Chapter 34

Isla’s eyelashes fluttered as she stretched and Niall was ready. He thought he’d be her prisoner for the rest of his life but he was about to witness her defeat. He’d be there to see her get what she deserved and she’d know he helped bring her and Simon’s reign of terror to an end. Niall sacrificed everything to stop them and he was ready to see them pay.

“Simon…” She slurred as she rubbed her nose against his shoulder then groaned as she pushed off the floor and looked around. Isla gasped and jumped as her eyes touched Ran’s and Roman stepped back and faded into the darkest corner in the study. “Simon!” She hissed as she patted his cheek and her eyes darted frantically as her head swung around.

“Let me sleep, love,” he mumbled and she cursed as she slapped him harder. “Isla! Not now!” He complained loudly as he swatted her hand away.

“Get up!” She ordered as she shook him and he rolled then scrambled to his feet as he became aware of his surroundings. Isla stood carefully and shrugged out of the coat as she stepped closer to Simon.

“How the hell are you still alive?” Simon demanded as he glared at Ran. Ran’s chest shook as he tilted back and laughed.

“I’ve got nine lives and a guardian angel, unfortunately for you,” he said and Isla scowled at Quinn and Jayce before she got to Niall and her eyes blazed with fury.

“I wanted to get rid of you a long time ago,” she said and there was so much defiance and bitterness, it made Niall wary as his nerves sparked. Niall’s eyes slid to the collection of decanters on the sideboard to his right as he planned for the worst. “But Simon said you were the only thing keeping Ran from tossing us out,” she seethed as she looked at Ran.

“He was completely correct,” Ran said. Niall took two large steps back as soon as everyone’s attention was on Ran. He swiped the lighter off the tray next to the cigar case and shoved it into his pocket. “This is your last chance,” Ran offered and it was full of warning but Simon snorted.

“You won’t give us another chance. We’re all but dead, now that you know what we’ve been doing and what we’ve done to your sweet, pathetic Niall,” he sneered and Niall froze as everyone looked at him.

“I’m a fan of the you-being-dead plan, personally, but he doesn’t want it on his conscience,” Niall said then gestured at Ran so people would look back at him. Quinn chuckled as he took a few steps closer to Simon and shifted slightly on the balls of his feet as he prepared to pounce.

“It’s definitely got merit,” he agreed and Jayce was watching Niall closely as he moved closer to the decanters. Jayce’s brows fell and he shook his head faintly but Niall widened his eyes and twitched his head to get Jayce to ignore him. He’d try to stop Niall if he caught on to his plan.

“I think we should hear them out,” Isla said nervously as she tugged at Simon’s sleeve.

“Be quiet!” Simon said then pushed her at Quinn as he ran for the desk. Ran chased him and stretched for the back of his coat but couldn’t reach and Simon yanked the top drawer open. He laughed as he spun and pushed a pistol in Ran’s face. Niall’s heart stopped and his body became cold. “We’re leaving,” Simon said and Ran snorted.

“You won’t make it out of Lachlan House,” he promised but Niall didn’t like the wild glimmer in Simon’s eyes as he watched Ran. Niall reached behind him and lifted the top off a whisky decanter and silently dropped it into the potted palm by the curtain. “Beàrnaraigh Mòr,” Ran offered and Simon choked.

“That miserable dump in the Outer Hebrides? They don’t even speak English!” He said as his face twisted in disgust and he grabbed a bronze from the corner of Ran’s desk and slammed it on the floor in rage. Isla waited until everyone was watching Simon to back away, to make a run for the French doors. Niall slid behind her and clamped his hand over her mouth then locked her against his chest as he dumped the whole decanter of whisky on their heads. She flailed and kicked but he held on until she yanked her lips free and shrieked.

“Simon!” Isla protested as she thrashed. Niall hurled the bottle against the wall and pulled the lighter from his pocket as everyone turned to him and Isla. He hooked his arm around her neck as his thumb struck the lighter and she froze and everyone was silent as the flame danced above them. Ran was horrified and his eyes begged Niall to put the lighter down. Niall wanted to create enough of a distraction so someone could disarm Simon but he would die before he let Isla win or get away.

“You like to watch things burn don’t you, Isla?” Niall purred against her ear as he drug her with him to the French doors then leaned against the heavy curtains. Simon’s eyes were locked on his as Niall tilted his head back and looked up at the massive column of heavy fabric at his back. They’d go up in flames in seconds, Simon wouldn’t be able to get to Isla before she was engulfed. “Put down the gun, Simon,” Niall ordered. Simon’s lip curled as he pushed the muzzle into Ran’s cheek and debated.

“There’s no way you make it out of this room alive,” Roman promised as he stepped out of the shadows and Simon pulled Ran with him as he turned so his back was to the bookshelf.

“Get where I can see you!” He yelled and Roman smirked.

“Why not? I’ll even tell you before I make my move, if you think that will help. I promised Ran this would be fair,” he said as he held up his hands and his fingers danced playfully.

“This isn’t the time to show off,” Quinn said flatly and Roman raised a shoulder.

“It’s not showing off, it’s good sportsmanship. I’m giving him a handicap, a head start,” he argued.

“Shut up! Who are you?” Simon demanded and Roman snorted as he rolled his eyes.

“Dilettante,” he sighed. “Roman Carlisle. Pleased to meet you,” he announced grandly and Simon looked legitimately ill as he held onto Ran for support.

“Would you like to sit down for a moment,” Ran offered and Simon hissed as he jabbed the gun deeper into his cheek.

“Shut up!” Simon shrieked then laughed. It was high and thin and Niall’s stomach clenched as his blood froze. “It wasn’t supposed to be this difficult! You weren’t supposed to be so damn hard to kill! And what the fuck is Roman Carlisle doing here?” He spat and Ran held up a hand innocently.

“We go back. Did I forget to mention that?” He said and Simon sneered.

“It slipped your mind, I’m sure,” he muttered. “I won’t get out of here alive and I have a feeling Isla won’t either,” he mused.

“Simon?” Isla said shakily but he shook his head. His eyes blazed with rage and jealousy as they locked on Niall’s.

“I could kill Ran or I could kill the only thing he cares about,” he said as his arm swung and Jayce lunged in front of Niall as a massive crack! filled the room.

“No!” Quinn screamed as he ran for his brother.

“Simon!” Roman roared before he streaked across the room and Simon pushed Ran as he turned to run for the door. The gun was knocked from Simon’s hand as Roman slammed him into the bookshelf. Roman released him and Simon’s eyes bulged and there was a wheezing, gurgling whine as blood and bubbles seeped from around a knife in his trachea as he slid to the floor.

“Simon!” Isla sobbed as she dove for the gun and Ran went to tackle her but stopped as Roman pointed at him.

“Don’t do it!” Roman warned her but she snatched it off the rug and aimed at him. Roman’s hand whipped through the air and she staggered back and the knife from Simon’s throat was buried in the center of her chest. “I was going to give you a much more humane death but you wouldn’t listen,” Roman said then looked at Quinn. “How is he?”

“We need to get him looked at immediately but it’s not critical,” he said as he applied pressure to Jayce’s shoulder.

“I’m in a lot of fucking pain but I’ll survive,” Jayce ground out and Ran swore in disgust as he stood over Isla.

“Look at all the suffering you’ve caused!” He said as he flailed his arm. “What did I ever do to you but try and be a good brother?” He asked and foam and blood gushed from her chest as she laughed and coughed.

“I was so bored and I hated you so much,” she recalled weakly. Her voice came in tiny, panting gasps as her hand swatted blindly for Simon and her eyes were unfocused as she watched the cloud of blood spread across the front of her dress. “I wanted Simon to be Lord Lachlan, not you,” she babbled.

“There was no way,” Ran argued and another faint laugh slipped from her as her head lolled and her eyes became heavy.

“He could have everything that was yours and that’s all that mattered,” she said before her head flopped in Simon’s direction and her body went limp.

“That’s really fucking nuts,” Jayce said as he clutched his shoulder and shook his head.

“And I thought I was weird about my brother,” Quinn muttered and lowered so he could get Jayce to his feet as Niall hurried over to help.

“Thank you for saving my life,” Niall said as he pulled Jayce’s good arm around his neck.

“I’d say it wasn’t a problem but I didn’t exactly count on this hurting so damn bad,” Jayce said then laughed tightly as they eased him into an armchair.

“A private ambulance is on the way,” Reginald announced from a speaker somewhere and Roman stepped around and over Isla and Simon quickly and crouched next to Jayce.

“I have some morphine in the car,” Roman said but Jayce shook his head.

“No. They’ll have to give me some eventually but I don’t want it yet,” he insisted as he shut his eyes and Niall was about to argue when Roman shook his head and pinned Niall with a firm gaze.

“Very well. I’ll stay with you in case it gets to be too much or you need someone to hold your hand,” Roman vowed and Jayce nodded as their hands clasped tightly.

“I’m a heroin addict,” Jayce explained to Niall and Ran.

“A recovering addict,” Quinn stated firmly. “He’s been sober for almost two years,” he said and Niall slid Ran a horrified look. What if he relapses and this costs him his life?

“Simon shot him. This isn’t your fault,” Ran said gently and Niall’s lips pulled tight as he looked back at Jayce.

“That doesn’t make me feel any less responsible.”

“Me too,” Ran agreed.

“We’re going to make sure Jayce has a very speedy and healthy recovery. He won’t be alone,” Roman said and his gaze was direct and unwavering as it held Niall’s.

“We’ll help in any way we can,” Niall agreed and Ran nodded as he put his arm around him.

“Whatever it takes. Let’s get him comfortable and then we’ll see about this mess. I’ll be glad when we can put all this behind us,” Ran stated wearily and Roman smiled up at him.

“I’ve already made arrangements, in the event that things went…wrong,” he said then flashed Ran a large smile before his eyes flicked upwards. “In fact…” He tilted his head toward the door as the bell rang.

“I’ll go get that,” Ran said uncertainly as he backed out of the room and Roman winked at Niall.

“I think you and Darius will hit it off,” he predicted and Niall was alarmed as a man who might have been Roman’s older brother wandered in casually. He was dressed in a solid black suit and his hands were shoved into the pockets of his trousers as he scanned Ran’s study. His suit was severely cut and his black eyes were quick and sharp as they darted around the room. Aside from his face and ears, every exposed bit of skin was tattooed. He was even more unsettling than Roman and lacked his magnetic charm. He was purely feral menace as he prowled around the desk and his lips curved as he admired Roman’s handiwork.

“Won’t take us more than an hour,” he predicted and Ran let out a hard breath as he leaned against the door.

“If you can clean this up and keep the investigation out of Lachlan House, I’ll pay double your price, Darius” he offered and Darius rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

“I’ve already got it all worked out, the bribes are already paid and my team’s ready to go. There’s a brothel by Swindon and the owner’s ready to ditch it. We’ll set them up there and make it look like they got into some sketchy sex that got out of hand. But if you’re that grateful, I saw a clock in the hallway,” he said and Ran grunted as he clutched his chest.

“You’re fucking ruthless but it’s worth it,” he declared as a platoon of dark haired, dark eyed women with olive skin in various ages streamed into the room with rolls of plastic, duct tape, buckets, rags, sprays… Each one went straight to Roman.

“Marius!” They cooed and sighed as they kissed his cheek then waved at Quinn.

“Olinescu Crime Scene Cleanup,” Darius declared proudly as he waved at the women and Ran snorted.

“Getting paid to clean up your own messes, that’s smart,” he said and Darius shrugged.

“We take a lot of private calls like this as well. Take yourselves off and we’ll make it look like none of this ever happened,” he reassured them and Niall looked at Ran in shock.

“Their family will want it covered up. They won’t want the scandal,” he realized and Ran smirked.

“They’ll keep it quiet and we can start over without this touching us,” he said and Roman hummed in agreement as he and Quinn helped Jayce stand.

“I’ve put the right word in the right people’s ears and the rumor mill should turn this in your favor.”

“I believe Mr. Waverly’s ride has arrived,” Darius said and Niall was deeply relieved but still too stunned to process everything as Ran took his hand and led him from the study. They thanked everyone for their help and saw Jayce off as he was loaded into a black van by a team of private paramedics.

“What happens now?” Niall asked as they stood in the mews behind Lachlan House.

“We leave for Gallahide tonight and take a room someplace along the way, where we’re not known. We decided to take a little time just for us and work things out, as far as anyone’s concerned. Whatever happened to Isla and Simon while we were away has nothing to do with us,” Ran said as he guided Niall to his car and opened the passenger door for him. “Our suitcases are in the back and we’ll be home by tomorrow evening,” he added as Niall sat and he was dumbfounded as he stared at the dashboard. They would be home and it was over. Ran whistled jauntily as he ran around the front of the car and he hummed softly to himself as he dropped into the driver’s seat. “Get buckled!” He laughed as he leaned over the armrest and kissed Niall’s cheek. “You all right?” He asked as he turned Niall’s chin so he could see his eyes.

“I am and it’s a very unusual sensation,” he confided. “I’ve spent so long waiting for the other shoe to drop, it’s odd not feeling incredibly tense. And it’s really strange to not be worried about you,” he said and Ran breathed his name reverently as he kissed him.

“You don’t need to worry about anything anymore, especially me,” he said. “Let me take care of you for a little while. Give yourself some time to heal and accept that you’re free and we’re going to be happy. You’ve been through six years of hell, Niall. Rest and let me worry about us, you’ve been through enough.”

“I can do that, I think,” Niall said and Ran pressed another quick kiss to his lips then started the car.

“You can,” he insisted. “And I’ll do whatever it takes to help you feel safe and happy,” he promised as he turned the car out of the courtyard and steered it toward Scotland, to Gallahide. Niall’s eyes widened as he realized he was also going to have to accept the fact that he truly deserved to be happy and he deserved Ran.