Page 99 of Revenge

Just when I thought I had gone through all accessible drawers and cabinets, I spotted a cubby hole at the bottom of the large grandfather clock behind the door into Kai’s office. I raced over and tugged it open. It was full of pieces of paper, an old mobile phone, and other trinkets, but there were three loose bullets. They looked old but were intact.

Rolling them into my fingers, I crossed the carpet and moved back around Kai’s desk.

Staring at the gun, I picked it up, feeling the coolness of the handle against my palm. I had shot it a handful of times, usually at the shooting range in Italy but once in a field in the middle of nowhere. Anton and I had driven out there, gotten drunk and shot cans off a wall. All the time, discussing how good it would feel to put a bullet between Gerard Kinlan’s eyes, only to find out later that he had died in prison. Died my fucking arse.

Now I knew that wasn’t the case, it was time to act on that ambition. To take him down, butnotbefore he knew the reasons why.

The gun felt the same as it had that day at Anton’s apartment and so I knew it still wasn’t loaded. Closing my eyes briefly, I took a deep breath, praying that the bullets I had found were a fit. I knew my Glock took 9mm bullets but I couldn’t remember what the size looked or felt like. With the thumb of my firing hand, I pressed the magazine release button on the grip behind the trigger and it dropped out into my hand.

My heart banged hard against my chest as I slid the bullets into the magazine. They fit as if they had been purposefully made for that gun. Reinserting the mag into the pistol, I took a deep breath, the blood rushing through my ears, mirroring the sound of the wind outside.

You can do this.

I then pushed the gun down the waistband of my jeans behind my back and pulled my hoodie over the top to conceal it.

As I was rifling through the rest of the contents searching for a possible address, the hairs on my neck prickled and I realised I wasn’t alone. Trepidation curled in my belly and my hands started to itch.

Shit.

“What are you doing?” Memories of twisted sheets as Kai fucked me raw slid into my brain.

Keep it together, and leave the physical attraction to one side. This is business.

I pressed my lips together. Glancing slowly up, Kai stood at the doorway into his office wearing a dark expression. His strong arms were folded over his chest and he looked like sex on legs. He was still wearing the black jeans and a dark grey button-down he’d worn that morning. The sleeves of his top were rolled up to reveal his tanned tattooed forearms. He tried to mask it but I could see he was angry. I hadn’t seen him in a mood for a while, it was stormy and unpredictable.

As I watched him from my position at what was usually his side of the desk I felt no remorse for my actions. Pissed off at being caught, yes, but no fucking guilt.

You should have told me your father was alive!I wanted to scream.

Righteous anger burned through me as I dropped my arms by my sides, motioning to the drawer with a nod, “What does it look like?”

Would Kai remember the drawer was where he’d put my gun and if he did, would he notice it gone?

Before he could answer, I tacked on the obvious. Keep him talking and distract him. If he knew I had the gun, he could disarm me in seconds I was sure of it.

“I’m searching your office.”

Kai still hadn’t moved and he raised one dark eyebrow and quirked me a look, “I can see that. Why?”

Dashing a hand across my skin it suddenly felt like a thousand ants crawled over my body. The man before me had let me down,again, “You know why?” I almost spat out, my temper starting to fray. Kai looked at me like I had disappointedhimwhen he was the guilty party.

Two-faced bastard. My emotions were all a jumble; how could you hate a man and love him, at the same time?

My angerflashedwildly, and I ground my teeth as he said, “Would I be asking if I knew why, Ava.” His tone of voice was so cold and icy.

Placing my hands on my hips, I attempted to appear in control and business-like, “I’m looking for something. And why are you back so early? You said you’d see me at dinner?”

His lips twisted, “I apologise if my sudden presence has inconvenienced you ransacking my fucking office, Ava.”

And then it dawned on me, that he was back becausesomeonehad given him a heads-up on what I was doing.Fucking Sam.

Kai must have seen from my expression that I had realised my bodyguard wasn’t just that. He was clearly also a spy.

“Yes, Sam called me but Farmer also contacted Cillian, something about Suki being sick.”

His explanation drew my attention back to my mother, “Is Cillian with her now?”

“Yes. He went straight upstairs.”

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