Page 83 of Iron Crown

But that’s not how stories end. Villains and heroes don’t get to drop what they’re doing and call “enough!” A quest cannot be abandoned until it’s fulfilled. Fates can be delayed, but not forever. They must be sealed in blood. A happy ending cannot come in the middle of a story.

“Take care of our boy,” I told her, my hands shaking as I squeezed her one last time. “Make sure he knows his father loves him.” Then I kissed her temple, and her cheek, where a salty tear had forged a path to her chin. “Don’t cry these for me.” I wiped her tears away. “I did wrong, and I have to pay for my sins.” I kissed her forehead again.

“I love you,” she said, her words stilled me. “Doesn’t that count for something?I love you.”

I held her in my arms again. Squeezing her head to my chest, my heart bursting to reach out to her. “It means everything.”

I brought my lips down to hers. I bared my soul to her in that kiss, knowing that it could be our last. I wanted to sear myself into her skin, to give her one memory, one last moment where she knew that I was hers, and she was mine. To say what words, and even art, couldn’t say.

I had to break the kiss, or she would have kept me rooted to the spot until the end of time. I grabbed her by the shoulders, keeping her at an arm’s length, but close enough that only she heard my next words.

“The moment something feels off, shoot to kill. Do you understand? Ask questions later. None of this means anything if you aren’t alive at the end of it.” She nodded at my words. I cupped her cheek as another tear came down. “Tell me you understand.”

“I understand,” she whispered, but in true Kira fashion, she shook her stubborn head and added, “I’ll only open up to you.”

That was a small victory, and I couldn’t be selfish. I pulled her in for one last kiss, just a rough one on the mouth. A last farewell before pushing her to arm’s length again. I was running out of time.

“Put one in the chest, two in the head,” I said. “Trust no one.”

I let her go. Abruptly. And she stumbled before righting herself.

I had to get away from her before I lost my nerve. Before my will to live with her overpowered my need to be a husband and father. To end a war that needed ending.

To break the curse laid on my bloodline by my father.

I would end this war. Cillian would not inherit the iron crown of Green Fields Enterprises. He wouldn’t need to look over his shoulder, living with one foot in the grave. I wouldn’t make him kill his first man when his balls had barely dropped.

He could become whatever he desired. He did not need to inherit the tragedy of my family’s crimes.

Shiny was back, though I wasn’t sure she ever left.

“Let's go!” I yelled, waving my hand. My men got into their cars, slamming the doors.

“Eoghan…” Kira’s face was at the window, her fingers on the glass.

Christ, I wanted to reach out and hold her one more time. But I knew that one more time would lead to another, until I was too weak to go.

“Drive,” I told O’Malley, as Shiny looked at me from the front seat.

I stared back at her and sneered, “I thought you left something inside the building.”

“I lied,” she said with the slightest shrug. “And no, I don’t give a fuck that you consider it an insult.”

Kira banged on the window, and I felt my stomach twist. My willpower would fade if I did not get out of her sight.

“I said drive!” I barked, and O’Malley slammed his foot on the gas pedal.

I could hear Kira scream as I watched her from the side mirror. She stood, her hands in fists at her sides, her mouth open as she called my name again and again. The cars left a plume of dust in their wake.

“Do me a favor, Shiny,” I said, solemnly. “If I die, make sure she gets everything.

“And if you live?” Shiny said, an amused tone in her voice.

“If we do not break the Mafia, and bring them to heel, make sure she’s safe. Even if I am alive, I want them out of here, far away, protected.” I wasn’t sure where to go with this line of thought. I was scattered when I needed to focus on what lay ahead. “Take them to Ireland or Greece. Take them to Paris or Naples. Wherever they want to go.”

“And while I take your family on this vacation, what will you be doing?” Shiny smirked.

She wasn’t taking me seriously. Not in the least.

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