* * *

She squeezed my hand before pulling away and heading for the door. I wanted to call out to her, to tell her to let me just put one in him through the window, but had to bite my tongue before I gave us away. I was right on her ass though when she burst through the door.

Tommy jumped up from his chair and reached for his gun on the side table. Before his hand could connect there was a whistling sound in the air as she released the arrow. I hadn’t even seen her notch that shit. She missed. The shot had gone through his shoulder with such force that it had driven him back and pinned him to the wall, but it wasn’t her usual kill shot to the head. Fuck!

I didn’t look back when I heard the others come into the room behind me, but kept my eyes on her. Her breathing didn’t even accelerate as she approached him. His eyes went wide and he seemed more afraid of her than the shit in his shoulder. “You… can’t be. You’re dead.” What the fuck? Had he tried to kill her too? Then it hit me; she must look a hell of a lot like her mother. What was more curious was the fact that a man who’d killed his fair share of people, both men and women, had remembered her face.

Mouth didn’t say anything as she pulled something from behind her back and stepped right into him. I moved forward because even though he was pinned to the wall his hands were still free. She made some kind of move that started at his chest and ended at his calves.

I didn’t know what the fuck until I saw the blood appear. She hadn’t missed. She’d cut his arteries so he’d bleed out slowly and painfully. Damn! No one was moving or saying a word. Until she reached into his mouth with something and held his tongue before using the knife to slice his tongue in half.

She stuffed in back into the bleeding maw when his mouth opened in a silent scream. She stepped back and made a sound. It wasn’t a whistle, more like the noise a baby bird would make. Out of the darkness walked the three stooges. Rossi, uncle Al and poppy came in. Why was I not surprised?

Tommy started trying to talk but there wasn’t much chance of that. Rossi approached him with a look pretty much like the one on his daughter’s face. Without a word he pulled the arrow from Tommy’s shoulder and caught him when he fell.

My eyes were on Mouth just waiting for that chink in her armor; that sign that she needed me. We followed the three old gangsters outside where they had a truck waiting with a wooden pine box in the back. Tommy was a big fucking guy but these three lifted him like he weighed nothing and dropped him in the box. The asshole waited for then to put up a fight. I guess I would be in shock too if I was bleeding like stink and knew that with this bunch there was no way I was gonna survive this shit.

She stepped up beside her dad as he pulled the cover over the box. “This is for my wife.” Rossi put the first nail in the coffin. Zane and Alec moved in on either side of me. It was the first time anyone had said anything since we arrived. The silence was heavy, adding an extra layer of ‘what the ever living fuck’ to the whole scene.

“I think you’re wasting your money bro.”

“How’s that?” I answered Alec without looking at him, my eyes still focused on her.

“That.” He pointed towards Mouth in the dark and kept his voice low. “Does not need protecting. Fucking shit Flanagan. What the fuck?” I understood perfectly and had it not been for the note of awe and respect in his tone I might’ve taken offense.

It was Zane’s turn to speak next from my other side. “I think we’ll stay on though, because somebody needs to protect the rest of society from her; maybe we’ve been coming at this shit all wrong.” I think he was serious. I held up my hand to stop the flow of their words as she and her old man who had been taking turns nailing the makeshift coffin shut stopped and looked at each other.

In the faint light Rossi looked tired. His brother in law and his friend stood by his side as he settled the old score that had hung over his head for so long.

“She can rest now pop, it’s over.” They hugged briefly before Mouth turned back to me. The others fell in behind us as the three older men disappeared into the truck.

Mouth was still hanging strong but I know her too well. I could sense the strain as I took her hand in mine. “I’ve got you.” She rested her head on my shoulder as we walked and I dropped her hand and wrapped my arm around her so no one would notice that her legs were about to give out on her.

Someone had been smart enough to bring the cars around and we all piled in and headed back without saying a word. I think they were still processing what the fuck we’d just seen. In the back of the car she held my hand with her head still on my shoulder. I could now see the tension lines around her mouth and eyes and knew she was getting ready to break.

Once we reached the plane I took her back to the bedroom suite and laid her across the bed before going into the bathroom to get a wet washcloth to wipe her face. I made her drink some juice next but before she could finish she flew off the bed and headed for the bathroom where she threw up while I held her hair.

It was as if we’d done this forever instead of just a few days, the way we moved in sync. I cleaned her up once she was done being sick and took her back to bed, removing her shoes and the weapons she had taped all over herself. I didn’t say shit as I reclined against the headboard and pulled her across my chest.

The tears started first and then the words came. Slow, silent tears that soaked through my shirt to my chest and made me want to put my fist through something. “She was beautiful Shane. She had the most amazing smile and her laugh… She loved to laugh and make me laugh. I remember she was always happy. Her and pop used to play a lot. She always took me everywhere with her.”

“I remember her scent most of all.” She inhaled as if she could smell it. Her arm tightened around my chest and she sniffled. “I can’t find her scent Shane.” Her voice sounded small and lost. “What do you mean?”

“Her perfume, I’ve tried to find it but never could.” I would ask her why she never asked her dad but already knew the answer. Those two have been protecting each other in some way or another all these years. Bound by the same tragedy.

I promised myself that I would ask Rossi first chance I get, but there was something I needed to ask her now. “Why didn’t you correct him when he mistook you for your mother?”

“He’s superstitious. I did my research after you told me you’d found him.” How the fuck, do you research a hit man for the mob? They have that shit cataloged somewhere?

“One of the things I learned was that he fears only one thing, the dead. I didn’t expect it to work but I was hoping. She needed to be there, to be part of it. It’s good that he dies believing that she came back to take him. I think that fear will kill him faster than being buried alive while bleeding out.” I’m not fucking, with this girl. Who the fuck thinks up that shit? I guess she’s had years to formulate her little plan over and over in her head.

The prince is gonna be some kinda fucked up, with her for a mother and me as his dad. Heaven help us if he decides to go back into the life. I just realized that the kid would one day inherit two dynasties so to speak. Hopefully by then Mouth and I would’ve turned it into one conglomeration, but that was a long time away.

I waited for her to say more but her soft even breathing told me she’d fallen asleep. I waited a little longer to see if she would wake up again but she was out. I lifted her off my chest and settled her on the pillow before pulling the light cover over her and leaving the room.

The others were of course talking about what happened, still with that hint of awe in their voices. “So tell me, what’s the deal. Are they taking him back home or…?” Alec asked as soon as I sat down.

“Amateur.” Mikey teased him and shook his head. “I’m pretty sure he’s buried by now.”

“Cold.” Zane mock shivered.

“Mine.” I rested my head back and closed my eyes, my ears tuned to the room a few feet away, listening for her if she cried out.