Page 106 of Forged in Rain

“So, if he’s alive. I’m dead. I don’t want to die, Rainy.”

“What about Pam? Maybe—”

“Mom can’t stop him, and she’s fucking delusional if she thinks she can.”

I slowly nod because Pam’s only created more problems, although I guess we haven’t done much better.

Cautiously, I say, “Iris, what if we went to McCafferty?”

“And said what? Now I’m supposed to throw her under the bus?”

“Iris, she looked the other way—”

“No, she didn’t. She says she didn’t know.”

“And you believe her?”

“Yes.”

My brain is screaming at me that something’s missing, and it has everything to do with Pam, but if Iris wants to live in la-la land, I guess she deserves it.

“C’mon, Iris . . . She thinks she’s going to kill Paddy McCafferty. Fucking insane.”

“Enough!” she says, leaning into my face. “Yes, my mom is acting crazy, but whatever, she wants John gone.”

“She threatened a child to do it.”

“Relax, nothing happened.”

“Iris . . .” I drop my gaze to my lap and clench my hands into fists, hoping the pain will supersede the burn in my chest.

Either she’s lying to me, or she truly believes the bullshit spilling from her mouth. Neither notion comforts me.

“Look, if we find John, then the other shit goes away.”

“So, what? We’re here to what?”

“Kill the fucker.”

“Iris!” I say, glancing at the cabin, my pulse thundering in my veins.

Grabbing my hand, Iris says, “This is the only way. I can’t die, Rainy. Do you understand?”

Her grip stings, and I lower my gaze under the intensity of her stare.

“You think I fucked a dozen men because I liked it? No. He’s going to fucking kill me.”

I’m fucking appalled and dizzy, so I push my head between my legs and suck in deep breaths.

“I trusted the wrong people, and now he’s fucking missing, and I don’t know where or why. I tried to do this without you, Rain. I did. But how could I when you kept fucking popping up in my business?”

“How do you mean?”

“You were spying on me for Cyn. What was I supposed to do? Just let that go? I was planning to kill my fucking stepfather, and I could hardly have Cyn, who reports to Jagger, John’s fucking nephew, breathing down my back.”

“Then why did you ask Bastion to do it?”

Huffing, she says, “I didn’t realize how close they were to Jagger until recently. And when you wouldn’t listen and back off, I had to take it next level. This is fucking serious. Cyn can’t save us from John. Mom can’t. Nobody can. We’re fucking trapped forever.”

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