There was blood everywhere, yet no one was down. Nick had blood soaking the left side of his shirt and I could see his energy waning. He backed into the wall and gripped his arm. “Nick!” I raced toward him and helped him over to my dad. “What happened?”

He grimaced in pain. “The fucker shot me in the shoulder. I think this is a clear sign that I need to stick to hockey.”

“Are you okay? Where did he go?”

“I’m fine. I think he took off to find you. I need to warn Connor.” He started to get up and I squeezed his arm. Connor could handle Shades.

“No, you need to help me get my dad out of here. I can’t do it by myself.” Nodding, he helped lift my dad to his feet. We carried him outside and all the way down the driveway. Nick pressed the button for the gate and it opened. “Where are we going?”

He nodded toward the woods. “There’s a spot up ahead with all of our supplies.”

As soon as we got there, I pulled out one of Blake’s shirts from his bag and ripped it in half. I wrapped one around my dad’s leg and the other around Nick’s shoulder. Something else caught my eye and I picked it up.

“That’s not a toy, Hadley,” Nick warned.

“I know,” I agreed, holding the gun in my hands. Turning on my heel, I marched straight back toward the house.

“Hadley, no! Stop!”

I couldn’t stop. There was no time.

Hadley

More gunshots fired and I ran as fast as I could. Shades could be seen through the window, getting to his feet but I couldn’t see Connor. Where was he? Shades hobbled across the floor, gun drawn. No! I raced up the stairs and pointed my gun at his chest. Blake was on top of Tristan, his fists hitting flesh, he didn’t see Shades coming.

I pulled the trigger and the next thing I knew, he was on the floor, bleeding out from a wound in his gut. Not where I was aiming, but at least I hit my mark. He grunted in pain and reached for his gun. Another shot rang out and I screamed, turning my head away from the bloody carnage.

Gun drawn, Connor stood by my side, his expression full of turmoil. “It’s over, Tristan,” he growled low.

Blake slammed Tristan’s head on the marble floor and stood. He was covered in blood and the whole right side of his face was bruised. Breathing hard, he cocked his gun and pointed it at Tristan, who he allowed to get unsteadily to his feet.

Even faced with death, Tristan glared defiantly at us. Blake put his finger on the trigger and his muscles twitched. He was about to pull.

“Blake, no,” I warned.

Furrowing his brows, he glanced at me. “There’s no choice here, Hadley. This has to end. He has to pay for what he did to you.”

Connor spoke up. “Don’t worry about it, I’ll take care of him.”

Tristan swayed on his feet. “You gonna kill me, uncle?”

Connor winced and pointed the gun straight at his head. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this.”

Tristan scoffed. “Is this about that whore of yours?”

“She wasn’t a whore.” His voice boomed throughout the room and I trembled. I’d never seen him so angry; it was frightening. “Alannah was mine and you killed her! You raped her and when you found out she was pregnant, you made it look like a suicide. It wasn’t even your fucking child; it was mine!” He pulled out a piece of paper from the back of his pocket and threw it at Tristan. “She told me everything you did, you son of a bitch. She knew you were going to kill her.”

Clapping a hand over my mouth, I gasped in horror.

Blake lowered his gun and put an arm around me. “Turn around and keep walking,” he murmured, pulling me back. “It’s between them now.”

It was hard for him to walk away, but Connor needed the revenge more than he did. I was the one still alive, Alannah wasn’t. Turning my back, Tristan growled and started to shout, but I couldn’t hear what he said. A gunshot fired and I heard his body hit the floor with a loud thunk.

As soon as we got out of the house, I jumped into Blake’s arms. “I love you so much,” I cried.

He breathed me in, holding me tight. “I love you too, princess.”

Tears welled in my eyes and I laughed. I’d missed hearing him call me that. “How did you know I wasn’t dead?”

Brushing the hair off my face, he slid his fingers down and cupped my cheek. “I didn’t at first. I thought you were dead. It fucked me up more than anything. But then things didn’t add up and I couldn’t live with that. I had to have proof you were gone, and how it truly happened. That’s why I went to Burnsville and had Logan help me.”

“Logan?” I asked, wide-eyed.

He smiled. “He’s the one who got the satellite video for me. It showed the crash and then Connor getting you out of the car. After that, I knew what to do.”

“What if you were too late? What if Tristan had taken me to Ireland?”

His gaze grew dark. “I would’ve gone over there and fought for you. Nothing was going to keep me away.”

Over his shoulder, I watched Connor exit the house. I couldn’t imagine what it felt like to have to be around Tristan after what he’d done to him. It was vile and completely heartbreaking.

“Connor,” I called. He walked over and I threw my arms around his neck. “Thank you.”

It took him a few seconds, but he returned the embrace and let me go. By the pain in his eyes, I could tell killing Tristan took a lot out of him. Tristan was his nephew, his family. “You’re welcome. Sooner or later, he would’ve killed you too. If not physically, emotionally. I wasn’t about to let him do that to another innocent girl.”

“I’m sorry about Alannah.”

He averted his gaze. “Killing Tristan won’t bring her back, but it had to be done.”

I glanced at them both. “What happens now?”

Blake put his arm around me. “We wait for the police to come, answer their questions, and go home. Then you get the jollies of dodging the press.” That was going to be a nightmare. I’d been in the news more in the past two months than I had in my whole career. It was going to explode when word got out that I was alive.

“What about you?” I asked Connor.

His gaze landed on Blake and he was the one who answered. “His people will probably have him sent back to Ireland, where they can dish out punishment. Am I right?”

Connor nodded. “Killing him will be the ultimate sin in my brother’s eyes, no matter what he did to deserve it.”

Sirens blared in the distance; the police were coming. “What if you’re dead?” I asked.

“We could say one of Tristan’s guys killed you and buried you somewhere. That could work, right?” I glanced up at Blake, hoping he’d agree.

He squeezed my shoulder. “I think you’ve been hanging around these guys a little too long.”

“Not a bad idea,” Connor added. “But I’d need your full cooperation. You’d have to lie for me.”

The sirens were getting closer. “We’ll do it, now go,” I commanded.

His attention landed on Blake. “I have to hear him say it first.”

Huffing, Blake held out his hand. “Go, MacCabe, before I change my mind.” Connor shook his hand and I hugged him one more time before he took off at a sprint. “Hey,” Blake hollered after him. Connor stopped and turned around. “If you bring any kind of trouble to our doorstep, I will hunt you down and kill you. Got that?”

A wide grin spread across his face. “I’m not stupid enough to do that.” He turned and disappeared just in time for the police to barge in through the gate.

“I’m ready to go home,” I said.

Pulling me into his side, he kissed the side of my head. “Don’t worry, you’ll be back to California in no time.”

I looked up at him and smiled. “Nah. I think it’s time I found a place where I belonged.”