Page 209 of Quinlan

A sob cuts through the thundering silence. Elaine.

A high marble wall separates the foyer and the living room. I can’t see what’s going on there.

I know what doesn’t. Joseph doesn’t comfort her. He doesn’t have his arm around her shoulders. Doesn’t kiss her and promise he’ll fix this for her. He doesn’t care about her.

All those years. Her blind devotion and taking his abusive side over ours.

It was for nothing.

Anne sneaks a glance at me, her eyebrows high, lips pinched. She wants—no,needs—to kill them.

Our time is running out.

But I need to be here. Where I am. Where we are. I need this minute to absorb his misery. Joseph’s at his weakest. At his most vulnerable.

He won’t give me the pleasure of watching him crumble. The second we march into the living room, he’ll regain his composure. The cold, heartless bastard that had terrorized Anne and me for years will rob me of this part of my revenge.

I put a hand on Anne’s shoulder. My right hand, with Quinlan’s mark on it.

Dark blue eyes gaze up at me in confusion. She’s shorter than I am, shorter than she’s been in the penthouse now that she’s changed into the sneakers I’ve been saving for her in my car.

Listen, I mouth, leveling her with a serious gaze.

Curses. Glass crashes on the marble floor. He’s on another phone call, shouting and cursing. One of his contacts in the government, by the sound of it. Ordering them to close the stock market until he proves the article was a hit job. Fake news.

He won’t be able to. What he’s doing is stalling. Just long enough so federal agents won’t come knocking while he liquidates his assets and disappears.

Someone beat you to it, you piece of shit.

“I want it done within the hour. Don’t call me before that.” Joseph ends the conversation. Shatters another vase or one of Elaine’s crystal figurines.

She cries harder.

Three hands rest on my back. Two larger ones. One small and warm.

We’re here, their touch assures me.You’re not alone in this.

I’m not. Haven’t been in a long fucking while.

Every muscle in my body tenses. My fingers flex on Anne’s shoulder. I stare at eyes that are the same blue shade as mine, then turn around and grab Quinlan’s neck. I don’t just kiss her. I devour her. Brutally. A true savage. Much like she is.

“Unfortunate news, Joseph.” My voice is eerily calm as we step into the living room, reminding me a lot of Liam’s.

The two monsters in the living room snap their heads at us.

Elaine is in a pale pink blouse and matching pencil skirt, her light-brown hair twisted into a bun at her nape. Just how Joseph demands her to be at all times.

Presentable. The perfect cover to help hide how rottenheis.

She can’t pull it off today, not really. Her blue eyes are puffy, bloodshot. A few strands of her hair have escaped her neat bun, clinging to her black mascara streaks on her cheeks.

She’s a mess.

Joseph seems to be handling it better than her. Dressed in a dark blue suit, his brown eyes are furious. His black, graying hair is combed to the side. As if he’ll step out of here any minute. As if he has a chance to be saved.

Joke’s on him. He’s not leaving. No one’s here to save him.

This is the end of the line for him. For both of them.

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