Deliver Us From Evil (Deliver Us From Evil #3) - Monica James Page 0,3
find who or what ya love most in this world and make them pay for yer sins.”
He smirks, the sight a diabolical display. “Ya can try, Puck, but I have no ties. I’ve lived a lonely existence for a reason…that’s why I’m stronger than ye. The only person I care for is you…so if yer going to destroy anyone, it’s going to be yerself.”
I always wondered why Sean never got married. Or even had a girlfriend for that fact. Now I know why. He knew emotions are the downfall of any leader. He has been plotting this for years.
“I’m already defeated, Father,” I state, leveling him. “Ya made sure of that when ya destroyed everything, everyone I’ve ever loved.”
“One day, when ya want to listen, I’ll tell ya about yer past. It’s what y’ve fought so hard for, is it not? Ya wanted to know who yer ma was and how she could love a monster like me. By telling ya this, Puck, it’ll help ye understand who ye are.”
I don’t bother replying because he’s baiting me.
Turning my back, I take the whiskey bottle with me as I walk out the door. Once in my truck, I commence the drive home on autopilot. I am so lost right now, I don’t think I’ll ever be found. In the past, I would have spoken to Rory and Cian, who would have helped me see reason.
But I’m truly alone in this.
The castle stands unfinished; a visualization of what could be. As I ascend the drive and park in front of my gaff, I notice the kitchen light is on.
Someone is in my home.
Reaching for my gun from the console, I exit the truck with caution. I doubt an enemy would announce their presence, but stranger things have happened, like Rory betraying me right in this very spot. I open the front door, which is unlocked, and with my gun raised, I enter.
Who I see has me lowering my gun with a sigh. “What are ya doing here?”
Hannah stands from the couch, wringing her hands in front of her. “If I’d called, would ya have let me in?”
She has a point.
Closing the door, I ignore her and walk into the kitchen. Empty whiskey bottles are scattered on the counter, and I finished the one I snared from Sean’s on the drive here, so I open the freezer and retrieve a bottle of vodka.
“You shouldn’t be here. Go home.”
The bluntness to my tone has Hannah flinching, but she doesn’t back down. “Please don’t shut me out, Punky. We’re all hurtin’ too. It was Rory’s funeral today.”
Her admission has me opening the vodka bottle and drawing it to my lips.
“It was a lovely service. Lots of people paid their respects.”
“Closed casket, I presume?” I say, savoring the burn of the vodka as it hits my empty stomach.
Cian is the only one who knows what really happened to Rory. Sean wasn’t lying when he said the peelers are on his side. Constable Shane Moore is just as crooked as his father was. He was the one who labeled Rory’s death as a robbery gone wrong.
The reporters bought it because of the ransacked state of Rory’s flat.
But those closest to Rory know the truth. As do those who are, or were, closest to me. They know I murdered my best friend in cold blood.
“Don’t be like that,” Hannah scolds, horrified I would be making jokes. “Yer best mate is dead. Y’ve got to be feelin’ somethin’.”
“The only thing I’m feelin’ is annoyed that yer here, Hannah. Don’t ya have friends ye can annoy?”
“Puck,” she gasps, taking a step back. “Why are ye being so mean?”
“If ya don’t like it here, then ye can always leave,” I say, wiping the spilled vodka from my lips with the back of my hand. “I’d prefer it.”
“I don’t know what’s wrong, but I know this is not you. What happened to Cami? We have a right to know.”
No one knows that Rory was the one who betrayed us. All they know is that he took Babydoll away, saying he was coming to meet me, but neither returned.
No one questioned him, and why would they? They trusted him. We all did.
“Eva wants to know what happened to her sister,” Hannah says, never giving up. Her tenacity is what set me free. I wish she’d left me to rot. “Stop treatin’ us like wee kids!”
“Ya are wee kids,” I correct, angered they got involved in the first place. “Go home, Hannah. I want