Page 63 of Broken Empire
“I can’t.” Cori sniffed again. “Shay… I did something bad. Really, really bad.”
20
Shay
A chill shot through me.“What did you do, Cori?”
“Just… come over. Please.” Cori sniffed again and hung up.
I put the phone down and looked at Killian, who was rubbing his jaw and staring at the phone like he couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. “I guess we’ll have to go to Bellingham another time,” he said, indicating to take the next left.
“I’m sorry,” I murmured.
He smiled as he steered the car around the corner. “It’s okay. Like I said, we can go another time.”
Another time after you’ve served god knows how many years in prison,I silently added, feeling my heart sinking. Part of me knew Killian was doing the right thing in allowing himself to go down with the rest of the Schöneberg Group, but another part of me wanted to run and hide with him forever so that I’d never have to leave his side.
He seemed to know what I was thinking, because he took one hand off the steering wheel and rubbed my left knee. “It’s okay,” he said softly. “I’ll probably be able to get some sort of deal with the prosecutors for acting as a whistleblower for the Schöneberg Group.”
“But you still killed that guy in the Hellfire Club. Even if he was a really bad guy, they won’t care.” I sniffed and scrubbed a hand over my nose and chin. “And technically, you killed Cooper too. Robert could throw that at you once he’s been taken in.”
“I know. I’m just saying, I don’t think they’ll lock me up and throw away the key. It might only be a few years.”
I nodded slowly. He was right—he’d probably get some sort of deal from the lawyers. Besides,hewas the one who would end up in prison and suffer through it. Not me. I needed to buck up and show some sort of positivity in order to support him instead of moping around and crying constantly.
“Cori lives somewhere on East 71st, right?” Killian asked, glancing at me again.
I smiled faintly. “Yeah. I’ll direct you.”
When we arrived, Cori opened the door before we even knocked. She must’ve been camped out on the other side, waiting for our footsteps. “Thanks for coming,” she said, voice barely above a whisper. Her face was stained with tears.
“What happened?”
“Just come in. You’ll see.” She turned away from the door and padded down the hall.
Killian raised his brows and nudged me as we followed her. There were droplets of blood on the polished floorboards.
We turned into the living room, and my hand flew to my mouth. “What the fuck?”
Robert was sitting on a dining chair with his head lolling forward. Blood was caked on the side of his head and neck, and his hands were bound behind him with a thick velveteen cord from a dressing gown. A black pistol was sitting on the coffee table nearby.
I whirled around to look at Cori. I barely even knew where to begin. “Why the hell do you have a gun?” I asked. “You don’t even like guns!”
She wrapped her arms around herself and nodded. “I know. I didn’t tell anyone because I was embarrassed, but I…” She coughed and cleared her throat. “After what happened with Cooper, I didn’t feel safe anymore. I thought I’d feel better if I had protection, so…”
“So you got a gun,” Killian said, nodding slowly. “I get it. But what the hell happened here?”
As he spoke, he waved a hand at the scene before us. Robert was still slumped over in the chair, and he hadn’t moved a muscle.
“Please don’t judge me,” Cori said, voice coming out in another choked whisper. “When he got here, I was so angry. I… I wanted to hurt him. He hurt you, Shay, and my mom too. And me. I mean, not in the same way. He just lied to us. But still, I—”
She was rambling now, so Killian lifted a palm and cut her off. “Cori. What happened?”
“I told him I was going to kill him, and I… I had the gun with me.” Cori shook her head and sucked down another deep breath before continuing. “He just laughed at me. Said I wouldn’t do it. And he was right. I couldn’t pull the trigger. I just… couldn’t. So I hit him instead.”
“With what?”
“The gun. I smashed it into his head,” Cori whispered, hand fluttering near her lips.
