my right hand and the two bones in my forearm. Old Bone Breaker is about to fracture the shit out of my humerus with an oversized dead-blow hammer when emergency floodlights flare on, alarms shrieking like banshees.

Enzo freezes, arm and hammer outstretched.

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