Page 70 of Sweet Vengeance
I walk through the mess that is their warehouse until I find Tattoo Face, who looks just as beat up as Ponytail did, his body riddled with bullets.
“Wanted to make sure he was dead,” Dean says from beside me.
“I think you succeeded. You good?”
He grunts, not one to share his feelings with anyone except Tiernan and maybe Aislin.
“They deserved it,” I tell him.
“I know,” he replies. “For Ollie.”
I nod, a lump in my throat, knowing that what I did tonight might change everything. “For Ollie.”
“Let’s go,” Conan orders. “I called in a cleanup crew. Let’s get the fuck outta here.”
I follow, needing to be home with Ollie.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Ollie
It’s almost threein the morning, but I can’t sleep. Aislin passed out on the couch about an hour and a half ago. I’m downstairs too, on the chair, cell glued to my hand. The only time I set it down is when I took a shower, which I only did because I needed a distraction.
How long does it take, whatever they’re doing? What if something went wrong? What if they got caught? How many times can I ask myself these same questions?
What if, what if, what if. I can’t stop obsessing. I haven’t even let myself consider what it is he’s doing. All that matters is Cillian coming home safe.
To me.
Because I’m in love with him.
Light moves across the wall, making my heart jump to my throat. I shove out of the chair, don’t think twice about who it could be or what could be happening before I run to the door and tug it open.
Tiernan’s car is parked out front, all of them spilling out, and again, I don’t think, just run—down the stairs, across the gravel driveway, hard, sharp rocks stabbing into my feet as I go.
Cillian looks up seconds before I throw myself at him. Hestill manages to catch me, my arms around his shoulders, face in his neck, glasses digging into my skin as I’m pressing so hard into him, his arms entwining around my waist. He smells like soap and like mine, and his hair is wet, telling me that whatever he did, he had to clean up afterward.Don’t think about it, don’t think about it, don’t think about it.
“You’re home,” I whisper against his skin.
“I told you I’d be back. You didn’t believe me?”
“I always believe you.” His body stiffens against mine, as though I said something wrong. “Are you okay?”
“Shh,” he says to me, then pulls back and looks at Tiernan. “We’re going to bed. If you need me for anything, it’s gonna have to wait until tomorrow.”
Cillian doesn’t wait for Tiernan to respond, instead taking my hand and walking with me back to the house.
“Ouch.” My feet are a lot more tender now that I have time to think about it.
“Jesus.” Cillian gets in front of me, and I don’t think twice before jumping onto his back and letting him carry me into the house. It’s like I don’t even recognize myself anymore, like this is just another way Cillian has helped me open myself up to parts of me I didn’t know were there.
He sets me down when we get into the house, taking my hand again as he leads me upstairs.
There’s something heavy about him tonight, his blue eyes not as vivid and like he’s carrying even more invisible weight than usual. He’s always got so much on his shoulders, they all do, really, in a different way than most people would ever understand.
The second we’re in the room, he starts with, “Kitten…I—”
“Shh.” I press my finger against his lips. “I don’t want to talk about it.” Leaning forward, I press my lips to his. “I don’twant to know.” Another kiss. “I just want you. Please, Cillian. I need you,” I beg, feeling this desperation growing stronger and more potent by the second. “Please. I need it. I need to feel you. Need it so bad.” God, I should feel pathetic begging for it this way, but I don’t. I feel…strong. Honest. I have the strength and the power to say what I want, and that is him.
