Chapter 16
Lilyanna
It's been weeks since I’ve walked out that door and ran like the childish person I was acting like.
Have you ever had an epiphany? A moment of clarity where time stands still, and you can see the world mapped out for what it truly was?
I was having one of those moments as I stared at the stupid stick in my hand. The same stick that held two pink lines from a test that held all the answers and none of them, at the same time.
I was pregnant, and Cole was the father. Was this another thing I would do alone? Would I always pine after the man who stomped on my heart over and over?
Willow had rubbed my back as she placed the sack of groceries on the counter and then left me alone. I didn’t want her to visit. I didn’t want her to be here when my world shattered into pieces. The pieces weren’t going to go back together correctly.
Then I heard a rustling sound outside. My eyes roamed to the closed bathroom door. I was alone, and only a handful of people knew where I was. All my weapons were scattered over the house, and like a fucking amateur, I left my gun on the kitchen counter with the box that said pregnancy test.
The sound of boots quietly hitting the hardwood floor. It had my ears perk up and my heart race. I had a great number of enemies, and we were now at war.
Fuck! My brain screams.
Yes, brain we are fucked I tell it.
The door was opened and there stood Joel Donahue. He stood there staring at me with a cruel smile on his face.
The pregnancy test was already in the trash, less chance of them finding out. Honestly, I didn’t need them digging through my trash.
“Joel,” I say coldly.
I had a moment of sorrow as the reality of it hit home. I wasn’t going to be able to protect my child.
His dark, spiky hair accompanied by his dark green eyes gave him a beauty that would have most girls panting and drooling. Me, I wanted to slit his throat and cut off his balls.
Don’t get me wrong, he was a nice enough guy, but over the years being part of the family changed him. He was going to take me, or he was going to kill me.
That was my future.
“My father wants you,” he says.
I felt a stirring low in my gut, and it tasted sour with fear and a small amount of relief.
“I need to know something; did you kill my brother?” he asks me while his face was completely blank.
“You sure you want to know?” I ask him.
“Fuck!” he shouts as his arm lashes out. His fingers gripped my arm brutally as he dragged me from the room.
“You’re going to paste a smile on that pretty face of yours and pretend we are on our way out on a date,” he tells me.
“And why the fuck would I do that?” I ask him in all seriousness.
“Was that Willow who just left? It would be a shame to watch her die,” his once calm voice turned cold as did my heart.
“She’s innocent in all of this,” I tell him.
“Sweetheart, we all are in the beginning,” he tells me.
And fuck if he wasn’t telling the truth. I wanted to hate him, but I knew he was right.
Acid bubbled up my throat.
“If I walk out of here, will you leave her alone?” I ask him quickly.
My feet were heavy as we closed the space between us and the door.
“I will,” he tells me.
I knew he was telling the truth. Joel was a lot of things; an asshole, thief, and murderer, but he wasn’t a liar.
“Okay,” I tell him holding my head high and plastering the biggest, most fake smile I could. As the door swung open, I leaned into him with a laugh.
“I’m going to kill you,” I tell him honestly.
“You can try, baby,” he tells me with a laugh of his own.
Then I was being shoved into the back of a car. Black leather met the palms of my hands as I scooted over and Joel slid in behind me.
“Was he sanctioned?” he asked me.
Looking over at him I feel a small amount of pity for my childhood friend.
“Yes,” I tell him honestly.
I’m not sure if it was the baby or just being with Cole, but I felt the need to help him move forward.
“Was it quick?” he asks. His voice was smooth and slightly hollow.
“Yes, he was my friend,” I tell him sadly.
His eyes find mine, and he nods at whatever he sees there. He needed to hear closure for his brother, and somehow, I respected that.
“I know he was a job and we both know what happens when we fail,” he tells me calmly.
I felt both relief and a gut-churning fear. He was letting me off the hook because we both knew what would happen if I didn’t do it. Family or not, I would have been hunted, and his brother would still have to die, but it would have been slower and more vicious.
My biggest question was what his father was going to do. Was I walking away from this?