Page 108 of Revenge

Gerard started ranting but I couldn’t understand him. Kai growled back, his words dripping with menace. Henry and the other man exchanged a ‘what the fuck do we do’ look and I thought one of them was going to reach for his gun.

And then the shit hit the fan as I stepped towards him, twisting my body, and shoving my hand under my hoodie. My fingers found the gun immediately and I drew it out and aimed it at Gerard. He was speaking in the same language I’d heard Kai speak earlier. Irish?

Huffs and shouts echoed around the room and I heard the rustle and click of weapons as they were drawn.

“Everyone, keep their shit together,” Kai barked, his own gun drawn.

Under any normal circumstances, it would have been funny; borderline ridiculous. Gerard was still standing by his chair, waving his arms in the air, I heard him say bitch a couple of times and then my mother's name.

Cillian’s gun was aimed at Gerard, Kai’s in the direction of his two men and Sean had his pistol drawn on Hamish. So, hewasa snake, a mole.

And of course, all Gerard’s men were aiming at me, and my gun was trained on their boss. The big chief. Or the man standing where the big chief once stood.

Now he wasnothing. I could see how the cancer had aged him. How the way he held his body suggested pain, but it wasn’t enough.

My hand was steady as I took another step forward. This encouraged Kai to hiss, “Nobody is to doanythingunless I order it. Lower your fucking weapons now.”

I had never heard that tone to his voice and it was terrifying. It caused my hand to shake and I glanced at my fingers, before lifting my gaze back to Gerard.

“Ungrateful bitch,” Gerard said, spit dripping down his chin. Iglaredmy hate, the force of his words hitting me like I’d just been backhanded.

Taking a deep breath, I growled in disgust and opened my mouth to scream at him but Kai stepped towards me shouting at his father, “I would keep quiet Da, unless you want a bullet between the eyes.”

They then spoke in Irish again and Gerard barked out the order for his men to lower their weapons, which they did. Kai’s followed suit.

The only person holding a gun was me and the fact that I held all the power had the opposite effect.

My legs turned to jelly and my entire body started to shake.

“You, filthy little slut,” the dirty bastard growled and the tears I had been holding back started to fall.

Everythinghe had done in the past came rushing back.

From somewhere close beside me, I heard Kai’s calm voice, “Don’t do it, Ava, he’s not worth it.”

My words left my mouth like I had no control over them, my voice garbled and raw. I was surprised Kai understood me, “He’s evil, Kai. He deserves to die.”

“You may be right about that, but you don’t want to be the one to pull the trigger, Ava. Believe me.”

I flashed him an angry look, “Don’t tell me what I want Kai!”

“Please, Ava. You said you wanted out. Remember, you want no part of this life. Killing a man isn’t the way to get out, quite the opposite. It will only draw you in further.”

“Yes, it is; once he’s gone, it will be over.”

“But you’ll have his death on your conscienceforever. Do you understand what that means? Taking a lifeneverleaves you. You kill him now, that’s on you, for the rest of your life.”

“It will be worth it.”

“You’re wrong, he isn’t worth it. He’s finished, Ava. He’ll live the rest of his life in the middle of nowhere as the cancer that he’s riddled with eats away at his body. Surely that is punishment enough for what he’s done.”

“Stay back Kai, I don’t want to shoot him before I’m ready.”

“He’s a dead man anyway. You do this, you will never be free of him.”

A huge sob left my chest as I realised, he was right. The thought of squeezing the trigger and seeing a bullet enter a man’s skin at close range made me feel sick.

If Gerard were to die at my hand, I knew I would never be free, just like Kai said. But Gerard would be. In a strange twist of fate, if I were to end his life there and then, it would put him out of his misery. No longer would he suffer daily from the cancer which was so apparent in his body.

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