Sean laughs once more, still sounding like a young girl as he looks down at me, and his expression changes into a sneer.  I watch the muscles in his shoulder and arm tense, and imagine the neurons firing from his brain, down his arm, and to his trigger finger.

Sean suddenly stops.

He stops speaking.  He stops moving.

Blood begins to run out of his ear.  I watch as the lightning storm in his eyes suddenly dims when he drops to the ground beside me.

A split-second later, there is a distant popping sound.

“Jesus.” Deklan’s breathy voice reaches my ears at the same time his left hand grabs me by my arm.  He pulls me against his chest like a ragdoll.  “Are you all right?”

I can’t answer.  I can barely keep from pissing myself as I stare at Sean’s open, dead eyes.  My stomach clenches and threatens to send my lunch all over the alley.  I don’t understand what my eyes are showing me.  Am I dead?  Did I miss the part where I got shot in the head?  How is Sean lying lifeless on the ground before me?

Deklan shifts with a grunt and moves his hand to my face.   He turns my head until I’m looking him in the eyes.  I can see his mouth moving, but his words aren’t making sense.  Mac appears from the basement doors, gun drawn, and looks all around.  He calls out to Deklan, and they both stare up into the city skyline.  I follow Deklan’s gaze, but there is nothing to be seen—just buildings.

“Dek?” I say as I finally find my voice.  “What just happened?”

Before he can answer, there’s a groan from beside us.

“Holy fuck!” Brian says as he rolls to his side.  “That shit hurts!”

“Brian!”  I reach out as I watch him blink up toward the sky.

“It’s okay,” Brian says with a smile.  “I’m wearing a vest.”

“Motherfucker,” Deklan says with a grumble.  “Who the hell gave you a vest?”

“Teagan.”  Brian looks up at the skyline above us and chuckles.

“Did she…?”  Deklan shakes his head and glances upward again.

Brian grins at Deklan as he gets back on his feet and rubs his chest, still staring up at the buildings. Deklan helps me to my feet, and his eyes widen as he follows Brian’s gaze.  I do the same, but I see nothing.  When I look back to my husband, there is understanding in his expression.

“You have some explaining to do later,” Deklan says to Brian and then to Mac.  “Both of you.”

“I have no idea what’s going on,” Mac says.  “I was trying to get a lock on him, but he was blocked by her, and I couldn’t see.  Where the hell did that shot come from?”

“There wasn’t time to tell you about it before.”  Brian grins.  “We ran out of options, and he’s the only one who could do it.”

I look back and forth, trying to understand what just happened.

“That dude is one hell of a shot!” Brian whistles.  “I never even heard it!  I wonder how far away he is.”

“I don’t know,” Deklan mumbles as he glances at me.  He only meets my eyes for a moment before he looks back at the ground.

Suddenly, I understand.

“It’s that man, isn’t it?”  I glare at Deklan until he finally makes eye contact with me again.  “The man who killed Kathy.”

“Arden,” Deklan says as he nods slowly.  “In case it isn’t clear, I wasn’t consulted on this.”

“Teagan swore she’d take the heat,” Brian says with a shrug.  “She’s waiting over by the car.”

Mac and Brian lead Deklan and me away from the body in the alley and back to the quiet street.  Aside from a couple of homeless guys on the other side of the restaurant doors, no one is around, and no one seems to have noticed what just happened in the alley.  If anyone did hear, they didn’t care.

“I knew you couldn’t do it, Dek,” Teagan says as she leans against the Viper and gives Deklan a half smile.  “I know you wanted to, and if it came down to Sean or your wife, you were going to choose your wife, but if you pulled the trigger on Fergus Foley’s son, you’d never forgive yourself.”

“You hired Arden?  You and Brian?”

“Yes.  After that kerfuffle with Kera’s friend, you weren’t going to consider him, but he was the best option.  Besides, he offered.  I don’t think he cared much for Sean after the first time they met.”

Deklan wraps his good arm around my shoulders and pulls me close to his side.

“I’m going to have to be consulted on this shit if I’m going to be in charge,” Deklan says gruffly but then smiles.  “Still, I’m glad to know you have my back.”

“Always.”  Teagan looks at Deklan stoically.  “My father meant the world to me, just as he did to you.  Sean was right—he loved you more.  He was your father, too.”

Deklan takes a long breath and stares at the ground for a moment with closed eyes.  He licks his lips, shifts his weight from one foot to the other, and then squeezes his eyes shut as he grunts in pain.

“We should get you to the hospital,” Brian says as he moves closer and checks out Deklan’s shoulder.

“No hospital,” Deklan says.  “It will just raise questions.”

“The vet, then,” Brian says.  “You need stitches.”

“Vet?” I ask.

“Yeah, there’s a guy on the west side of town,” Brian says to me.  “He can do stitches.”

“The bullet went clear through,” Dek replies as he looks at Teagan.  “It’s not even bleeding that much.  I can wait.”

Brian opens up the trunk of the Viper and pulls out a first aid kit.  Inside, there is rubbing alcohol and gauze for Deklan’s shoulder.

“We need to get Arden his money,” Teagan says.  “He’s waiting at the main warehouse.  We can all get in your car, and Mac can use mine to clean up.  It’s got the trunk space.”

“I’ll call Andrew and the cleaning crew,” Mac says.  He pulls out his phone and walks back into the alley.

“I can’t shift with my shoulder like this,” Deklan says.

“I’m happy to make the sacrifice of driving your car for ya,” Brian says with a big smile.  He hands me the first aid stuff.  “Kera can patch you up a bit on the way.”

Deklan and I climb into the small back seats of the Viper—it’s not easy considering Deklan’s size and wound—and Teagan takes shotgun.  While Brian drives, I do my best to use the gauze to stop the rest of the bleeding, which is minimal.  I put some tape over the gauze to hold it in place, and Deklan pulls his jacket back on.

Brian pulls in near the warehouse.  On the far side of the lot is a sleek, classic Camaro.  As we get closer, I see a bumper sticker that once must have read Soccer Mom but is now partially ripped off.

“It will look better if you pay him off,” Teagan says as she tosses a thick paper envelope into the backseat.  “Start of a new relationship and all.”

“I’m not doing business with him again.”  Deklan picks up the envelope and holds it in the palm of his hand, testing the weight.  “How much?”

“Seventy-five.”

Deklan shakes his head as he shoves the envelope into his pocket.

“We are going to need all the allies we can get.”  Teagan says.  “Chicago is going to be a big part of that.”

“She’s right, boss.”  Brian turns around in his seat and looks back at Deklan.

“Let me out,” Dek says with a heavy sigh.

Brian jumps out of the Viper and pulls the seat up so Deklan can exit.  Deklan grunts as Brian grabs Deklan’s good arm and helps him out.  Teagan gets out of the car as well, angling the seat up for me.

“Come on, Kera,” Deklan says when I don’t move.

“You want me to go with you?  I have nothing to say to him.”

“He did save our asses, Mrs. K.”  Brian leans against the car, peers in at me, and grins.  “Ya gotta give him that.”

“Fuck him.”

“Come on anyway.”  Deklan moves around the Viper and grabs my hand to haul me outside the car.

Brian and Teagan are close behind us as Deklan holds my hand and leads me across the empty lot.  When we get close, Arden gets out of the Camaro and nods at us.

“Expectations met?” he asks simply.

“I’m still standing, and he isn’t,” Deklan says.  “I would say expectations were exceeded.”

Arden nods in acknowledgement.

“Holy shit, man!”  Brian reaches out and shakes the bastard’s hand.  “I’ve never even heard of someone shooting like that!  How far were you?”

 “About seven hundred meters.   Sky is clear and there isn’t any wind today, which makes everything easier.”

“Day-um!” Brian leans over a little to peer into the back of the Camaro.  I can see a large black bag in the back, presumably concealing a rifle.

I fold my arms across my chest.  I don’t care if he did save our lives—I don’t want to stand here and compliment Kathy’s killer on his marksmanship.

Deklan hands the large envelope over to Arden.

“It’s all there,” Deklan says as Arden looks through the envelope.  “Seventy-five large.”

“Yeah, it’s here.”  Arden looks at me for the first time.

“We all good then?” Deklan asks.

“Can I have a sec with your wife?”

Deklan looks at me.

“Sure.”  Deklan motions to Brian and Teagan.  “Let’s go.  Kera, just come to the car when you’re done.”

I watch dumbfounded as the others walk back toward the Viper, leaving me alone with Evan Arden.  I glare at him.  I have nothing to say to this man.

“I’m not much for apologies,” he says.  “Not sure I’ve ever apologized for anything, really.  I just wanted you to know that I misread the situation, and I’m sorry about that.  I wouldn’t have shot that girl if I’d known.  I didn’t even know Kearney was married.”

“If you’re looking for forgiveness, you aren’t going to get it.”  I keep glaring.

“That’s okay.”  He shrugs.  It doesn’t matter to him.

“Did Deklan put you up to this?  Does he want me to play nice with you now so he can keep doing business with you?”

“Our business is done,” Arden says.  “I’ll be back in Chicago before morning.  And no, I didn’t even ask him if I could talk to you beforehand.  I know there’s nothing I can say that could change what happened, but I want you to know I’d take it back if I could.”

“You’re right,” I say.  “This doesn’t change anything.”

I place my hands on my hips.  I’m being a complete bitch, and I don’t care.  I don’t want his apologies.  Nothing he says will take away the image in my head of Kathy lying on the sidewalk.

Arden nods slowly as he runs his hand over his short, cropped hair.

“I’m fucked up.”  He stares at me with those piercing eyes and taps himself on the temple.  “Something in here is broken, maybe always has been.  I don’t know.  I tried the whole relationship thing for a bit, but I sucked at it.”

I narrow my eyes at him.  I have no idea why he’s saying such a thing, and again—I don’t care.

“What did you do, kill her?”  I regret the words as soon as they’re out of my mouth.

“One of them.”  He glances away for a second.

A shiver runs down my spine as I realize he means what he says—he has actually killed a woman he was in a relationship with.  I swallow hard and glance back toward the Viper.  Deklan is leaning against the hood, watching closely.

I look back at Arden, and he’s still staring at me intently.  He takes a deep breath before he speaks again.

“This kinda business—this kinda life—isn’t an easy one to navigate.  We all get here by different roads.  Those of us who weren’t born to it, maybe we had a choice and maybe we didn’t.  Some people think we stay because of fear, but that’s not it.  It’s loyalty that keeps us here.”

He tilts his head to one side and furrows his brow.

“Do you know what it takes to come between that?” he asks.  “To wedge yourself between a man like that and the family?  To strip away that which he holds so closely to his soul that he always thought they were one and the same?”

I stare at him, unsure if the question is rhetorical and unable to answer regardless.

“That guy there,” Arden says as he tilts his head in Deklan’s direction, “he’s a good guy.  He really loves you, and I think he’d do anything for you.  He’s not like me.”

“I know he isn’t.”

“Good.”  Arden nods.  He takes a step forward, closing the gap between us.  I start to step back, but he grabs my arm and shoves the envelope full of cash into my hand.  “Open up a scholarship in her name or something.  I don’t want it.”

Without another word, he drops into the driver’s seat of the Camaro, guns the engine, and pulls away.