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The sound of boots comes from behind me, but I don’t remove my eyes from Eddie’s. He will die today, and I don’t want to miss a single second of it.

A pained whimper falls from his lips. His breaths are rapid and shallow, a thin sheen of sweat lines his forehead, and the blood has drained from his face. Everything about what he is experiencing makes me feel unbelievable joy.

Rising to my feet, an idea forms in my head and I spin around.

Declan and Liam stand side by side with their arms crossed over their chests.

“Either of you have a lighter?” I ask. They watch with a combination of apprehension and pride in their eyes.

Declan wordlessly slips one from his pocket and hands it to me.

“You know… It’s going to be bittersweet taking your life the same way you took my brothers’- the same way you planned to take mine,” I chuckle darkly.

I turn to face the piece of shit dying on the ground. With a flick, the orange flame sparks to life. Horror fills his eyes, and he tries to shift away.

Returning to my crouched position, I bring the lighter to his face. The flame reflects in his brown irises, and he whimpers when the heat is nearly pressed against his cheek.

I flick the light on and off, moving to different parts of his body. The nervous energy radiating off him is palpable.

With the knife still embedded in his side, his death is prolonged. I want to take my time with him. But at the same time, I want him to burn alive. I want to listen to his screams and revel in his pain.

Neither Declan nor Liam move as I continue to tease my prey.

“Pl-Please,” Eddie begs with wet whine, and I bristle in satisfaction.

“Ah, there is it,” I mock. He screams when I wrap my fingers around the knife’s handle. His choked sob follows when I press it further into his body. Blood seeps from around the hilt, pooling onto the floor.

Flicking the lighter back on, I bring the flame to his wound. The fabric of his shirt turns black, curling inward as it begins to burn.

Blood spurts from his mouth, his teeth are stained with crimson. His screams turn into a garbled mess and tears fall to his hairline.

Satisfied with the bubbling of his flesh, I flick off the lighter and pocket it.

“Can you guys do me a favor and move him downstairs?” I ask Declan and Liam. They move and lift Eddie by his arms and drag him to the lower level.

“What was it you said?” I tap my forefinger against my pursed lips. “Oh, that’s right.” I spin on the ball of my foot to Eddie, who is now positioned on all fours. His face is pale and sweaty, and his breaths are labored.

“You said, you’d watch me burn alive,” I tisk, shaking my head in disappointment. “Unfortunately, only one of us can watch the other burn alive, and by the looks of it, it’ll be me watching you,” I smile widely.

Quickly scanning the area littered with bodies, I find a case labeled flammable. I stride over and rip open the top. Inside are a few small containers of propane and gasoline.

With a shrug, I take one of each.

“What are you planning to do with the propane?” Liam asks, brow raised, and arms folded over his chest.

A wicked grin spreads over my face. “After watching fuckface burn, I’m going to watch this building explode.”

Undoing the cap of the gasoline, I pour it over Eddie. He sputters and coughs when the fuel slides down his face and into his mouth and nose.

I remove the lighter from my pocket.

“Please, no. I’m begging you,” Eddie’s voice weakens by the second.

“I know,” I reply with a shrug. I flick the lighter, meeting Eddie’s eyes. “But now I’m done playing. I’ll see you in Hell.”

The lighter falls, setting Eddie’s body aflame with a whoosh. He writhes in pain, and I take a step back to avoid being burned.

Eventually, his charred body stills.

A pang of sadness hits me square in the chest and tears prick my eyes. “I did it, guys,” I whisper to my brothers, hoping that wherever they are, they can hear me and see that I’ve avenged them.

“Light it up,” Declan barks and the team spreads out.

A hand lands on my shoulder. My head whips to meet Liam’s gaze. It’s warm and comforting, which given the situation, is sorta odd.

“He’s awake.”

“He’s awake?! What the hell are we standing around for?! Let’s go!”

I’m running before he has a chance to reply.

Skidding to a stop at the closest SUV, I begin removing my weapons and throwing them into a bag. Declan and Liam saunter out of the warehouse and make their way toward me.

“I will leave your asses here if you don’t hurry the fuck up,” I growl in annoyance, making them chuckle.

Declan climbs into the driver’s seat and Liam climbs into the back.

Clouds of black smoke begin to billow out of the shattered windows of the warehouse. Flashes of my home burning burst in my mind and my breath catches. A tear rolls down my cheek, curving at the corner of my mouth.

“Ready?” Declan whispers, bringing me back to the present.

I turn toward him and nod.

* * *

Smelling of sweat, blood, and burning flesh, I step into Rhys’ room. I wasn’t going to waste time showering when I needed to see him.

I needed to meet those emerald eyes and see for myself that he’s okay.

He is propped up on the hospital bed with a tray of food sitting in front of him. My chest expands and my hand flies to cup my mouth.

“Hi, mo réalta ,” he whispers, turning to face me.

I launch myself across the space between us and climb into bed. I curl against his uninjured side, press my face into the crook of his neck, and break. Rhys caresses my hair, whispering sweet nothings in my ear to soothe my sobs.

Once I’ve caught my breath, I peer up into his eyes. They’re filled with so much love I feel it in the very fibers of my being.

“I love you, Rhys,” I say, reaching up to brush the back of my fingers against his cheek.

“I love you, baby,” he replies then presses a kiss to my forehead. “Wanna tell me what you’ve been up to?”

He scans me from head to toe with an amused chuckle.

“I did it.”

He winces slightly as he shifts. “Elaborate,” he demands with a smirk.

“I killed Eddie.” I swallow the lump in my throat. “He killed my brothers.”

Rhys’ brows reach his hairline.

“He admitted to lighting the fire that filled my family, Rhys,” my voice cracks. “He took them from me, and he almost took you.”

His face softens.

“I’m sorry for scaring you, mo réalta .” He wraps his fingers around mine, squeezing tightly.

“I can’t be without you, Rhys.” I study our joined hands for a moment then raise my eyes to his once more. “Waiting for you to wake up was one of the worst experiences of my life.”

I lean against his shoulder when he releases my hand to wrap his arm around me.

“Losing my brothers took half of my heart. Losing you would take the other half of my soul.”

“Then it’s a good thing you’re never going to lose me.”

I let out a humorless snort. “You can’t promise that.”

“I made a deal with the devil when I started working with Declan’s family,” he starts, licking his lips. “I’d sell my soul if that meant I’d be with you until the end of time.”

Following a gentle knock, the door opens and in walks a doctor wearing dark blue scrubs and a white coat.

His eyes widen when he takes in my appearance.

“Got a problem?” Rhys asks loudly.

The doctor clears his throat, averting his eyes to the computer attached to the wall next to the bed. I know I look like a wreck, but I’ll be damned if I leave Rhys’ side now.

The doctor leaves after doing a physical exam and going over the plan for the remainder of Rhys’ stay now that he’s awake.

My fingers absentmindedly stroke the bandage on his chest. The room is quiet aside from the steady beeping of the machines attached to Rhys.

“Tell me what happened,” Rhys says, playing with the ends of my hair.

And I do.

He holds me - comforts me - while I fall apart again and again. My brothers’ deaths are truly final.

They’re never coming back.

I’ve spent years masking my pain, hiding the broken version of me for so long that I wasn’t sure how to let anyone in. Then Rhys came along, and it was like I could breathe again. Letting him in, letting him see those shattered pieces was like second nature, despite how much I wanted to fight it.

After having experienced what losing Rhys would be like, I will never hide from him again.