Page 101 of Hook

I nod and dial his number on my cell. After the third dial tone, he answers. “Cillian.” His voice is cold and devoid of all emotion.

“Have you seen the news?” I ask.

He laughs. “Of course, I fucking made it.”

Sickness coils in my stomach. “What do you mean?”

“While you were off making deals behind my back, I’ve taken everything from you. The Murphy empire no longer exists and if you step foot in Los Angeles again, I’ll personally see to your demise.”

My world spins. “You did this?” I confirm.

“Yes, Daddy begged for his life at the end. A sign of a weak man.” I can’t say that I disagree with him, and a part of me is relieved he’s gone. “And Kira...” He laughs. “Don’t get me started on her.” Rage slams into me, as Kira, on the other hand, was my world. My little sister and I couldn’t protect her.

“You’re sick,” I say, shaking my head. “We’re supposed to be friends.”

“We could never be friends, Cillian. We’re rivals. And now, you’re nothing. It’s a shame your mummy wasn’t here, so I could end her, too.”

I growl on the other end of the phone. “Careful, Piero.” My fists clench, but there’s always that ache where my limb used to be, a painful reminder that I’m no longer a whole man, the prothetic never feeling quite the same.

Smyth watches me with a confused look on his face.

“You may be a killer, but so am I. I won’t rest until your heart is no longer beating.”

“Cillian?” I feel a hand on my arm, shaking me.

I grab it, anger flooding me. It takes me a second to realize who it is. And once I realize, I release her throat which I’ve wrapped my palms around.

Her eyes are wide as she rubs her neck. “Where did you go?”

I shake my head, ignoring her question. “What Piero did to me, I can never forgive, but it’s hard for me to talk about.”

Gwen looks hurt by that, and I know I can’t keep ignoring her questions forever.

I sigh. “But I’ll tell you what you want to know.” I know this is my only chance at salvaging our relationship. A relationship that I’ve gone about entirely the wrong way from the start. “Piero and I were best friends growing up. He was there before I lost my hand and after.”

Her eyes widen slightly hearing that we were friends. “What the hell happened then?”

“We were both the heirs of two criminal organizations operating out of L.A. Our families had always remained on good terms.” I run my good hand across the back of my neck. “Until ten years ago, when Piero took control and his father stepped back because of bad health.”

I clench my fists, thinking about it inspires a rage I can’t control. “I was out of town negotiating a deal with a new supplier when I saw the news on the TV. My da and sister had been murdered. In turn, the Murphy family was ousted.”

“Piero did that?” She asks, a hint of disbelief in her tone which only makes me angrier. She’s as blind to who he truly is as I was all those years ago.

“Yes, I rang him when I saw the news and he told me it was him and that if I showed my face in L.A again, he’d murder me too.” I grind my teeth. “I’ve fought my way back to the top in San Diego with one goal in mind. Destory Piero.”

Gwen looks like she’s struggling to process everything I’m telling her. “Piero murdered your family?”

“Yes. My sister was only eighteen, and what Piero and his men did to her is unspeakable.”

Her face pales. “What did he do?”

My mind strays to the moment three of my loyal men managed to break into the morgue and make it back to the yacht with her body before we fled.

“We’ve got Kira, sir.”

I swallow hard, walking onto the deck to gaze upon her body. And I remember bending over and throwing up. Her body mutilated. Evidence that the men had raped her clear as day. All of her clothes were ripped. Her face was bruised and graying.

“Cillian?”

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