Page 67 of Innocent Union
Patrick’s eyes flit behind me and then back to my face. “I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
I feel the pressure of a gun being pressed to my head.
“Drop the gun,” Jimmy says, right behind me.
I freeze. Jimmy is on Patrick’s side? He’s been working for me for the past few months now. That can’t be.
“Jimmy,” I say, “What are you doing?”
“I’m stopping you from making a mistake. I also stopping you from killing my boss.”
My breath hitches. “You work for Patrick?”
“Yeah. Why do you think it was taking you so long to find other men to work with you? We all work for Patrick. Now, leave, Killian. Or I’ll have to kill you.”
I turn around to face Jimmy. He doesn’t move his gun, so now it’s pressing against my forehead. “You betrayed me.”
Jimmy shrugs. “That’s the way of the game, Killian. It’s not my fault you were too busy dealing with a new wife and a dead mom to even consider this as a possibility.”
I see red. Without even realizing it, I lunge for Jimmy and wrap my hands around his throat. He pressed the gun harder into my head.
“Do you want to die? Because I can pull this trigger right now.”
I want to kill Jimmy. But I need to be smarter about this. Mia still needs me.
I let Jimmy go and hurry out of the bar before I really do get killed. As if I’m on autopilot, I head back home.
When I pull into my driveway, I see someone I wasn’t expecting to see for a while.
Antonio.
I step outside and approach him warily. “What do you want?”
“To say I’m sorry. I never should have tried to punish you for what you did. You were only trying to save Mia.”
I step back, not expecting that. “Well, uh, thanks.”
“I also heard about what Patrick did. You helped me, Killian, when I was in a rough spot. Now, it’s my turn to help you.”
“I just tried killing Patrick, and it didn’t go my way. My second-in-command turned on me.”
Antonio claps his hand on my shoulder. “I’m here to help. Mia talked some sense into me. With my help, Patrick will go running for his mommy. Let’s take him down. Together.”
“Mia really asked for your help?”
He chuckles. “She did. And she stood up to all my men while she did it. You’d be proud. Hell, I was proud. Now, what do you say? Want to work together again?”
For the first time since my mother’s funeral, I feel a sense of hope. “Absolutely.”
CHAPTER 19
Killian
“How are you feeling?” Mia asks me later that night when we’re lying in bed together. “You could have died today, Killian. I want to make sure you’re in a stable place when you go after Patrick again.”
“I am. I have Antonio with me. I’ll survive.”
She pulls away from me. “Did you even think about me when you were going on a suicide mission today?”
